The ongoing rivalry, albeit very friendly, between Devon and Cornwall in sport and all things else, including jam and clotted cream, continued at Trethorne Golf Club near Launceston. Upon arrival the friendly banter commenced immediately with old adversaries picking up wherever left last, good fun! The complex at Trethorne is very well provided with an hotel on site, practice and conference facilities, its sister club in Devon, Boringdon Park also under the same management. For this match against ‘the Old Enemy’ Captain Graham Heaman was unfortunately not available but was admirably represented by Vice-Captain Phil Webb affording him a rehearsal for his upcoming role.
Sandwiches and chips, to sustain travellers from afar, teams were announced amid more banter echoing from previous skirmishes . Nowadays, and regrettably, neither team were able to field the usual full complement of 18 players and consequently the rather more traditional 16 a side, as played against other counties. The main comment from a number of players, “quite a few blind holes”, to those players familiar with the course both an advantage and a poser. Though only just over 5700 yards shot lines are crucial, a good ball slightly off line can be severely punished by unseen banks and slopes, hence the previous comment. The continuing warm dry weather contributing to the exaggerated bounce in landing areas that were hard and punitive. There are a good number of short holes, particularly the 4s and drivers are best left in the bag for some. The greens were very different on occasion, a few were obviously not in their best condition compared to others that were fine and running nicely.
Devon were very strong in the first four matches, all winning, Cornwall fought back immediately winning the next two matches however, Hamish Marshall and Roger Bawden plunged their stiletto into Tony Pope and evergreen Brian Rimes, job done. Speeches of thanks and commendation dispensed players, especially from Devon, returned back to ‘England’ and relished the thought of the return match at home, the venue as yet unknown. In my own match I had the pleasure of playing against an old adversary the ebullient Cornwall secretary, John Stanforth, a great character and also Secretary of the Cornish Nomads Golf Society. Over dinner John described a similar situation to other counties, difficulty on occasion raising a full team, which was to be discussed at a committee meeting as soon as we visitors departed. So gentlemen, it is still not too late to submit requests to play in the remaining matches this season, you will find the application/availability form on the website Match Page and send to Mike Badcock mgbadcock43@gmail.com
Malcolm Jordain
