The links at Ashburnham was the venue for this year’s Jeff Harries Bowl final. This is the Dyfed Golfing Union’s knock-out team competition which is entered by all the affiliated golf clubs within Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Jeff Harries, a stalwart of the Dyfed Golfing Union, and the current President of Wales Golf (previously the Golfing Union of Wales), inaugurated the competition in 2001. Carmarthen have been champions on most occasions.

Tenby faced their Division Two rivals Machynys. Neither had previously won the Jeff Harries Bowl and so there was always going to be a new name on the silverware. The format was greensome foursomes, with seven pairs in each team.

Although played in good spirit, the final was a bit of a grudge match. In the league at Machynys in May, Tenby were whitewashed 8-0, albeit they got revenge at home in September with a 6.5-1.5 win. Machynys topped Division Two, beating Tenby by the narrowest of margins i.e. 72 pts to 71 pts, despite Tenby winning two more matches.

The top game saw Tenby’s Gavin Scotcher and Graham More face Nick Davies and Andrew Lewis of Machynys. Gavin had beaten Nick a few weeks previously when claiming his first win in the league for Tenby. The game was all-square after eight holes, but the Tenby pair won the next three, including an eagle on the 10th hole. A solid par on the 15th secured a 4 and 3 win.

Unfortunately, Ben Childs and Andrew Cope did not enjoy their best afternoon on the course. They lost the first three holes and were four down after five. Machynys’ Geraint Hammond and Richard Williams were very solid throughout claiming a 5 and 4 victory.

Tenby’s father and son, Spencer and Jack Harries, were one down after 15 holes. However, they managed to par and win the last three for a crucial 2 up win against Dai Joel and Steve Williams.

The evergreen Steve Sutcliffe and the consistent Roger Schooling are a strong pairing. Although they were one down through eight holes, they then enjoyed an excellent run against Andrew ‘Chopper’ Harris and Dan Rees before closing out the game with a 4 and 3 win.

Richard Morton and late replacement Gary McNeilly proved to be a fine combination, although they did find themselves three down after six holes. Richard then began to regularly outdrive Dave Glover and Machynys skipper Wyn Lloyd, following which Gary found the heart of the greens. The Tenby duo took the lead for the very first time on the 18th green for a gritty 1 up win.

However, Tenby had actually just claimed the Jeff Harries Bowl with victory in the following game. Young Rhys Davies and his mentor Lee Lewis were two up after three holes against big Gavin Quinnell and stylish Mike John, but then faded and found themselves one down on the 15th tee. Rhys, wearing borrowed golf shoes, and Lee then proceeded to win three holes on the bounce and shook hands on the 17th green for a fine 2 and 1 win.

In the final rubber, Darren Thomas and Neil Thomas were up against Emyr Price and Graeme Alexander. This was another game which ebbed and flowed. Tenby were two up after seven then one down after 13 holes. However, the next four all went in Tenby’s favour which meant a 3 and 1 scalp for Darren and Neil.

Thus, the well contested final ended with a big win for Tenby by six games to one. Winning the Jeff Harries Bowl perhaps made 2018 honours even between Tenby and Machynys. As mentioned previously, the Llanelli side had already claimed the Division Two title.

Tenby’s victory exemplified the wonderful bond which exists throughout the squad. Arguably, the team in the final was weakened slightly with the absence of a few key players who were away on the Divots’ Tour. Nevertheless, there is strength and depth. Individually Tenby has some fine players, but collectively the team is stronger. This strength prevailed when the going got tough.

There is also a fantastic fighting spirit. In Sunday’s final, throughout the seven games, a total of 27 holes played from the 14th onwards, Tenby claimed 17 of these holes and lost just one of them. A magnificent achievement.

The Tenby side played 13 competitive matches this year in the league and Bowl, winning 11 and losing just two. No other club in Dyfed matched this record. An end of season celebration dinner will take place, albeit the date and venue have still to be arranged.