Captain Dave Smith reports …
The first tour of 2026 got off to a rocky start with the M5 being closed at Exeter, which resulted in half the team being delayed in getting to Haddon Hill and missing the warmup game. Dinner was taken at Haddon Hill before travelling to the hotel for a relaxing evening in the bar for all, except Bob Beeson who was on tenterhooks watching Arsenal on his iPad until the final whistle blew.
DGC v Oxfordshire 19th May
Arriving at Mapledurham, DGC were greeted by the Oxfordshire Captain Ollie and during the traditional lunch of bacon bap and coffee the teams were announced.
The Mapledurham course was in fine fettle, with many tree lined fairways and strategically placed bunkers.
I was partnered by Iain ‘back of the green’ Neale and had a very enjoyable match with Ollie and Mapledurham Captain Richard.
Having birdied the first hole, the Devon pair maintained their lead for a few holes, but the Oxfordshire pair fought back, with local knowledge and some fine approach play, to eventually win 3&2.
The Devon team fought hard, but succumbed to a 4½ – 3½ defeat.
Following a dinner of bangers and mash, the DGC team headed north to Banbury for the overnight stay.
DGC v Warwickshire 20th May
DGC were warmly greeted by the Moor Hall captain Karl and following a full English breakfast, the teams were announced by myself and Warwickshire captain George. Karl gave the players a short introduction to Moor Hall.
The Moor Hall course was in superb condition and like Mapledurham the previous day, had tree lined fairways, with even more bunkers.
I was partnered by Rob Tickell who needed to be on top of his game having to give Karl 27 shots. As the match progressed, Rob and I got our noses in front to be 1 up at the turn, but we were finding it difficult to read the greens and the Warwickshire pair fought back using their shots to be 3 up with 4 to play, we pulled it back to dormie 2, then dormie 1 but George and Karl prevailed to win by one hole.
Similar stories were reported by the rest of the team with 4 matches going to the last green.
Eventually Devon went down to a 6-2 defeat, but the result doesn’t reflect how close the match was.
In closing, I want to thank the DGC team for a very enjoyable opening tour, with particular thanks to Bob Beeson who had diligently organised the hotels and travel arrangements.
Oxfordshire
Warwickshire
