The usual banter, rivalry and friendship was all evident when the two local clubs met for their annual joust at Trefloyne last week and the closeness of the result was shown in the anticipation of the final game. Nine teams were in and had eaten while they waited for the result of the last encounter of the day. Trefloyne held the advantage of five wins to Tenby's four, so, would they achieve the honourable half?
Geoff Aston and Alan Yates were still battling it out against Jack Zeraschi and Stuart Mills and it must have been quite a struggle as Alan was heard to say, 'I'm k-------d'. He and Geoff were in need of sustenance, so there was no way of discovering whether that was due to concentration or the length of the course, or even both.
Two themes seem to crop up in many matches on many courses - 'They made good use of their shot allowance,' and 'Course knowledge gave them the edge.' This shouldn't have made too much difference when these two clubs compete as there are numerous opportunities for players to enjoy each other's course.
Geoff and Alan were two up with three holes to play and succumbed to the putting skills of Stuart Mills as they made their run for home. There was enough resistance to prevent the home players overtaking them and they ended up with a half.
While he was hoping that the last match would provide a win to realise an honourable half in the overall result, Stan Hudson was just pleased that it was not a runaway disaster. This was even more so, since he and Tony Morris had been unable to stop the progress of Trevor Lewis and Steve Jones. They had managed to reach the ninth hole with level scorecards, but were unable to overtake the home team.
The 10th was halved in five after everyone messed up and then they lost the 11th and watched Steve chip in for a two on the 12th to claim that hole as well. That two-hole advantage was increased on the 13th and, although Stan and Tony halved the rest of the holes, it was not enough to cover them in glory. Stan birdied the 17th - when the match was all over.
Nigel Rimell was somewhat thwarted on the first. He was waiting to putt out for a four when Steve Scanlon chipped up and in, for a four, net three. That must have made him and Brian Morgan more determined, since they recovered and even went ahead to lead by four holes after nine.
Apparently the two left-handers, Morgie and Steve, were bending it like Beckham as they arced their way around the course trying to avoid the trees. Graham Harrison had been somewhat subdued over the first nine holes, but woke up after realising that Steve needed support and between them they won five consecutive holes to overtake the visitors and claim the match.
Bob Howse turned up smiling. His visit to the chiropractor had been successful. Having been pushed, prodded and pulled, he declared that he was in perfect shape and raring to go. The dependable Richard Chapman was beside him to help with the score as they faced the redoubtable Pat Casement and Derek Jones.
As they trudged off the course, Bob stated that they had struggled to match them on their own course. He also mentioned that he had missed the first green from 50 yards out and the match went downhill from there. Pat demonstrated how well he could play his home course, getting round in 80 shots. The Tenby pair lipped out on a few holes to aid their defeat and crowned it all by both three-putting the par three sixth. Another result for Trefloyne.
Things were looking gloomy and Stan needed to hear some good news. In breezed Jim Martin claiming that 'Smokey and the Bandit (himself)' had just managed to hold on to a one-hole lead on the final run in against Terry Harvey and Keith Warmington. What Jim omitted to tell him was that he had punched the air in delight at achieving his first win on the Trefloyne course.
In a match where all four players made the course look difficult, a number of holes were halved or even won in five or more. Jim and Des Stone won the first and, just like Bob, the game got away from them as they went two down after six. In a competitive match, they won holes 10, 11 and 12 to go two up and that was reduced to one on the 16th. Things were tight and tense as all four powered their way down the 18th. Des and Terry matched each other to earn a six each, while a determined Jim never found the fairway, but still matched Keith with a six, net five, to hold on to the lead.
Another smiler walking off the course was John Hancock. All the practice had paid off and the short game was back to normal. Add to that the skill of Peter Williams, and a match in which they gelled as a pair, John James and Wayne Connett were not going to have an easy ride.
John and Wayne opened up a two-hole lead and held on to it on the front nine. JBH and Peter then hit a purple patch and managed to edge into the lead and hold on to it, so that they were one up starting the 18th. They were fortunate enough to win the last and bring a smile to Stan's face. They were also full of praise for Wayne Connett - they reckon he is every bit as good as Mike Fox at jokes and stories, in fact he may even have the edge on him. (Now there's a challenge Mike!)
Talking of Mike Fox, he was out with Owen Monaghan and what a pairing this turned out to be. They opened up a three-hole lead, but their opposition, in the form of Dave Crowley and David Busby, were good enough to win two holes and reduce that to one after nine. In between jokes, Mike putted out on the 12th for par and followed that by winning the quarry hole in five. (Is that five balls or five shots?) Whatever, those two holes proved to be the turning point as the 'joker in the pack' woke up and decided to give Owen a hand. They managed to hold on to the lead to help broaden Stan's smile.
'I'm afraid we faded and fell behind,' said Ken Gouldsbrough and Brian Waters as they reminisced on their match. They were two up after two and let the lead slip, or, perhaps, had it wrested from them by Roger Cryer and Colin Jenkins. There must have been some indifferent play in this match, since a number of holes were won or halved with six or seven. After nine holes they were one down and never recovered. In fact, the match was concluded on the 15th when Roger played his bunker shot onto the green and into the hole.
Darryl Jones and Peter Scrivens watched Rod Clarke open his account with a long putt on the first to claim the opening hole. They hit back and then overtook Rod and Martin Neilan after winning the next two holes. It went downhill from there, according to Martin. He was playing with his new driver for the first time and liked the tinny, echoey sound it made every time he made contact. What he didn't like was watching Darryl out-drive him on most holes. 'He was very generous,' said Martin, 'he gave me all putts under three feet. He must have realised that I couldn't putt anything over three feet!' More practice is needed with the driver and the putter.
Jeff Banfield is now a fully fledged senior! He arrived at the course and apologised to the captain - he had left his change of clothing and his wallet at home and had to chase back after them. It's a good thing the team wasn't playing at Neath!
Fortunately he didn't leave his form behind as Glyn Jones and Richard Davies dubbed him and Allen Watts 'The big hitters.' Allen was hitting his ball so far he often ended up in the trees. 'The trouble was,' said Glyn, 'he kept finding them!' Allen didn't complain about the greens this week. Perhaps that was because he didn't always find them!
This pair went three up, but were pegged back to all-square as Glyn and Richard took full advantage of any shots they were allowed. The holes that made the difference were the par fives where distance off the tee counted and one of those was the 18th. By then the match was over.
Results: S. Hudson and T. Morris lost to T. Lewis and S. Jones 4 and 2; B. Morgan and N. Rimell lost to G. Harrison and S. Scanlon 2 and 1; D. Stone and J. Martin beat T. Harvey and K. Warmington 1 up; R. Chapman and B. Howse lost to P. Casement and D. Jones 4 and 3; J. Hancock and P. Williams beat J. James and W. Connett 2 up; J. Banfield and A. Watts beat G. Jones and R. Davies 2 and 1; K. Gouldsbrough and B. Waters lost to R. Cryer and C. Jenkins 4 and 3; M. Neilan and R. Clarke lost to D. Jones and P. Scrivener 3 and 2; O. Monaghan and M. Fox beat D. Crowley and D. Busby 4 and 2; G. Aston and A. Yates halved with J. Zeraschi and S. Mills.