Isn't it wonderful to have the exact yardage to the front of the green, the middle of the green, as well as the back of the green from any place on the fairway? As aging amateurs, it gives us chance to choose the right club to get our par or birdie. Yeah - I wish!

Bob Howse was partnered with John Hayhoe in the match against Haverfordwest last week and he was enjoying the pleasure of knowing the exact distance to the green, since John was sharing the information provided by his GPS. Everything was hunky dory, and they had established a comfortable lead against Alun Lloyd and Ray Woodason, until the eighth that is. The GPS ceased to function and the pair had to resort to old-fashioned judgement of distance - like guesswork!

They were both perplexed, until, that is, John sheepishly confessed that he had forgotten to charge up his battery. Bob was lost for words - and lost on the course, not knowing which club to use or how hard to hit the ball. They did manage to regroup and held on until the 18th.

In a very friendly up and down match, in which John resorted to talking his opponents into as many bunkers as he could, neither pair was more than two ahead at any stage. So it came to the 18th with Bob and Ray in contention for the glory putt to win the hole. Ray's effort just slid by and it was up to Bob to step up to the mark. He had no GPS to give him the exact footage, so he had to rely on touch and feel. Fortunately it worked, or he was lucky, and it was a very relieved pair that was able to report a successful outcome to their captain.

If Bob was frustrated, then so was Allen Watts, but for a different reason. He was up against a player who was able to par eight holes and birdie three. One of those holes was the fifth when he drove the green. So what was the problem? Allen plays like that quite regularly. His frustration stemmed from the fact that he was conceding 10 shots to the player concerned. Despite that, he and Tony Ranoe won the first hole, but said that it was downhill all the way after that.

Their opposition came in the shape of Phil Woolcock and Rod England and their performance dominated the afternoon. Once behind, Allen and Tony were just never able to catch up and retired demoralised, but still cheerful and able to enjoy the company.

Another player to enjoy and capitalise on shot allowance was our own Mike Fox. He was helping Brian Morgan on this occasion as they faced the redoubtable Dick Cross and Barry Smith. Mike was having a productive day and well able to capitalise on the 13 shots he was allowed.

"Mind you," he said, "I made sure I missed a few just to demonstrate my true handicap!"

Morgie helped him out when needed as was demonstrated on the 15th. His second shot put his ball in the bunker, but he escaped to win the hole. Mike stole the glory by winning the 16th to end the match. Dick was delighted to par the last hole, but by then the match was over.

Chatting to John Hancock after his and Richard Davies's match against Robert Box and Mike Robinson, the conversation centred more around Bob's flamboyant dress sense than the golf. John and Richard are both adept at diverting attention away from their performance and this was no exception. This was a very close match, resulting in a half - not a winning half nor a losing half - just a half!

As Robert leaned back in his barefooted crocs, they all seemed relaxed and oblivious to the golfing encounter they had just experienced. The meal and the pint were well received and the match was a distant memory.

Haverfordwest are tough opposition and this was evident in all the matches, well almost all! The captains were engaged in a struggle all afternoon. Stan Hudson had chosen Jim Martin to help him this week, perhaps hoping he would continue his recent successes. It was not to be as he had one of his less adventurous afternoons.

Mal Davies and Clive Frankton were their usual consistent selves and opened up a three-hole lead after seven as the home pair struggled to keep up. That was reduced to two after nine and then Stan came into his own. He played the equivalent of par golf on the last nine holes in an endeavour to reclaim some ground. He and Clive shared a birdie on the 12th to halve the hole. It all came down to the 18th when Jim had a four-and-a-half foot putt, with a shot, to earn a half. He didn't quite make it, much to their disappointment.

"Bad luck Jim," said Stan through clenched teeth.

A game of two halves would be a good way of describing the match involving Ron Murphy and Des Stone, who were up against Terry Rees and Gerald Evans. Terry must have been quietly confident, having won the Haverfordwest seniors Rose Bowl as well as the mixed pairs recently. He and Gerald somehow failed to capitalise on good drives over the front nine holes, allowing Des and Ron between them to open up a six-hole lead after eight.

Gerald's four on the ninth gave them their first scent of success and they built on this by winning five and halving two holes to achieve parity after 16. Terry was in the bunker on the 17th and Gerald was in the trees, leaving Des to two-putt for his par and the hole. A par was repeated on the last to retain that lead.

Tony Morris and Nigel Rimell both had a poor hole on the 11th, but it did not prevent them from helping the Tenby cause. They were up against Robin Potter and Tony Tuckwell and said that being five up after nine holes was not a true reflection of the closeness of this match.

While Robin and Tony had their chances in this match, they were slightly demoralised by the chipping and putting ability of the Tenby duo. Tony and Nigel recovered from their debacle on the 11th to complete their victory on the 16th.

Brian Waters continues to play well, as shown with his three, net two, on the 16th. However, he had to be content with second place this week as he and Peter Williams failed to overcome the expertise of Jim Morgan and Arthur Williams. It was Jim who caused most of the damage as he scored a four, net three, on the second and later a par four on the fourth. Brian's two on the sixth kept the match in balance as they came back to one down after trailing by three holes. Despite this, they were always behind as Jim and Arthur dovetailed well to provide a win for Haverfordwest.

The final three matches were crucial to the overall result and all ended up with a half. Roy Morgan and Owen Monaghan faced Brad Morse and John James and conceded that a half was a fair result on the day. Roy played his best golf in the early stages of the match and allowed Owen to do his bit over the final three holes. The match was close all the way around the course, so close that they arrived at the 18th one hole to the good. John was the first to putt - six to eight feet, according to Roy, 15 to 20 feet, according to John. Whatever the distance, he putted out to win the hole and halve the match.

Geoff Aston and Rod Clarke were also taken to the last hole to finalise their match. Trevor Harwood and Dave Phipps were the two who battled it out with them. Geoff and Rod were two up after nine holes and increased that by winning the 10th. They couldn't hold on to it as Trevor and Dave fought back over the final holes and the Tenby stars found themselves one down after 14. It took all of Geoff's expertise to hole a long putt on the 16th to draw level and follow it up with a win on the 17th.

They couldn't lose, but they could halve the match and that is what happened as Trevor stepped up to the mark to steal their thunder. However, it was enough to give Tenby a narrow team victory. And they all used a SatNav to get home safely!

Don't forget - Chicken Trotters starts soon.

Results: S. Hudson and J. Martin lost to M. Davies and C. Frankton 1 down; D. Stone and R. Muphy beat T. Rees and G. Evans 2 up; B. Morgan and M. Fox beat D. Cross and B. Smith 3 and 2; T. Morris and N. Rimell beat R. Potter and T. Tuckwell 3 and 2; P. Williams and B. Waters lost to J. Morgan and A. Williams 2 and 1; B. Howse and J. Hayhoe beat A. Lloyd and R. Woodason 1 up; A. Watts and T. Ranoe lost to P. Woolcock and R. England 5 and 3; J. Hancock and R. Davies halved with R. Box and M. Robinson; R. Morgan and O. Monaghan halved with B. Morse and J. James; G. Aston and R. Clarke halved with T. Harwood and D. Phipps.

Finals Day set to serve up a golfing treat

Finals Day at Tenby Golf Club is this Sunday. Some of the finalists involved this year have reached two finals and as such the timetable has been amended accordingly.

However, because of Jack Guerreiro's participation in the Scratch Cup final, it has meant that the second final he is involved in, the Colwyn Williams Cup, is being played today (Friday) at 2.56 pm. Those participating are Jack Guerrerio and Michael Schooling (he, too, is playing on Finals Day) versus Terry Davies (another finalist of Finals Day) and Peter Rossi.

Referee for the match is M&H secretary, Jim Martin. It is a four ball best ball format and should be well worth watching, so why not go down to the club and have a look.

On Sunday, as mentioned above, the Scratch final is between Jack Guerrerio and that perennial and experienced contender, John Morris. This tees-off at 8 am and 12.30 pm, with the club's official referee and secretary, David J. Hancock, as referee.

The Ladies' Scratch is a repeat of last year's final between Georgia Thomas and Denise Edwards; referee is ladies' captain, Anita Davies. This tees-off at 8.30 am and 1 pm. No doubt Denise will be out to try and turn the result around from last year when Georgia triumphed. She will have to be in top form, though, as Georgia is on the crest of a wave having captained the Welsh Schools in an international match against England to their first ever tie in the event.

The Allen Cup between David Webb and Nick Thomas looks a real corker. This tees off at 9 am, with captain-elect, Dave Blackmore, officiating. Both these players are involved in two finals and will be playing again later in the afternoon.

At 9.15 am, Darren Thomas (another contending two finals) takes on Martin Neilan in the Davies Cup, with Richard Reed as the referee.

The Charles Mathias Cup at 9.30 am is between Steve Cole and Terry Davies and is officiated by the very experienced Owen Thomas.

The Veterans Cup at 9.45 am is between Barrie Frayne and John Hayhoe. Stan Hudson, Seniors captain, is the referee for this match.

The match at 10 am is the only mixed final, which is the Llewellyn Thomas Salver. This is being competed for between Michelle Richards partnered by Chris Thompson versus the wife and husband partnership of Georgina and Richard Ormond. Georgina is also playing a second final in the afternoon. This looks a cracking match and is refereed by Chris Beecher, who won this event last year in partnership with his wife Carol.

The final match of the morning is the Sellar Cup, at 10.30 am, between young Michael Schooling and the All Black colossus Allen Watts - this is the first club final for Allen and it should prove a very interesting encounter. Former club president David Hughes is the referee for this match and has a vested interest in the afternoon foursomes event in which his son Chris is competing.

The second 18 holes for the two scratch final matches get off at 12.30 pm and 1 pm, respectively.

These will be followed by the Reason-Jones Foursomes final at 1.30 pm. David Webb joins dad Neil to defend the title they won last year against the very strong pairing of Chris Hughes and Ian 'Yobbler' Thomas. Yet another cracker of a match for referee Jim Martin to enjoy.

At 2 pm, the president of Tenby GC, Mervyn Tucker, will be looking after another quality looking final in the Presidents Cup; this is between Darren Thomas and Nick Thomas, both playing their second final of the day.

Finally at 2.30 pm, Georgina Ormond will be taking on her second final of the day when she faces the young Sophie Lovatt, a rising star in the female ranks, for the Bronze Scratch. Ladies vice-captain Vicky Burks will be looking after this match.

As you can see there are some real quality finals coming up this weekend, so why not go and support your favourites and enjoy a day at the club.