Gloucestershire Golf Union
Under 16 V Gloucestershire Girls U18’S Match Report
DATE: Sunday 8th March 2020
VENUE: Forest Hills Golf Club
Team selection for the week had a couple of setbacks prior to the match with Nick Allen and Enzo Cryer both having to pull out with injuries. We hope they both recover soon and get back playing injury free soon.
This meant that Ashley Millington stepped in to help us out but we started the match one player short. With the format being greensomes we had to send out ‘super sub’ Ashley as a single against their leading pair of Izzy Lloyd and Lily Oswald. In a tough match, that was all square going down the last and Ashley having to give a shot, he made a great birdie to win 1 up.
In the second match, Chloe Lloyd and Elizabeth Robbins played some really impressive golf hitting nearly every fairway in regulation, keeping out of trouble with their approach shots and chipping and putting really well. Making life very difficult for Dylan Duffy and Charlie Mckinnes, who were giving away 13 shots. This game ended very early with the girls deservedly winning 8 and 6.
In the third match, our captain Lewis Stalley played with rookie Charlie Saxton against Lorna Evans and Millie Gait. Again, this was another close match with no team getting more than 2 up. All the players fought hard throughout and ended up with a half point each.
The fourth match saw another rookie James Austen partner Frankie Wallace against Shannon Jones and Gabriella Haynes. The boys under the cosh early on had to give 5 shots on the first 6 holes and never recovered. The girls played some really good error-free golf and won on the 16th hole 3 and 2.
Match 5 was an all Minchinhampton GC group of Lily Whitaker and Lucy Mabley playing Jamie Berry and Danny Townsend. With bragging rights for the entire year up for grabs as not only do all 4 players know each other from their club they also go to school together. This game had some real pressure to it and ended up going down the 18th hole. Jamie hit a great tee shot short of the pond Danny then hit his 80-yard wedge shot to 10 feet and Jamie holed the putt for birdie. Securing the point for the team and breathing a sigh of relief, it’s great to see both boys perform so well under extreme pressure. Commiserations must go to Lily and Lucy who played really well and pushed the boys to the limit but got beaten by some brilliance on the last hole.
With the scores tied at 2½ points each, match 6 was going to be the decider in another hard fought match. The Broadway pairing of Sonny Nangle and rookie Adam Sutton were against Rhian McGinley and Neve Jeffrey. After getting a little team talk on the first from Ian Watkins (Broadway GC member, Gloucestershire and England golf stalwart), the boys were under no illusions that they had to win. Life for Ian apparently would be unbearable if they lost and naturally he would remind the boys of this every time they were at the club.
With this added incentive the boys really had to dig deep against the girls who really did play some excellent golf. The boys were 1 up standing on the 18th tee but had to give a shot to Rhian and Neve. With Ian looking on from the balcony with his piercing stare Sonny hit a great drive, Adam then hit his 82-yard wedge to 6 feet and Sonny holed the putt for a gross birdie to win their game 2 up and the match for the boys. I don’t know who was more relieved the boys or Ian.
The final score was 3½ - 2½ to the boys.
This was a great competitive match and it shows real promise for both Gloucestershire golf squads in the future. In the end the experience of the boys and their lower handicaps proved decisive with all of their wins coming from making a birdie on the 18th hole.
I would like to thank Forest Hills for hosting us on a surprisingly dry course, the green’s staff did a tremendous job preparing it and for the catering staff for giving us a lovely 2-course meal on a busy Sunday. I would also like to thank the Gloucestershire girl’s players, staff and supporters for helping to arrange the fixture, for their help on the day and for giving the boys a real test. The result was on a knife-edge and could of gone either way. I would finally like to thank all the parents for supporting both teams and for all the officials who turned up on a cold, windy and sometimes wet day to watch the match. We really appreciate and value your support.
Our next match is against Worcestershire Under 16s at Little Lakes on Sunday 29th March.
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