Bob Beeson reports…
The tour started with an early departure for most of the team (4 had travelled the day before) as we wended our way to Leominster Golf Club. We were greeted by Captain Bob and Colin, his match organiser for this 2-day competition, and after a light lunch, we proceeded to the first tee. The Captain of Leominister, Jason Stokes , after introducing himself individually to the whole team, then partnered Captain Bob to a convincing win over myself and Val. Luckily, we did not set the trend and Devon finished the day 5-3 up. This was quite an achievement as many matches had the advantage of home player knowledge but as Colin pointed out we were only halfway round.
After a most pleasant night’s stay at the Green Dragon in Hereford, ,which was eventually found after a slight detour, we made our way to Burghill Valley Golf Club. This is a relatively new parkland course, beautifully manicured and in great condition. This time, Captain Bob partnered by Martin, a fellow Captain, proceeded to give myself and Mr Tickell a lesson in how to use shots – Mr T giving 23 and 25 to our opponents. I am afraid I was not much help to my partner, but he did play some great golf. Unfortunately, we then lost the next 2 matches and ended up losing the day’s match 5½ – 2½.
Sadly, the label of “the Invincibles” will have to be wait for another year as the overall score over the 2 days was a narrow victory to Shropshire & Herefordshire by 8½ to 7½ – congratulations to them.
This was a most enjoyable couple of days and will be remembered for the camaraderie and hospitality shown by Captain Bob and his fellow Captains, so much so we will be playing them away again next year to balance our programme of tour fixtures.
As a footnote, and not using it as an excuse, the weather was slightly different to what everyone was experiencing back in Devon. The temperature after golf on Thursday was 34C outside and considerably more inside the car for the journey home!
Leominster
Burghill Valley
