Tony Lloyd and Michael Newstead with Saffron Walden's Peter Warren and Gerrard Murphy
Organiser Michael Newstead reports
The weather forecast the previous day had been grim with storms, thunder and lightning threatened. As I drove to Saffron Walden, I gazed morosely out of the car window, the sky dark and threatening and thought to myself, we are going to get wet. However, more about the weather later.
Following the customary greeting, the announcement of pairings and the other administrative details it was off to the 1st and 17th tees for the game to begin. First away off the first tee was the two team captains and the two organisers and something very strange occurred! All four sent their drives soaring down the fairway, straight and true, as I said, highly unusual. Second shots sent towards the green had mixed results, as did the score on that first hole, which JOG won with a birdie 3.
(Editor's note: Michael is too modest to report that the birdie was his)
JOG was able to maintain their advantage through holes 2 and 3, with ties on each, but lost hole 4, making it all square. Holes 5 and 6 were a tie and a loss respectively, but a JOG win on 7 again equalized. A loss on hole 9 meant JOG went into the back 9 one hole down. After ties on 10, 11 and 12, Saffron Waldon increased their lead to 2 with a win on 13. Hole 14 went to JOG, then 15 and 16 were tied. Anyone out there good at maths will now see that Saffron Walden have surged ahead by 1 hole and we were coming to the end of the match. Something had to be done! Taking courage in both hands, the JOG team delivered a win on the 17th.
Nerves jangling, none of the 4 found the green on the 18th, which to those of you not familiar with Saffron Walden, is a downhill 158-yard par three, protected by bunkers to the left and right and with a viciously sloping green. At this point, our gallant captain for the day, Tony Lloyd, who it is fair to say had not had the best round of his life, showed magnificent leadership in a crisis. His ball having found the left-hand bunker was sent to within 2 feet of the pin, a truly magnificent shot and he made the par putt, handing JOG victory by one hole.
In the clubhouse, sitting waiting for the scores to come in things were looking good for JOG. That first win was followed by a Saffron Walden win and then two tied scores. Four matches recorded and all square. Back to speaking about the weather, which throughout our match had been lovely. However, the skies now opened, and rain was coming down in buckets as the remainder of the troops completed their games and as the weather worsened so did the scores for JOG, who sadly lost the remaining 4 games.
One person who did have a good day was Rob Ebsworth, mentioned in dispatches for winning the nearest the pin bottle of wine.
Saffron Walden is a magnificent golf course with fantastic views over the surrounding countryside and we were treated extremely well by both the Saffron Walden team and the meal and service provided by the club was excellent.
Individual results:
Tony Lloyd and Michael Newstead: Won 1 up
Paul Life and Neil Pinnington: Lost 3&2
Steve Mathers and Steve Collins: Halved
Derek Young and Gavin Little: Halved
Andy Brown and Richard Herbert: Lost 3&1
Rob Ebsworth and Alban Macdonald: Lost 1 down
Mark Ellis and Michael Bonwick: Lost 2&1
Algy Grimes and Chris Saunders: Lost 3&2
Overall result: Lost 6-2
Saffron Walden's iconic par 3 5th hole with Audley End House in the background
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