Seniors' Captain David Barlow, Organiser Warren Churms and opponents John Morley and Martin Taylor
Organiser Warren Churms reports on JOG Seniors' home match against Aspley Guise
On a cold, dull but still morning, 16 intrepid Senior golfers from John O'Gaunt faced a Herculean task against Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands GC, conceding 119 shots to 40, once the "scratch golfers" had been selected in each game.
As Organiser, my theory was that we should try to keep our pairs as close in handicap as possible to put the opposition under some pressure and hope that the challenging JOG course would intimidate the away side. I think this worked pretty well and there were some magnificent performances.
Captain David Barlow and yours truly started the morning's matches against a strong pairing and we had a very tight game, halving the first six holes with some "clutch" putts before things started to turn in our direction. With some excellent dovetailing and helped by two successive birdies on the front nine and another on the 12th, we managed to pull away and reach the 15th 4-up before settling the match 5&3 with a rather fortunate birdie when my approach from the woods dropped in off the flagstick - they all count! This was met with a big man-hug from our captain - I won't wash for a week!
This great start was followed by a superb 2&1 win for Chris Saunders and Nigel Underwood, who won the 17th, following a long downhill putt from their opponents on 16th which pegged them back to 1-up. A great effort - Chris conceding 14 and 20 shots to the opposition.
As a late replacement for Algy Grimes, Paul Jones made hay with an approximate 85 gross, 63 nett and combining well with David Tamsitt, who chipped in on the 8th for a birdie, they enjoyed a comfortable 5&4 victory. Things were looking good!
A quick note of congratulations for Algy here, too, as he became a grandad for the first time overnight!
Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands fought back against some wonderful golf from David McNair and Jack Shepherd, grabbing a nett birdie on the last to tie the match. At one stage David and Jack were 4-up but they were conceding a lot of shots and this was a critical result.
After his bad fall before Christmas, I was concerned for Neil Pinnington's well-being in the pressure-cooker environment of match play on "The Gaunt". Particularly when he told me recently that he was managing to play well for 14 or 15 holes before flaking out! There was only one solution, which was to win before the 15th - which Neil and his partner, Steve Mathers, duly did by 5&4. What a performance! This gave me the comforting knowledge that we were going to win the game, with three matches still to finish.
Paul Life and Martyn Graham were pipped 2&1 - but not before Martyn won the Nearest the Pin competition on the 16th with a magnificent shot. All four players held their breath as the ball landed on the green, trickled up to the hole.....and stopped a few inches short. Phew!
Dave Wood and Terry Domagala proved an excellent partnership to give us our fifth outright win by 2&1 in a tight contest before Trevor Darrington and debutant Daniel Emkes gave Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands a reason to smile with a 4&3 defeat in the last match. A valiant effort against steady opposition. Daniel - welcome to the Senior representative matches, hopefully you enjoyed your outing and are ready to try and turn the tables in the return match!
After the game, everyone settled into the bar after freshening up and enjoyed the hospitality of JOG's superb F&B team. Many tales of woe and fortune could be heard but the home team were in particularly good spirits after all their plans had come together against formidable opponents. At the sound of the dinner bell we made our way to the Burgoyne Suite where we were served with half a pig each, Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes and veg - or so it seemed. A magnificent spread, including the biggest pork loin ever! This was followed by a delicious chocolate brownie with fudge ice cream and caramel sauce.
Captain's David Barlow and John Morley from Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands then paid tribute to the teams and everyone involved in ensuring the match and meal went smoothly. It was then left to John Morley to announce the result - a resounding 5½ - 2½ victory for John O'Gaunt.
They will be "after us" in the return on 23rd April!
Full results:
David Barlow and Warren Churms WON 5&3
Chris Saunders and Nigel Underwood WON 2&1
David McNair and Jack Shepherd TIED
Dave Wood and Terry Domagala WON 2&1
Steve Mathers and Neil Pinnington WON 5&4
Paul Jones and David Tamsitt WON 4&3
Paul Life and Martyn Graham LOST 2&1
Trevor Darrington and Daniel Emkes LOST 4&3
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