Captain Elect Steve Parker led the SGC team at Llanwern for the match against Gwent in a fixture we have not won since 2017. It being the day of the England-Argentina World Cup semi-final, the Somerset boys were hoping for two positive results. You know the England score – read on for the SGC result!
It was another hot and breezy day on a course that proved to be almost unplayable with several fairways baked white and sloping severely from side to side. Balls were rarely on the fairway being played, which made for some interesting conversations with groups in front and behind.
Steve Parker and partner Bill Bailey led the way in the first game, with Bill driving the par 4 first with the opening drive of the whole match. Despite this, the home team’s knowledge of the course and the greens gave them the upper hand, and Gwent Captain Jeff Childs and his partner Remo Basini ran out 3&2 winners.
Game 2 saw Phil Slater and Roger Gazzard take on Gwent Match Manager Rob Pilot and Robbie Williams. The Gwent boys were a pleasure to play with, but they dovetailed well and won comfortably as the Somerset pair found holding the greens to be tough. The match finished on the 16th with another 3&2 win for Gwent.
Rob Darvell and Nigel Phillips were out third with Rob giving plenty of shots. A very hard fought game saw the Somerset boys halve the match which was an excellent result.
In game four, Chris Hyldon and Colin Mantle were up against Neil Lewis and Mike Mahoney with Chris giving plenty of shots. Having both the present and a past Club captain was a pleasure for the Somerset pair and the Gwent team provided lots of helpful advice throughout the match. But the local knowledge the Gwent pair had proved to be the deciding factor in the last few holes and Gwent triumphed by a score of 4&2.
Steve Welch and Mark Tidcombe played Dilwyn Bull and Peter Ward in game 5 with their pretty even handicaps promising a close encounter. However, the Gwent pair were too strong for Steve and Mark and they ran out comfortable winners by 5&4.
John Shakesby and John Gray were receiving shots in their match against the 3 and a 5 handicap Gwent pair of Dai Faldo Jones and David Bailey. The Gwent pair were a pleasure to play with but with an impressive birdie on the first from Dai, it looked set to be a difficult day for the two Johns. However, the Somerset pair used their shots well over a run of 6 holes to swing the match in their favour, a lead that the Gwent pair could not rescue and the two Johns ran out winners by 3&2 – a great result.
George Davis and Rob Fear were out seventh with Nigel Morris and Adrian Witts. It proved to be a close match and on the par 3 18th tee it was all square. Then Adrian put his driver on the green and holed the putt for a birdie to win the match and the nearest the pin.
The final pair, Clive Stilwell and Graham Load, were up against Graham Burch and Mike Grace. Mike‘s buggy was well loaded with his clubs and drinks and the 26 shots that the Somerset pair had to give him! He proceeded to use his eight “two shot” holes expertly and the Somerset pair did very well to hold on to Gwent’ coat tails and stay in the match. Despite only being one down on the par four 17th, Clive and Graham could not match Mike’s 5 net 3 which sealed a 2&1 win for Gwent. It was an enjoyable game, with coordinated clothing, which ended a bit predictably!
So, another loss against Gwent which should not really have been much of a surprise. The food was excellent and Steve presented Jeff with the trophy, remarking that the engraving costs were beginning to add up for the Gwent Captains!
A hasty drive home followed, and the day ended with more disappointment when Argentina saw off an England team that, in the end, looked as well beaten as the golfers from Somerset!
By Clive Stilwell
