Our last Channel League match of the season started in heavy drizzle and misty conditions but this did not dampen the spirits of the Glamorgan team. We got off to a flying start and led in all matches for some time with four matches ending in our favour without going to the final green. The middle match saw Jonathan James and Joe Hill go one down for the first time after three putting the 17th green.The Somerset boys however, got into trouble on the last hole and we halved the match without having to putt out. At lunch, therefore, we were extremely happy with our unexpected 4.5 - 0.5 lead. However that happiness soon changed to concern when Somerset's very strong top five players upped their game in the afternoon singles and were quickly up in four of the top five matches with only Kyle Harman(Cottrell Park) giving us some solace with his excellent golf. With only 3.5 points needed from the singles we were struggling to achieve that for a long time but, James Grainger (Radyr) making his U16 debut, put the pressure on his opponent and ran out a comfortable 4&3 winner. Other wins by Kyle, Alex Matthews (Cardiff) and Rhys Jones (Mountain Ash) ensured our victory and with Tom Furneaux (P&K) three down with four to play it looked like a narrow victory. Tom is a fighter however and won the 15th and 16th holes with solid pars. Despite an amazing par from his opponent on the 17th from deep trouble, Tom put an incredible shot from the rough to a few feet and holed the putt for a birdie to square the match. On the eighteenth Tom put his tee shot in the greenside bunker, but his opponent feeling the pressure, pulled his tee shot out of bounds and gave Tom an impressive victory. The overall result was therefore 9.5 - 5.5 to us but this did not reflect the closeness of the match. The match was played in great spirit by both sides and both are to be congratulated on their sportsmanship. This victory now means that only Gwent can tie with us and we await their results with interest.
Our grateful thanks to Llanishen Golf Club for providing us with a course in very good condition and to the bar staff and Chef for keeping us watered and well fed.
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The Glamorgan team arrived at Ogbourne determined to avenge last year's defeat at home to Wiltshire but things did not start well with the team having very little time to prepare after arrival,as tee off was half an hour earlier than expected. However despite this problem our team started well and established early leads in most games. The middle three games were won comfortably and our first pair of Tim Harry and Robert Evans prevailed on the 17th Green. Unfortunately our last pair of Daniel Pickering and Tom Furneaux lost the last two holes after being one up with two to play. Nevertheless a 4-1 lunch time lead was very good. The afternoon singles mainly started well although Robert Evans found his opponent on top form. We won four of the top five matches quite comfortably with Robert eventually succumbing in his match. In the bottom half of the draw Joe Hill found himself five down early on but a typical fighting display got him level after sixteen holes - unfortunately despite this, he lost on the 18th green. Tom Furneaux was also five down at the turn in his match and like Joe fought back to only two down but lost on the 16th green. The other three boys in the lower half had good wins giving us a singles victory by 7-3 and an overall win by 11-4.
This was a very good away win for the boys and a good team display.
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On paper this should have been a comfortable victory for the Glamorgan team but in reality it was most certainly not. We struggled in a number of morning foursomes matches from the outset and it was no surprise for us to go into lunch with a 3-2 deficit, although Tom Furneaux and William Evans were unlucky in the end to lose their match by three putting the last green. The afternoon singles matches got off to a bad start for the home team with three of the first four matches being lost. The middle order brought some stability with three wins and it was left to our last two players to try to give us victory. Tom Furneaux had a four hole lead with five to go but found himself only two up with three left but a fighting up and down from the greenside bunker on their 16th hole, preserved his two hole lead with two left. A par on the next hole was sufficient to give him a 3&1 victory. This meant that William Evans (Royal Porthcawl), making his U16 debut, was left with the task of needing to win his match to give us victory. Despite the pressure, William gave his usual gutsy performance played with a smile on his face, and watched by all the players from both teams and supporters, he held his nerve and won his match on the same green that Tom had won a short time earlier. We won the match by the narrowest of margins 8-7 and kept our hopes alive of retaining our Channel League title. Some of our singles play was a little disappointing with a couple of boys trying to hit the ball out of sight on tree lined fairways and finding themselves in unplayable positions - still a win is a win!
Our grateful thanks to Glamorganshire Golf Club for providing us with a course in excellent condition, and to the Bar Staff and Chef for keeping us well watered and fed.
Our first Channel League fixture of the season was a hastily arranged one against Gwent at Newport on Sunday 22nd May 2011, and what a game it turned out to be. Both Counties were missing a couple of players each but despite this both were able to field very strong teams with no fewer than eight Junior Welsh Internationals on display.
Conditions were very difficult for the morning foursomes with very strong winds, gusting to 40 mph at times, blowing across the course. In spite of these conditions some excellent golf was produced by both teams, with Gwent in particular getting off to a quick start. At one time it looked that they would go into lunch with a very healthy lead but a very good fightback by the Glamorgan boys meant that the match was tied 2.5 - 2.5 going into the singles. Once again the Gwent team came out of the blocks quicker and were up in the majority of matches from the outset. Several matches were close with the Glamorgan boys unable to hold on to any lead that they had established, and at one time it looked that we could lose the singles by at least 8 matches to 2. Our recovery started with Tim Harry (Vale of Glamorgan),a stalwart of our U14 team, and making his U16 County debut, defeating Gwent's star player and fellow Welsh International Otto Mand by 2 &1.This gave the team some uplift, with Joe Hill (Whitchurch) coming back from 1 down with two to play to win his match on the last green. When Alex Matthews(Ridgeway and Cardiff) and Tom Evans (Langland Bay) both lost their matches on the 18th, things looked bleak for us at 5-2 but we did not reckon on the fighting spirit of our last three players. Rhys Jones (Mountain Ash) was one down with two to play and after winning the 17th, his second shot to 15 feet at the par 5 18th was magnificent in the conditions. He made sure of his birdie to win his match. In the penultimate match County debutant Jack Hoskins (Ridgeway and Cardiff) was having a tremendous battle with Jake Darlington, and he found himself 1 down with three to play. He played a wonderful tee shot to two feet on the par 3 16th to bring the match level and then proceeded to win the 17th as well. Like his foursomes partner Rhys Jones he produced a wonderful second shot into the heart of the 18th green. He duly obtained his birdie to ensure a two hole victory. This left our final player Daniel Pickering (Pontypridd) requiring victory to halve the entire match. Daniel ( U14 County team member) was making his U16 debut and came into the team at very short notice - he was actually in Devon and travelled to Newport on the morning of the match to play for us. At one point in the match he was two down but he came back strongly, and with both teams watching, he wrapped up victory on the 17th green to win 3&1 and ensure that match was tied at 7.5-7.5. This was an excellent exhibition by both teams in very demanding conditions and shows that the state of South Wales golf is in very good hands. We were very happy with the result against a very strong team, although we are certain that the Gwent boys will be disappointed as they looked like taking the spoils until our late fightback.
Our thanks to Newport Golf Club for allowing us to play on their magnificently presented course and wonderfully fast greens, and to their catering staff for the excellent food.
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The morning foursomes began in cold, windy and showery conditions, but in a lovely setting overlooking the Brecon Beacons. Despite the poor weather, a very good standard of golf was produced by both teams and some close matches ensued, with Glamorgan losing two on the 18th green. However our other pairings were victorious giving us a 3-2 interval lead. The cold, windy conditions had not relented by the start of the afternoon singles matches but this did not upset the home team who made a quick start in the majority of these matches. In the top match Glamorgan debutant Robert Evans (Southerndown), despite birdying the first hole, found himself one down to Andy Longmuir who had an eagle. Andy, who was Worcester's star performer against us last year, held the lead going into the back nine but then Rob turned up the pressure and ran out an excellent winner by 4&3. We continued to build on our strong start in the singles running out 9-1 winners, giving us an overall victory by 12 matches to 3. We gave County debuts to four boys - apart from Robert, Jack Longden (Langland Bay), Rhys Jones (Mountain Ash) and Tom Furneaux (P&K) all had their first taste of Junior County golf. They all made a good contribution to the victory with pride of place going to Tom who won both of his matches without having to go beyond the 12th green. This was an excellent start to the season for us, and we wish to thank the Worcestershire for the sportsmanship and spirit in which the match was played.
As usual, Morlais Castle looked after us extremely well and our grateful thanks goes to the Captain and his Committee for allowing us to play on their lovely but challenging course. Our special thanks also to Barney Curnock, Club Manager, who made life easy from the start and for whom nothing was too much trouble. The food and service provided were excellent.
Friday 13th proved extremely unlucky for us as we suffered our first defeat in three years, including our first defeat in the Channel League. Without Delon Hau and Ryan Thomas at the helm, Wiltshire proved too strong for us on the day and deserved their victory but they were also helped by a lack of course management by a few of our boys in the singles. The bubble had to burst one day, but despite this defeat by 10-5 we ran out Channel League winners for the third successive year. Well done to all the boys.
The morning foursomes was extremely hard fought with three matches finishing all square and the spoils were shared going into lunch at 2.5 - 2.5. The afternoon singles proved good for us with seven very comfortable victories, including an excellent win by Delon Hau over his fellow Welsh International Zach Galliford by 4/3. It was also an excellent debut for Bradley Young who won both of his matches.
Despite losing the morning foursomes by 3 matches to 2, our boys fought back fought back superbly in the afternoon singles winning 6 matches to 4 ,and giving us a very narrow victory by 8-7.
Despite a prolonged journey because of bus problems, and therefore lack of preparation time, our boys acquitted themselves superbly in the morning foursomes and we went into lunch with a 3.5 -1.5 lead. The afternoon singles matches were in the main extremely close and at one stage it looked as if the tide was turning in favour of the hosts. However our top five players battled to the bitter end and we managed three wins and two halves from their matches ensuring that we could not lose the fixture and we eventually finished the singles winning 6-4, thereby giving us an overall victory of 9.5 - 5.5. Again some excellent golf was played by both teams, and it was pleasing to note the very good golf played by our two County debutants Tom Williams (Maesteg) and Zach Hill (Whitchurch). They comfortably won their morning foursomes together, and whilst Tom was unlucky to lose his singles on the last green, Zach showed great fighting spirit and excellent course management in winning his singles on the last green after being 3 down on the 10th tee.
The Tewkesbury course was in very good condition, and we wish to thank Gloucester for a very good match played in excellent spirit.
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The morning foursomes started in cool, cloudy and windy conditions, and for the second match in succession, our Under 16 team achieved a 5-0 whitewash, although this score did not reflect the closeness of most of the matches. In the afternoon singles the boys also had to contend with very heavy drizzle, but the standard of golf played by both teams belied the very difficult conditions. The quality of this Gwent team showed through in the early matches and they won four of the first five played, with two of these being won on the 18th green. Some exceptional golf was played by both team Captains Olly Dickson (Glam) and Ben McDonagh (Gwent) with the latter winning on the 17th green. Our strength in depth, however, showed through in the lower matches and we reversed the score from the early matches, making the final singles score 5-5, giving us a very good victory of 10-5.
This was an excellent match played in good spirit by both teams, and it is extremely encouraging to see such exciting young golf talent in South Wales.
Our grateful thanks to the Chairman and Captain of Pennard G C for allowing us the use of their wonderful James Braid designed golf course, and also to Jon Dickson for his invaluable help with the arrangements. Thanks also to the Club's Steward and Stewardess for keeping us well watered and tastefully fed throughout the day.
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On a beautifully warm,sunny evening some eighteen of our younger Juniors enjoyed the company and experience of playing with six seasoned Professionals from the European Seniors' Tour. The Professionals each teamed up with three of the Juniors playing a fourball, with the two best cards counting on each hole on a stableford system over the first three and last three holes of this magnificent golf course, which was at its glorious best. The boys were not overawed and some extremely good golf was played by our youngsters with numerous birdies being made on this very testing course. The Professionals were excellent with the boys with several of them talking the boys through shots they were about to play, and giving them advice generally both during and after the round. Our very grateful thanks goes to them, and also to our own Mal Roberts who organised the event in conjunction with Golf Development Wales, to whom we are also very grateful.
The results were as follows :-
Mark Belsham (England), Alex Matthews,Joe Hill, and Lloyd Phillips - 28 pts (winning b 3)
Pete Oakley (USA) , Ollie DIckson, Jonathan James, and Jake Hapgood - 28 pts
Horacio Carbonetti (Argentina), George Griffiths,William Evans and Tom James - 27 pts
Emilio Rodriguez (Spain), Delon Hau, Aled Clement, and Tom Davies - 25 pts
Simon Owen (New Zealand), Ryan Thomas,Tim Harry, and Daniel Pickering - 25 pts
Jeff Hawkes (South Africa), Max Davies, Jack Powell,and Jordan Golley - 21 pts
Winning Team - Joe Hill, Lloyd Phillips, Mark Belsham,Alex Matthews
Runners Up - Jonathan James, Pete Oakley, Ollie Dickson, Jake Hapgood
The U16 team opened its season with a friendly against Worecestershire at Evesham G C. The only County debutant for us was Aled Clement (Southerndown) although Alex Matthews (Ridgeway/Cardiff) and Jonathan James (Llanishen) were making their U16 debuts.
The morning foursomes started in glorious sunshine with temperatures already in the 80s. We comfortably won three of these matches, and although the other two were tighter we managed to prevail in both on the 17th green giving us an excellent 5-0 lead at lunch. This young highly talented Worcestershire team certainly did not lie down in the afternoon singles and although we won the first two singles through Delon Hau (VOG) and our new Captain Ollie Dickson (Pennard), they won the next six with some excellent golf. Their star player was, undoubtedly young 13 yr old Andy Longmore (Kidderminster) who had 5 birdies and a hole in one in his first 9 holes - the luckless Glamorgan player was Joe Francis (Llantrisant) who lost 5 & 3 despite three birdies of his own. Ollie Price (Whitchurch) and Jonathan James ensured our victory by winning their matches and making the final score 9 - 6 in our favour. This was a hard fought, hard earned victory against a very good Worcestershire team - great credit goes to both teams for the excellent standard of golf produced in such sweltering conditions, and for the sporting manner in which it was played.
Our grateful thanks go to the Captain and members of Evesham Golf Club for allowing us to play on their picturesque and beautifully manicured course.
See also Worcester report www.mens.worcestershireamateurgolf.co.uk
Our U16 team played it's last match of the season, defending a one hundred percent 2009 record, against Dyfed at Glyn Abbey GC. The morning foursomes began in very heavy drizzle and it soon became apparent that we had a real fight on our hands against a very determined home team. At one time it looked as if we would go into lunch with a deficit but Ryan Thomas & Delon Hau, and Max Davies & Joe Francis both pulled out all the stops to win their matches on the final green giving us a 3-2 lead. Slightly better weather greeted the afternoon singles and again most of the matches were very closely fought.The result all came down to the last two matches and Tom Harry fought back bravely to halve his match after being one down with the last to play. Joe Francis was one up going down the last and he was left with a five feet putt to hold on to the win. He managed this with great aplomb much to the relief of his team mates. This gave us a win by 8.5-6.5.
Another excellent season following last year's unbeaten record - in fact we went one better this year by winning all of our six matches. Well done to all of the 18 boys who represented the team in 2009.
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Channel League match vs. Wiltshire at Ogbourne Downs GC Weds. 12th August 2009
Glamorgan retained its Under 16 Channel League title after defeating hosts Wiltshire by 11.5 matches to 3.5 on the rolling hills of the lovely Ogbourne Downs golf course. The morning foursomes matches began in cool, damp conditions but this did not stop both teams playing some very good golf. The foursomesl score of 4.5 - 0.5 in Glamorgan's favour was,perhaps, a little flattering with two matches going to the last green. The afternoon singles, played in brighter weather, started brightly for the visitors with wins in the first three matches. Ollie Dickson, making his Under 16 debut, had a titanic struggle with Matt Mumford in a match full of very good shotmaking, and perhaps a half was a fair reflection of the play. Ryan Thomas was extremely unlucky to lose his match on the last when he missed a short putt. Good wins in the bottom five matches were gained by Matthew Charlton (5&3), Alex Baker (6&5) and Gareth Howell (4&2) and Glamorgan eventually triumphed in the singles by 7 matches to 3. Glamorgan have now won all of it's eight matches played since the League was formed last year.
With both teams missing a number of their top players this was an ideal match to give their fringe players a chance to show their prowess, and they did not disappoint.After the recent bad weather the match was played in ideal conditions with very little wind on the beautifully manicured links course at Southerndown. Apart from the last match the morning foursomes were very closely contested and Glamorgan were perhaps a little fortunate to go into lunch with a 4-1 lead. The afternoon singles were again keenly contested with the lead changing hands on a regular basis. Somerset were strong in the top 5 matches and won 3 of these with the top 2 being halved. It was in the bottom five matches that Glamorgan showed their strength in depth and there were good wins for Alex Baker, Gareth Howell, Sam McCarthy and Matthew Joseph. The singles were shared at 5 all, and Glamorgan therefore retained their unbeaten record for 2009 with a 9-6 victory. With one Channel League match left, the team will do their utmost to retain the League title when they play away to Wiltshire next week.
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The Glamorgan Under 16 team retained it's unbeaten 2009 record with a hard earned victory over a tough Gloucestershire side at Llanishen Golf Club. The morning foursomes started in damp conditions after torrential rain in the previous 24 hours. All matches were very closely fought and all went to either the 17th or 18th greens. Gloucestershire could consider themselves a little unfortunate therefore, to find themselves 5-0 down at lunch. Unlike the foursomes, the singles started in warm sunshine, and once again some brilliant golf was played, particularly by Sam Sullivan of Gloucestershire in defeating Olly Baker. Solid victories were enjoyed by the home County's captain Jack Bush, Lewys Bishop, Ryan Thomas, Tom Harry and debutant Matthew Charlton. There was another battling display from Joe Francis - 1 up after 17 he needed a nasty 4 feet right to left putt on the last for victory after his opponent Luke Gaskins drove the green. With great fortitude he made the putt look easy. The County is still on course to retain it's Channel League title but it has a big task next against Somerset on the 5th August as it will be without three of it's regular players - Captain Jack Bush will be representing Wales in the Home Internationals, whilst Ryan Thomas and Tom Harry will be playing in the St Andrews Junior Open.
On a blustery day which ended in a heavy rainstorm some excellent golf was witnessed from both teams. In the morning foursomes, Gwent held the upper hand for most of the time until a late fightback by the Glamorgan boys almost gave them a share of the spoils but the home team held on to lead 3-2. The afternoon singles were equally as exciting with five matches going to the last green. The top match between Olly Baker and Oliver Mottram produced golf of the highest quality with both approximately 4 under par after 18 holes. Captain Jack Bush had a titanic tussle against Alex Price and managed to halve the match on the last green after being two down at one stage. Very strong performances by Glamorgan's middle order enabled the County to win the singles by 7.5 -2.5 and the match by 9.5 - 5.5. Encouraging under 16 debuts came from Max Davies who played inspiring golf against Otto Mand, and Sam McCarthy. The standard of putting by both teams throughout the day was of the highest order. It was a hard fought victory by Glamorgan against a very good and quickly improving Gwent team.
Team vs. Gwent - left to right
Lewys Bishop (Vale), Max Davies (Fairwood), Jack Bush, Capt.(Morlais), Ryan Davies (Vale),
Olly Baker (Cardiff),Alex Baker, Tom (Mr. Cool!!) Harry, Delon Hau,Sam McCarthy, and Ryan
Thomas (All Vale)
Despite being without it's five lowest handicappers, a young Glamorgan U16 team put in an excellent performance against a strong Worcestershire side, winning by 8.5 matches to 6.5.Two boys were making their County debuts, Gareth Howell from The Grove GC and Steffan Rowe from Pontardawe and both played a big part in the victory. Acting Captain Tom Harry (VOG) played a real "Captain's" part by winning both of his matches.Some excellent golf was played by both sides with Rob Alldred of Worcestershire playing exceptionally well in defeating Lewys Bishop. This win augurs well for the rest of the season.
Many thanks to Glamorganshire GC for providing an excellent course and food.
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