Seniors away to Aspley Guise April 23 2026

Ortganiser Warren Churms reports

It was a cold but sunny start which greeted the 16 travelling John O'Gaunt Seniors at the very picturesque Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands Golf Club. The objective was simple - play like we did at home and try to repeat an excellent win. Conceding 121 shots to 44, this was a challenging task.

So, donning sweaters until the temperature warmed up, the John O'Gaunt team lined up determined to focus on the job in hand. With a two-tee start, similar to our own at home, the 1st and 17th holes lay in wait.

Once again, as organiser, I paired the teams as closely as possible in handicap and managed to keep the same pairs as for the home game, by and large. My gratitude to Tony Thurgood and Tony Goodson for stepping in as subs.

Captain David Barlow set the ball rolling with a great drive down the first fairway, which helped secure a half against dangerous opponents who combined canny local knowledge with some huge drives of their own. The greens were hard and fast and the fairways cleverly sloped, so you had to be careful in picking your lines. This caught us out a couple of times but - in a very tight match - we managed to reach the turn all square after falling behind initially. The golf was very good with five birdies shared in these first nine holes.

With the signature 10th hole closed (we halved it in threes!), we moved ahead on 11th with a par before a long putt for a birdie by David on the 14th extended the lead. Another captain's par saw us go "dormie 3" on the 15th and we felt comfortable. Dangerous! Conceding a shot on the 16th, we lost to a nett birdie by their captain, John Morley, who was playing a lot better than he did at JOG. He then parred the 17th for us to go "dormie 1" and feel slightly nervous. On the 18th we all hit good tee shots but the Aspley team used their knowledge of the green to good advantage and just pipped us to halve the match. A fair result and friendships cemented in glorious sunshine.

In other news, Chris Saunders had a cracking round, conceding 20 and 26 shots to the opposition and going round in three-under par, including three birdies. Ably supported by Nigel Underwood, they managed to halve their match, despite the shots deficit - a fine result.

In the third match from the first tee, David McNair and Jack Shepherd once again found themselves in a tight match against the same pair they played at JOG. Three up with four to play, they once again found Mac McGregor from Aspley Guise in fine form when it mattered to scrape a half on 18th. Another close match with some excellent golf meaning the first three matches were halved.

Dave Wood and Terry Domagala kept up their burgeoning relationship with a fine 2-up victory. This pair dovetail very well and have a promising future together.

After a worrying start when their Aspley Guise opponents scored two birdies and a nett birdie in consecutive holes, Neil Pinnington and Steve Mathers turned on the after-burners to win 5&4. The same result as the home match - a fabulous performance.

Unfortunately, some very strong opposition performances scuppered us in the matches that started on the 17th tee. This was despite David Tamsitt starting with a birdie on the 17th. Three heavy defeats left the final score Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands GC 4½ John O'Gaunt GC 3½.

So credit must go to our opposition for their efforts in sneaking past us after we took the honours at home. The course was in fine condition and has some wonderful views. I think we probably struggled a little on the greens, as they were undulating and fast, giving a definite home advantage which proved crucial. This was exemplified by not a single JOG name appearing on the Nearest the Pin challenge! Is that a first?

After a few refreshments and furthering of friendships, Captains David Barlow and John Morley praised each team for a hard-fought tussle and the catering staff for a wonderful meal of roast pork followed by lemon meringue pie with raspberry coulis. This was a really good day out with an exceptionally friendly team who fought hard but fair to pip us on the day. I really look forward to doing it all again next year.

Thank you all for your efforts.

Individual Results

David Barlow and Warren Churms TIED
Chris Saunders and Nigel Underwood TIED
David McNair and Jack Shepherd TIED
Dave Wood and Terry Domagala WON 2up
Steve Mathers and Neil Pinnington WON 5&4
Algy Grimes and David Tamsitt LOST 5&3
Anthony Thurgood and Paul Life LOST 6&4
Trevor Darrington and Tony Goodson LOST 6&5

Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands GC 4½ John O'Gaunt GC 3½.