On a delightful spring day, with a clap of thunder thrown in, your scribe set about picking a team from his willing volunteers, However, the team picked itself as there were only 16 putting their hands up for the home match. I was also grateful to Eric and Alan for being last minute reserves.

Not all bad though, SBN receiving more than enough shots in each paring.

So to the matches:

Match1:    Captain Kevin and Dick Lumsden Won 3 + 2

After the early drubbing and losing the first three holes, CaptMarvel stepped up with all his authority to win the next four holes to take a slender lead at the turn.With wins on twelve and thirteen, the momentum carried to give a comfortable win. Our captain led by example today, carding 44 points. A true lightbulb moment.

Match 2:   Malcolm Norton and Alan Finlayson  Won 4 + 2

When asked to fill in for the injured Hatchy, Alan gave all the excuses why he shouldn’t play. 40 odd points later, he backtracked a bit. Our match was played against a couple of true gents from BVand giving shots away was never going to be easy and so it proved to be, we halved the first 6 holes and then we managed to break the ice and win one, 1 up at the turn.  After yet more halved holes, Malcolm managed a birdie on 14, followed by a par for Alan on 15. This was enough to cruise home for a well fought win.

Match 3:  Eric Fisher and Tony Reeves Lost 3 + 2

Eric was thrown in at the last minute to replace Sir Bob. Respect to Eric for doing this. The match couldn’t have started any worse for SBN, Mark from BV hit a fantastic drive down the first only to hole for eagle with his second shot. This sprung Eric and Tony into a fightback, winning holes 2 and 3. However, some great golf by the Brett Vale pair saw them turn at 2up. With all to play for, Tony had a magnificent birdie on 12 to start the fightback. Too little too late saw our intrepid pair lose to some great golfers from Brett Vale

Match 4 : Brian Roloff and Kevin Walsh Won 3 + 1

Kevin said their opponents were really friendly chaps but they had a job to do.After losing the first 2 holes our team from SbN found their putting boots and fought back.  It was a nip and tuck sort of game but a series of pars saw SBN win on the 17th green.

Match 5:  Mal Jones and Tony Denmead Won 5 + 4

As seems to be the way in these matches, they went 1 down after the 1st and they thought, here we go again. However, Mal had this idea to par the next few holes to take the turn at 3 up. The highlight was Mal’s 300 foot putt (not my words) on the 13th for a nett eagle. After shaking hands on the 14th and a loud clap of thunder, they headed in to enjoy a drink with their new buddies from Brett Vale

Match 6:   Richard Allen and Richard Middleton Won 3 + 2

After a sound front nine, our two tricky Dickies made the turn at 3 up. The lead swung between 2 and 3 and Brett were never really in it. The match finished on the 14th with everyone commenting on what an enjoyable game it was.

Match 7: Mick Henry and Graham Cork Lost 4 + 3

Our usual star forgot to bring his sombrero today but ably assisted by GCVC, we expected better things. The match went like many others today with BV roaring off to a 4 shot lead. A glimmer of light was seen when Mick parred a couple of holes, but the putting let our pair down and they were quickly back to 4 down. The Brett Vale pair putted their way to victory for what was a deserved win to our opponents.

Match 8: Ray Ludlam and Gordon Bryan Halved

Our final pairing was sent out with the expectation of a massive win, after all, they had the most shots today, playing against Nick from Brett off 3 handicap. All started well, with Gordon, who the opposition thought maybe a bandit, their words, parred a couple of holes to take a quick lead. Probably due to his poor back, it couldn’t be maintained and our pair slipped back to turn at the 9th all square. Brett Vale’s star player was the main difference to the match,he was on the fringe in 2 on the 2nd and 16th holes. Barry, his understudy was also a force to reckoned with and things were not looking good for us. After all of this negativity, Ray decided to wake up and after a nice bit of dovetailing, he halved 2 and won 1 of the next holes to take a very slender lead with only 5 holes to play. After a glimmer hope on the 14th, with Gordon halving the hole, Ray played Nicks ball by mistake and they conceded the hole. After halves won by Ray on the next two holes and their opponents both managing to put their balls out of bounds. Hands were shaken on the 17th for a well deserve half.

Many thanks to Malcolm  Norton for taking on the responsibilities of reporting on today’s match. Thanks Malcolm.

Team …………

     1st     Kevin Price (Captain) & Dick Lumsden

     2nd     Malcolm Norton (Reporter) & Alan Finlayson

     3rd    Eric Fisher & Tony Reeves

     4th     Brian Roloff & Kevin Walsh

     5th     Mal Jones & Tony Denmead

     6th     Richard Allen & Richard Middleton

     7th     Mick Henry & Graham Cork

     8th.    Ray Ludlam & Gordon Bryan