Seniors away to Saffron Walden, May 17, 2023

Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean with organiser Michael Newstead. Audley End is in the distance

Match report by Michael Newstead

Crossing the M11 on my own uneventful journey to Saffron Walden, (I used the A505), I saw that traffic coming from the north was backed up as far as the eye could see and thought to myself, this could cause trouble.    Almost on cue the phone rang and, being of the generation when the only phones in cars were in American cop tv shows, (who remembers Starsky and Hutch?), I am always slightly surprised when that happens!   Sure enough, Chris Roy was calling to tell me he was stuck, not moving about ½ mile from the A505 junction!

 A little while later, as I was working out what we could do if Chris (and others), were going to be late for the muster and teeing off, the phone rang again and Chris told me a police car had just sped down the hard shoulder and traffic was now moving as if by magic and that he was back on time.

 However, I digress as this epistle is all about the match.

 We were at Saffron Walden, a wonderfully manicured course with magnificent views of the surrounding countryside, the town of Saffron Walden and of course, overlooking Audley End House, which is just visible in the background of the picture taken of your Captain and yours truly on the par three 5^th hole.

 First out, we had a great game and were 4 up after the front nine.   Our opponents came back at us, but we held on to win 3 and 2.

 The next task was to wait in the clubhouse as the other groups finished and the scores came in, and the John O’Gaunt boys did their Captain proud as can be seen from the following scoreline.

 

Games Results:

Jonathan Lean/Michael Newstead – Win 3/2

David Price/Neil Pinnington – Win 2 up

Jim Kerr/Paul Jones – Win 3/2

Paul Hammond/Chris Roy – Lose 5/4

Chris Dennis/Derek Young – Half

Nigel Underwood/Richard Westergreen-Thorne – Lose 3/1

Andy Shilton/Colin Newbury – Win 1 up

Richard Herbert/Trevor Darrington – Lose 3/2

 

Result – Win for John O’Gaunt 4.5/3.5

 

It would be remiss of me not to mention a special commendation for Andy Shilton and Colin Newbury who really were playing against the odds, giving away 14 and 10 shots respectively.   Starting on the 17^th  they were soon under the cosh.  Their 14 shot Saffron Walden opponent parred the 18^th, almost birdying it (with a shot).  He then proceeded to par the fourth knocking in a 40+ footer and the 5^th with an even longer putt,  all with a shot!   Consequently our pair were 3 down after seven holes.  However, lady luck was definitely shining on Andy and Colin, as the battery on this gentleman’s buggy went flat and (sadly) he couldn’t play on, so despite giving away 10 shots to the other player who used his shots well, they eventually clawed the lead back, with wins on the fifteen and sixteen holes giving them a final score of 1 up.

 The clubhouse at Saffron Walden is a delightful place to eat and we enjoyed a well cooked and well presented two-course meal, followed by the two Captains announcing the results, telling the obligatory jokes and the teams toasting each other

 This year then John O’Gaunt has beaten Saffron both at home and on their turf, congratulation to all who took part in the matches.