Paul Smale – Ian Cornwell – Tony Davis – Ben Lynch
Arriving at Torquay Golf Club it was immediately obvious how the recent rainfall has ‘greened’ up the golf course, a very welcome sight. For those players who have not payed Torquay fairly recently there are some fairly dramatic changes to the course, possibly the most significant is the eighteenth. What was a strong par 4 finishing hole is now a par 3 of around 160 yards, we played forward of this on yellow tees. Other changes deeper in the course include the eighth hole also becoming a par 3, previously a par 4. Apparently the course is still in transitional state and other changes are in process, all this as a result of problems with nearby properties, unofficially explained, church bells and villages come to mind!
So to the match, the course already recovering from the long dry spell was looking green and inviting. A number of the Gloucester players were playing Torquay for the first times and seemed to enjoy their first visit. Thankfully the ball has lost some of the extreme distances achieved with bone hard fairways, so, golf as it should be played a little closer than the last few months. The clubhouse was very busy with members and visitors some, as in Churston’s case, commencing maintenance work on greens this week. Mark Passmore, Torquay Captain, was not available on this occasion for a very good reason, he is playing in England Golf Captains Final at Frilford Heath subsequent to qualifying recently at Torquay, the regional qualifier. Good luck Mark.
Torquay were also celebrating their weekend victory at Churston in the Torbay Cup, a hotly contested competition between the six local clubs, congratulations Torquay. Virtually all matches against our visitors were very close and could easily have swung either way, with the Devon tail wagging strongly and what proved to be a vital half, on the eighteenth, Devon prevailed by a narrow margin. Speeches were reduced to a minimum to allow our guests to get underway on their 2/2.1/2 hour journey home. Many thanks to Torquay GC and members for the use of their course today, much appreciated.
Malcolm Jordain
Result Sheet for Gloucestershire Captains 13th August 2018
