A full four months after their last outing in March, the County 1st Team came out of the Covid-19 induced darkness to take on the County Juniors for The Ralph Crisp Salver at Stinchcombe Hill Golf Club. There was nothing dark about the weather or the golf though, as both teams produced some sparkling stuff on a glorious afternoon in the annual four-ball better ball match.
The undoubted stars of the show were Nick Day (Henbury Golf Club) and Jack Cope (The Players Club) who led the 1st Team out against Oli Jenkins (The Players Club) and David Miles (Knowle Golf Club). Nick and Jack rattled off three eagles that contributed towards an incredible sixteen under par score over the eighteen holes played. It would be hard to imagine Oli and David facing a harder challenge if it had been a Ryder Cup match!
Aside from the top game, the match was a closely fought affair, with both teams picking up a couple of wins each, the 1st Team coming out on top overall by three games to two.
After the last few months though, the match result was less of an issue than normal, and with a fine, socially distanced, crowd of supporters there to encourage everybody along it really was a proud day for Gloucestershire Golf. Gary Ward, County Captain, commented “It was great to see so many familiar faces out on the course again, and all of the players really enjoyed being back in a competitive environment. My thanks must also go to Stinchcombe Hill Golf Club and its members for giving up their course, which I must say was in fantastic condition.”
Since the lockdown was lifted, many of the clubs in our Union have been kind enough to make a their courses available to our players, and it is this commitment and togetherness that allows us to maintain our position in the upper echelons of the County game; long may it continue.
We’ll shortly be announcing details of this years Duchess Salver and Jeff Hall Orders of Merit, so keep an eye on the website and our social media channels to find out more about that in the coming days.