A sunny day with friendly opponents and the Gainsborough course playing well but the main interest is that Stoke won 8-0. Yes 8-0. A glorious victory. The team performance was stunning, brilliant, majestic and nearly unique. The celebrations were wild. The talk in the clubhouse centred round whether there had been a previous whitewash victory.

Kevin Price and Dave Seymour beat Rick Little and Ray Taylor 4 and 3

Dave forgot his manners and that it was a friendly match and over 6 consecutive holes scored the equivalent of 20 points. The opponents had no chance.   

Trevor Whitehouse and Lionel Hatch won 5 and 4 against Tony Plumpton and Alan Stuckey

I think Lionel must have written the report I was given because it states that he played well. Have to believe that Trevor also played a part in this resounding win.

Graham Cork and Kevin Walsh beat Dave Moseley and Steve Daniels 5 and 4

Benton Hall started well and so in desperation Graham tried to decapitate a Benton player. He missed but the tactic worked as Stoke then ran out as winners by a large margin.

Tony Emms and Tony Reeves won 1 up versus Andy Smith and Marc Robinson

I am not sure if this closely fought match was played on the golf course or as a sewing contest. It has been described as “nip and tuck” going to the last stitch.

Iain Gault and Barry Hitchcock beat Paul Richardson and Rod Johnstone 3 and 1  

There will be a humorous element to this match somewhere, but still looking

Peter Jay and Peter Hele won 2 & 1

Starting on the 18th both Peters were a tad concerned that both our opponents put their tee shots on the green, one with a shot ! After losing this hole the team were galvanised and played some very solid team golf, gently grinding down our opponents. Good company though.

Brian Roloff and Andy Higginson won 2 up against Ian Topp and George Pendley

The match seemed friendly and somehow Brian and Andy kept smiles on their faces as George, receiving 9 shots, holed longish putts on the second to fourth hole played in the match to secure halves and then put his second shot to 10 feet on the 4^th hole, stroke one. Incensed the Stoke pair fought back to achieve a win.  

Shikhar Chatrath and Bob Filer beat David Groghan and Derek Aukett 3 and 1

In his words Bob reports that he felt that he won twice, firstly the match and secondly surviving Shikhar (but only just)! The Benton players were also mesmerised and succumbed to a noble defeat.

Team ………..

1st     Kevin Price (Captain) & Dave Seymour

2nd    Trevor Waterhouse & Lionel Hatch

3rd    Graham Cork & Kevin Walsh

4th    Tony Emms & Tony Reeves

5th    Iain Gault & Barry Hitchcock

6th    Peter Hele & Peter Jay

7th    Andy Higginson (Reporter) & Brian Roloff

8th     Shikhar Chatrath & Bob Filer