Gloucestershire Golf Union
U14's WIN against Glamorgan at Pontardawe GC
Our last visit to South Wales, pre covid, was cut short by torrential rain so a very different weather forecast welcomed our U14 boys fresh from various Junior Opens and The Reid Trophy
Sitting up in the hills above Swansea Pontardawe GC offered a very different challenge as the boys set out on the morning 9 hole foursomes with a green and receptive undulating course in front of them. The opening group of Ambrose and Charlie Pearce Ward set off at pace taking the first four holes whereas the following groups of Riley and Daniel swapped holes as did Charlie and Edison. A strong approach to the par 3 fifth turned the play for Jack and James getting them the advantage just as Charlie and Ambrose got the first point on the board while Edison and Charlie Ford used a mix of power and finesse to close their game out on the 7th. With momentum very much their way the last group along with Riley and Daniel both closed out on the 8th to give us a clean sweep going into lunch
After lunch and some rather competitive putting games Ambrose lead the afternoon singles followed by Charlie Pearce Ward with some momentum switch back to Glamorgan despite Riley being the first to opt to go for the first green off the tee and ending up very close while Charlie Ford had an opponent playing birdie golf right from the off
Daniel and Edison began to steady the ship taking early leads while James swapped holes with his opponent including some great up and downs on the par 3 fifth and Jack began to stack up a good early lead. As play moved onto the back nine with its stunning views over the South Wales hills the boys began to even things up with Charlie Ford fighting back and both Riley and Edison managing to get their noses in front and Jack building a sizeable lead but a slack couple of holes meant Ambrose and Charlie couldn’t overcome the early dropped holes and both lost on 17 and 18. With Charlie finally being overcome by his high performing opponent Glamorgan where with a point of our morning haul. However sunk a strong birdie on 15 and impressive tee shot on 16 put Edison in charge as it did for Riley and Daniel to even up the singles. With Jack continuing his strong play closing out neatly on the 15th it was left to James Sutherland to try and finish things off. Strong drives with neat approaches to 16 and 17 got him from 1 down to 1 up but a poor lie on 18 meant he finished with a half and the boys took the afternoon singles too
It has to be said the golf matched the weather and the views and all played in the best of spirits with Pontardawe GC being a great host venue. Big thanks to Paul and all at Glamorgan for their hospitality and great match and a special thanks to all the parents for their fantastic support and getting boys quite a distance from home
With plenty of golf to play across the summer and autumn the boys focus will return to strokeplay and building up through some training days
FULL MATCH RESULTS HERE
Tom Gillespie
GGU U14 Performance Coach and Squad Manager
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