Somerset crowned Four Counties kings down in Wiltshire!

Despite some faltering form after such a promising start to the 2024 campaign, Somerset Golf Captains traveled to Kingsdown Golf Club in Wiltshire to compete for the Four Counties Trophy in an optimistic mood.  This annual Inter-County competition is contested by teams from Wiltshire, Dorset, Berkshire and Somerset Captains with each County sending a team of six pairs to play a four ball better ball format.  The lowest pair’s score is discarded on the day and the best combined score from the remaining five pairs decides the overall result.

The Somerset team arrived at Kingsdown Golf Club near Bath full of expectation, despite the fact that recent 6 Counties Champions and current 4 Counties holders Dorset were again fielding a strong side in an effort to be double champions. Captain Mike geed up his troops with a positive team talk and a ‘come on Somerset’ rally cry!  The day started with the traditional bacon rolls with tea or coffee with the main topic of conversation being how wet everyone was expecting to get! However, the competitors were pleasantly surprised in that the weather did not prove to be anywhere near as bad as predicted, although there was intermittent rain and a strong wind blowing. The course was in fine shape although there had obviously been some recent fertiliser work on the greens as they were in fact blacks! A two tee start meant that all teams would return to the clubhouse in reasonable time of each other to enjoy a meal of jerk chicken thighs, rosemary potatoes and red cabbage slaw, followed by apple pie and ice cream. As soon as the meal had been finished Ian Armstrong announced the results with the prizes handed out by Wiltshire Captains of Captains Ian Vincent.

After being presented with the famous tea caddy and box of loose leaf tea Captain Mike thanked Wiltshire Captain Ian Vincent and organisers Ian Armstrong and Mike Bowes for a well run day. He also thanked all the staff at Kingsdown for the condition of the course and their efforts in keeping us fed and watered throughout the day. Finally, he thanked the Somerset team for a superb effort in securing the trophy before the customary team photo was taken.

The Somerset team and pairs scoring was as follows:

Andy Carter and Steve Butterfield – 27 points

Mike Rossiter and Rob Fear – 38 points

Paul Chesney and John Beer – 36 points

Dean Evans and Roy Parmiter – 35 points

Matt Lazenby and Murray Parsons – 37 points

Kevin Blakeley and Mark Moorfoot – 37 points

With Pair 1’s score being the one to be dropped, Somerset amassed a total of 183 points which was just enough to secure the trophy by one point from Berkshire’s total of 182 with the home team from Wiltshire only two points back on 180 and on form Dorset surprisingly finishing fourth on 178.  Only five points separated all four teams.

Congratulations to Captain of Captain Mike Rossiter and his team on a terrific result which, as you can imagine, was loudly cheered, and heartily celebrated by everyone in the Somerset team, especially our Captain of Captains.

Spot Prizes on the day were won by:

Nearest Pin 4 – Jim Donald from Wiltshire

Nearest Pin 14 – Matt Lazenby from Somerset

Nearest Pin 17 – Nick Wood from Berkshire

Best Front 9 – Mike Rossiter and Rob Fear from Somerset with 20 Points

Best Back 9 – Jim Allan, David Woodruffe from Dorset with 22 Points

Best Overall Pair – Paul Masters, Phil Bastain from Berkshire with 40 Points

Stephen Butterfield and Andy Carter weren’t at the races, after a bogey first it was downhill all the way!  Not many highlights from either side although the opposition were a lot steadier and scored consistently. Company was pleasant and the carts golf bag was a lot lighter with losing lots of balls early on!

Captain Mike and Rob Fear got off to a flier, 6 points after 2 holes. Rob had the advantage of being a member for several years, and played very consistent golf.  Mike being a course virgin took a while to acclimatise.  38 points seemed a low score, but  it proved to be above average. v20 on the front 9 won the pair some nice whiskeys, Happy Days.

Somerset treasurer Paul Chesney and past Captain of Captains and former secretary John Beer were paired up with Darren Gatwood and Brian Aldridge. Paul’s excitement at being paired up with an Archer’s legend was quickly dispelled as Brian’s broad Scottish brogue gave it away, neither did he look anything like his namesake! Mainly due to recent fertiliser treatment, the four players found the greens difficult to read and judge the pace of, but enjoyed each other’s company immensely.  Their scores were very close after nine holes with the Somerset pair on 17 points, one ahead of their rivals. As with the front nine, birdies remained elusive on the back nine and our intrepid boys were edging further ahead. However, a stunning finish from the Berkshire pair of four consecutive three pointers which included two birdies from Darren at 17 and 18, saw them claw back to equal Paul and John’s score of 36, thus beating them on the back nine. With chat around the clubhouse afterwards, our two chaps were ruing missed opportunities as they were convinced that Berkshire may have claimed overall. victory.

Four Counties 2024

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