| Date: | 2nd April 2009 |
| Venue: | R.Cinque Ports G.C. and R.St.George’s G.C |
Halford Hewitt 2009
Report by Richard Stocks
A "new" captain this year in the shape of our President Geoff Clay, and, he came in with a new broom. Various trials were held so that the selection of the team was as transparent as possible. The cost of Knowlton Court was trimmed as well, by cutting out the gourmet catering which had given certain members of the team indigestion last year, and replacing it with comfort food cooked by the staff of Knowlton. So, it was pies – steak, pheasant, shepherds’ and fish this year, and drinkable table wine rather than premier cru.
All this seemed to work terribly well, and a very happy atmosphere was created which lasted through the build up to the tournament right up to the final. The only problem was putting a team together. We knew we had lost Ed Richardson to illness, and James Horn to the professional ranks, but we also lost Colin Jones to a badly torn tendon in his wrist. (If you have a couple of hours he will tell you about it). Also, the fine physical condition of Nick Kemp had taken a bit of a battering and he announced that he could only play one round a day.
So the team that assembled for a practice round at Rye, instead of the dreary and slow official practice round at Deal, was Geoff Clay, George Taggart, Richard Partridge, Christo Lloyd, Johnny Spurling, Johnny Hubbard, Brian Ingleby, Peter Saggers, Jason Foster and Nick Kemp. Mike Hall had been invited to join the team as a reserve on Friday so that Nick Kemp didn’t have to play two rounds on Friday.
I joined the team for supper (not dinner!) at Knowlton with a heavy cold which left me coughing and spluttering most of the night. The atmosphere was excellent, there was no Masters to watch on TV, only England - just - beating Ukraine, and the prospect of two comfortable rounds on Thursday and Friday mornings before a tough match against Epsom, Malvern, Shrewsbury, or Haileybury on Friday afternoon; the dream draw just like last year of one match on Thursday, two on Friday, one on Saturday, and two on Sunday – especially important for our captain who was within 3 months of his 70th birthday.
First Round v Downside
The rest of the country had a beautiful day, and the forecast was 17 degrees and sunny. Instead, Deal had grey skies and a bitter East wind. I had been assigned to the slow play buggy, and luckily had, despite the splendid forecast, armed myself with a fur lined Barbour, and a hip flask; the latter just kept me going, but it was bitter. Downside had not won a match in the Hewitt since 1997, so it was to be a fairly straightforward morning.
All seemed in order as Saggers hit a fine drive off the first, but they were quickly 2 down despite getting a three at the into the wind second. But, a four at the short fourth and 3 putts at the fifth put them 2 down. Kemp and Foster were four up after 5, with Jason playing beautifully according to Nick. Behind, Taggart and Clay were 1 up after 5, after a shaky start, Lloyd & Partridge were 2 up after 5, and the two Johnnies were all square after 4. Johnny Spurling’s opponent who had played on the Alligator tour in the US was starting to get up his nose by wittering.
There is not much more to report. The first pair were one down at the turn but the third pair were starting to click into action with a 3 at the 12th thanks to a superb wood by Clay from the thick rough to the green, and Martin Ellis described a lovely iron to the 7th green by Taggart to 6 feet. In the end the first and fifth matches were agreed as halves and we won the others comfortably, with Lloyd & Partridge benefiting from lost ball drives at 12 and 13. Bizarrely, they decided to go and play 3 off the tee at 13 having lost the first one despite the unpleasant weather – and lost that one too. I guess they just wanted their money’s worth. Unfortunately, no-one bothered to tell the two Johnnies that the match was over.
It was too cold to do any further watching, although I did venture out to the hut after the players had all gone back to Knowlton for hot baths. There, Winchester appeared to be beating Harrow for the first time almost ever – and indeed they did. Eventually the water heated up enough for me to have a much needed hot bath after Clay had finished sleeping in it. Then drinks and pheasant pie. No Masters on TV so we enjoyed coffee and a general chat in front of the fire in the lounge and an early night.
Supporters today included Anthony Hudson and Peter Morris, respectively President and Secretary of the OT Society, Mike Taggart, George’s Downside father, Martin & Moira Ellis, Richard Lea, nobly caddying for George, Tony Monteuuis, and John Steed, who had driven for 4 hours to attend his first Hewitt.
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers ½ v A Borg & CJG Brown ½
NJ Kemp & J Foster 7/5 1 v CE Manfield & MI McGann 0
AG Clay & Dr GE Taggart 6/5 1 v JPT Stephens & MAR Strickland 0
CRE Lloyd & RJ Partridge 7/6 1 v SV Stephens & MJ Tory 0
JC Hubbard jr & JC Spurling ½ v MH Liddell & DI Stalder ½
Won 4-1
Second Round v Wellingborough
We had rather expected to play Glenalmond in the second round but they lost a tight match at the 21st to Wellingborough, having come back from the dead to take the match into extra holes. Clay led off, bisecting the first fairway leading to a win in 4 at the first, but disaster befell him at the third, where, for the first time in his life, Clay dunched his chip and hit the ball twice leading to an improbable seven, leaving them all square after four. Behind, Mike Hall was preparing to drive off the first, understandably anxious, as his driving has the reputation (I would say undeserved!) of being slightly unreliable, and, as a substitute, he understandably wanted to impress his fellow team members. Unfortunately, his opening drive hit the clubhouse, and required a reload from Jason, from where Mike bravely hit his second over the burn onto the middle of the green. Behind them, the Wellingborough player driving hit a little right and hit his partner’s bag. Inevitably, everyone had different views about the penalty, and I was called to adjudicate. (One stroke R19-2)
Clay and Taggart are two down after four, after the disaster on the third; behind them, Spurling plays a beautifully judged pitch from below left of the fourth green for a winning three to put them 2 up. Ahead, at the 6th, Clay is holding up play on the 7th waiting for noise of chatting from the beach to die away. Mike Hall has to wait for hours on the seventh tee. Lloyd, in the match behind, waits for him to drive, and, having done so, then hits a pathetic putt to go 2 down. Hubbard and Spurling are three up after 5, so, at least the bottom two matches look secure, and Partridge in match 3 hits a great drive off the seventh tee.
Over to the hut now, to find that Clay and Taggart have gone two up and win the ninth, so we are three up at the top – and Clay says that he is playing magnificently (doesn’t mention Taggart!). In the second match Hall and Foster are 2 down having driven into the bunker at 9. Lloyd and Partridge are 1 down at the turn, after Lloyd nearly holes his tee shot for a Desmond on the outward nine (2s at four and eight!) and a good half in four at the ninth, while the two Johnnies are 4 up, having halved the eighth in two.
Christo Lloyd decides to take a 5 wood for safety off the tenth tee and drives into the bunker – "You are not good enough to play safe" says Partridge. A big hook by Jason Foster off the tenth tee going for the green results in a lost ball and three down.
Moving round to the 12th, Partridge, from deep rough on the left, hits a fine shot onto the green. Ahead of them, the unfortunate Hall and Foster suffer a stone dead three against them and go 5 down, and go on to lose by 5/4, and Lloyd and Partridge remain 1 down after only halving the twelfth in fours.
So, a rather boring match in front of a good crowd of supporters, which included Ian Jackson, Tony Monteuuis, David Kemp, David Evans (a first), Philip Meredith, Jon Steed, Richard Gracey, Colin Vokins our captain, Richard Lea, caddying for George Taggart, Adrian Cooper, Peter Heming Johnson, Caroline Kemp, Martin and Moira Ellis, and Jo Gunnell. Johnny Hubbard observed, and I rather agreed, that we would have to play better this afternoon. Partridge and Lloyd eventually won, and the other three pairs won comfortably.
AG Clay & Dr GE Taggart 5/4 1 v RG Jackson & L McGuire 0
J Foster & M Hall 0 v CW Billson & PJ Saxby 5/4 1
CRE Lloyd & RJ Partridge 2/1 1 v MK Allen & J McGuire 0
JC Hubbard jr & JC Spurling 6/5 1 v MJ Port & T Gordon 0
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers 5/4 1 v J Ward & J Saxby 0
Won 4-1
Third Round v Epsom
I had originally planned to have a nice lunch at Royal St George’s as we were not due to play until 3.30, but I was asked to man the slow play buggy at 2.25 for the afternoon, so it was a beer and a sandwich and off on the buggy. Everything seemed to be running very well on the front nine, so I turned back to the opening holes to see how Tonbridge were progressing. To my surprise, I came across a large crowd on the fourth green and discovered that the Malvern v Epsom match had not finished. Particularly surprising, as all through the morning every Malvern player I has spoken to seemed confident of the outcome. Indeed the Malvern player in the deciding match (which had been two or three up earlier on) had missed a four foot putt for the match on the 21st. The 22nd was halved in three, with the Malvern putt for a two again just missing. Epsom played the 23rd brilliantly hitting the green of the par five in two with an iron to win the hole and the match easily.
This delay meant that our match against Epsom started 100 minutes late at 1650, with no prospect of finishing, and an agreement that each match would stop at 1930. The start was also interrupted by a nineteenth coming through between Bradfield and Eton.
In the first two matches we got away with a half in 4 at the first despite rather weak second shots. In the third match, Kemp hit the thicker rough on the left. After some debate, Jason Foster hit a splendid second shot onto the middle of the green, followed by Epsom from mid fairway, so that looked like another half in four. In the fifth match, Partridge hooked into thick rough, but Epsom surprisingly took four to reach the fairway after a drive that went less than fifty yards half left into thick rough, so our five won the hole easily. It transpired that, because the match would not finish tonight, two reserves had been called up at short notice as two of their players were not going to be available on Saturday. Rather surprisingly, the same thing would have happened if Malvern had prevailed in the morning, as two of their players were not available on Saturday morning.
Ingleby and Saggers raced away from the field with no-one ahead of them for nearly two hours and played the first nine holes in 1 hour twenty minutes, so I missed them at the sixth. The last I heard they were one down after about four holes. In the second match Taggart slightly pulls a long drive at the sixth into a bad place, and we lose the hole to a probable three to trim our lead to one. Behind, Kemp has a difficult lie just short and left of the sixth green after a good drive by Foster. I reckon he will do well to get it on the green, but he plays it beautifully and in fact we win the hole in four to reduce the deficit to one. The two Johnnies in the fourth match are one up after 5, so it is all very tight, even though Lloyd and Partridge against the reserve pair are three up after 5 and should be more if they could only putt.
Over to the hut now, by which time the first pair are at the twelfth, where they get a good half in four after both balls were right of the green up the slope. Epsom hole from 6 feet and Saggers bravely follows them in to remain one down. The second match is all square approaching the ninth with Epsom 20 yards through and Tonbridge just off to the left. The hole is halved in 5. The third match is also all square, but Hubbard plays a fine second at the ninth to win the hole to go two up. Ahead, Ingleby hits his second at the thirteenth nearly dead and Epsom have had to drop out of an unplayable lie, so that match is level also. Clay and Taggart have won 10 and 11 to go 2 up. At the twelfth, Taggart plays a lovely chip from short right and Clay holes from 6 feet. Epsom have gone left and have no chance of their four so we go three up.
The overall position is much brighter at last with matches one and three all square and the others three up, two up and three up. I move ahead in the darkening evening to the fifteenth to see Ingleby and Saggers go one down after three putting for a six. At the sixteenth we take a pitch and three putts out of a fluffy lie and go two down and, although a superb three at the 17th takes the match down the 18th, a half in four there results in a loss at the last. There are slightly conflicting results as night falls. Clay and Taggart at 1925 agree to play one more hole as agreed, but end up with Taggart missing from not much more than two feet to have their lead trimmed to one up. Kemp and Foster however call it a day after 13 holes at 1925 leaving their opponents to ruminate on a short putt missed to leave Tonbridge one up. The bottom two matches are both three up after 12 holes so we retire home needing to win one of the one up matches and hold on to the two three up matches in the morning.
So it was back to Knowlton for a late supper of shepherds pie at 2115 and early bed with everyone pretty tired. The match resumed at 930 the next morning, and all eyes were on Clay and Taggart in the second match who resumed at one up and two to play, having let their three up lead dwindle last evening. Clay hit the middle of the fairway – of course – while Epsom went into the right hand rough. Clay came up quickly to enquire of Taggart what the Epsom lie was like. "A lot better than ours" he said "as ours is in a divot", although to the untrained eye it seemed to be lying nicely on the fairway. The Epsom second was slightly left and just failed to breast the mound short left of the green. The critical moment had arrived and Taggart played a perfect three iron into the wind to the back of the green – not the easiest of shots to play as one’s first stroke of the day. Epsom dunched their pitch but then putted to four feet for a likely five. Clay’s putt got the wrong side of the slope, and, although the speed was perfect, it was over four feet wide of the hole. It was pretty clear that Taggart, who had missed from under three feet at the 16th the previous evening, was not going to let this one get away, and sure enough it went right into the middle of the hole. So, we were one match all, and surely we could get two more from the matches that were three up overnight.
The two Johnnies in the fourth match get a good four at 13 after a fine rescue club shot from Hubbard, who then holes a good five footer at the next to go dormie four. In the fifth match Epsom get a miraculous three at the fourteenth from some thirty yards long and left of the green to reduce the deficit to three. At the 15th Partridge drives into the left hand rough, while Epsom drive straight at the right hand bunker and luckily just carry it. Clay advises Lloyd (as he is allowed to) to play a sensible second, but that is not the way these two play, so Lloyd takes the wood and hits it only a few yards from where Partridge hits it onto the green. Ahead of them Spurling has driven into the right hand bunker at the 15th, but redeems himself with a superb iron to 20 feet from where Hubbard holes for a four and the match.
At the 16th Partridge and Lloyd hit two good shots up the left hand side, while Epsom miss the green in three, and that match is quickly over as well. Ahead of them, Kemp and Foster battle on bravely, but eventually lose a good match at the last.
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers 0 v PAF Stanford & MM Williamson 1up 1
AG Clay & Dr GE Taggart 2/1 1 v MJ Felton & DI Reid 0
NJ Kemp & J Foster 0 v JCA Collier & SJ Schindler 1 up 1
JC Hubbard jr & JC Spurling 4/3 1 v AWM Fisher & Dr AJ Wells 0
CRE Lloyd & RJ Partridge 3/2 1 v SP Baker & AM Maurice 0
Won 3-2
Fourth Round v Repton
The previous match was all over by soon after 10 so there was a lot of hanging around. That enabled me to hone my putting for the Fathers and Sons now that the weather was a bit warmer. A swan flew low over the putting green searching in vain for its mate that had a few moments earlier flown into the power line and died instantly falling to the practice ground. That put all the power to the clubhouse and pros shop out so no tills so no drinks.
During the pause there has been a discussion amongst the team unbeknown to me, because Ed Richardson had let George Taggart know that he would be available to play if it was thought appropriate, Ed having narrowly failed to win the Lord Warden 36 hole scratch medal at Rye the previous weekend. Jason Foster immediately offered to stand down, which was very good of him, and so Ed was paired with Nick Kemp in the fifth pair. There was then an anxious wait to see if he was going to make the tee off time as the traffic in Deal was heavily delayed due to the closure of the level crossing for engineering works. However, he was seen through our binoculars driving into the car park as the fourth pair were driving off, and Ed was due to drive at the evens anyway.
In point of fact, Repton had not expected to get through to the last eight, beating Uppingham, Watsons, and Radley on the way, and, like Malvern, and Epsom, they had lost two players and recruited two supporters as a sacrifice pair against Ingleby and Saggers, who duly won 6/5. The first hole was pretty uneventful, so I moved out onto the course. Ingleby and Saggers are 3 up after six holes, having missed 4 birdie putts. The two Johnnies are one down after 5 with Hubbard complaining that he has missed a lot of putts. Clay and Taggart go one down after 5 to a birdie four from Repton. Lloyd and Partridge are one up after 4 holes. Richardson and Kemp nearly four putted the first but got a good third putt in for a half in 5 and are back to all square after 4, and one up after 5.
So the overall situation is tight as usual at +3, -1, -1, AS, +1. Partridge drives onto the beach at 7, having waited for a woman and dog to walk back from the beach without looking. However, that is not an uncommon event for those two, and doubtless they will get their five and a half. I walk past the eighth to find Clay in the third match very pleased with himself for putting from the 9th tee to 18 inches on the 8th green. We have 2 for it and go one up. Lloyd and Partridge duly get their half in five at the seventh and remain all square. At the ninth green, Richardson hits a superb long bunker shot from under the face of the left hand bunker to 20 feet and Kemp holes for a four to remain all square.
The situation is still very tight at +5, -2, AS, AS, AS. The second match seems to be moving away from us when Hubbard misjudges his chip from the bank on the right of the twelfth and finishes just above the left hand bunker instead of rolling off the left hand slope back onto the green – 3 down. The third match is not good for us at the twelfth either as Taggart drives into the left hand rough, from where Clay hits it out short and right of the green. Taggart hits the pitch much too soft and we lose the hole to a 5. Behind them, Lloyd goes into the short right bunker with his second shot, while Repton go into the left hand bunker right up against the face. No possible shot says local man Ingleby whose match is over. The Repton man plays a miracle shot to 6 feet falling into the bunker and rolling over unscathed as he plays it (and as Ingleby eats his hat). Lloyd has played a very weak chip and Partridge putts 10 feet past, from where Lloyd holes and Repton miss for a fluctuating half. In the fifth match both sides hit good seconds to the back of the green from where our local expert predicts a half in 5. Richardson putts from some 40 feet stone dead, and Repton do nearly as well and get there half to remain all square.
Both men drive into the left hand rough at the 13th but Repton try to do too much and go into the cross bunkers, while Richardson plays safely onto the fairway. We win the hole to go one up at the bottom. Richardson then hits the most imperial 3 iron to 6 feet at the fourteenth, and that is enough to put us two up. Ahead, Partridge as usual drives into the left hand rough (much better than the right hand bunker). Lloyd studies the lie and shapes up with a variety of clubs and hits a majestic 5 wood or so onto the green – it was lucky that Clay isn’t there to register his disapproval. Repton follow that shot onto the green as well. Clay, of course is just ahead, and they win the 15th after Repton drive into the bunker to reduce the deficit to two. In the fourth match, which is still all square, Repton hit heir drive well right off the tee and lose the ball. Behind, Richardson hits a majestic 3 wood out of the left hand rough onto the green from where Kemp nearly holes and we go three up, and make no mistake on the sixteenth. Ahead of them Lloyd continues to hole everything and they ease out their opponents 2/1 in a match they could have lost 3/2 had it not been for their impressive powers of scrambling. So we just scraped home 3-2 and it seemed that it was largely our reputation that won it, as the opponents just couldn’t keep the pressure sufficiently on a side not playing at its best.
Supporters today included Edward & Liz Brice, Mandy and Tabitha Kemp (Benedict was caddying for us throughout the tournament), Ian Perkins, Martin & Moira Ellis, David Kemp, Tony Monteuuis, Ian Jackson, Caroline Kemp, Jo Gunnell, David Hubbard.
The match finished dangerously early, so it was back to Knowlton for baths, and then some of the younger ones amongst us had a nice session at the Griffin’s Head, before our final pie – fish – and another early night ready to meet Bradfield or Clifton in the morning.
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers 6/5 1 v PAM Anselm & AJT Dewhurst 0
JC Spurling & JC Hubbard 0 v MF Pearson & FK Andrews 2/1 1
Dr GE Taggart & AG Clay 0 v PDM Carr & MJ Priestley 2/1 1
CRE Lloyd & RJ Partridge 2/1 1 v JGW Wood & DWT Campbell 0
NJ Kemp & EJ Richardson 3/2 1 v RG Hodgkinson & CDS Pepper 0
Won 4-1
Semi-final v Bradfield
Brenda and her daughter Laura nobly got up at 5 to provide us with a cooked breakfast at 7am. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and warm. I watched the start of our semi-final against a keen Bradfield side from the balcony as usual. The first pair, Ingleby & Saggers started well and got a half at worst. In the second match the two Johnnies’ opponents went through the green and that put us one up. Clay and Taggart were on the green but a long way from the hole after a weak second and Bradfield were rather the same, judging by the fact that Clay was doing his refereeing bit pacing out the putts. It looked like a half. In the fourth match, Partridge drove into the rough – nothing unusual there – and on this occasion Lloyd had to hack out short of the ditch. Bradfield were on the green but very short so it looked as though we might get away with it until Bradfield holed for a three. Behind, Kemp hit a huge drive, from where Richardson hit it to about 6 feet.
Over to the fourth, to find Saggers & Ingleby one down, after a poor fourth, but they were better placed at the fifth. The two Johnnies went one up at the fourth after a fine two. Behind, Taggart and Clay are two up after three and George hits a fine tee shot to the fourth which Clay leaves two feet short, having failed to spot the uphill putt. Meanwhile, Bradfield are short and right, but get down in two, leaving George to hole his putt, which of course he does. Still two up. Lloyd & Partridge are struggling at 2 down after 3, with Bradfield on the fourth green, and us not. Behind, Richardson has hit the most glorious 3 wood second which he leant on and hit it low and running to 5 feet from where Kemp holes for the eagle three to put them 2 up. Richardson hits to 20 feet at the fourth and Bradfield go over the back, so it looks like three up, but Cox plays a lovely pitch and run for the half, so we remain 2 up.
At the hut now, Saggers & Ingleby are 2 up after a half in four at the ninth, Saggers having hit a huge putt from the edge of the green to two feet, which looked closer and was conceded. Bradfield putt 5 feet short from much nearer, but Rafferty holes safely for the half. In the second match, Hubbard nearly hits me with his second, even though I am standing at least 15 yards left of the green. Torrance follows him left but not as far and looks disgusted (and disgusting by the way – a fat slob with stubble and a cap on the wrong way round). We get a half in 5 after Spurling’s chip is very short and Torrance misses his five foot putt.
By the time the third match comes round, the team are gunning for me as Clay’s shot from the right hand bunker whistles past my ear en route to the hut, where it is picked up by Taggart on his way to get a coffee and sausage roll. We go back to one up. Behind them, Partridge and Lloyd continue their rare off day by four putting, for the second time, to go 4 down.
[At this point, I had to leave to drive back to Weybridge to referee the final of the Surrey Ladies Championship at St George’s Hill. For the record, my daughter Jo lost to the winner in the semi-final, having got there by holing an 8 iron for a two at the eighteenth in the quarter final at one down to go on to win at the twenty first. The winner was Ellis Keenan, eighteen year old sister of Farran, and current Surrey girls champion as well. Round in about 74 she celebrated in some style with a pint of Pimms. I also had to prepare for the Father & Son the next day. Again, for the record, we lost 4/3 in the first round, playing quite well, to a pair who were level par for 15 holes to whom we had to give a shot.]
Tony Monteuuis takes up the pen at this stage:
It was strange sensation to see Richard Stocks leave the Hut at Deal and stride away as this match approached its denouement. The Hon. Secretary was aghast. He had been handed some pages torn from The Ayatollah’s notebook and was to become the scribe for the rest of the Hewitt. Suddenly the cheap jokes about Richard’s acid criticism of our players - and indeed the sheer length of his reports - became less funny, and the seriousness of the responsibility really hit home when I discovered that I did not have anything with which to write. Happily a pencil stub appeared from the depths of Geoff Clay’s bag, so some rather suspect notes were deciphered afterwards - and here goes.
When Richard left us the match was very close. We were +1, -1, +1, -4 and +3. The established pairing of Partridge and Lloyd was falling apart and as I followed them their golf went from poor to worse and they eventually lost by 6/5. This was a body blow to our many supporters, but happily Ed Richardson and Nick Kemp have been playing beautifully and have moved to 6 up with 6 to play. I move away in the knowledge that this was not a pair to take its collective foot off the opposition’s throat and so it proved. I moved forward to the Spurling and Hubbard game and was very concerned to find that they had lost the par 3 14th to go 3 down and were looking very shaky. I stay by the 14th green to watch both the Bradfield player and George Taggart miss the green in the following match. Bradfield play a marvellous little chip to about 4 feet but we were delighted to see Clay putt up and across a big slope and finish absolutely stone dead. Bradfield (perhaps feeling the pressure) miss their short putt and suddenly the situation improves as we go 3 up with 4 to play. Good news comes in that Saggers and Ingleby have moved ahead and are now 3 up and very soon we are delighted to see them walking back towards us having won their match. We are now two matches to one up but Hubbard and Spurling are almost certainly beaten and so the Clay and Taggart pairing has become crucial. As this reality dawns we watch them lose the 15th to a par and revert to being just two up. Hideously, Bradfield make another par to win the 16th and now there is just one in it. The gallery is twitching visibly and the doom-mongers are beginning to make us all feel very nervous. On the 17th both players’ drives are good though both are relatively short. Bradfield then play a real stinker into a bush well left of the green and we now watch George take a lot of trouble over his preparations for his second shot. He plays a real beauty and it rolls down the green to finish nestling close to the flag. Bradfield take a penalty drop back in line from the bush and go miles back onto the 4th tee from where they miss left and concede the hole and the match. It had been a cracking match and the spectators were fascinated to see three sons of Ryder Cup golfers playing in the Bradfield team (Gallacher, Rafferty and Torrance).
Back to the Clubhouse where we enjoyed a nervous lunch and managed to keep Jonathan Hubbard away from his car thus avoiding a repetition of the previous year when he had locked his clubs in the boot at this exact stage. It had resulted in him having to play the Final with borrowed clubs.
As we lunched we discovered that the Old Merchant Taylors’ had won the second semi-final, beating Cheltenham. They were two rather unconsidered pairs. Cheltenham had never before reached a Hewitt final and Merchant Taylors’ had only done so once (in 1975) when they lost. Quite rightly Clay cautioned his team against any ideas they may have had about a relatively straightforward victory – and how right this turned out to be as a nail-bitingly close final was to follow.
Supporters today included Tony Monteuuis, Caroline, Mandy & Tabitha Kemp, Martin & Moira Ellis, Edward and Liz Brice.
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers 2/1 1 v AJ Williams & JF Rafferty 0
JC Spurling & JC Hubbard jnr 0 v DR Torrance & ED Tenison 4/3 1
AG Clay & Dr GE Taggart 2/1 1 v PEJ Burton & CE Oldmeadow 0
CRE Lloyd & RJ Partridge 0 v J Silver & NJ Coombs 5/4 1
NJ Kemp & EJ Richardson 5/4 1 v JA Cox & J Gallacher 0
Won 3-2
The Final v Old Merchant Taylors’
Report from Tony MonteuuisBefore the game there was one obvious selection question which needed to be resolved. Ed Richardson, despite his illness, was playing his usual fantastic brand of golf and felt fit enough to play again - so a decision had to be made as to who should step down. The entire team had been wonderfully unselfish in offering themselves as the man to stand down in his favour. Geoff Clay, a very strong captain, decided that he could not include Nick Kemp who had played very well in the morning in case his suspect back went in what might otherwise have been a banker pairing. He therefore broke up the very successful and established pairing of Christo Lloyd and Richard Partridge (who had had a very poor morning for once) and he asked Christo and Ed to play together. He then paired Jason Foster (who had stood down in the morning) with Richard Partridge. This put two fellow Wildernesse members together and it proved to be a masterstroke. Foster, very familiar with Partridge’s game, showed no sign of the nerves that would have been understandable for anyone playing in his first Hewitt. He and Partridge played wonderful golf to be our easiest winners and Richardson and Lloyd enjoyed our second easiest win. Class captaincy!
So to the match itself. Saggers and Ingleby are to go first with Hubbard and Spurling going second, Taggart and Clay third, Partridge and Foster fourth and Richardson and Lloyd at the back to shore things up in case of traumatic happenings earlier on. On a really beautiful spring afternoon our top pair starts with a birdie (but only for a half) and our second pair also get a half. Our third pair win the hole with a par. The OMT fourth pair find the ditch with their second shot which sends us 1 up after Foster’s marvellous second to 20 feet. At the back Ed hits a wonderful second to 15 feet but Christo is over-enthusiastic with his birdie putt leaving Ed a six-footer back to win the hole - which he does with the air of a man shelling peas.
Moving forward I pass the later matches to see Partridge hole a good putt to go 2 up at the fourth green. I arrive at the sea wall behind the short eighth and detect from their body language that Johnny Hubbard and John Spurling are struggling. They are two down but bravely get up and down from a greenside bunker to stay there. I then spot that Clay, in the match behind, is playing his second from a horrid spot where Taggart has dumped him in the hollows short of the green (not for the first time during the week!). We lose that hole to a 4 and return to being 1 up.
I make my way to the Hut and as the matches pass through the 9th green we are 2 down at the top. Ingleby and Saggers are playing very well but their opponents are rumoured to have gone out in 31, but since we are only two down it means that we too are playing well. I later discover that the top OMT pair started with birdies at 1, 2, 4 and 5 (though we halved the 1st and won the 5th with an eagle). To be playing well and be 2 down seems a bit ominous. Hubbard and Spurling are still 2 down and they say that they are not at their best. Ominous again. Taggart and Clay have now lost their lead and are all square. The pessimists among our supporters are by now having a field day! We are hugely cheered (as is the whole team) to find that Partridge and Foster have gone 6 up after 9 but then we become rather more concerned again to find that Richardson and Lloyd have been pulled back to 1 up at the turn. This final is obviously going to go all the way. We wait for the matches to come past the Hut again to the 12th green. At this stage the weather is closing in and instead of beautiful sunshine, banks of fog are rolling in and it is distinctly colder which reflects our nervousness. We are encouraged when we hear that the OMTs top pair has been pulled back to 1 up as they approach the 12th green but disappointingly the OMTs appear to be about to win the hole to go 2 up again. However the pressure is building and they miss a real tiddler to stay only 1 up. Relief all round the Tonbridge camp. The joy of this is tempered by the fact that Hubbard and Spurling are still badly out of sorts and have gone 3 down. We become very depressed when the rumour mill reports that Clay and Taggart have gone one down but as so often happens when they reach the 12th green it turns out that they are actually 1 up. There is an important moment here when Clay puts a very long and difficult putt stone dead from a nasty spot off the green, after which their opponents take three putts to go two down. Partridge and Foster are still 6 up after twelve - surely that’s one in the bag for us. In the last match Lloyd and Richardson are still only 1 up. Every shot I have seen Ed hit so far has been a very good one and we just hope that he is not getting too tired, because this match too is assuming great importance in the overall scheme of things. Leaving the 12th green we stand 1 down, 3 down, 2 up, 6 up and 1 up and we suspect that we will need to win two out of matches 1, 3 and 5 if we are to carry the day.
To the 15th green where I find that Clay and Taggart have lost the 14th to a three. Clay has hit a good drive but it’s pretty short and Taggart (forcing?) misses the green left. Clay makes a poor fist of his very difficult long putt this time (putting from behind the humps on the left our ball goes right across and over the slope on the far side of the green) so we make a five to lose the hole and go all square. Agony. Then the marvellous news arrives that Jason and Richard have already won their match, but the closeness of Clay and Taggart’s match is now causing great concern.
It is worth recording that by now the fog has closed right in and viewing is becoming very difficult for spectators and players alike. It has also become very cold indeed. Clay’s decision not to risk Nick Kemp’s bad back is looking good because this is the sort of weather which would be sure to expose a suspect back. As the third pair reaches the 16th tee we assess the match again. We believe that we are 1 down at the front (though heaven knows what the current score is really because they are so far in front of the field that nobody has seen them for well over half an hour). We believe that Hubbard and Spurling have lost. We are all square at three, we have won the fourth and Christo and Ed are at least two up. It could go either way. OT supporters, outnumbering the OMT supporters, are beginning to look distinctly nervous. The match is beautifully balanced though Nick Kemp, now suffering the spectators’ usual torture, describes our position rather less elegantly as "very smelly".
Most of the support is now gathered around Clay and Taggart’s match which has run into a "Rules incident" on the 16th. George playing our second (after a fairly short but very straight drive from Geoff) has played a majestic shot to the green leaving a very short birdie putt to follow. Their opponent then shoves his approach well right of the green and it bounds down a slope where some Ground Under Repair slows their ball rapidly and prevents it from disappearing into a hedge. On the face of it they had had a huge break but the GUR in this case (local rule) required a mandatory drop. This was unfortunate for them since their nearest point of relief was a small concrete path immediately in front of the aforementioned hedge which prevented a back-swing. Naturally Geoff was reluctant to give this hideous ruling to his opponent, but fortunately the Hewitt President, Jeremy Lowe, was nearby and he was brought over to break the bad news to our opponents. They dropped their ball pretty well but the shot was near impossible and they conceded the hole after their recovery scooted well over the green into an awkward place. We go 1 up with two to play.
At this point there is at last news from the front match. We hear that Bryan Ingleby and Peter Saggers playing relentlessly well in a terrific contest have levelled the match and gone down the 19th in dense fog. After two good drives, Bryan Ingleby (on his home course) hits our second and feels reasonably pleased with it. At least one spectator believes he has heard the ball land on the right hand side of the green but in the fog there is no further sign of it. After three hours of wonderful golf from both pairs the match is decided by this piece of rotten luck and after 5 minutes hunting we lose the hole and the match. As a balance to this we also receive news from behind that Ed and Christo have won their match by 4/3. All this means that we are level at 2 matches each and that Clay and Taggart are 1 up with two to play. Now the position has crystallised and everyone knows what needs to be done. We halve the 17th where neither side looks like losing (or winning) the hole and so everyone flocks to the 18th to watch George and Geoff, "only" needing a half, do their best to retain the Hewitt.
George is driving straight into a bank of fog. He is really pumped up and smashes a long drive down the right side of the fairway but sadly it is so well hit that it runs very fast into the right end of the ditch which diagonally crosses the 18th fairway. Fortunately an alert Biddle has spotted the ball going into the ditch so at least the ball was seen to be lost in the hazard and we are able to drop out to play our third from behind the ditch rather than have to play three off the tee. The OMTs ball is a good one, straight down the left half of the fairway and they play their second onto the edge of the green but it is some forty-five feet from the pin so a three-putt is not an impossible outcome in the circumstances. Things are very tense again and the spectators are preparing to go to the 19th. Now Clay takes an age to be sure that he knows the line for his shot (our third). He even sends George forward to stand at the (invisible) pin and wave to show him where to hit. Once Geoff is happy and George has moved out of the way he plays an excellent second to the green perhaps only 15 feet or so away from the flag (though Geoff cannot see where it is because the visibility is so bad). It now takes a very long time for the players to play. Clay’s maths is failing him and he has to calculate and recalculate how things now stand! Eventually the OMT player putts. None of us can see where the hole is so this is a really anxious moment, but when we hear an OMT voice say "not too bad" we are rather encouraged because that obviously means that their ball isn’t stone dead! What we now know is that they are close in three and we are 15-20 feet away in three. George now has a putt for the Hewitt since we are 1 up and a half is good enough for us. He putts and contorts his body as his ball rolls towards the hole. We cannot see it but the ball evidently goes very close to the hole but it’s not in. We are suddenly aware that Geoff has been asked to mark his ball so we are not dead either and our opponents now have a putt for the hole to take the match down the 19th.. In unbearable tension they miss - so once again we are putting for the Hewitt. We don’t even know how long the putt is so when Geoff Clay, the Hewitt Captain, our President, the winner of more Hewitt matches than anyone in the history of the event, lines up his putt you could hear the proverbial pin drop. To our joy the putt goes straight in and we now realise that it was actually a short tap in (less than two feet). After the event Geoff tried to suggest that it was nearer to seven feet but no-one was buying this! Clay insists afterwards that it was the wind that brought the tears to his eyes and everyone was thrilled that it was Geoff who had achieved his dream of captaining a winning Hewitt team by holing the winning putt. Wonderful stuff!
So to the prize-giving where Geoff gave an emotional speech, paying tribute first to the OMT team who had played so well and then to all those in his own team. He made a special reference to Ed Richardson whose presence in the team gave us the extra class we needed to win a very tough competition. As Geoff said, Ed’s bravery in his own battle against leukaemia put everything into perspective. Geoff also paid a nice tribute to all those who came down to Deal to support the team. He recognised that when the chips were down it was hugely important to our players to see so many friendly faces and to receive their encouragement.
BSE Ingleby & PD Saggers 0 v AM Fleming & JL Hampel 19th 1
JC Hubbard jnr & JC Spurling 0 v TN Young & JJ McNally 3/2 1
AG Clay & Dr GE Taggart 1up 1 v KJP Quinn & CP Wakefield 0
RJ Partridge & J Foster 6/5 1 v DS Danhauser & JRA Danhauser 0
CRE Lloyd & EJ Richardson 4/3 1 v MAL Robb & DNA Simpson 0
Footnote :
I am sorry but I cannot possibly remember all those who were present to support us during the competition. However, among our supporters were Colin Vokins our Captain, David Biddle, Edward and Elizabeth Brice, Adrian Cooper, Hugh Evans, John Ford (except during the Epsom match!), Richard Gracey, Jo Gunnell, Peter Heming-Johnson, Anthony Hudson, Ian Jackson, Colin Jones, David Kemp, Lynie Kemp, Jamie Kemp, Mandy Kemp with Benedict and Tabitha, Richard Lea (who, as ever, caddied for George Taggart throughout), Philip Meredith, Tony Monteuuis, Peter and Marjorie Morris, Ian Perkins, Roger Spurling, Richard Stocks and Harry Thomson.
Captains Report
by Geoff ClayThis has been a remarkable Halford Hewitt in so many ways. You will receive a full report from Messrs Stocks and Monteuuis. Nevertheless this will be from a spectator’s view point. It might, therefore, be of interest to have something from me as captain and player.
For me, at least, it all started soon after we had won last year’s Hewitt. Nick Kemp, the excellent outgoing captain, rang me. Hewitt captaincy is a one term office. I had had that role already deep in the last millennium. Nevertheless--- ‘‘Would you take over as Captain?’’ Nick said they wanted me to have a chance of captaining a winning side before I hung up my spikes.
Reluctant, but delighted to accept. It has been great fun and a pleasure to work with this team, despite their irreverent confusion of ‘senior’ and ‘senile’ and total lack of respect for authority and age. It was a very happy time. Little did I know that the wretched children would so contrive matters as to leave me with the final putt on the 18th in the deciding match….and whilst in a fog …both externally and internally. Surreal.
Our winning 2008 side was much depleted with the loss of Ed Richardson ( plus 4, dreadfully ill) James Horn (plus 1, turned pro) and, later, Colin Jones ( scratch, damaged wrist …but who, nevertheless, stayed with us and was a great supporter both on and off the course).
The re-selection process started with a singles stableford ‘trial’ at Deal in late October and the team was chosen a few days later. The intention? To set up established pairings to play together before the Hewitt. A settled side. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
‘Settled’ indeed!
Kemp: ‘‘I have a bad back. Can not manage more than 18 holes in a day. Sorry.’’ Lloyd: ‘‘Katie is expecting our first and it’s due on the Friday of the Hewitt. Sorry’’. Colin Jones: ‘‘I’ve damaged my wrist and am off games for the Hewitt. Sorry.’’ Saggers: ‘‘My game’s completely gone. I really should not be playing. Sorry.’’ Finally Ed Richardson, bless him. Immediately after my team announcement, an email copied to all and sundry. ‘‘Dropped! Only a semi Dear John letter from VOMC (Very Old Man Clay). What a Captain!’’ (Thank you, Ed. Helpful.)
All this was simple and ever so relaxing, if not a trifle unfair to a bus-pass-qualified skipper. Gentlemen, thank you.
So, finally, we did, sort of, have a team…..ish. I was glad to bring in Jason Foster from ‘playing reserve’ to full team member and for his first Hewitt. A welcome addition. An exceptional ball striker and contributor to the team. He will be there for years to come.
The Team and pairings: Ingleby and Saggers (Brian, formidable as ever. Saggers back on inevitable form): Partridge and Lloyd (the comedy duo of Peacock and Gaylord): Clay and Taggart (boring): Hubbard and Spurling (the two Johnnies. Excellent.): Foster and Kemp (the new and the...er…oldish?)…with Mike Hall as playing reserve (reserve? Automatic for most schools.) to fill gaps….and with an eager Tony Monteuuis hoping against hope that the birth of his godson’s baby would coincide with Kemp’s withdrawal from a second round in a day. Monty was fully available and busting to go. (What a story. We would never have heard the end of it.)
So, then, to logistics and catering which also landed on the captain’s lap. Not a lot of volunteers. But then Gloucestershire is so very, very convenient.
Arrangements renegotiated with our B and B, the stately home of Knowlton Court. Less gourmet more comfort food ( ‘‘Pies please’’) to be washed down with Minchinhampton’s finest, well priced ( cheap) wines. All apparently enjoyed by the team, but, without the usual solid joints and steaks, they became a side as regular as clockwork and several times a day. Nanny would most surely have approved.
Well that’s the back ground. In the event, Katie, sensibly, delivered a week early though Lloyd’s management of the last hours of the production is not for the faint of heart. Lucy was the toast of the team and promptly adopted as mascot.
So, success in the first two rounds. Mike Hall stood in for Kempie on the Friday. Jason played well and won and, I hope, loved his Hewitt experience.
Now to Friday afternoon. The toughest of matches. A powerful Epsom side. On paper stronger than Tonbridge. Match suspended for bad light at 7.30pm. Restarted Saturday morning at 9.30am. George and I one up on 17th tee. Reasonable drive…into a seeded divot. George then, from this very iffy and up-hill lie unleashed one of the finest shots I had seen from him in all our 65 odd matches together. A towering 3 iron to the heart of the green. They made 5. I lagged to 2 ½ feet ….to secure George’s concentration…..and reminded him of the one he missed from the same distance on 16 the night before. He holed and later the side completed a memorable victory.
Back in the Clubhouse at 11.00 waiting for our 12.30 start. Electrifying news. George and Ed had been in contact. Ed would be happy to get out of bed and play ‘‘if it would help’’. Got the boys together. What did they feel? To a man they volunteered to stand down for Ed. Quite a moment.
So Ed, arriving only minutes before his time, thereby causing the captain to age visibly (thanks again, Ed.) played with Nick Kemp for two rounds. I asked Jason to stand down which he did with great good grace and complete understanding. But, to my own satisfaction, and I think Jason’s, I put him back in for his first Final to play with ‘Uncle’ Richard Partridge, whom he has had the misfortune of knowing for most of his life, and Christo Lloyd with Ed. Both pairs inevitably won.
And the rest, as they say, is history. I have yet to read the official Report jointly produced by the two Ayatollahs, Stocks and Monteuuis. Largely fictional, I have no doubt. Full of scurrilous criticism, inevitably. I am sure a good read, nevertheless.
However, perhaps I might describe, as it were, from inside the ropes the last, memorable, for me at least, few holes that George and I played in that Final.
All square 16th tee. 507yds. Great drive by George splitting the fairway. Merchant Taylors down the left irritatingly short of the trap. Their second? Left. Rough? Not sure. George: ‘‘I want it exactly 100yds from the pin.’’ ‘‘Thanks, George’’. Yardage charts, fingers and toes to add up our intervening yardage and possible clubbing. ‘‘No. You can’t go for the green. Take the 6 iron.’’ Result? 90 yds from the pin…barely acceptable to the doctor. Their third? Through the green. Possible bushes? Getting difficult to see. Fog. George, a beautiful wedge to 10 ft. Rulings now required. Merchant Taylors on GUR with ‘compulsory drop’. Where to? Onto the path or in a bush? (Stocks, our R and A Referee, where were you when I needed you?) Anyway their fourth over the green, two more and the hole was ours.
One up on 17th tee. 400yds. Severer fog. 180yds visibility. Even my drives are invisible on landing. Reasonable two drives. Two second shots below and right of green. No way of getting close. Half in five.
Then the news. Two matches all. Ours is now the deciding match. Ouch!
18th tee. 397yds. One up. Fairway invisible. ‘‘George, can you make the burn?’’ Discussion. Not running. Wind not behind. At least 270yds. Agreement. ‘‘No chance.’’ Biff. Biff. Arrive . Groups of spectators milling around aimlessly. Long OT faces, though. One ball. Theirs. 20yds farther on we are indeed in the dreaded burn. MT play a good shot to the invisible green. Ghostly attendant spectators give greenside applause. No idea where they are. Presumably on the green. I have then to determine dropping location away from the hazard e.g. ‘take the point of entry and drop back in line with the flag etc etc’ ( Rule 26.1b!). What flag? Where? ‘‘George go to the green.’’ Just make out his shape. ‘‘George, stand by the ****** flag.’’ Barely visible. Then, on the address, I nearly penalise myself by forgetting to remove the ‘point-of-entry-marking’ tee peg, thus leaving a ‘line of play’ guide (Rule 8.2a!!) Strewth! Lift tee peg. Re-engage brain. 8 iron….. pray.
When we arrive at the green, MT are 20 yards from the pin. Tonbridge maybe 6 or so. Their long putt. Short by 5 feet.
At this point, George’s medical colleagues would have declared the Tonbridge pair technically brain dead. Maths and the Water Hazard Rules prove beyond reach for us both. Is my revered partner’s putt for a 4 or 5 or 6 or what? Not a lot of help from the congregation. George’s putt (4th shot) near and left of the hole (I would say not less than 16 inches. The team’s opinion? ‘‘No more than 11 inches’’. A Stock’s ‘Tap in.’) They miss. I hole. We win. Not a dry eye in our partnership. Not sure about everyone else. Couldn’t see. Very tough on a brave Merchant Taylors pair. We had a fine match, in great sprit, but simply devastating for them.
Ed will hate me for this. His arrival and play on Saturday and, despite exhaustion, through both rounds on the Sunday, had an impact on us all in the team that was difficult to measure. It was the final, vital ingredient. Not only did he win his three matches, finishing his Final with a second stone dead out of rough at 15, but his very presence with us, in all his circumstances, was special indeed.
May I repeat my past thanks to the spectators? You have no idea what a support it is, in the crucial stages of a match, usually coming up the 12th or at the 14th, to see those familiar faces. Thank you from us all…and, no doubt, from the purveyors of alcoholic beverages at the Hut. I hope your nerves survived and that, in the end, you enjoyed it all!
We have won now eight times in twenty years. I have been lucky to have been in each team, many paired with my exceptional partner, the good doctor. That first win in 1990 was, of course, sensational. Everest scaled at last after 60 years. However, for me, with everything that had passed, none can compare to this last win. I had been fortunate to have a marvellous team of great guys. The evenings and breakfasts were full of humour and friendship and boisterous comment. I could have paired any of them together. Their spirit and will-to-win were exceptional and if I may apply the old saw, they really were far stronger as a team than the sum of their individual skills.
What enormous fun it has been!
Geoff Clay