There was an unfamiliar odour present as Tenby seniors entered the clubhouse at Carmarthen last week and it took them some time to realise that a new red carpet had been installed. Thinking that it was just for them, they started their quest in good spirit. Carmarthen seniors were not going to be that generous as Stan Hudson found to his cost.

He had picked Allen Watts to help him set his team on the right trail but, even though he had two shots to play with, things did not work out the way he wanted. Mike Davies and Simon Barrett also had shots and they were more judicious in the way they used them. There was a good start, with Simon scoring a birdie on the third, matched by one from Stan on the fourth, which reduced their deficit to one. From there on they just couldn't get ahead and it took them until the 10th to just draw level, and that was due to the opposition losing a ball each. They struggled on and were still in touch, at one down, starting the 18th. Alas they could only halve the last and failed to set the team a good example.

The pair following was of no help in furthering the morale of the team. In fact, they were outgunned and outclassed on this cool but rain-free day. Roy Morgan and Des Stone were facing a new recruit to the seniors' ranks in the form of Tony Jones, with his reduced handicap of 11. As a baby faced assassin (just 55), he partnered the Carmarthen seniors' classic team captain, Colin Lewis.

"We had a lamping!" was the expression used about this match where the best Roy and Des could do was to halve three holes, Roy on the third and Des on the fourth and seventh. All the rest were lost. It didn't help that Des lost a ball with his very first shot and then bumbled his way down the second leaving Roy to shoulder all the responsibility. After the match was over on the 12th, they could relax and did manage to win one hole.

There were two other recruits to the Carmarthen line-up, one of whom was Wyn James, playing alongside veteran Tony Hurd. Richard Chapman and Derek Bath had the task of making his introduction a salutary one. Things were going quite well in the early stages of this match with Richard's long drives and Derek's guile. It was on the 12th that the 'two Ronnies' (they played well as a team) struck, followed by two more strikes on the 13th and 14th. It was blow from which the visitors never recovered.

Richard played to his handicap, but Wyn played below his handicap and Tony Hurd just used his experience. Richard and Derek conceded that they were up against a class act on this occasion and were just pleased to be part of a great game of golf.

Frank Clark was the third recruit to the seniors' line-up and he partnered Malcolm Gelder as they fought a right royal battle against John Hancock and Geoff Aston. Malcolm was home general as he introduced his partner to the cut and thrust of seniors' matchplay. They opened up a three-hole lead after winning the first and kept John and Geoff at bay until the 15th.

That's when they mounted their counter-offensive and fought their way back into contention. On the battleground of the final holes, John and Geoff played well - but not well enough. John played the last in military fashion without even touching the fairway. He went right, onto the 16th, left, into the semi-rough, and right again across the fairway. It was four onto the green and putt out for his par. Still not good enough.

Was there anyone out there capable of bringing a smile to Stan's face? Bob Hope, sorry Howse, had the help of Peter Hart as they faced Ray Heath and big Bill Kirke. They were another Tenby duo to lose the first hole and find themselves two down after four.

Ray was playing particularly well, but Bob and Peter gradually eased their way to the front by winning holes six, seven and eight. They then lost the ninth to bring the match back to all-square. Peter thought his luck was in on the 13th when he chipped up towards the hole, only to see his ball hit the flag and then roll away.

This was described as a ding-dong battle and the match remained close right to the end. Bob and Peter did ease to the front on the 16th, but couldn't hold on to it, allowing Ray and Bill to earn a well-deserved half.

The skies remained dark and broody and Stan needed some good news to cheer him up. It came in the form of Jeff Banfield and Brian Diment. They were facing Mick Fenney and Howard Davies. Jeff lost a ball on the first but, despite that, he and Brian opened up a four-hole lead, helped by a birdie on the third by Jeff. This was reduced to three as this epic struggle continued throughout the afternoon. The Tenby pair managed to hold on to that lead and finalised the result by winning the 17th.

Mick and Howard thought that Brian's handicap needed to be reviewed, but admired the way he took a divot each time with his fine iron play.

As it happened, the handicap secretary was involved in the match behind him. Jim Martin continued his run of good form as he and Owen Monaghan tried to out manoeuvre Graham Williams and Kevin Owen. Owen also continued in a vein of good form. Kevin complained that, not only was he suffering with a bad back, but all shots were against him. Graham complained that Jim really got up his nose - he successfully one putted on eight holes to help maintain their lead. Kevin held them to account by winning all the par three holes and this helped in reducing Jim and Owen's lead from six to four after nine holes. It was enough to establish their superiority on the day.

Up one, down one, up one, down one - a close match you may think and that's how Mike Fox and Nigel Rimell described it. It seems that they were well matched against Ray Sinden and Alun Rees. Mike and Nigel won the first and were able to maintain a strong competitive element to this match which was well balanced in the early stages.

"We sort of collapsed after 14 holes and they stepped up a gear," was the way they described it in admitting that they came second in this interesting exchange.

The Carmarthen lads were somewhat surprised when, on the 18th, Mike decided his best option was to play three five irons (unusual to have three five irons in your bag!) and one was heard to mutter 'Pratt!' under his breath as they took out their woods.

All was not lost. Brian Morgan and Alan Yates brought a smile to their captain's face when they reported their victory over Paul Stickland and Dennis Driscoll. They all claimed that there was some very good golf played in this encounter. Well they would when they were four up after nine holes. However, they did claim that the score was not a true reflection of the closeness of the match.

On the 10th, Paul chipped in from off the green for his par and then watched as Alan sent his long putt on its way, and into the hole, for his four, net three. It was a demoraliser and one from which they failed to recover as the Tenby boys continued to gel well as a pair until they all shook hands on the 15th.

Nip and tuck, another description for a close match and this one was the last to report in. Martin Neilan and Paul Bradley were matched against Gerwyn Davies and Jim Crawford and neither pair was able to dominate by more than one-hole as they duelled it out over the course.

Paul had a couple of issues with the trees; his second shot on the first hole hit a tree, with a favourable ricochet allowing him to continue and win the hole with a five, net four. Later in the round, on the 10th, his drive was so ferocious that it flew into the trees and removed a sizeable branch. The ball cried, 'Ouch!' Whatever, they ended up all-square on the 18th and claimed that, because the match was so even, they conceded the last putt to end with a half. Yeah!

Carmarthen had retained their pride on their own course, but Tenby's revenge was to win all but one prize in the raffle. Des Stone and Roy Morgan walked out with a bottle each.

Results: S. Hudson and A. Watts lost to M. Davies and S. Barrett 1 down; D. Stone and R. Morgan lost to C. Lewis and T. Jones 8 and 6; R. Chapman and D. Bath lost to T. Hurd and W. James 3 and 2; M. Fox and N. Rimell lost to R. Sinden and A. Rees 4 and 2; B. Howse and P. Hart halved with R. Heath and B. Kirke; J. Banfield and B. Diment beat M. Fenney and H. Davies 2 and 1; J. Martin and O. Monaghan beat G. Williams and K. Owen 5 and 4; B. Morgan and A. Yates beat P. Stickland and D. Driscoll 5 and 3; J. Hancock and G. Aston lost to M. Gelder and F. Clarke 1 down; M. Neilan and P. Bradley halved with G. Davies and J. Crawford.