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Wessex vs London & Home Counties

A team of Wessex Members headed north up the M3 to Fulwell Golf Club to lock horns with colleagues from the London & Home Counties region in the annual 12 a side 4BBB match.

After a late morning breakfast Chris Huggins shared his team pairings clearly with an eye on taking back ownership of the crystal decanter which L & HC have held for the past 2 years.

First on the tee were Andy Beal and Andy Rideout, both giving shots to their opponents. This turned out to be a tight one going the distance but the two Andy’s proving just too strong with a 1 up win for Wessex.

Second off were the two Chris’s – Huggins and Tyrrell with the latter apparently having played for L & HC and against them for other regions in the past. Once again another tight one going the distance, finishing with a halved match. L & HC 1/5 Wessex 1 1/5 .

Third pairings were the boys who had just returned from a weekend in Valencia, Messrs Dennis and Healy (there must be joke there?), pitched against the strongest L & HC pair judging by the handicaps. This proved to be the case as L & HC raced ahead sealing an 8 & 7 win. Overall scores tied at 1 1/5 each.

Fourth on the tea were Alastair Baldwin and Kevin Eden, matched against another strong L & HC pair. Taking full advantage of their shots this one also went to the 18th but once again the Wessex pair reigned supreme with a 1 up win. L & HC 1 1/5 Wessex 2 1/5.

Fifth pairing saw late substitute Peter Grimes and Mike Allen on the tee, regularly paired together historically they had a winning streak to defend but the L & HC opponents looked strong on paper. Peter, recovering from eye surgery hadn’t played for some time and Mike a regular in the Wessex prizes gave their best but the strength of their opponents shone through with a 3 & 2 win for L & HC. All tied on 2 1/5!

Bringing up the tail were current and past RM’s Alex Taylor and Ken Dooks up against a 3 handicapper and the only lady in the teams. The pair dovetailed well with Ken having a strong front 9, the teams A/S at the turn then Alex coming through on the back 9. Wessex went 2 up after 13 but were pegged back to 1 after 15. With 3 holes to play it could go either way, a half on the 16th still meant it was in the balance. Then a Wessex win on the 17th sealed a 2 & 1 win. Final score L & HC 2 1/2 Wessex 3 1/2.

Dinner on the patio was followed by the speeches and presentation, Chris Huggins accepting the Decanter from his L & HC counterpart. A thoroughly enjoyable day with a spectacular tight course on the flight path from Heathrow (a plane spotters paradise). Thanks go to Fulwell GC for hosting the event and to all the players that took time out of their busy schedules, hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves irrespective of the score.