| Date: | 14th June 2009 at 15:00 |
| Venue: | R. Ashdown Forest |
The inaugural OTGS match against the Old Eastbourninans took place at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club on a glorious mid-Summer Sunday afternoon. The format was a little novel - meeting for lunch first and then 18 holes of foursomes afterwards, however this seemed to work well and was particularly helpful for those with family commitments.
Our side was assembled of OTs of all vintages - we had leavers from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s - and I was particularly grateful to Andrew Sims, Richard Dresner and Ollie Boreham for coming to the rescue when we had a couple of withdrawals with injury in the 2 weeks before the game.
Despite one or two teething problems in the Dining Room with the seating arrangements, lunch was very good and we set off around 2.45 for the 6 matches. The course was in excellent condition, running fast on the fairways but the rough was penal. The greens were fast down the slopes but a little easier from below the hole.
Chris Pettman and Robin Wells (playing in his first match) led the way against Peter Robinson, who instigated the match from the OE side, and Martin Reynolds. Alas their radar was a little wayward, and the rough caused a few problems and they went down 7 & 6.
The matches behind were considerably more tight, and 3 went to the 18th. The 2 Richards (Dresner and Proctor) won 2 up - I am sure that Mr Proctor's trousers must have blinded their opposition and were worth at least a hole start. Trevor Mills and Andrew Sims won 1 up, and Mark Pettman and James Gough-Cooper (bringing up the rear) won 2 up. This was quite a result, considering that they were all square on the 17th tee and won that hole despite losing their ball off the tee.
We also prevailed in the remaining 2 games thanks to some strong play from the Ballesteros & Olazabal pairing of Senor Monteuuis & his apprentice Ollie Boreham, who won 4 & 3. Duncan King and David Ham dovetailed nicely to win 5 & 4, leaving a 5-1 scoreline overall.
So a victory in the first match, and the Eastbournians were keen to offer us a rematch next year at Walton Heath, which would be a lovely. I sincerely hope many of the same team might want to repeat the experience, as it was a very friendly and warm occasion.
Results as follows:
Chris Pettman & Robin Wells (0) lost to Peter Robinson & Martin Reynolds (1) 7 & 6
Richard Proctor & Richard Dresner (1) beat Peter Meanley & Paul Wickman (0) 2 holes
Trevor Mills & Andrew Sims (1) beat Brian Jay & Savid Burt (0) 1 hole
Duncan King & David Ham (1) beat Adam Walker & Carl Spencer (0) 5 & 4
Tony Monteuuis & Ollie Boreham (1) beat Andrew Langlands & Peter Jamieson (0) 4 & 3
Mark Pettman & James Gough-Cooper (1) beat David Wells & Grant Leonard (0) 2 holes.
OTGS 5 - OEGS 1
Mark Pettman, Match Manager.