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BUNGS Tour 2014 - Southport
28th June to 1st July 2014
The Two teams at Ormskirk Golf Club
Despite a number of playing dropping out of the original line-ups, we still had a full house of 40 players travelling to Southport for the first time since 2006, many of them already having samples the delights of the Northwest on the Society’s 20th Anniversary tour to Lytham back in March. The weather was somewhat different though and this time we had 3 days of unbroken sunshine with temperatures in the 70s and three great courses in prospect.
Uncannily, those who travelled up a day early on the Saturday did so in driving rain, pretty much all the way until we arrived in Southport itself, when it suddenly stopped. The ‘hardy’ amongst us had opted for 36 holes in the Bolton area as a warm up for the tour. The sensible (or ‘older’, whichever way you want to put it) decided on a leisurely 9 holes at Southport Old Links instead. This was Alex Tolley’s first tour and it nearly got off to a disastrous start when, on arrival at the club house he was told by the club steward that he wasn’t allowed in with ‘white’ shoes. It didn’t prevent them from letting Phil Latham in with ‘blue’ trainers, but then what has Phil got that the rest of us don’t (apart from blue trainers)? Answers on a postcard please.
We stayed at the same hotel as 2006, the Royal Clifton Hotel in Southport, and although it had clearly had a few licks of paint since we were there last, the hotel still retained some of its charm and was a perfect venue for this year’s tour.
Most of those arriving on Saturday headed into town on the night to sample the delights of Southport which included the traditional rock, candy floss, fish and chips, amusement arcades or, for the more discerning, an Indian or a Chinese.
The Captain’s Team was led by Society Captain, Alan Tolley who was able assisted by Vice Captain, Mark Johnson. It was Shaun Mullaney who put his head above the parapet as Captain of the Challengers side and he was assisted by his Vice Captain Steve Gross.
The teams lined up as follows:
| Captain Alan Tolley's Team Black | H'Cap | Tour Win % | Challenger Shaun Mullaney's Team Blue | H'Cap | Tour Win % |
| Alan Tolley | 18 | 48.3 | Shaun Mullaney | 5 | 36.7 |
| Mark Johnson, Vice Capt. | 12 | 50.0 | Steve Gross, Vice Capt. | 22 | 42.5 |
| Martyn Dodwell | 6 | 66.2 | Graham Adams | 28 | 22.0 |
| Mike Fox | 18 | 40.9 | Steve Barkshire | 13 | 80.0 |
| Ross Galloway | 15 | N/A | Graham Bilsland | 2 | 46.7 |
| Dave Grubb | 23 | 31.3 | John Evans | 20 | 36.7 |
| Bill Hancock | 16 | 41.8 | Gordon Galloway | 8 | 61.4 |
| Steve Harris | 9 | 32.5 | Simon Hayward | 10 | 62.0 |
| Alan Heard | 7 | 55.0 | Bobby Ho | 12 | 41.7 |
| Steve Lloyd | 7 | 66.3 | Howard Holliday | 5 | 64.8 |
| Adrian Marchant | 14 | 40.6 | Karl Hughes | 10 | 61.2 |
| Peter Meaney | 13 | 35.0 | Phil Latham | 17 | 65.0 |
| Jamie Moore | 17 | 47.2 | John Mansell | 22 | 44.3 |
| Kevin Morris | 4 | N/A | Steven Raji | 18 | N/A |
| James Shipman | 9 | 48.8 | John Shaw | 4 | 59.5 |
| Tim Thacker | 10 | 56.0 | Gordon Sullivan | 25 | 47.1 |
| Graham Thorpe | 20 | N/A | Ian Talboys | 10 | 54.5 |
| Alex Tolley | 20 | N/A | Adam Thompson | 5 | 60.6 |
| Terry Tomkiss | 17 | 33.3 | Gary Tyler | 17 | 90.0 |
| Paul Weston | 13 | 57.5 | Craig Vale | 16 | 67.0 |
| AVERAGE | 13.6 | 46.9% | AVERAGE | 13.6 | 54.9% |
Saturday 28th June 2014
A beautiful sunny morning to greet us with a hardly a breath of wind so sun tan lotion and plenty of water the key essentials for the day.
Sunday 29th June 2014 - morning
Ormskirk Golf Club
10 x foursomes matches
The Society also started its 2006 Tour at Ormskirk, about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. It is a classic parkland layout with plenty of trees to avoid but is always maintained to a high standard and this year was no different..
| Alan Tolley & Alex Tolley | beat | Graham Bilsland & Adam Thompson | 1up |
|
Adam T: This was always going to be a
difficult match with us giving so many shots. I was
actually surprised at how well we did considering this,
and but for a couple of bad holes on the back nine we
might of sneaked it. However, no disgrace in losing 1
down to the captain and his fast improving son! Alan T: The course was in great condition, the weather was just about perfect and the Captain’s team had loads of shots so the Tolley's were looking forward to this one. It was nip and tuck over the opening 2 holes but then GB put his tee shot in the hazard down the left of the 3rd and the advantage went to the Captain’s side. With Alex outplaying his Dad we still needed all our shots in order to take the match down the 18th all square. Thommo’s tee shot looked to be well in the bushes on the right whereas Alex’s tee shot was long and straight down the middle. Graham somehow managed to find a clear path from the undergrowth and laid up with his recovery shot about 100 yards short of the green. I had deliberately played well to the left to avoid going anywhere near the pond on the right, but this meant that Alex had to play our 3rd shot from the practice area. It was a well struck 9-iron which flew just over the back of the green. Thommo then played a wedge shot to 20 feet to keep the pressure on. I had played rubbish all morning but, when the chips were down and faced with an almost impossible chip with hardly any green to work with, I somehow got it on the putting surface within 5 feet of the pin. Graham putted stone dead to secure the 5 for the Challengers. That left Alex with a testing 5-footer for a 5 nett 4 and the match. Despite it being his very first match on tour, the lad held his nerve, the putt dropped and we were both off the mark! |
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| John Shaw & Howard Holliday | beat | Mark Johnson & James Shipman | 4/2 |
| MJ:
The first three holes were very even leaving us 1up as
we received a shot on SI 1. John and Howard then played
some beautiful golf to win three holes. Our shots kept
us in the match on holes 7 and 8 but losing three of the
next four holes to pars put us four down. We managed to
hold on for three more holes, winning the tight driving
fifteenth after a superb drive by James, and John played
his only poor drive of the day. That was only delaying
the inevitable when another par on 16 won the match for
the challengers. John S: The match started slowly with James and Mark going 1up by the 3rd, however bunker issues for James and Mark resulted in a win for Howard and John on the fourth. A few solid pars later and Howard and John were 4up by 12. On 14 John prematurely went to shake hands thinking the match was finished but it was only dormie. John then proceeded to scuff his drive on 15 to concede that hole but on 16, after usual straight tee shot by Howard, John wedged to centre of green to make it four and two. James S: Mark Johnson/Me vs John Shaw/Howard Holliday - nothing memorable and we got stuffed. |
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| Steve Lloyd & Martyn Dodwell | beat | John Evans & John Mansell | 6/5 |
JE: Day one first game in the morning. Once again I headed for the trees and found my ball, nice chip out, then I headed again for the trees nice chip out, I then headed for the bunker got out okay. We then start again, by the end of the round I had become an Honorary member of the Ancient Order Of Wood Nymphs. Enjoyed it really. |
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| Tim Thacker & Kevin Morris | beat | Gordon Galloway & Karl Hughes | 2/1 |
| No match report received. | |||
| Paul Weston & Terry Tomkiss | beat | Gary Tyler & Craig Vale | 5/4 |
| No match report received. | |||
| Steven Raji & Steve Barkshire | beat | Alan Heard & Peter Meaney | 1up |
| No match report received. | |||
| Ian Talboys & Bobby Ho | beat | Jamie Moore & Steve Harris | 1up |
| No match report received. | |||
| Shaun Mullaney & Simon Hayward | beat | Adrian Marchant & Ross Galloway | 3/1 |
| No match report received. | |||
| Phil Latham & Steve Gross | beat | Graham Thorpe & Bill Hancock | 2/1 |
BH: Phil and Steve were always a little ahead of Graham and Bill in a closely fought match. Note Bill wishes it to be known that it was Graham who put him in the pond! GT: As this was my first summer Tour, I looked forward to it immensely and was not disappointed as it lived up to my expectations with a few surprises. The importance of playing partners and playing with their idiosyncrasies was an interesting concept. Bill and I halved the first & won the second. On the third Graham drove on to the edge of the pond. Unknown to me my partner was keen on pond dipping. Bill was soon off with his shoes and socks and sinking slowly deeper into the silt in the pond to rescue his ball. (see photo).Bill was successful in getting the ball moved, and we pulled Bill out before he disappeared into the depths. On reaching the green looking back up the fairway Bill was sat putting his socks and shoes back on. After 8 holes we were all square. On the 9th Graham’s drive goes to the edge of a deeper pond, immediately Bill is half way down the bank towards the water again to play a recovery shot, but this time we kept him out of the water and we won the hole. After the 12th we were 2up with 6 to play but we could only halve one of the final five holes and lost 2 & 1. |
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| Dave Grubb & Mike Fox | beat | Gordon Sullivan & Graham Adams | 8/6 |
| MF: First morning Foxy and Grubby were paired against Graham Adams & Gordon Sullivan. Well, poor Graham had a driving nightmare, poor Gordon was exasperated although he was trying his best. The captains team were steady off the tee winning comfortably – and by a huge margin. | |||
Match Score
Captain's Team - 5 / Challenger's Team - 5
Sunday 29th June 2014 - afternoon
Ormskirk Golf Club
10 x fourball-betterball matches
| Martyn Dodwell & James Shipman | beat | Graham Bilsland & John Mansell | 7/5 |
|
JS: Mansell teed it up fully togged in the latest clown
wear - on a comical disability style buggy as well! The match was full of
good golf but the highlight was on the 4th when James’s trolley wheel axle
broke. An attempt to steer on 2 wheels was spotted by Graham who sacrificed
his own trolley and carried from there on. James in a gesture of gratitude
proceeded to shank his ball from the greenside bunker hitting Graham on the
arm! To add insult to injury Martyn drained a long putt for a half. At the
5th JM used his shot wisely for a net par, James could only manage a bogey
(hampered by carrying his trolley as it would not fit on the Mansell
machine). The challengers team however were blown away as James and Martyn
played superb golf and won the next 6 holes in 1 under gross. Both teams
could only bogey the short par three 12th but a nett birdie from James at
the 13th secured the win. |
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| Alan Tolley & Paul Weston | half | Howard Holliday & John Evans | A/S |
|
PW: During our tight match with Howard/John
at Ormskirk in the fourballs I noticed Howard had this habit
of pushing his trolley and letting it run off a bit at
times. As we approached the 6th green he did this and turned
away briefly, but when he looked back his trolley was
heading off up the green, leaving Howard to pick up the
pace and quickly steer it in the other direction. AT: I nailed my drive down the 1st, and with the normally reliable Howard off to the right with no sight of the green, it looked like we’d get off to a great start, especially when I found the green in 2 with a 5 wood, but HH unbelievably got it onto the green from an almost impossible angle and, after I’d 3-putted from the edge, a 2 putt from Howard was enough to put them 1up. Whatever Paul and I tried (and it’s fair to say, neither of us was at our best) we couldn’t match Howard. Even John was standing in awe at some of the shots his partner played and, even when he found himself in trouble (which wasn’t often) he never missed a putt inside 10 feet. Our day was summed up at the 11th when, with Howard and I both 3 feet away, I suggested a ‘half’ and we both picked up, only to be told by my partner Paul that I had a shot on that hole – typical! We stepped onto the 13th tee 3down and thinking the match would soon be over. I jokingly said to Paul ‘we can still get a point out of this’ without really believing it, but somehow my game suddenly came together out of nowhere and I managed a par at the long 13th (even missing a 4 foot putt for a 4). I then followed that with a tee shot to 15 feet at the short 14th and then drained it for a 2. Only 2 down now but, at the difficult 15th I rolled in yet another putt, this time from 10 feet for the win, and only one in it. We halved the 16th and 17th with good play from Paul so we stood on the 18th tee knowing we needed to win it to gain a half point. I managed a decent enough tee shot but Paul hit his worst of the day and was out of it. Howard launched his best of the day – some 70 yards past mine but I took out a 3 wood and caught it perfectly, the ball finishing just 40 yards short of the green. HH was almost pin high but just off to the right with his approach. I then pitched on, the ball running just past the pin to the back of the green. Howard chipped stone dead to make certain of the 4 which meant I now had a downhill 10 footer, to win the hole and secure the half point. Just as the younger Tolley did at the same hole in the morning foursomes, I rolled the putt right into the centre of the cup to halve the match. I was level par gross for the last 6 holes but even they we didn’t win, the way HH played, it still felt like a victory – especially as it turned out this would be the only match Howard didn’t win! |
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| Alex Tolley & Alan Heard | beat | Adam Thompson & Karl Hughes | 2up |
|
KH: 3up early on but Alex with shots unbeatable. Adam T: All was looking rosy for the early on for challengers as we went 3up. However, as the round progressed our lead slipped away. We had our chances, but I missed crucial putts that cost us in the end in a 2 & 1 defeat. Alex was again in good form and played exceptionally well for his first tour, so hopefully I could avoid him over the next 2 days in order that I might be able to get a point! Alex T: Playing with a clean-shaven Al Heard (it seemed to have taken years off him) we were soon 3 down and destined for defeat but we eventually clawed it back and stood on the 18th tee 1up. I played one of my best shots on tour, a 7-iron into the heart of the green and we never got to play the hole out as the Challengers conceded. |
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| John Shaw & Gordon Galloway | beat | Mark Johnson & Peter Meaney | 3/2 |
|
MJ: A tight start for the first three holes left us all
square, brightened by Peters nett birdie on the second which gave us hope.
This was quickly dashed by losing three holes from four to six all at the
hands of some great golf from Gordon. Peter pulled a couple back at eight
and nine with two superb pars. After the turn, three halved holes suggested
a very tight match but a birdie by Gordon on the par five thirteenth left us
two down and we were unable to recover on fourteen - three down. Peter
again gave hope by winning fifteen but two sixes to two fours on sixteen
meant we lost the match. JS: Gordon had major issues for the front nine with pushing his drives mainly into the trees. John played solidly though and by the sixth John and Gordon were three up. Peter won 8 and 9 to reduce the deficit to one. Gordon sank a 20 foot downhill putt on 13 and John's flopshot over a bunker on the 14th to 18 inches increased the lead to three. Solid pars from John and Gordon on 16 closed the match at 3 and 2. |
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| Steve Barkshire & Gary Tyler | beat | Kevin Morris & Steve Harris | 3/2 |
|
No match report received. |
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| Craig Vale & Ian Talboys | beat | Adrian Marchant & Terry Tomkiss | 3/1 |
|
No match report received. |
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| Jamie Moore & Ross Galloway | beat | Bobby Ho & Simon Hayward | 2up |
|
No match report received. |
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| Steve Lloyd & Bill Hancock | beat | Shaun Mullaney & Steve Gross | 2/1 |
|
SL: This was a very tight match with some good quality golf
which comprised 13 halves over the course of the match. The first five holes
were halved with Steve and Bill winning the 6th, followed by two more
halves. Steve’s birdie then won the par five 9th to go 2up at the turn. This
was reduced to 1up after Shaun’s par was enough to win the 11th. It was then
back to ‘halving’ for the next five, although Steve and Bill were lucky to
survive on the 15th after Steve sank a monster putt and we were sighing in
relief again on 16 after Bill made a great 5 nett 4 for half. With Steve
being the only player to hit the 17th, he duly rolled in his putt for a two
and the 2/1 victory. BH: Steve and Bill overcame Shaun and Steve G in the end largely thanks to Steve Lloyd who hit his ball unreasonably straight and long. |
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| Tim Thacker & Dave Grubb | beat | Phil Latham & Gordon Sullivan | 3/2 |
|
No match report received. |
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| Steven Raji & Graham Adams | beat | Graham Thorpe & Mike Fox | 1up |
|
MF: The afternoon Fourballs
were a different kettle of fish, Graham
Thorpe and the Fox were very steady on the
front nine. Graham Adams and Steve Raji were
three down as the captains team went off the
boil! Were all square on fourteen! Lo
and behold Foxy’s trusty steed gave up the
ghost! While the others waited on
fifteen, I managed to coax the steed nearly
to the clubhouse lol! Having had mobile
phone conversations with the steward!
Everyone pissing themselves laughing, Howard
Holliday my knight in shining armour (Tommy)
brought me a pull trolley! To cut a long
story short, we lost 1up . Then again
batteries proved a problem for me as both my
hearing aids went dead also........... GT: Mike and I have played together previously so on his sturdy steed we set off by not giving our opponents an inch and after 9 holes we were 3up. Things started to change as Steve Raji found his game and won the next 3 holes out of four. Then on the 14th Graham Adams hit a beauty onto the green and sunk his putt to level the match, all square. Mike’s sturdy steed was knackered (battery low) and he just about coaxed it back to the stables as the rest of us took a time out (25 minutes!). On resumption of play Mike informed me his hearing aid batteries were now running low and he was not sure he could continue - we were definitely in need of the Duracel bunny! However we won the 15th and halved the 16th even after Graham Adams had smashed his second from the rough to within inches from the pin. The 17th was a disaster for three players but Steve Raji chipped out of a difficult bunker and sunk his putt to level the match. Onward to the 18th : Mike & Graham were both on in 3 shots with Graham Adams chipping his fourth shot just passed the flag. Graham sunk his putt for a gross five nett 4 to take the match as Mike & Graham both missed their puts. A very close and exiting game, which did not finish until 8-00 pm! |
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Match Score
Captain's Team - 10.5 / Challenger's Team - 9.5
Lunch at Ormskirk
In the evening back at the hotel, and with only 1 point separating the 2 sides, dinner was a harmonious affair with the 2 captains sitting at the same table. Alan had to explain to Shaun why he was a supporter of Germany (Shaun must have been the only one who hadn’t heard it all before) but, with the Germans beating the Algerians to move into the quarter finals of the World Cup, Alan was understandably in good spirits. Funnily enough, unlike previous tours which have taken place when either a World Cup of Euro tournament has been taking place, this time there was no one prepared to bet against Germany winning!
Monday 30th June 2014 - morning
West Lancashire Golf Club
10 x foursomes matches
Putting Practice at West Lancashire
Another glorious day, weather-wise and, with the teams finely balanced after the first day’s play, 36 holes at a fantastic links course to look forward to.
A 25 minute drive south from Southport, past the famous Royal Birkdale links, West Lancs is among the ten oldest courses in the country and has been described as one of the most natural and testing links in the whole of the British Isles. When the wind blows it is said to be a severe test indeed, but today the weather was relatively benign so if you could stay out of the rough it was a reasonable day for scoring well.
| Graham Bilsland & Howard Holliday | beat | Dave Grubb & Graham Thorpe | 2/1 |
|
GT: Starting with 18 shots we were still apprehensive to be
in such exalted company so Graham B said. We were 2 down after 2 holes but
then we started to play winning the next three holes and at the turn we were
all square. We won the 10th & 11th and halved the 12th : all of a sudden we
could see the winning line but then disaster struck Grubby couldn’t get off
the tee and Graham B started taking irons off the tee (he must have been
worried) whilst his partner had lost one of his balls clearly marked “The
Doc” in the rough at the 11th. And appeared to be fretting for it. They
pulled themselves together won the next 4 holes and halved the 17th to win 2
& 1, but at times we had them worried! |
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| Simon Hayward & Phil Latham | beat | Mike Fox & Steve Harris | 3/2 |
|
MF: Second morning Foxy was paired with
Steve Harris well all I can say is disaster we tried but a
nemesis in the form of Hayward! We were well beaten!
The only thing that brought me out in the afternoon was a 30
foot breaking putt for a birdie on fifteen lol to take us to
dormy three! |
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| Bill Hancock & Jamie Moore | half | Bobby Ho & Steve Barkshire | A/S |
|
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| John Shaw & Karl Hughes | beat | Terry Tomkiss & Peter Meaney | 5/4 |
|
KH: easy win - Terry had a mare so Peter never stood a
chance. JS: Peter was already feeling the pressure after losing to John the day before. Peter played well but unfortunately Terry had a few scuffs from good positions. It was all square after four. Karl then thinned an eight iron to ten foot for two on 5 and Terry was in a bunker front right for 4 with a shot. Terry then inexplicably began to rake the bunker before playing his shot and so conceded. Terry and Peter then lost the next three holes. On 9 Peter became hot under the collar after Terry sliced his approach shot into the rough. He then accused Karl of ringing the bell at the side of the fairway on Terry's downswing. John and Karl pointed out that either Karl had twenty yard long arms or the noise could have come from an adjacent construction site. This didn't put Terry off has he proceeded to sink a long putt on the green for a four to reduce the arrears to three at the turn. Peter then heard the sound of "the bell" again and apologised after realising that Karl didn't have Inspector Gadget arms and that the construction workers were to blame. A 7 nett 6 for Peter and Terry reduced the arrears to two on 11. Things were getting desperate for the Captain's team and on 13 Terry tried to decapitate John his ball with a full wedge shot to see if that would help. John and Karl realised that they would wrap the match up on 14 when they had to point out to Terry and Peter where the green was for their approach shots when it was plainly in view. |
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| Alan Heard & Paul Weston | beat | Steven Raji & Craig Vale | 9/8 |
|
No match report received. |
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| Gordon Galloway & Ian Talboys | beat | Steve Lloyd & Adrian Marchant | 2up |
|
SL: Steve and Marcho took an immediate lead after their
opponents lost their opening tee shot. Ian and Gordon struck back immediately at the
2nd and then went 1up with a birdie 2 and the 3rd. The 4th was halved and
then Steve and Marcho won 3 of the next 5 (losing the 7th) to be one up at
the turn. Pars at 10, 11 and 12 resulted in two wins to put them 3up . Ian
and Gordon pulled one back with a par at 13, but with a shot hole to come on
14, Steve and Marcho looked well in control. However, Marcho carved one way
right into the jungle on 14 to lose the hole and that reduced the deficit to
one. 15 was halved in par and another par for Ian and Gordon was enough to
square the match with two to play. Both missed the green on the par 3, 17th,
but a poor bunker shot from Adrian followed by a fluffed chip by Steve meant
they had gone from 3up after 11 to 1 down on the 18th tee. Marcho hadn’t had
the best of mornings off the tee but smacked a great one down the centre.
With Ian and Gordon missing the green with their second, all Steve had to do
was find the green with a 9 iron to half the match but Steve hit a shocker
into the rough on the right, losing the ball and the match was over. GG: Recall that Steve L was particularly pissed off losing to me (& Talboys?) at West Lancs, having been in control all the way round. |
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| Tim Thacker & James Shipman | beat | Gary Tyler & John Mansell | 4/3 |
| JS: Clown wear day 2. JM in fireworks trousers failed to ignite his golf game. A slow start left Tim and James 1up after bogeys on the first 4 holes. At the turn after a fine 5 holes played in one under gross the pair stood at 5up. Then a lapse in concentration on 10 and an airshot from James at 11 saw the Challengers claw back to 3 down. Tim and James woke up though and closed out the match 4 and 3. | |||
| Martyn Dodwell & Ross Galloway | beat | John Evans & Graham Adams | 2/1 |
|
No match report received. |
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| Steve Gross & Gordon Sullivan | beat | Alex Tolley & Kevin Morris | 1up |
|
KM: at the 2nd hole when faced with an impossible bunker
shot from a greenside bunker with a vertical face 12ft high, Gordon Sullivan
said he was going to give it a go. He certainly did that - lofting it out of
the trap and straight into the hole. This was followed by Steve Gross
jumping into the bunker to hug him after Steve presumably felt guilty for
nobbing it in there in the first place!! Alex T: we were playing well and 3up leaving the 12th but they suddenly won 4 holes in a row and we found ourselves 1 down playing the 18th and couldn’t quite get the half point in the end. |
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| Shaun Mullaney & Adam Thompson | beat | Alan Tolley & Mark Johnson | 2/1 |
|
Adam T: When I saw the name
Tolley on the draw sheet my heart sank,
luckily though it was Alan and not Alex!
The match didn't start well and we struggled
early on against some steady foursomes
play. We got back to level at the turn and
I think the pivotal moment in the match
arrived at the 12th the uphill par 3. SM: 12th hole - we lost a ball off the tee, provisional was in the front trap and our opponents were just off the back edge in one. We then splashed out to about 12 feet. However, the captains team took a further 4 shots to get down. Sean then stepped up and holed for a half. We then parred the next 5 holes and ran out winners 2 up. Alan T: The 1st hole was a scrappy affair, neither side apparently wanting to win it. The feature of the next 4/5 holes was Shaun putting his playing partner in all sorts of trouble but, on at least 3 of those occasions, Thommo not only managed to extricate his ball from the knee deep stuff, with hardly any stance at all, but each time he somehow got the ball onto the putting surface within putting range – unbelievable stuff! It was no surprise that, with Mark and I struggling to find our top form, the Challengers were soon 2up and coasting. We hung in there though and thought we’d got it back to only 1 down at the short 12th when Mark’s tee shot was just over the back of the green and, after searching for 5 minutes, we never found Thommo’s tee shot so Shaun had to walk all the way back to the tee to play a provisional – which he duly dumped in the front right bunker. We then proceeded to make a mess of our chipping and couldn’t better a 5. Thommo splashed out of the bunker and then watched as Shaun nonchalantly rolled in a 20 footer for an unlikely half. It proved to be the turning point in the match. We never gave up though and, despite some really sloppy play from both of us on the next 2 holes we still managed to take the match as far as the 17th where I drained a 10 footer for a par 3 to at least make Thommo a putt from 4 feet, which he did and the match was over. No disgrace to lose to 2 players in good form but we never really used the shots we had so didn’t really deserve anything from this one. |
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Match Score
Captain's Team - 14 / Challenger's Team - 16
Monday 30th June 2014 -
afternoon
West Lancashire Golf Club
10 x fourball-betterball matches
| Dave Grubb & Steve Harris | beat | Graham Bilsland & Simon Hayward | 1up |
|
No match report received. |
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| Howard Holliday & Phil Latham | beat | Bill Hancock & Terry Tomkiss | 2/1 |
|
BH: Howard and Phil were always a little
bit too good for Terry and Bill – though not by much. A
close match, but the right result. |
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| John Shaw & Steve Barkshire | beat | Graham Thorpe & Alan Heard | 5/4 |
|
JS: The match started well for the challenger's team
winning the first two holes with some solid play from Steve. The Captain's
team fought back to be one down after 5. John then played the next 8 holes
in two under gross and with a halving bogey on 14 resulted in a 5 and 4
victory. GT: Three Yorkshiremen together with a Leicester man there wasn’t anything you could tell us. Steve was playing with the same tee peg tied to a piece of string he has had for the last three years (sounds like he could qualify as a northerner with this expertise) Unfortunately this was not a game it was an exhibition from John Shaw on how to strike a golf ball straight at every hole. His game was immaculate. Steve & John were 3up at the turn. They then won two more holes and halved the other three to finish clear winners 5 & 4. As for the two other Yorkshire Puddings we were just grateful we got back through the long rough to the clubhouse to sink some pints. |
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| Karl Hughes & Steven Raji | beat | Peter Meaney & Mike Fox | 2/1 |
|
KH: Karl started well - Steve helped - 4up and cruising -
however Peter and Foxy fought back well to make it all square and then
wasted the opportunity to go 1up. Couple of bad holes back to back from Foxy
and Peter and with Steve playing the 17th well it resulted in win for Karl
and Steve with some relief. MF: In the afternoon I apologised to Peter Meaney before we started as the West Lancs rough and course were a bit too much for me. Unfortunately, I really tried and we did manage to square the match at one stage but lost one up. |
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| Steve Lloyd & Tim Thacker | half | Gordon Galloway & Bobby Ho | A/S |
|
SL: Steve and Tim started well and were 2up after 3 but
Bobby and Gordon played the next four holes in -1 to square the match. Pars
at each of 8/9/10 were enough to win each of the holes for Steve and Tim to
put them 3up and in full control. However, Bobby and Gordon fought straight
back winning the next three to even things up again. On the blind tee shot
at 14, all four players hit good tee shots, with Tim’s the best of the lot.
Unfortunately, Tim’s ball was nowhere to be found much to everyone’s
disbelief, meaning Gordon went 1up with a 4 nett 3. Steve’s par at 15
immediately evened things up again. 16 and 17 were halved (with both Steve
and Gordon lipping out for birdie). All square on the 18th tee, Tim smacked
one down the centre, Steve pulled one left (lost ball), Gordon and Bobby
were both down the right and both subsequently missed the green. Tim had an
8 iron in his hand : all he had to do was hit the green and probably win the
match but, like Steve did in his foursomes match earlier, Tim carved one
into the deep rough on the right. He managed to make a five and Steve/Tim
breathed a high sign of relief after both Gordon and Bobby missed makeable
putts to win the match. GG: A half at West Lancs in the afternoon between me & Bobby vs Steve & Tim, again with Steve being in control – 3up after 9 I think. |
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| Adrian Marchant & James Shipman | beat | Ian Talboys & Craig Vale | 5/3 |
|
JS: The highlight of a tight first 9 was Marcho draining a
birdie putt on the short 6th to square a tight match. At the turn the pair
were 1up but 5 pars from James and two fantastic birdies from Marcho on
13th and 16th following impressive 210 yard hybrids into each green sealed
the challengers fate. The Talboys wheels feel off at 11th when Ian ‘went for
it’ in two after a 300 yard drive. Craig advised lay up with a 9 iron,
Instead, Ian thrashed a 3 wood deep into the rough and both the hole and his
head were lost. |
|||
| Adam Thompson & Gary Tyler | beat | Ross Galloway & Kevin Morris | 2/1 |
|
KM: Just watching Gary Tyler step backwards to line his
putt up, then disappearing head first into a greenside bunker, was worth the
green fee alone! AT: Kev was playing great golf over the front 9 and we were 4 down through 8 holes. It was going that badly that Gary decided to fall into a bunker whilst lining up a putt - this didn't help with his alignment and the putt was missed!! The rulebook came out down the 11th as I found myself on the cobbled road by the wall next to train line. Kev very kindly researched the ruling for about 10 minutes and deemed there was no relief. This obviously distracted the captain’s team as they lost the next 3 holes with Gary playing some good golf. Ross had lost so many balls during the round he was not playing with anything that was vaguely round. It didn't matter as it was generally hit for only one shot anyway before being sent a long long way into the rough, accompanied by that well known golfing phrase "f**k off you c**t"! RG: Yo! I can't remember too much about it. It was some hole on the front line but basically Gary was lining up a put by holding his putter in the air and was walking backwards at the same time - next thing I know he had stumbled back into a head height bunker! |
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| Alan Tolley & Alex Tolley | beat | John Mansell & Graham Adams | 7/6 |
|
AT: Any thoughts we might have had that this was going to
be easy were temporarily extinguished at the very first hole when, after a
cracking drive straight down the middle, I ended up 3 putting from less than
20 feet and the Challengers went 1up. I say ‘temporarily’ because we then
proceeded to win the next 5 holes to go 4up. One of those was the short 3rd
where my tee shot finished a matter of inches from the a hole in one – with
40 participants on tour that could have proved quite expensive if it had
gone in ! Graham proved that he would make an excellent ‘reservist’ as he
set about the course playing true ‘army’ golf, hitting it left, then right,
then left again – something you simply don’t get away with at West Lancs
given the severity of the rough. For his part, John certainly looked dashing
and debonair in his outfit for the day, but his attire wasn’t matched by his
golf and, instead, he got the opportunity on several holes to study the
flora and fauna that the West Lancs rough had to offer. On the front 9 he
twice found his ball inside the obligatory 5 minutes but then proceeded to
lose the next one somewhere in the same area but with no hope of finding it.
Our steady play, combined with Graham and John’s quest to visit parts of the
course which hadn’t been seen for many years meant that we were 6up with 7
to play and when Alex and I both found the green at the par 3 uphill 12th,
Graham and John promptly lost both of their balls and the match was over. |
|||
| Mark Johnson & Jamie Moore | beat | John Evans & Steve Gross | 2up |
|
MJ: A couple of halves started the match in friendly
fashion before Jamie wins the third with a steady par. The fourth - MCJ is
on in three and putts up to the hole and is given the putt. Steve then comes
from the back of the green and is well short but has a shot so can still
halve. He picks up and says well that's your hole. It seems there had been a
bit of a mix up and so we agree we cannot take the hole. A Moore birdie wins
us the fifth before Steve pars the sixth to win. A couple of halved holes
are followed by another win by Jamie playing some sublime golf. 2 up at the
turn. The Gross/Evans combo then struggle on eleven and twelve as we move
to four up. They suddenly win three out of four holes with some very good
golf to be one down with two to play. Seventeen is halved when John recovers
with a very good chip over a bunker from a downhill lie. Everything to play
for on eighteen but some steady golf from Jamie after we were unsure his tee
shot would be found wins the hole to be two up and a win. |
|||
| Martyn Dodwell & Paul Weston | beat | Shaun Mullaney & Gordon Sullivan | 5/4 |
|
SM: On the 8th at West
Lancs in the afternoon - the game was at an
important stage as Martyn and Paul were
starting to get a strangle hold on the match
but whilst Shaun stood over a putt to claw
back a hole his partner Gordon Sullivan
decided he would show his support by bearing
all and exposing his dazzling white Y
fronts! When asked by Martyn (in the way
only Martyn can!) what are you doing?
Gordon's response was "sorting it out!" It's
got uncomfortable! None the less it seemed
Gordon knew what he was doing providing
Shaun the necessary motivation to hole his
putt for the win! You cannot buy that kind
of experience. PW: In the afternoon at West Lancs Martyn Dodwell & I played Shaun & Gordon, after going 1up at the 5th we never really looked back but I will never forget what happened on the 7th. Martyn, Shaun & myself were putting on the green with Gordon’s ball in a dip at the back, Just before I putted I turned to see Gordon with his trousers down by his knees with his white underwear in full view. Martin asked him if he was playing to which Gordon replied “I haven’t got a club”, Martins asked “Well what was that you had in your hand then”. Gordon turned with that usual smile on his face and continued to sort himself out, a sight that will haunt me for life ! |
|||
Match Score
Captain's Team - 19.5 / Challenger's Team - 20.5
Just like the Germans and those dreaded sunbeds, having an early tee time meant you could be back in time to get one of the ‘prized’ parking spots within the hotel’s grounds, although even some of the earlier starters found it difficult to manoeuvre round Phil Latham’s mighty beast that he calls his car!
Shaun and Alan met before dinner started to sort out the singles pairings for the final day but Peter Meaney had a problem trying to understand that the draw was a ‘secret’ one, which meant he couldn’t hang around and watch!
Tuesday 1st July 2014
Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club
20 x singles matches
The final day of the tour, still only 1 point between the 2 sides but the Challengers with the slight advantage and, with a better win % overall, it would be a tough battle for the Captain’s side to come out on top at the end of the day. The Society also visited here back in 2006 and we woke to yet another superb day, weather-wise and the prospect of another great course to do battle on. S & A is a true championship links set among the dunes of the north west coastline and has previous hosted 2 Ryder Cup matches, in 1933 and 1937. This time, it would decide the outcome of this year’s tour.
| Alan Tolley | beat | Shaun Mullaney | 2/1 |
|
SM: Last day in our match on the 8th hole, Alan asked if he
could move Shaun Mullaney's trolley to the side whilst he played a blind
second shot 50 yards away up the fairway. Shaun agreed, only to look back to
see his trolley travelling unmanned towards a ditch! Mr Bolt himself would
have been unable to catch it in time. An apologetic Alan even let Shaun
retrieve it from the ditch! The lengths some people will go to win a
match?!?! AT: With final Open qualifying taking place at the adjoining Hillside golf club, and the British Women’s Open due at Royal Birkdale the week afterwards, the crowds could have opted for a more entertaining day by coming to watch the singles play over what proved to be the tough links of Southport and Ainsdale. One of the top golf managers in the world, Chubby Chandler was seen coming out of the pro’s shop before play began but, as far as I know, he didn’t see anyone amongst us worth signing up ! Maybe he’d stopped to see Shaun’s opening tee shot which made it just past the ladies tee but into the wispy stuff to the right of the walkway. I hit the perfect tee shot, arrow straight, but , with the course running really fast, the ball went just to the back of the green. It was good enough to go 1up at the first and I could have doubled that lead at the 2nd but my approach just fell off to the right into a large greenside bunker and I simply didn’t have the ability to get the ball out from there so all square. It was nip and tuck over the opening holes but I was 2up walking off the 7th and looking to increase that lead when my tee shot at the difficult short 8th found the green. Shaun then noticed that I’d tee’d off from outside the markers so I had to play again. This time, it was a horrid ‘shank’ which finished somewhere near the 9th tee but I somehow managed to get the ball onto the back of the green from there, and then holed the 20 footer across the green to halve the hole. Neither of us hit great tee shots at the 9th but, while Shaun was lining up his next effort I decided I would move his trolley to give me more room. Never having managed an electric trolley before I must have pressed the wrong button because his trolley set off at right angles straight into the nearby ditch. Talk about gamesmanship – I even let Shaun retrieve it himself, just in case I did any further damage ! After the half way house, I ‘lost’ it for the next 3 holes, allowing Shaun back into the game just as my own game went waywards. It was at this moment that I had a talking to from Alex and at the 15th I was presented with a great chance to re-take the lead but 3 putted from the fringe so it was still all square as we set off up the 16th fairway, both having hit good drives. My second shot only just cleared the railway sleepers but was up there somewhere. Shaun took dead aim at the marker post down the fairway with a rescue club and hit what we all thought was the perfect shot. When we got over the bank however, there was no sign of Shaun’s ball and when I put my next shot pin high to the right of the green, he conceded the hole and I was 1up with two to play. Despite the 17th being a daunting tee shot I put mine straight down the middle. Shaun’s tee shot was slightly to the left but didn’t appear to be in any trouble – until we got down there and, after yet another 5 minutes fruitless search, and a 3 wood from me to just short of the green, Shaun conceded and the match was over. |
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| Alex Tolley | beat | Steve Gross | 3/1 |
|
AT: it was pretty even over the first few
holes but Steve had got his nose in front around the turn so
I had to play better on the back 9, which I did, and
fortunately for me, Steve’s game wasn’t as good and I played
really steady to eventually close out the match on the 17th. |
|||
| Howard Holliday | beat | Steve Lloyd | 4/3 |
|
SL: Steve and Howard were meeting for the third time in
four years in the singles (some match fixing suggestions were being bandied
about). Howard was as straight as a die off the tee for the majority of the
match and Steve had to do a lot of ‘scrambling’ to be just one down at the
turn. Holes 10 and 11 were halved but the 12th was crucial. Howard, once
again, hit a long drive down the centre while Steve (with a shot) carved one
out to the right into a horrible lie in the heather. With no percentage play
to get it back onto the fairway, Steve made a sensible decision to take a
penalty drop 15 yards backwards onto a path and then hit his best shot of
the entire trip, over the trees and onto the green to surely salvage a half
and maybe even square the match with a win. Howard had other thoughts,
however, as he found the green and rolled in a 30 footer for birdie to win
the hole and go 2up. Steve sank a 20 footer on 13 for a par to give him some
hope but Howard followed him in from 18 feet and pars at the next two were
enough to secure a well deserved 4/3 victory. |
|||
| Adam Thompson | beat | Mark Johnson | 2up |
|
MJ: This match was up and down all through. The front nine
ended all square with each of us winning four holes and both having three
hole winning streaks. The back nine started with a half in 3 before Adam
parred the eleventh with a superb recovery from behind a bunker by the
green. A good sand shot won me the 12th before we halved the next two in
pars. We both tried to give the fifteenth away with very poor drives into
the right side rubbish. Adam recovered better to win the hole. I won 16 with
my shot to be square again. Seventeen seemed to be going my way until I
managed to miss the green with my third and failed to chip over the bunker
when Adam had had trouble from the tee. One down. Needing to win the last, I
failed to clear the hill with my drive and later played the wrong ball when
chipping onto the green. Adam wins two up. On the eighteenth tee , in the
other match, Steve said that he must be playing a different hole to the rest
of us as he hit his miles right ( where he intended to). We all went down
the left. He was aiming at something on the range thinking the hole went
right rather than left. AT: This was a close match all the way. Mark played some steady golf and holed some great putts. He also stiffed a couple out of greenside bunkers when I thought the hole was mine. I drove and putted terribly, but my iron play kept me in the match. We were level through 16, but we both had a shocker down 17 which I managed to win with a double bogey 6. A par at 18 was enough for a 2up victory which was harsh on Mark. |
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| John Shaw | beat | Martyn Dodwell | 6/5 |
|
JS: I played steady golf and only used a hybrid so kept my
driver in the bag. I played the front nine in 1 over par and was 6up. Martyn
won the 11th but on a shot hole on 12 he shanked a shot that had been driven
into the rough even further into the deep stuff and struggled to get to the
green in six, eventually conceding. A half in four on 13 ended the match.
So I won all five matches and remarked at dinner to Tim and Kevin that I
might even win the blackout for the first time - and I did! |
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| Gordon Galloway | beat | Tim Thacker | 2/1 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Karl Hughes | beat | Steve Harris | 2/1 |
|
KH: a close match - Karl 2up after 10 - Steve won 3 on
bounce to go 1up but then lost next 2 holes - he then failed to win 16 from
a good position with 3 putts and then 3 putted again at 17 to allow Karl to
win match - overall very few halved holes - interesting match - won by the
least worst golfer. |
|||
| Kevin Morris | beat | Simon Hayward | 3/1 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Ian Talboys | beat | Adrian Marchant | 5/3 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Bobby Ho | beat | James Shipman | 6/5 |
|
JS: Bobby Ho on fire
stunned James into a crushing 6/5 loss. At
the turn Bobby was 7up and only 4 over par.
It would have been worse had James’s thinned
chip on the 4th not hit the flag flush
dropping stone dead. Bobby’s play was
immaculate and was too hot to handle. The
reason appeared to be the energy he gained
from finding his laser range finder covered
in melted chocolate and licking it off.
James put the memory of the defeat to bed by
parring in from 14. |
|||
| Steve Barkshire | beat | Paul Weston | 1up |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Jamie Moore | beat | Craig Vale | 3/2 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Gary Tyler | beat | Dave Grubb | 4/3 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Mike Fox | half | Steven Raji | A/S |
|
MF: Singles day! Paired against Steven Raji twice
already and he usually came good on the back nine beating my partners one up
each time lol. This time I made a game plan working out which club I would
use on each drive !!!!! Worked very well I got to four up! But I knew
Steve would come good , which he did. The only time I went against my game
plan was a par five when I took driver lol. Butchy Boy my golf tipster (aka
driver head cover )! Went on to lose that hole , Steve played really
well although I stuck to my plan managed to lose three holes on the trot lol
all square on the tee 17 Steve found trouble I managed to win the hole to go
one up. Eighteen was a disaster with Steve winning the hole lol so all in
all a half . Just a bit of titter! Walking off one green behind Grubby
who was swinging his putter! I stepped on the head hitting me straight in
the wedding tackle! |
|||
| Graham Thorpe | beat | John Evans | 3/2 |
|
GT: Another great game Graham raced into a 3 hole lead
after 6 holes which John reduced to 1up at the turn. Graham birdied the 10th
with a 2 but then John came back and won the 11th & 12th then halved the
13th so all square with five holes to play. Having lost the lead in 3 other
matches I didn’t like the way this game was going. On the 14th a wild drive
from Graham was eventually found but a good recovery saw me on the green for
3. John had played a good tee shot but pulled his second into the gorse
which cost him a shot and the hole. On the 15th Graham hit a good drive and
a six iron onto the green. John hit sand from the tee and could only make 5,
so 2 down. The 16th (Grumbleys) we were both tucked up under the sleepers so
we sent John Mansell on his buggy to give us the correct line. After waiting
five or six minutes we took the law into our own hands and aimed for the
best. Unfortunately John hit a good shot but too far left into the rough as
Graham managed to just clear the rough. John Mansell never returned and was
found asleep in the buggy down the middle of the fairway !. Graham closed
the hole out and was victorious - his first tour win. |
|||
| Bill Hancock | beat | John Mansell | 9/7 |
|
BH: Bill played well, John did not. ‘Nuff said. |
|||
| Gordon Sullivan | beat | Ross Galloway | 2up |
|
RG: The only thing to note was that Gordon was only 1up at
the 9th and that was the first time he offered me a ride in the buggy (maybe
his tactics). I threw it away on the last with it being dormie and me being
just short of the bunker in 2 and he was the 3 into the bunker and then I duffed the bloody chip! |
|||
| Terry Tomkiss | beat | Graham Adams | 4/3 |
|
No match report received. |
|||
| Alan Heard | half | Graham Bilsland | A/S |
|
Sounds like a ‘tight’ match? Don’t be fooled..... This one ended all square
because apparently, half way round Graham was complaining of feeling ‘ill’
and so they both shook hands on the half. Given GB’s nocturnal exploits
during each night the tour most of us weren’t sure whether he was simply
‘shagged’out! The surprise to most of us back at the
clubhouse was, having shaken hands round about the 11th, why did they carry
on to the 18th? The mystery remains unsolved! |
|||
| Peter Meaney | beat | Neil Preston | 6/5 |
| NP: As a substitute on the last day I can only offer my congratulations to Peter Meaney who, playing off a handicap of 13, went round a tough course in 3 over gross. This was 10 shots better than par and probably 12 shots better than the CSS if there had been one. I must have played okay to have lost only 6 and 5! No doubt the Society handicap committee will be busy at the next meeting. Although defeated, I enjoyed the day very much. | |||
Final Match Score
Captain's Team - 28.5 / Challenger's Team - 31.5
So, even though the match had been close for much of the time it came down to the last few matches to decide the overall score in favour of the Challengers Team. Sitting on the club house verandah watching those final games finish Shaun and I knew it was going to be close but although my team did a fantastic job we couldn’t quite pull it off. The Challengers proved to be more durable down the stretch and were worthy winners in the end.
Captain's Tour Highlights
- Adam Thompson being hugely relieved that he’d be playing me and not Alex in the 2nd day’s foursomes at West Lancs.
- Gordon Galloway and his son Ross appearing to have only one change of clothes throughout the entire 3 days – a far from matching shorts and ‘T’ shirt combination (does orange actually go with blue?)
- Ross, a late replacement, must have taken one look at Gordon Sullivan on the last day in the singles and, comparing the age difference and the differing physiques must have thought it was going to be a stroll in the park. What must he have been thinking after getting a pasting from the Society’s octogenarian?
- Trying to park in the hotel’s narrow car park whilst negotiating our way round Phil Latham’s massive 10-tonner (OK, so I’m exaggerating but, after he’d gone home early on the Tuesday morning you should have seen how much space was left!)
- John Shaw, clearly playing a different course from the rest of us mere mortals. Indeed, the form he was in, he should have been over the road at Hillside trying to qualify for the Open!
- John, over dinner at S & A admiring his 5-0 record and speculating that, on this form, he might well win the blackout as well – which he duly did.
- Howard Holliday, always good company on and off the course, but it was stretching it at times when he holed everything within 15 feet ! (Along with Paul Weston, we were still the only ones to take a half point off him though).
- Alex and I at West Lancs in the fourballs on the second day, sparing a thought for the beleaguered green staff who’d had to waste their time mowing the fairways when Graham Adams and John Mansell flatly refused to use them.
- The worried member of staff at West Lancs who came into the club house while we were having lunch to ask if there was a problem with one of our group as he’d spotted him sitting in his car with the door open but couldn’t get him to respond. We had to point out that it wasn’t a problem, as it was only Gordon Sullivan, who was clearly having 40 winks!
- Neil Preston, who stepped into Phil Latham’s shoes for the day and, having travelled all the way from the Midlands in such high temperatures, still lost his match (but enjoyed himself all the same).
- Last year’s winning Captain, Ian Talboys, leaving the trophy at home so I had nothing to present Shaun with (bet that looks great on the photo?
- Finally, the ‘committee’, having spotted a ‘cock’ made out of rock in a town centre shop, decided that we should have a ‘cock of the weekend’ award and there was really only one person who the award could have gone to. It wasn’t his play though, what won it, it was the unique way that he dressed himself, often in garish colours, playing some of the worst golf of his life and still falling asleep at the dinner table each night. Yes, the ‘cock’ of the weekend (and he took it in good spirits) was none other than John Mansell.
John Mansell, Cock of the Weekend
Quote from the Challenging Captain
Why me? Well, as a long-standing member of the Society and someone who is not backwards in coming forwards with his opinions, especially on previous tours on how captains have picked their pairings, I decided I would give it a go. So, what was the pairings master plan ? Very easy really – foursomes people with similar handicaps and fourballs, high and low together. The most important ingredient though ? No, not my motivational speeches, or my enthusiasm for simply being the captain, but each team member’s golfing skills – and of course, the help from the golfing gods who shined well on John Shaw but completely forgot about John Mansell. Well done everyone – it was an honour!
Quote from the Captain
Yet another terrific tour, brilliantly organised (Steve even managed to sort out the perfect weather this time) and it was a really close match in the end. I’d like to thank all my team for playing their part and for running the Challengers close all the way despite their huge advantage given their past tour win %. I am grateful to James Shipman who kindly added the following tribute: “Thank you for your Captaincy and making the tour such a well co-ordinated affair”.
All I can say is, it was a pleasure to be the captain this year and my special thanks must go to my Vice Captain, Mark Johnson for his assistance and support – it’s your turn next year Mark so the best of British!
We are all indebted to Steve who works tirelessly on behalf of the Society to put things together and, as everyone involved in the Committee will testify, he spends literally hours and hours making sure all the arrangements are in place so a big thank you on behalf of everyone who came on this year’s tour to Steve.
Finally, my congratulations to Shaun and his team. It is a credit to everyone that the match was played in a terrific spirit throughout and, despite the defeat, I’m already looking forward to next year’s tour to Kent.
Am I downhearted though? Of course not – as you all know, I’ve got a great record of coming second!!!
Thank You's
A big thank you to all those who supplied match reports and other information for this write-up: John Shaw, James Shipman, John Evans, Kevin Morris, Neil Preston, Gordon Galloway, Ross Galloway, Graham Thorpe, Phil Latham, Mike Fox, Adam Thompson, Mark Johnson, Karl Hughes, Bill Hancock, Alex Tolley, Paul Weston, Steve Lloyd, Shaun Mullaney & Alan Tolley
Current BUNGS tour win percentages
(After the 2014 Southport Tour)
| Member | Tour Win Percentage | No of Tours Attended |
|---|---|---|
| Hornby, Brian | 100.0% | 1 |
| Barkshire, Steve | 85.0% | 2 |
| Rawling, Pete | 80.0% | 1 |
| Tolley, Alex | 80.0% | 1 |
| Tyler, Gary | 80.0% | 3 |
| Fairweather, Stewart | 70.0% | 2 |
| Raji, Steven | 70.0% | 1 |
| White, Neil | 70.0% | 1 |
| Dodwell, Martyn | 67.1% | 16 |
| Holliday, Howard | 66.7% | 13 |
| Latham, Phil | 66.7% | 6 |
| Lloyd, Steve | 65.3% | 16 |
| Galloway, Gordon | 62.5% | 8 |
| Shaw, John | 62.2% | 15 |
| Hughes, Karl | 61.1% | 16 |
| Thompson, Adam | 60.5% | 10 |
| Vale, Craig | 59.2% | 6 |
| Weston, Paul | 58.9% | 9 |
| Smith, Neil | 58.6% | 7 |
| Hayward, Simon | 58.3% | 6 |
| Thacker, Tim | 57.0% | 14 |
| Talboys, Ian | 56.1% | 16 |
| Heard, Alan | 53.3% | 3 |
| Smith, Andy | 52.1% | 12 |
| Poultney, Les | 50.0% | 2 |
| Tolley, Alan | 50.0% | 13 |
| Moore, Jamie | 49.7% | 9 |
| Shipman, James | 49.5% | 15 |
| Thacker, Jeff | 48.6% | 7 |
| Marchant, Adrian | 47.5% | 10 |
| Haley, John | 46.9% | 4 |
| Sullivan, Gordon | 46.7% | 15 |
| Bilsland, Graham | 45.4% | 13 |
| Ho, Bobby | 43.0% | 14 |
| Hancock, Bill | 42.8% | 8 |
| Johnson, Mark | 42.5% | 4 |
| Gross, Steve | 41.7% | 3 |
| Mansell, John | 40.2% | 11 |
| Fox, Mike | 40.2% | 15 |
| Ball, Bill | 40.0% | 3 |
| Craddy, Chris | 40.0% | 3 |
| Keates, Brian | 40.0% | 11 |
| Morris, Kevin | 40.0% | 1 |
| Mullaney, Shaun | 37.1% | 7 |
| Herrmann, Paul | 36.3% | 10 |
| Jones, David | 35.0% | 2 |
| Tomkiss, Terry | 35.0% | 4 |
| Grubb, Dave | 34.4% | 9 |
| Evans, John | 30.0% | 4 |
| Harris, Steve | 30.0% | 5 |
| Jackson, Anthony | 30.0% | 4 |
| Johnson, Lloyd | 30.0% | 1 |
| Meaney, Peter | 30.0% | 3 |
| Adams, Graham | 21.7% | 6 |
| Thorpe, Graham | 20.0% | 1 |
