Captain Dave Smith reports
The 2026 season kicked off with customary internal match between the Captain Dave Smith and Vice Captain Neil Hayman played at the Captain’s home course Yelverton.
A staggering 48 Captains from across Devon arrived to play on a dry but chilly afternoon on Dartmoor. Golfing attire ranged from shorts to full waterproofs and bobble hats.
Following a short welcome from Yelverton Captain Nick Arundel, the teams were announced, and lunch taken.
The opening pairings saw The Captain and Yelverton Captain up against the Vice-Captain and Hamish Marshall, a “Yelverton v Stover” contest. Yelverton went 2 up early on, but, as the match progressed, Stover started to get a feel for the course and the windy conditions, with the Yelverton pair being 1 up at the turn. However, as the match progressed on the back nine, Yelverton Captain Nick Arundel birdied both 11 and 12 to put Yelverton 3 up and despite some fine play from the Stover pair, Yelverton triumphed 2&1.
As the match results started to materialise, the Captain took an early 4-1 lead, but a fightback in the middle matches by the Vice-Captain’s team saw them take a 5-6 lead with 2 halves, leaving just the final match left to decide the outcome. Fortunately, the Captain’s pair recorded a victory to leave the match all square at 6-6, with the Captain retaining the trophy won by Bob Beeson last year.
A most enjoyable meal was followed by the match result announcement and trophy presentation.
I look forward to the coming inter-county matches starting against Hampshire at Libbaton on the 16th April 2026.
