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BUNGS Tour 2005 - Llandudno
1st, 2nd & 3rd July 2005

The weekend tour for the 2005 season took us to Llandudno where we played three excellent courses, North Wales, Llandudno (Maesdu) and Conwy (Caernarvonshire) golf clubs. As usual, we were split into two teams and played a 'ryder cup' style match.

The teams and results for the weekend were as follows.

Captain's
Black team
Current H'cap   Challenger's
Blue Team
Current H'cap  
Tim Thacker, capt 14   Ivan Heathcote, capt 16  
Adam Thompson 5   Graham Bilsland 4  
Howard Holliday 6   John Newton 6  
Steve Lloyd 6   Ian Talboys 8  
John Shaw 6   Adrian Marchant 12  
Martyn Dodwell 8   James Shipman 12  
Karl Hughes 12   Andy Smith 13  
John Bayliss 15   Bobby Ho 14  
Anthony Jackson 18   Paul Weston 14  
Mike Fox 19   Paul Herrmann 17  
Neil Smith 21   Gordon Sullivan 23  
Darren Weston 21   Barry Whitmore 24  
Jamie Moore 22   Brian Keates 27  
Graeme Black 23   Graham Adams 28  
Alan Tolley 24   John Mansell 28  

Thursday 30th June

After a comfortable trip, Graham Adams arrived from Barton-under-Needwood, Brian Keates navigating. Worst part of the journey was when they finally arrived in Llandudno: it took 3 laps of the town centre before the rear entrance to the Hotel was found!!!

Half of the assembled Society dined at the Emperor Chinese Restaurant, with the rest preferring an Indian nearby. Rejoining at the Hotel bar, a “Card School”, playing 3-Card Brag, was convened at about 10.45pm. John Bayliss, the Weston Brothers and the Grahams, Bilsland and Adams, began this friendly pastime and before long the “pot” grew. As the hands progressed so bigger the “pots” occasionally got, including at one stage an invitation by Graham Bilsland for Adams to throw the keys to his “Cortina” (complete with furry dice) into the pot! Each winner of these larger “pots” was immediately told “Right then, that must be your round!” Inevitably, all concerned eventually staggered to bed at about 01.20am COMPLETELY wrecked!

Friday 1stJuly 2005 - morning
North Wales Golf Club
1 x singles match (over 14 holes)
7 x foursome-greensome matches (over 14 holes)

Only a short drive from the hotel lay North Wales Golf Club. On the day of our visit it was covered by overcast skies, although the wind was fairly light. After a quick photograph of the assembled players the serious business of the day began.

A board by the side of the 1st tee informs all that the hole MUST be played as a dogleg. 30 foot high netting reinforces this and so to begin the golfer must play a shot of at least 170yds before turning 90degrees left for his 2nd shot to approach the green. This first effort caused much amusement as many fell foul of the netting, and others managed to clear it, causing unknown damage to the council houses beyond.

The feeling of getting used to a Links course again was interrupted after only 2 holes, as holes 3 –7 seemed more of the Parkland variety. Normality was restored on the 8th, a wonderful 377yd par 4. With only an aiming pole as a guide, the golfer fires his tee-shot into the unknown. The fairway ripples towards the green with differences of perhaps 20 feet between the highest and lowest points at which the second shot is struck. The green slopes back right to bottom left giving some interesting putts.

From here the holes run all along the shoreline until forced to turn sharp right on reaching “Hades”, the cracking 176-yard par three 13th.

The 14th green is by the Clubhouse, and so there is almost a feeling of beginning again as you tee off on the 15th, and start the final loop to 18, which is also, perhaps, the most interesting and celebrated part of the course.

Approaching to the 15th green the holes become lost in a dunescape, as this green is in a bowl of a dune. Climb out of this to the 16th tee and you will see the next green (“O.L.”, 141yds, par 3) down in another bowl. This is succeeded by “L.O.” (113yds, par 3) coming back over yet more dunes. Finally, the 18th runs along the extreme boundary of the course to end with a green by the car park.

Jamie Moore

beat John Mansell 4/3
John’s infamous nocturnal snoring exploits may have kept Graham Bilsland awake all night but it was no preparation for a fiery Jamie Moore who got his weekend off to an excellent start with some solid play throughout. Having played reasonably consistent golf at BUNGS events this year so far, Jamie proved to be too much of a match for John’s ‘army golf’. Indeed, it was rumoured that John had turned up for the weekend with 25 different putters – just in case! As the weekend wore on John would be investing heavily in yet another putter but would it do the trick – read on to find out.

Howard Holliday & Mike Fox

half

Bobby Ho & Ian Talboys a/s
A close match (and the weekend itself, for anyone standing nearby) was almost over with the opening tee shot, when Bobby’s beautifully struck iron shot hit the fence alongside the 1st tee, went backwards and came close to holing out on the final green (14th). Even by his own ‘magical’ standards this was Bobby at his most inspirational! Steady, if unspectacular golf after that saw the Blue pair 2up after 9 holes, however, a combination of poor play by the Blue’s and solid golf from the Black team, saw the latter 1up playing the last. The Blue team battled back gamely though to share the spoils by winning the final hole.
James Shipman & Andy Smith beat Graeme Black & Neil Smith 2/1
Quite a close match in the early stages. Black team went 1 up at the first after Graeme hit an excellent iron shot which hit the bank at the back of the green and rolled to within 6 feet. It remained a close affair until the long, uphill 5th - James putting Blue team a mere 60 yards short of the green in 2, with the Black pair struggling after finding a fairway bunker with their second shot and only just managing to escape the sand with their third shot. With the advantage however, Blues still somehow conspired to lose the hole after Smithy thinned a wedge through the back of the green and into some deep cabbage! James then proceeded to bury the ball even deeper with his attempt and on it went …. Despite their good fortune things went downhill for Blacks after that as they struggled to match the quality of the opposition’s shot making. They were also struggling to find one of Graemes tee shots to use (by the 6th tee they hadn’t used one). Indeed, when Neil topped his tee shot at the 6th and Graeme then proceeded to top his even further the tone for the rest of the round was set. There was some momentary excitement for the Black team on the 8th when the opposition put a sleeve of balls onto the railway line. Graeme did manage to hit some fantastic tee shots over the final holes when the pressure was on to get his ‘ quota’ of drives in but the opposition proved to be too good. Mind you, Andy did manage to frustrate his playing partner later in the round by insisting that James’ drive was taken, both of them having taken the specified number by this time, but then proceeding to play his approach shots into trouble. Andy’s reasoning behind this strategy was that he wasn’t hitting his irons well and wanted some practise! A furious James was overheard at one stage fuming “we’ve got a bloody match to win here you know!”
Ivan Heathcote & Paul Herrmann beat John Shaw & Adam Thompson 5/3
As the scoreline suggests this was an absolute ‘massacre’ (your words, John). Black team found themselves 4 down after just 5 holes and never really recovered. In Adam’s own words he didn’t turn up for the first 7 holes, (even topping an approach to the 2nd hole a mere 10 yards!). It’s no use blaming it on the Stella Artois from the night before either as we’ve heard that Adam’s partner was only marginally better. For Blues, Paul in particular played some excellent golf sinking 4 or 5 significant 6- footers but Blacks at least managed to avoid shaking hands until the 11th green which was not a bad achievement given how badly they played. Ivan & Paul combined so well as a team however, that they may well have won anyway even if the Black pairing had been on their game.
Tim Thacker & Steve Lloyd beat Barry Whitmore & Paul Weston 3/1
The match got off to a bright start with all players hitting good tee-shots at the dogleg first. Paul chose to hit Barry’s drive but the previous night’s alcohol and curry must have left him slightly dazed as he hit a magnificent second shot, unfortunately to the 12th green by mistake. Two shots later and with Steve and Tim putting for birdie, it was 1up to the Black team, soon to be 2up as Steve hit his best drive of the tour miles down the second, with Tim putting a 9 iron stiff for birdie three. The third also went to the Black team with Steve chipping stiff from just off the green for par and a rout looked on the cards. However, a 20 footer at the fourth from Paul for a nett birdie reduced the deficit to 2up. A half in nett par at five was followed by another win for Steve and Tim at the sixth after Paul’s chip from off the green stopped just short of the hole. The first dropped shot of the round for the Black’s came at the 7th after a three-putt but the Blue’s couldn’t capitalise and it was halved in bogey six. A hole was pulled back at the 8th after a good chip from Barry with Paul holing the putt for a nett birdie; however, this was given away with a bogey 5 at the ninth. 3up with five to play put the black’s in a commanding position but another three putt at the eleventh cut the lead but a great par at the stroke index 1 eleventh made the match dormie three. A par was enough to win the twelfth for Barry and Paul to reduce the deficit after Steve thinned his sand iron second, but he made amends at the wonderful par three 13th, putting a six iron to the back of the green. Two putts were enough to secure a 3/1 victory and a first point for the Black team captain.
John Bayliss & Anthony Jackson half Brian Keates & Gordon Sullivan a/s
It was a case of the Keystone Kops at the first. Anthony hitting his drive toward the sheds on the right and John hitting the fence on the left. That was where the fun started - while the others were looking for golf balls Anthony walked toward his and before John could stop him, Jacko proceeded to play his second shot toward the green. (Anthony – foursomes means you play ‘alternative’ shots – OK?). Blacks were immediately 1 down but it turned out to be a cracking match eventually finishing all square, one of the highlights being a brilliant 7-wood from John at the par 3 13th to level it and with the Blue team having to take 3 off the tee at the last they still managed a nett birdie with their second ball and the match was halved.
Karl Hughes & Martyn Dodwell beat Graham Adams & Adrian Marchant 6/4
One or two of this foursome arrived at the course still suffering from the previous nights exploits. Adrian’s opening tee shot started out as a ‘power draw’ but promptly ended up in the children’s playground behind the fence designed to protect the adjoining houses. Not to be outdone, Graham then sent his 3-wood, courtesy of a high hook into the middle of the neighbouring estate! Karl and Martin (by this time sitting on the fence next to the tee) nearly died laughing as the disappearing shot was followed by a loud “CLANG” as the ball hit something large and metallic (clearly not a local dog!). Needless to say, the Blues lost the opening hole and promptly lost the 2nd as well but at the 3rd they finally got it together, with a battling 5-nett-4 against the Black team’s bogey. The pattern had been set though, and at the turn the Black pair found themselves 5up. The Blue pairing were struggling to combine their talents (or in Graham’s case, ‘lack of’) and they could only manage to scrape 4 halved holes in a dismal display, the match ending on the 10th in a 6&4 defeat.
Darren Weston & Alan Tolley half Graham Bilsland & John Newton a/s
The last group to tee off in the morning started as a threesome (no mention of this format in the R & A’s new Rule Book!) – John Newton had been due to fly in to Manchester Airport at around 9am straight from his holiday in the US. Discussion had ensued as to whether John would make it to the 1st tee on time or not and the general consensus was that he had “absolutely no ****ing chance”. So, Darren and Alan prepared to face Graham on his own – Darren hitting the opening tee shot for Blacks and Graham finding the right side of the fairway with his effort. After Alan had punched a mid-rescue to the front edge Graham was just about to play his second shot when a small figure was observed in the distance waving its arms about its head and gesticulating furiously. Had Steve managed to pay all the green fees or was it someone from the neighbouring estate coming round to complain about the number of ‘stray’ golf balls which had landed in their garden during the previous 45 minutes? As the approaching figure drew nearer it quickly became apparent that it was indeed Graham’s partner John who had no doubt raced along the A55 at a steady 100 mph to be there on time. Despite him having not been on the tee at the appointed time Darren and Alan immediately (and magnanimously) offered to wait for John to catch up. Graham’s response, on the other hand was to utter the response, “Ignore him” (so much for teamwork, eh?) and then proceed to play his second shot to the left side of the green. By the time John had gone back to the car to grab his clubs the Blacks were already 1 up after Darren chipped to within 3 feet for Alan to roll in the putt for an opening par 4. John looked extremely flustered (not to say jet-lagged) when he finally arrived on the 2nd tee but then proceeded to hit his drive 250 yards straight down the middle! Blacks regained the lead at the next after Graham and John had both carved their tee shots into the ‘hay’ on the right side of the fairway and neither ball could be found. It was nip and tuck for the next few holes before John and Graham played the 8th like 28-handicappers and Blacks were suddenly 2up. By the time the match came to the par 3 13th Blacks were 2up with 2 to play and with a half point guaranteed the tee shots from both teams found the fringe surrounding the green. A chip and 2 putts from Blacks and the Blue pair would have had to hole theirs to stay in it but a fluffed chip from Darren followed by a careless putt from Alan which raced past the hole meant a 5 and so Blues were only 1 down playing the last. With Darren and Alan ‘s drives finding the rough in the bank on the right the Blue team put their tee shots straight down the middle. With the pressure beginning to tell Blacks just about ran out of steam and a gross 5 was enough to seal a half for Blues and a decent comeback after looking down and out.

 

Friday 1stJuly 2005 - afternoon
North Wales Golf Club
1 x singles match (over 18 holes)
7 x fourball-betterball matches (over 18 holes)

John Shaw

beat Andy Smith 3/2
Despite the closeness of the score this was a match in which John only had to keep the ball in play to win comfortably. Andy’s notoriously (in)accurate driving was the key factor in gifting John three holes in succession after last year’s Captain had gone 1up early doors. By the turn John had a 2 hole advantage but with Andy having shots on both the 10th and 11th, net 4’s were good enough to bring the match back to all square. By the time the match arrived at the 15th tee John had a slender 1 hole advantage and after Andy had pulled his approach to the green, a scream of FORE warned the local members that their position, stood as they were on the 16th tee, was directly in line with Andy’s fast approaching ball. The frantic waving of one elderly member suggested he wasn’t too happy but fortunately the ball came up short in the long rough on the edge of the bank. As John approached to try and apologise he was gobsmacked when the elderly member said “I’ve put the ball on the edge of the tee mate, it was buried in the deep rough and you’d have never have found it!” After John had explained, (in his diplomatic manner of course), that a match was being played, the member then proceeded to place the back deep into the rough with the comment “it finished about there then”, screwing the ball deep into the undergrowth as he did so. Despite Andy’s protestations that the ball should have been played “as it lay” on the crisp clean tee box, John’s insistence that a drop at the nearest point due to interference by an outside agency was the right course of action. (Come on Andy, read the rules next time, mate!) Needless to say, after that John cruised to victory.

Neil Smith & Adam Thompson

beat

Paul Herrmann & Gordon Sullivan 1up
Adam’s performance (or non-performance) in the morning session was one of his worst ever, so he was confident that things couldn’t get any worse & had great faith in his partner being ‘big enough’ to carry him. The tone of the match was set by Gordon’s opening tee shot which cleared the ‘protective’ fence and landed somewhere in the middle of the adjoining housing estate with an almighty ‘bang’. With Gordon having a rare ‘stinker’ the Black pair found themselves 3 up at the turn. If they thought it was going to be easy though they didn’t count on the effervescent Herrmann who played simply sparkling golf (including a particularly sensational shot from a fairway bunker on the 15th to win the hole) and bring the Blues back to all square with 3 to play. However there then followed the highlight of Adam’s weekend, in the shape of a glorious 9 iron to within 2 feet at the 16th followed by Neil’s tee shot to 4 feet and the Black pair back in the lead. With Gordon totally out of sorts two halved holes to finish was enough to secure the win for the Black team.
Howard Holliday and Jamie Moore beat Bobby Ho & John Newton 8/7
Howard came on the weekend partly to get away from the rigours of his day to day routine so, following on from his morning pairing with colleague Foxy it must have been a bit of a disappointment to find himself spending another 4 hours in the company of young Mr Ho. If that was the downside, the good news was that he’d been paired with an in form Jamie Moore, fresh from his morning’s demolition of John Mansell. Jamie and Howard combined superbly in the fourball format and they simply blew the opposition away resulting in one of the biggest winning margins in BUNGS weekend history.
John Bayliss & Mike Fox half Graham Bilsland & Ian Talboys a/s
Even though they were conceding a few shots to their opponents the smart money must have been on the Blue pairing at the start of the match. During the early holes however, it was the Black team who looked more like the single figure handicappers, rolling off a series of pars (and a gross birdie), resulting in a 3up lead after only 4 holes. A birdie from Graham at the 6th reduced the lead to 2up and by cleverly using Ian’s shots whenever they could Blues managed to bring the match back to All Square with only 4 holes remaining. Knowing their opponents had a shot on them down the short par 4 18th, they knew they had to be ahead by the time they reached the 18th tee. John Bayliss had other ideas however, holing a birdie putt from outside Ian’s on the 16th to go 1up. The Blues had to win the 17th – and did but the Black team were still favourites going down 18, with both John and Mike having a shot. Mike’s was the most disappointing tee shot down the 18th; however, his incredible approach to 4 feet with a 6 iron appeared to be good enough to secure victory. After nearly driving the green however, Ian hit a perfectly judged chip shot, which almost dropped for an eagle, resulting in Mike’s conceding Ian’s birdie putt. Mike still had a four-foot putt for the half – and the match, but sadly for Mike his putt spun out and the spoils were shared.
Brian Keates & John Mansell beat Martyn Dodwell & Graeme Black 2up
Again, the smart money might have favoured the Black pairing with Martyn expected to put up a good showing after his emphatic morning’s victory in the foursomes but with Brian and John receiving a good number of shots it was always going to be difficult if the Blue team could just keep the ball in play and play steady golf. Brian and John were dormie standing on the 17th and they held their nerve to win the last as well for a creditable victory.
Tim Thacker & Karl Hughes beat Ivan Heathcote & Paul Weston 5/4
After a 6/4 victory in the morning foursomes this was more than Karl could have hoped for in his start to the weekend. Even so, it was the Blue pairing who raced into an early lead – Paul starting with 2 pars and a birdie to put them two up after just 3 holes. This seemed to stir Tim into action and with Ivan playing his worst golf of the weekend it was left to Paul to pull something out of the bag for the Blues. Tim though suddenly found himself in “the zone” and everything he hit started going straight down the middle (Karl did his bit to help out as well). Tim was unstoppable though and by the 15th it was all over. Although Ivan played really poorly he did at least provide his playing partners with some entertainment, (in between the expletives) what with a number of variable lies or stances, the odd visit to a bush or rhubarb plant (and at one point standing three feet above the ball and nearly missing it completely!)
Steve Lloyd & Alan Tolley half Adrian Marchant & James Shipman a/s
The match started well with some excellent scoring with the Black’s winning the first with a nett birdie from Alan, followed by the Blue’s squaring the match with a nett birdie from Adrian. A superb birdie three from Adrian also won the third, with Alan squaring the match with a nett par at the difficult par three fourth. A nett birdie from James at the fifth and a par at the sixth from Adrian soon put the Blue team in command at 2up. After Steve and James both lost two balls off the par five seventh tee, (After smashing his tee shot at the seventh into the deep stuff, James didn’t have a spare ball in his pocket so Steve ‘lent’ him a brand new, straight out of the box Callaway HX Tour (£36 a dozen). I’m sure you can guess what James did…that’s right… smashed the provisional into the same spot, losing both balls “That’s trust for you!” commented Steve) it was up to Alan and Adrian and the Blue’s looked like going three up after Alan shanked his third onto the ninth green. However, when Adrian fluffed his pitch, Alan recovered well and the hole was eventually halved in six. After putting his driver away (not into a river this time), Steve finally made a contribution by parring the difficult eighth for a half and the ninth was also halved with a nett birdie from Alan and a great birdie three from James who had now ‘found’ his driver and was playing well. He got a nett par at the tenth (matched by Steve’s par), followed by a nett birdie at the eleventh to put the Blue team in a very commanding position at 3up. Pars from Steve/James and Steve/Adrian at the next two kept the Blue’s three up with five to play. The 14th hole was pivotal, with Adrian losing his swing (is there anything to lose with that set-up) and James somehow finding the par five in three after being all over the place, Alan proceeded to chip-in for a birdie, nett eagle to give Alan and Steve some confidence. Pars from Steve and James at the tricky 15th kept the Blue’s two up and when Steve’s putt for a two (and a win) at the sixteenth stopped on the edge of the hole (one quarter turn more and it would have dropped) meant it was dormie two. With the honour, both Steve and Alan missed the seventeenth green and things looked bleak until James put his short into a very difficult position. With Adrian practically ‘sitting out’ the previous three holes after hitting some horrendous shots, there was a light the end of the tunnel for the Black pair, that is until Marcho hit his first good shot in four holes to find the middle of the green. However, this was not the end as Alan hit a great chip and sunk a four footer for nett birdie to take the game down the last. With all players hitting good tee shots, Alan (with a shot at the hole) failed to find the green and with both Adrian and James safely on the green in two it looked up to Steve to make a birdie after a good drive almost pin high right of the green. Steve hit what he thought was a perfect chip over the greenside bunker but it caught the downslope and rolled 15 feet past the pin. Alan then took the bull by the horns and hit a great third to approx three feet. When both James and Adrian missed their putts for birdie, it left the Blacks with two putts to square the match. Steve’s effort shaved the edge of the hole but Alan held his nerve to complete a great comeback and halve the match.
Anthony Jackson & Darren Weston beat Barry Whitmore & Graham Adams 1up
Following soup and sandwiches (and a couple of Mars Bars) Graham’s health was by now more or less restored to something approaching normality and with Barry and Graham receiving 8 shots they were surely were looking forward to what promised to be an entertaining final match of the opening day. Graham (sober at last) somehow managed a nett par at the 1st for Blues to take an early lead. Blacks fought back, however, and took the next 2 holes, before yet another nett par from Graham at the 4th levelled the match. The match then swung this way and that with Blacks going 2up at the turn only for Blues to drag themselves level again by the 12th. Indeed, the Blue pair sensed victory when they won the 13th to go 1 up and when Anthony’s tee shot at the next his tee shot found the deep rough – with Barry and Graham both well placed on the fringe of the green – disaster struck as Anthony suddenly found Barry’s ball; unfortunately he had already played what he thought was his Top-Flite, which turned out to be Graham’s Titleist! So, it was back to all square, a situation maintained until the short 16th. Here Anthony’s tee shot ended about 2½ feet from the hole, (a nearest-the-pin he would retain). Barry and Darren were on the green and Graham about 60yds short of the green, in the rough by the path. This was the moment for Graham’s “shot of the weekend “: a Lob Wedge to about 6 inches – unbelievable! However, Anthony kept his nerve and also holed out for a 2 for the half. At the 17th another killer chip from Graham to within a foot saved the hole and so Blues approached the last 1 down with just 1 to play. Graham, with a shot, hit his drive the better part of 250yds to just short of the twin bunkers off the right of the fairway. He promptly ‘chunked’ his approach less than 15 yards. He managed to find the front of the green in 3 and with the Black team managing a par Graham was left with 2 putts to win the hole and halve the match. Instead of basking in a moment of glory however, Graham’s first putt raced about 5 feet past, and the return trickled agonisingly and inch to the left of the hole. So near and yet so far for the Blue team.

OVERNIGHT SCORE
Captain's Black team 10.5 - Challenger's Blue Team 5.5

Following dinner, drinks were being taken on the Hotel veranda whilst two local singers provided the entertainment indoors. More and more people arrived to hear the performers, and John Mansell emerged from the bar claiming that he’d had his bum felt! He quickly returned to see if he could get a repeat, taking John Newton and a couple of others with him.

Saturday 2nd July 2005 - morning
Llandudno (Maesdu) Golf Club
1 x singles match (over 13 holes)
7 x foursomes matches (over 13 holes)

Whilst negotiating the front 9 at North Wales Golf Club, look to your left. Just over the railway line, and less than a flop shot away, lies Maesdu Golf Club. For saying it is so close it is of a completely different character. Whereas North Wales is a true out-and-back Links course, Maesdu is out and out Parkland.

Starting with a par 3, and ending with a par 5, the first and last two holes are separated from the rest of the course by a main road.

After another fairly straightforward par 3, you get into the “meat” of the course. In comparison with the relative flatness of North Wales, there are many changes of elevation here, typified by the 8th. 307yds from the tee is a green, but you’d be hard pressed to know where as your drive is completely blind, the green being far below the starting point and completely invisible. Between tee and green there are bunkers, a ditch and a small pond – makes you think!

Holes 9, 10 and 11 run alongside the railway line which separates the course from it’s neighbour, and, despite covering over 1300 yds between them, are fairly flat. Elevation re-enters the equation on the 12th, a 155 yd uphill par 3, and the 13th (404yds, par 4) which requires a drive uphill to an unknown landing area. The 16th requires the golfer to clear a brook twice in order to find the green.

Re-cross the road and play the short 17th (166yds) and 18th (Par 5, 490yds) and repair to the Clubhouse for a well-earned drink following your round on this enjoyable and demanding course.

John Newton arrived on the Friday morning to play his match with Graham, but played so poorly that he had a wasted journey, as he was jetlagged. Did he learn his lesson? No! Instead of going to bed early he stayed up drinking with the boys in the early hours, meaning he overslept the next morning. Having been phoned from the course by John Bayliss, many heard their conversation, which entailed “Why did someone not wake me before? I have missed my breakfast!” 20 minutes later Newton arrived at Maesdu with a face like thunder and proceeded to berate Bayliss and Captain Heathcote about not being woken!

Fired up by this….

John Newton

beat Graeme Black 1up
Graeme must have fancied his chances in this one. However, as John showed yesterday he is still more than a match for most opponents and is infuriatingly straight off the tee more often than not. Despite Graeme’s best efforts he couldn’t quite level things at the last.

Martyn Dodwell & Steve Lloyd

beat

Gordon Sullivan & Graham Adams 3/2
As foursomes champions for the past two years at Aberdovey, Steve and Martyn really fancied their chances against Graham and Gordon and their confidence was justified as they went 2up after two. However, a great chip from Graham and resulting putt from Gordon secured a par to win the third and when Steve hit three wood for safety at the par five fourth and put it in the pond to the right, things looked didn’t look so bright. However, Graham’s tee shot was no-where to be found so we assumed this must also have also gone into the pond, and the hole was eventually halved in bogeys. A par at the fifth restored the 2up advantage for the Black’s, but an atrocious tee shot from Steve at the 284 yard par 4 sixth resulted in a double-bogey to reduce the advantage to one, but when Graham and Gordon made a hash of the seventh and a half in par at the eighth (where Gordon played a sublime 11-wood over a greenside bunker) meant the advantage was 2up again. A rare wild drive from Martyn almost onto the railway at the ninth meant the Blue’s won the hole with a nett par to go just one down – this after Gordon had given Graham an impromptu lesson on the tee (apparently something to do with is pre-shot routine taking too long. Not sure if this was directly related to the golf or simply a ‘marital’ problem of some kind) Steve and Martyn then showed their foursomes experience by paring the next three holes, going 2up at the tenth, halving the eleventh and finally taking the match 3/1 at the twelfth. Foursomes are less to Graham’s liking even than ‘greensomes’, but he is honest enough to admit that his partner, Gordon, carried him for most of the match.
Adrian Marchant & Ivan Heathcote beat Anthony Jackson & Karl Hughes 2up
The Blue Captain, no doubt eager to avenge his defeat at the hands of Karl and Tim Thacker yesterday afternoon, was paired with an in-form Adrian and the match remained close all the way with Blues 1up playing the last and rising to the situation to close out the match by 2 holes.
John Bayliss & Darren Weston beat Barry Whitmore & Brian Keates 4/2
Darren and John both preserved their unbeaten records so far with an emphatic victory over the Blues who, although they were receiving a number of shots, couldn’t quite match the efforts of the Black team on the day.
Neil Smith & Alan Tolley beat John Mansell & Paul Herrmann 3/1
The Blue team got off to the perfect start with Paul’s tee shot at the opening par 3 ending just 6 feet from the pin. At the 4th, after Blacks had completely botched their tee shots, steady play from the Blue pair saw them go 2up. An immediate rally from Blacks saw them win the next 2 holes to level it and some good solid play from both Neil and Alan at the 9th put them 1up. It was at this point that John must have started to wonder whether it really was the most sensible decision he’d ever made to spend £250 on a brand new putter which was hardly helping him at all. The long 11th could have gone either way but after Paul had played a rare ‘iffy’ approach the Black team promptly won the hole to go dormie. It was effectively all over when at the par 3 12th John hacked his tee shot into the gorse bushes and Blacks walked back to the clubhouse with yet another point in the bag.
Tim Thacker & Adam Thompson half Bobby Ho & Paul Weston a/s
Paul was beginning to think someone had it in for him, having been drawn to play in the same group as Tim for the 3rd match in succession. He certainly needed a break from watching a supposedly 21-handicapper play like Tiger Woods. For Tim’s part he can regard himself as most unfortunate to have been paired with a bloke with a society handicap of 5 playing like a man off 25. According to his playing partner, Adam played 3 shots that day that will live long in the memory:
1. The tee shot on the par 3 3rd - a beautifully topped 6 iron that went 10 yards forward & 30 yards left into the trees.
2. Tim smacks the ball to within 5 yards of the ditch on the 4th (a drive close on 300 yards). With their opponents in trouble all Adam needed do was knock it towards the green. But even this small task proved too much as Adam barely cleared the ditch with another topped shot this time leaving Tim in the trees on the right a mere 10 yards further down the hole.
3. The real highlight came at the 7th tee. Due to slow play in front, the group behind had holed out & were also waiting on the tee with us. Always one to give the galleries a treat Adam almost hit his tee shot at right angles straight into the trees on the right. (A shot possibly captured on film by Andy Smith?)

Despite Adam’s less than ‘best’ efforts the Black pair never fell more than one hole behind & were all square with two to play. Tim then stiffed a 5 iron to 2 feet on the par 3 12th for Blacks to go dormie. Paul saved his best drive of the day for the last and with Adam fluffing a simple greenside chip a 5 was good enough for the Blues to earn the half.

John Shaw & Howard Holliday beat Ian Talboys & Andy Smith 3/1
Saturday dawned warm and breezy, but the air was quickly turning blue (at least in the car park – for once not between Andy and Ian). Over the opening holes it was the Blues who established an early lead but by the 9th two excellent irons to less than 10 feet by Howard, resulting in gross birdies had reversed the score line. A lost ball off the 10th tee from Ian (and the air by this time turning decidedly blue) effectively ended the match, which the Black team closed out with John’s superb tee shot to the short par 3 12th. In truth, Howard and John were superb and with Ian throwing his toys out of the pram on the 10th the Black team proved to be too good for the opposition.
Graham Bilsland & James Shipman beat Mike Fox & Jamie Moore 2up
With Graham looking for his first win of the weekend and paired with the long-hitting James Shipman the Blue team were always going to be difficult to beat although with Foxy (unbeaten so far) and Jamie (a man in form) Blacks at least gave it their best shot, going down the last just 1 down but Graham and James closed it out for a deserved win.

Saturday 2nd July 2005 - afternoon
Llandudno (Maesdu) Golf Club
1 x singles match (over 18 holes)
7 x fourball-betterball matches (over 18 holes)

John Bayliss

beat Graham Adams 4/3
Graham wasn’t unduly worried about having to face John Bayliss in a singles encounter in the opening rubber of the afternoon. Last year, in Devon, Graham had his most enjoyable round of that weekend in the company of John. This year, partly because he was in opposition and partly because of Graham’s continuing struggles with his golf game, it came a close second. With 2 lost balls included, Graham found himself 4 down after 4 holes, but on the 5th & 6th he amazed both himself and his playing partner by winning both with nett pars against bogies from John (should have taken along a clean handkerchief). It proved to be a short recovery though, as John started to draw ahead with some steady play – and further lost balls from Graham. The match ended on the 15th when John produced a fabulous birdie putt to counter Graham’s par.

Karl Hughes & Steve Lloyd

beat

Gordon Sullivan & Barry Whitmore 3/2
The match started well for the Blue pair after Barry got up and down from off the green at the first to win the hole, but then steady par play from Steve and Karl took three of the next four. A nett birdie from Barry at the sixth reduced the advantage and then Gordon contributed for the first time in the match (the first time his score had counted in 25 holes of fourballs) with a nett par at the seventh for a half. Pars from both Steve and Karl were enough to secure the eighth but Barry fought back with a nett birdie at nine to hit the turn just one down. Baz, who was now playing Steve and Karl on his own, continued his good play to halve ten and eleven in nett par and then levelled the match with a nett birdie at twelve. Karl responded with a nett birdie of his own at the thirteenth to restore the Black team advantage. With Barry’s game starting to get a bit ragged (he must have been knackered after carrying Gordon for 13 holes), Gordon came-in again with a nett par at fourteen for a half but he couldn’t respond to pars from Steve and Karl at fifteen and the match was finally secured with a par from Steve at sixteen for a 3/2 victory.
Darren Weston & Graeme Black half Paul Herrmann & John Newton a/s
Little is known about this match but it would appear that the Black team have reason to be well pleased at securing a half against such illustrious opponents. Paul has proved himself to be a formidable match player and with John’s traditional straight driving the Black pair would have needed to play some pretty impressive golf to earn the half.
John Shaw & Anthony Jackson beat Graham Bilsland & John Mansell 4/2
Anthony and John played steady golf throughout. After going 1 down at the 2nd hole the Black pair had recovered to draw level after John birdied the 4th. Graham birdied the short 6th before Anthony and John both nett birded the long 7th to go 1 up. A run of halved holes followed, including two great chips from Anthony - one on the 9th and another on the tenth, both to within inches for halves (Graham accepted one but was a bit miffed the second time). John Mansell did have a putt of about 15 feet to win the 13 - but unlucky for him he three putted – and that with his brand new £250 putter which he purchased on the eve of the weekend. Blacks then won the 14th (after John’s drive had nearly decapitated Paul Weston), halved the 15th and won the 16th to close out the match.
Brian Keates & Ivan Heathcote beat Tim Thacker & Alan Tolley 6/5
Brian’s opening tee shot finished no more than 5 feet from the hole and with Alan in the greenside bunker and Tim, short and right in two, the Blue team were off to a flying start. At the second with Alan just short of the green in 3 nett 2 Ivan then produced a superb shot from all of 180 yards which ended up 4 feet away. Blues promptly won the 3rd as well with Tim and Alan shell-shocked at this stage but a cracking drive from Alan at the 4th led to a temporary fightback. The next hole looked to be going the way of the Black team with Tim on the fringe in 2 and Brian short in 3 but then Mr Financial Planner himself managed to chip in for a 4 nett 3 which prompted the unusual (and unedifying) sight of Brian doing his spice girls impression, by dancing round the green in a manic manner (certainly more ‘scary’ than ‘posh’ though!). In no time at all Blues were 3up again, Ivan playing top golf and giving the Blacks no chance at all. At the 7th Alan had to play 3 off the tee, having driven out of bounds with his first – the second was a beauty, and witnessed by Andy Smith who commented:” I didn’t think Alan Tolley could hit it that far “. Little did Smithy know that Alan’s first was a little less impressive! Tim and Alan thought they had a good chance at the 8th but Ivan played a killer chip from an impossible angle to 20 feet and then amazingly sunk the putt for a 3 much to Brian’s delight but Blacks probably knew by this time it wasn’t going to be their day. With Ivan in scintillating form Blues found themselves 6 up with 8 to play and although Blacks battled bravely to take the 11th it was all over at the short 12th with Ivan 10 feet away leaving Alan and Tim to get a 2 to keep the match alive. It wasn’t to be and Blacks well and truly on the end of a drubbing!
Adrian Marchant & Andy Smith beat Howard Holliday & Neil Smith 5/4
The most used comment during this match was “Shot Neil” by both Adrian and Andy after almost every one of Neil’s tee shots as it disappeared straight down the middle of the fairway. Despite this, and Howard’s reputation with the 1-iron it was a day for Adrian and Andy to show their strengths in the ‘birdie’ department, matching each other all the way for an excellent victory.
Jamie Moore & Martyn Dodwell beat Bobby Ho & James Shipman 2up
All 4 players formidable opponents on their day but this one saw Martyn playing to his potential at last and ably supported by BUNGS weekend debutant Jamie this pairing proved too much for the Blues.
Ian Talboys & Paul Weston beat Adam Thompson & Mike Fox 2up
Steady golf from the Black team saw them establish a 2up lead by the 6th. Adam and Mike were clearly in “the zone” over the opening holes; in fact Foxy was so focused on his game that he walked 50 yards down the 5th fairway after driving off before realising he had left his trolley back on the tee! The Blue team remained confident of reducing the deficit down the 7th after Ian’s 320-yard tee shot left him with only a wedge to the green. The resulting birdie was not good enough, however, with Adam’s gross birdie gaining a half. Another win at the 9th saw the Black team stretch their lead to 3up after the front nine. A gross birdie from Ian at the next reduced the lead back to 2, however, a brave par putt from Foxy on 12, after he had tangled with the bushes, extended the lead again and left the Black team 3up with just 6 holes to play. The match appeared as good as over when Ian left himself a curling 4 footer on the 13th for a half. If he missed the Black team would have been 4 up with only 5 to play, but Ian calmly rolled the putt in. The last 5 holes matched anything produced by any pair in BUNGS tour history – and this in the strongest winds of the day. Ian did not even have to utilise his shot on the 14th as he produced a contender for the shot of the weekend. Off a hanging lie, he punched a 7 iron 125 yards through the wind to 3 feet (and with a tight pin position) to secure birdie and a win. Ian may have been grabbing all the headlines but his partner came good at the next; the deficit being reduced to 1 when Paul drove the par 4 15th and 2 putted from the back fringe for a second successive gross birdie from the Blue pair. With both Blue players safely on the 16th green in two, no putts were required as the Black pair both lost their balls, and incredibly the match was all square with two to play. With Ian now inspired, a 7 iron up the hill into a cross wind at the short 17th resulted in a 2 putt par giving the Blue team the lead for the first time in the match. At the 18th with Paul out of the hole, Ian aimed safely down the left of the par 5 finding the light rough. Foxy hit a long, straight tee shot to give the Black team an excellent chance of a half. After much deliberation Ian then struck a 6 iron from 225 yards, finding the bunker at the back right of the green, meanwhile Mike struck a brilliant third to around 10 feet. What followed was miraculous in the circumstances (given Ian’s bunker game), as Ian’s sand save exploded to within four feet. Clearly unsettled, Mike’s attempt for birdie slid by, and, Ian rolled in his gross birdie putt to complete one of the most sensational comebacks in BUNGS tour history. Blues gross scores over the crucial closing stretch were birdie, birdie, par, par, birdie. No one could have lived with them on that sort of form, especially Ian who Paul could hardly praise enough - Adam and Foxy were simply left stunned at the end of it all.

OVERNIGHT SCORE
Captain's Black team 19.5 - Challenger's Blue Team 12.5

Back at the hotel in the evening, post dinner drinks were once again taken on the veranda, and from here some of the group decided to re-visit a nearby Wetherspoons. Tim, John Shaw, Karl, Jacko, Jamie, Adrian & James had a whale of a time reliving their youth, perving over young girls in short skirts, and not one of them looking like a dirty old man at all!

James Shipman - “Do you want to see my scar?”

This must be the cheesiest chat up line used yet on a BUNGS Tour!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Graham Bilsland was holding court and had everyone in hysterics when Bobby Ho requested that he held a newly revealed parking space in front of the Hotel, enabling him to bring his car nearer. Graham promptly went down to the footpath and approached John Newton who was chatting to his wife (we think) on the phone, picked him up and deposited him in the middle of the road! Unfortunately for Bobby, Paul Herrmann had also seen the space and had acted quicker, and despite Graham trying to dissuade him by standing in his way, the parking space was to be Paul’s. On his return to the veranda, Graham confidently predicted that Paul would take 8 manoeuvres to emulate Reginald Molehusband. We all watched, and counted. 1, 2, 3……7,8!!!! The roars of laughter and cheers of approval which greeted Paul as he emerged from his car left him completely perplexed, and the rest of us with aching sides!

Fridays Card School was reformed, this time with Paul Weston’s Silver Trainers being added to the Adams “Cortina” as a possible stake! Howard Holliday joined as an interested spectator, and Captain Heathcote joined in for a couple of hands. On one crazy pot between John Bayliss and Darren Weston each had a hand worthy of betting your house on. Eventually we all gasped as Darren’s Ace, King, Queen flush lost to John’s prial of eights! By this time Ivan had left and we had been joined by Bobby Ho, who had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to play the game, or, it seemed, how to bet! Graham did his best to supply a quick instruction, and this was followed by Bobby betting on “nothing” hands for all he was worth, and in a very proper manner in comparison to the rest of us. He lost a packet!

In the midst of all these fun and games, John Newton (who had earlier commentated on having been a Silver Service Waiter in a previous life) walked in with drinks on a tray for John and Graham. Seeing this, the couple at the next table said “Oh, if you’re still serving, can we have another drink please!” As we all descended into paroxysms of laughter, John’s face was the picture of the weekend. The couple saw the funny side too, and John left with his tail between his legs! 5 minutes later, Paul Weston acclaimed, “Well, its time for a drink I think. WAITER!” At this he got an icy stare from the barman (whom Paul hadn’t seen) who was collecting the empty glasses across the room. Once again, we all fell about laughing!

Shortly after this, we were alerted to the somnambulant state of one of our number out on the veranda. We all went to view the sleeping beauty (Mansell), who had his picture taken numerous times, together with his snores being recorded for posterity and use as a ring tone!

No-one had believed Graham Bilsland about how loud John’s Mansells snoring was; now here was the evidence! John himself had been telling everyone that the doctor had given him some anti-snoring medicine. John is now able to tell his Doctor THE STUFF IS NOT WORKING!

Andy Smith was overheard talking to Anthony Jackson in the hotel on Saturday evening:

AS: “How are you doing this weekend for points?”
AJ: “I’ve got 2½ points”
AS: (With that look only Andy can give when he believe someone has said something stupid…)
“How can you have 2½ points?”
AJ: (With a hint of sarcasm…) “Well, I have won 2 games, drawn 1 game and lost 1 game”
AS: The picture became clear.
“I’ve just made a prat of myself - I hate the Newsletter”

 

Sunday 3rd July 2005
Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club
15 x singles match (over 18 holes)

Just like Vanessa Williams, Steve had “saved the best till last”, giving us the opportunity to play our singles matches on an awesome golf course. Conwy will be one of the venues for final qualifying for next years Open at Hoylake. From the 1st tee shot, the course reveals itself to be an absolute gem.

After a gentle opener, the 2nd is a stiff par 3 of 134yds. Not too far perhaps, but the green is a two-tiered, at an angle to the approach and protected by no less than 6 bunkers!

5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 are a great run of holes, all culminating with greens which, typically for the course, run (fairly) fast and true. The par 5 9th (505yds) has a green tucked away in the bowl formed by surrounding dunes, and has a bunker across the fairway at lay-up range.

From here the course returns towards the clubhouse before reversing its direction once again as the 11th takes you back towards the sea. The 12th (par 5, 494yds) is just a straight run to the green (provided you keep out of the rubbish down the right) until 90yds out, where the fairway suddenly has a “ripple” making for an awkward approach.

2 par 3’s in the next three holes require precision before the dogleg 16th is begun. Heading inland, these last 3 holes begin to have slightly less of the “Links” feel, as they all feature trees along a good deal of their length. A sloping green, directly under the gaze of those watching from the balcony of the clubhouse, and again protected by 6 bunkers provides a test as stern as any other hole on this wonderful course.

Tim Thacker

half Ivan Heathcote a/s
With Tim’s team looking set to triumph overall and the score between the 2 captains standing at one each so far there was everything to play for. Ivan struggled early on to come to terms with the wind and some steady play from Tim saw him two up at the turn. Taking 40 minutes to play the 10th behind three scouse hackers seemed to affect Tim’s concentration and with Ivan having adjusted to the wind by now and playing some fine golf, five of the next six holes went to the Blue team captain (including an 8 at the 14th which was good enough to beat Tim’s 9 which included 4 attempts to evacuate a fairway bunker!) at this stage things looked bleak for Tim as he was playing like a drain and Ivan had moved to 3 up with 3 to play. Beware the ‘injured’ golfer however (even if it is just pride) and Tim got himself together to win the last three holes and secure the half ensuring that honours ended even for the two Captains in their personal battles over the weekend.

Darren Weston

beat

Graham Bilsland 9/7
One of the more impressive (not to say sensational) results in BUNGS tour history: Darren set the tone for what was to come rolling in a twenty foot putt for par at the 1st hole and Graham never really got to grips with the match after that. Darren was hitting most fairways, seeking accuracy rather than length off the tee with his favourite 5 iron hardly ever in the bag. Later on as Darren stretched his lead he started using driver off the tee with the same accuracy but a good 50 yards further in distance. Graham’s driving, in contrast, was poor by his own high standards and at the end, with Darren understandably beaming from ear to ear Graham was, shall we politely say, not his usual self (although that’s probably an understatement)
Adrian Marchant beat Jamie Moore 5/3
Best of buddies amongst the BUNGS membership - and 2 weekend tour ‘debutants’ - these two were hardly clamouring to play against each other but that’s the way the draw worked out and, on paper at least a difficult one to predict as Jamie had been showing good form this year already whilst Adrian’s form on the weekend, apart from his opening match, had been excellent. If most expected it be a closely fought encounter they were mistaken as Adrian’s ‘unique’ swing withstood the pressure of singles play better than Jamie’s. Both thoroughly enjoyed their first taste of a BUNGS weekend and you can bet they’ll be back next year – but hoping to be on the same side instead!
Alan Tolley beat John Newton 2/1
As one of BUNGS most improved players this year Alan was always going to be a tough opponent for John who had to give him a shot a hole as well. Alan’s opening drive into a fierce left to right wind and with out of bounds all the way down the right managed to split the fairway and must have been so impressive that it drew a round of applause from those watching. (How different from his first weekend tour when he topped his opening tee shot into a bunker!). John missed a tiddler at the 1st for a half so Alan was immediately 1up. John then showed his fighting qualities by winning the next 3 in a row to go 2up. Alan reduced the arrears at the 5th (Stroke Index 1) with a 5 nett 4 but then found a deep pot bunker at the short 6th. Martyn and James playing alongside took one look and immediately shook their heads but Alan played a sublime shot which went vertical and ended up just off the back of the green from where he chipped to within a foot for the half. At the 7th John’s second shot found deep rough on the bank to the left of the green and with Alan’s 5 nett 4 it was back to all square. John made a couple of errors at the next 2 which proved costly as Alan played both holes solidly to go 2up at the turn. Alan then found trouble off the tee at the 10th and John played it immaculately to reduce the deficit to 1.The 11th and 12th were both halved but despite John not having kept up with the score he then played a terrific 5 wood to 4 feet at the short 13th and it was suddenly all square. Instead of capitalising however, John promptly lost the next 2 holes, losing a ball at the long 14th and then having to watch Alan strike a superb mid-rescue to 10 feet at the short 15th to go 2up with 3 to play. Fortunately for John, Alan’s tee shot at the 16th disappeared into the trees never to be seen again and although he almost made a complete hash of the hole John still managed to claw one back after Alan had 3 putted from no more than 12 feet. So, one in it with 2 holes to go but with John expected to put in a late challenge his hopes soon faded with a sliced tee shot on the 17th and, not being able to find his ball Alan was able to win the hole with a 6 for a well earned victory.
Martyn Dodwell half James Shipman a/s
Although Martyn was conceding a few shots to James the match turned out to be a pretty close affair with neither player able to break away and the outcome not decided until the very last hole. There was never more than a couple of holes in it either way but both players were affected by an incident at the 13th which occurred in the other match which led to some extremely slow play over the final 4/5 holes and no doubt ruined both players’ concentration for a time. Towards the end it looked as if Martyn might just keep his nose in front but James battled bravely to win the last despite a wayward tee shot and the match was halved.
Ian Talboys beat Adam Thompson 2/1
After the drama of the afternoon before, and with the Black team holding a comfortable lead, this game was always likely to be an anti-climax. Ian didn’t start particularly well, his chip to the 2nd rolling sideways into a bunker and Adam had established a 2up lead after 10 holes. However, with Adam making a complete cock-up of the next 4 holes combined with some steady play by his opponent saw Ian standing on the 15th tee 2up. Ian gifted Adam the 15th, but with Ian in trouble at the 16th all Adam needed to do was find the heart of the green with a wedge in his hand. What happened next sums up Adam’s weekend as he shanked the ball into a nearby gorse bush and lost the hole to go 2 down with 2 to play. Victory should have been a formality especially with Ian having a shot on 17. However, with Ian forced to take 3 off the tee after putting his first in the bushes on the right, then having to chip his 4th out of the trees it looked as if Adam would have a great chance to square the match and head down the last even. Ian managed to scramble his 5th shot to somewhere just off the left side of the green but Adam still seemed to be well in control, chipping to within 5 feet. Ian then stroked in his downhill, left to right putt from 20 feet for an unbelievable 6 nett 5, which was enough to secure victory.
Karl Hughes beat Andy Smith 6/4
Andy’s was the only comment received for this one: “the score says it all about this match! I was SH*T!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry Karl for not giving you a game! “Clearly, no further words are necessary in order to emphasise the size of the’ thrashing’ in this case!
Steve Lloyd beat Bobby Ho 2/1
Ever since losing to Bobby Ho in the final of the 2003 matchplay knockout, Steve Lloyd had been looking for revenge and his chance came on Sunday morning at Conwy. With Steve having to give Bobby eight shots, the task wouldn’t be easy, and this proved to be the case as Bob made par at the first three holes and stood on the fourth tee two up. Steve reduced the deficit with a par at four and proceeded to par five and six but this was only good enough for halves. The par four seventh was a killer blow for Steve. He could only hit the green in three shots (but had a makeable par putt) but with Bobby right under the lip of the greenside pot bunker in two, Steve had a chance as Bobby could easily take four to get down from that position. However, Bob played a miraculous bunker shot to four feet and rolled in the put for a win, and a half at eight in double bogey saw Bobby 2up. Steve played the 505 yard par 5 ninth with a drive and a sand iron, but as this was three off the tee after going out of bounds, his birdie with the second ball was not good enough and Bobby’s par put him 3up at the turn and in a commanding position. A fightback looked on the cards as Steve took the tenth with a par but then went in the gorse twice on the eleventh to go back to three down. Wins and twelve and thirteen reduced the deficit but when Bobby drained 25 footer for par at the fourteenth, Steve felt this wasn’t his day. However, he sunk a good 15 footer himself for birdie to level the match. In trying to hit a low punch to the par three fifteenth, Steve carved his tee shot way right but Bobby couldn’t capitalise and hit two into the gorse off the tee to gift the hole to Steve, who was now up for the first time in the match. Sixteen was pivotal to say the least after Steve found an almost unplayable lie of the edge of the rough, hacked out into deeper rough and finally hacked onto the fairway some 50-60 yards from the green. With Bobby just off the green in two (and with a shot), Steve just flicked a lob wedge onto the green – only to see it disappear into the hole for a remarkable par. Bob rolled on the ground in agony and never recovered – he failed to get up and down and the hole was only halved instead of a much needed win. After Steve hit a perfect three wood to the tight seventeenth, Bob’s second shot found the gorse and with Steve only 15 feet away in two, they shook hands on a 2/1 victory for Steve.
Paul Weston beat John Shaw 3/2
John was always going to have his hands full in this match, conceding a full 8 shots to Paul for whom this turned out to be the highlight of his weekend. It soon became apparent that Paul wouldn’t have needed any shots at all as he found himself 4up at the turn. Indeed, at the par five 9th John was just off the back of the green in 2 but could still only manage a 5 while Paul, who was fortunate to miss the fairway bunker in front of the green with his second then sank a 20 foot birdie putt for the win. The par five 12th was halved in 8 and at the next both made good up and downs for par on this tricky hole but John at least gave himself a chance of salvaging something by winning the 14th and 15th. Crucially, Paul had shots on the last three holes and a 4 nett 3 at the 16th was enough to close out the match. John later conceded that Paul had played some terrific golf, keeping to his game plan of keeping it on the fairways and using his shots rather than trying to hit the ball has far as John.
Howard Holliday beat Barry Whitmore 2up
Barry’s record going into this match was played 4, lost 4 so Baz must have been as keen as mustard to make sure he didn’t return home empty handed. Against a lesser opponent Baz might have been more than a match now that the lessons taken earlier this year appear to be slowly paying off. However, Howard is nothing if not consistent and certainly a tricky opponent to draw in match play. Credit to Baz then for taking the match almost to the wire before going down to what must have been the narrowest of margins. For a fee, Baz we promise not to mention (too often anyway) the played 5 lost 5 record!
Neil Smith half Graham Adams a/s
Another player desperate not to return home empty handed, Graham was looking forward to the prospect of his match with Neil. Little did he know that he was about to produce the best and most consistent golf of his weekend! With Graham’s usual ragged start Neil soon found himself 2up after 4 but Graham then found some devastating form, winning 4 and halving one of the next 5 holes to go 1up. Graham was the source of great hilarity (and not for one of his golf shots this time) when, on the 8th, he stepped backwards to assess the break on a longish putt and promptly fell backwards into a deep bunker! It took Neil a good 2 holes to stop giggling! The 11th and 12th saw Graham visiting parts of the course yet to be discovered by a visiting golfer (the man clearly has a penchant for gorse bushes!) but, fear not it was back to winning ways on the 13th, however and the match was suddenly level. Neil edged in front again at the 14th but was unprepared for Graham’s ‘shot of the weekend’ at the next – the 147yds par 3 15th and directly into the wind! Graham pulled out a 6 iron and struck it solid enough although it was pulled fractionally. However, as it landed it took a kick off the left hand bank and rebounded onto the green, ending just 4½ feet from the hole! In 3 years of BUNGS play, this was the first time Graham had ever had to enter his name on a nearest-the-pin sheet (in his excitement he even had to ask Howard what the procedure was!) To say he was chuffed, yet embarrassed, when presented with a winners voucher for this at the clubhouse later doesn’t come close! With things nicely poised at all square, 16 and 17 were ‘shot’ holes for Graham – and he managed to screw both of them up! Neil didn’t play either hole particularly well but he did scramble an important win at the 17th to go dormie. It was all down to Graham to salvage something at the last. After Neil had hit his tee shot the pressure got to Graham and he had to step away to compose himself! Instead of hitting a solid, relatively straight drive as he’d done for most of the day, Graham could only manage a feeble, low fade, finding the right fringe 155yds from the pin. With the wind behind he took out a 7 iron for his approach. Unfortunately, the ball sat in a tangle of grass, and instead of hitting a straight shot Graham hooked it onto the side of the 11th tee. Game over? Not a bit of it as Graham then imagined himself as a dead ringer for Phil Mickleson and proceeded to play the flop shot of his life, over a greenside bunker, to leave himself a 12-footer to halve the match. When it went in Graham, understandably could hardly contain himself because it meant he would leave North Wales with something after all! To be later complimented by the opposing captain on his up-and-down certainly made his day and now he can’t wait for Southport 2006!!
Paul Herrmann beat Mike Fox 5/3
His results at the weekend so far may not have that been eye-catching but, by all accounts, Paul was a ‘man in form’ as they say, and so it proved in this particular encounter. He may not have the most wonderful swing to look at (and if you blink twice you’re just as likely to miss it) but when Paul is ‘in the groove’ he is a tough customer to find yourself up against. Foxy was unfortunate enough to be drawn out of the hat for the Black team and despite his best efforts never really got a look in, Paul running out a comfortable winner in the end.
Brian Keates beat Anthony Jackson 2/1
Mixed fortunes for these 2 players so far so a great opportunity for both to sign off the weekend with a win. Anyone who has played against Brian over the years knows there is no “in between” as far as his game is concerned. He is either brilliant or useless – but when he’s good he certainly takes some beating especially with all those shots! The match was a pretty close one all the way round, but Brian got his nose in front at a crucial stage and eventually closed out the match on the 17th
John Mansell beat John Bayliss 1up
A good match this one by all accounts although John Bayliss was giving John Mansell (the weekend’s ‘snoring’ champion) 13 shots. True to form Mansell hardly hit 3 fairways all the way round but every time his ball was found and he was able to chop out on to the fairway instead of having to declare a lost ball. This happened so many times that Bayliss soon became demoralised but, the excellent player that he is, he battled gamely to get into a position of being 2 up with 3 holes to play. Surprisingly, the Bayliss game fell away completely as lost a ball on the 16th, then amazingly, lost another at the 17th leaving the match all square going down the last. Mansell hit a good drive on the 18th but Bayliss bettered this with his longest drive of the day straight down the middle. Mansell’s approach was destined to go through the green towards the balcony of the clubhouse where everyone happened to be watching. Mansell’s ball suddenly hit the top of a greenside bunker and instead if going straight through the green it bounced sideways to the right and ended up about 12 feet from the pin. Bayliss then hit a sand wedge on to the green about the same distance from the hole. Knowing Mansell had got a shot on this hole, Bayliss went and made the classic error of leaving his putt for birdie short. All Mansell had to do was get it close, which he did and Bayliss was forced to concede the hole and the match. We suspect John Mansell will live on this victory until the next tour in 2006.
Gordon Sullivan beat Graeme Black 6/4
It had been a wretched weekend for Gordon: to this point as he had lost every single match. Graeme must have fancied his chances therefore but one glance at the record books revealed that Gordon (just like Monty in the Ryder Cup) had NEVER lost a singles match. It is a record that Gordon is particularly proud of and no one was going to take it away from him in a hurry! Truth be told, Graeme didn’t really stand a chance and, back to his ebullient best, Gordon would have been a match for anyone on this sort of form. You could tell how much it meant to retain that 100% record by the huge grin on his face afterwards.

FINAL SCORE
Captain's Black team 26 - Challenger's Blue Team 21

 

Conclusion/Closing Words
An undeniably enjoyable and successful tour for all, with everything members have come to expect from a BUNGS event.
(Some) good golf played on great courses.
(Some) poor golf played on great courses
Good fun and great camaraderie.

Make sure you sign up for the 2006 Tour – Southport has been warned!

 

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