Special report by Seniors’ Captain Jonathan Lean
Whatever happened to summer?!! It was on a decidedly cool and cloudy morning that the teams met up to do battle on the Carthagena course. The notoriously cold 1st tee did not encourage hanging around!
The match was played in excellent spirits but with determination on both sides, particularly from your Captain Jonathan who was trying to preserve his unbeaten record in matches so far this year. Jonathan was ably assisted by Ken Brewer who stood in to play at the last minute for Peter Wade the organiser. Peter still managed to complete the organisation by turning up early in the morning to complete the cards and make sure everything was running smoothly.
The course was in beautiful condition and the fast greens had some of the opponents fooled until they got used to them. Jonathan and Ken were first out against the Millbrook captain and his partner. The match was closely fought with JOG going 2 up by the 9th but were pulled back to level by the 13th. Millbrook then got their noses in front and eventually stayed there, winning 2 up on the last.
There will now be an official period of mourning for the demise of the captain’s unbeaten record!
As the other results came in, we could see that we were in for a struggle as the first 3 results all went to Millbrook. David McNair and Jack Shepherd gave 15 shots to their opponents who played far better than their handicaps with Millbrook winning 8 and 6. Oz Osman and Nick Schumann were just pipped at the post losing by 1 up. Keith Howlett and Tony Goodson stopped the rot with a hard-earned win 1 up. Keith reported that they were never up in the match until the last putt on the last hole!
This win was followed by good wins by Nick Seeley and Andy Shilton 1 up and by Colin Newbury and Jed Isbell 2 and 1. The match was poised at
3 all and the tension was mounting!
Michael Newstead and Terry Domagala succumbed to a 3 and 2 loss, so it was all down to the last match. Steve Luckman and Trevor Darrington held their nerve to win 2 and 1 so the match overall was halved 4 all. With JOG giving away a total of 42 shots to Millbrook this was a creditable result.
An excellent meal of pork chop and vegetables followed by sticky toffee pudding and custard rounded off an excellent day. Even the captain’s joke raised a laugh!
Captain Jonathan had some compensation for the end of his unbeaten run by winning the Nearest the Pin on the fiendishly difficult 8th!
As a footnote, one of the Millbrook team, Fred Anstey, sported long white hair and a white bushy beard. A few good-natured comments about Father Christmas resulted in his confirming that he performs this function every year and earns enough over the Christmas period to tide him for the rest of the year. (See pictures below) A jolly character in more ways than one.
We look forward to travelling to Millbrook in September. Fit players only as it is very hilly!
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