Travelling to Tiverton GC we encountered two veritable cloudbursts, quite the opposite of the most recent forecast however, driving into the car park at the club the sun emerged and was to be present for the rest of the day. The majority of players today had not, as yet, played the newly constructed holes and new layout, what a treat we were to experience!
Our friends and opponents from the Principality were grateful for the venue’s location thereby shortening the journey time to some degree. Old friendships are always a feature of this fixture and now, second generations are playing. Along with Eric Brown, Peter Vaughan, David Bailey the inimitable George Lowe was there with his son Steve, another version of George in stature and prowess with a handicap of 5 ! Chris Garnsworthy, the Tiverton Captain, welcomed everyone to the club and briefly outlined the changes to the course and hoped everyone would enjoy the course, which was in excellent condition.
So, subject to a very nice lunch, play commenced from the first tee and we discovered there were very few significant changes on the front nine, with the exception of added buggy tracks and a new fleet of buggies equipped with GPS ensuring buggies were not operable in unsuitable areas. The first change on the back nine is quite subtle with the old 18th now playing as number 11, then onto the new 12th located in the same position but with the tee moved forward and playing as a par three with the addition of a large pond quite adjacent to the green, tricky ! The next significant change comes at 16 with the hole being lengthened and the green moved back toward the original 17th tee, together with a treacherous ditch in front of the green. Finally the 18th is the old 11th which has always been a strong four, all very enjoyable so congratulations Tiverton for a job well done.
The Welsh boys had brought a fairly strong team, on paper, with half of their team single figure golfers but the Devon boys were mostly on form and managed to obtain an infrequent win. The atmosphere in the clubhouse was so good after play had finished, old stories re-told, characters not with us today Arnie Pidgeon and John Jones, both having had health issues but now back on track. A superb meal, warmly applauded by our fellow diners was followed by the usual thanks to all concerned, particularly the greenstaff having provided an excellent course for our pleasure. We all wished our visitors a safe journey home and we look forward to returning to the prestigious St Pierre next year. Yaki Dar Boyos !
Malcolm Jordain
