Match 1 Robins &Hatch - Won 5&4

Spawney old Bas—-d “ was a term used more than once as our Captain Pete and Lionel won their match 5&4.

Pete the “Spawney “one holed from distance and to gimme length and Lionel felt embarrassed for the first time in his life. Poor old Peter from Braintree couldn’t hole a putt until it was all over.

A really good game played in typical Seniors fashion that could have finished a lot closer

Match 2 Boyland & Simpson - Lost 5&4

Tough gig this one. Two in form Braintree players proved a difficult task in this match. Never in front sbn always chasing the match. There were some highlights Simpson sinking some great putts and at one stage threatened to run both Braintree players over with his golf buggy. Match played in good spirit?

Match 3 Davies & Williams - Lost 3&2

The golfing God previously known as John Williams and his weedy partner, managed to bash it around the course in gross 4 over par  unfortunately to no avail as they were done down by the dodgy Braintree handicaps of Sam and Wee Davie.

 Our gallant boys lost 3/2, but were they downhearted?

Yes!

Match 4 - Beckinsale & Price - Won 1 up

Some early exchanges saw the hosts go 2 up at the 4th. This was countered by the guests winning 5 & 6. A birdie on 8 saw the opposition go ahead for the first time, however, good use of Adrian’s shots saw the hosts go back to 1 up at the 10th, much to the annoyance of Tony! Another birdie at 11 levelled the match. Kevin played the last 7 holes strongly and the match was conceded on 18.

Match 5 Jardine & Parkinson - Won 1up

JP and JJ had a very enjoyable match played in a great spirit. After losing the first they raced to three up at the turn. This was extended to 4 up with 4 to play. At that stage the higher handicapper for Braintree made par at the last four holes with shots. Thankfully a chip to gimme for a par for JJ and a superb birdie for JP at the 18th secured a one up victory. Apart from some very hard bunkers the course was in great condition and our guests were very complimentary.

Match 6 Jay/Ling - Lost 2&1

A very tight match with the lead switching from one pair to the other over the opening 16 holes with never more than one hole in throughout. Teeing off on the 15th one hole up the Stoke team clearly started to smell the beer a little too early, losing 3 of the remaining holes to lose by 2 holes. A great match

Match 7 Filer & Middleton - Won 5&3

Not a lot to say really. We won the first 2 holes then maintained that lead until the 12th when we increased that and on the next 2 to win 5& 3. On the 6th my tee shot hit the marker post full on , the ball bouncing back 30 yards. Our opponents took pity on me and told me to retake the shot without penalty !! A friendly match all round.

Match 8 Perry & Emms - Lost 3&1

We had a close match with neither side ever more than a hole or two ahead. Notable play from us was Jonathan's birdies on the 11th and 13th.  Our opponents played very consistently and took the match 3 &1 on the 17th after some poor approach play from the SbN team”

Many thanks to Phil Boyland for producing the report of the Braintree match - thanks Phil.