BUNGS Tour 2011 - The West Country
19th to 21st June 2011
This year saw 36 players from the Society returning to the West Country for the first time since 2004. Saunton in particular was eagerly awaited as it is regarded as probably the best seaside links course outside those on the Open Championship rota. Westward Ho has good memories for some but not so good for others and it would be interesting to see whether the sheep population had increased since our last visit! By the time the tour stopped at Weston-super-Mare for the final day’s singles matches we would at least be well on the way home – and the course promised a much better experience than Minehead back in 2004.
I don’t think it is being unkind to say that this year’s Captains are not among the ‘elite’ players in the Society but, what they lack in technical ability out on the golf course they certainly make up for it in their enthusiasm and determination to succeed and have fun.
With both teams looking evenly matched, on paper at least, it promised to be a close run thing as to who would come out on top come Tuesday afternoon.
The teams lined up as follows:
| Captain Dave Grubb's Team Blue | H'Cap | Challenger Graham Adams' Team Orange | H'Cap |
| Dave Grubb | 20 | Graham Adams | 28 |
| Tim Thacker, Vice Captain | 11 | Ian Talboys, Vice Captain | 8 |
| Shaun Mullaney | 4 | Graham Bilsland | 2 |
| Howard Holliday | 5 | Martyn Dodwell | 5 |
| John Shaw | 4 | Adam Thompson | 5 |
| Bill Ball | 6 | Steve Lloyd | 6 |
| James Shipman | 8 | Steve Harris | 8 |
| Bobby Ho | 12 | Karl Hughes | 10 |
| Simon Hayward | 12 | Mark Johnson | 12 |
| Paul Herrmann | 14 | Adrian Marchant | 13 |
| Bill Hancock | 14 | Andy Smith | 13 |
| Jamie Moore | 16 | Neil Smith | 16 |
| Barry Whitmore | 16 | Mike Fox | 18 |
| Jeff Thacker | 17 | John Haley | 18 |
| Terry Tomkiss | 18 | Alan Tolley | 17 |
| Stewart Fairweather | 19 | Phil Latham | 21 |
| John Evans | 19 | Brian Keates | 23 |
| John Mansell | 22 | Gordon Sullivan | 24 |
| AVERAGE | 13.2 | AVERAGE | 13.7 |
Saturday 18th June 2011
With Society Captain Dave Grubb, ably assisted by Tim
Thacker, determined to bring a ‘professional’ approach to
their team, not to be outdone Graham Adams had circulated a
questionnaire to his team members well in advance of the
Tour. However, from some of the replies received it was to
be hoped that his team would prove themselves better on the
golf course than at filling in forms, as the following
answers suggest:
“I don’t mind playing with
anyone, but perhaps they have a problem with me. Not that
I’m paranoid or anything!”
“My preferred starting
position is lying on the beach, through very dark glasses”
When asked what they would like as a mid-round snack:
“Fruit of any variety – an orange can get a
little messy though!”
“Doner Kebab” “pate fois gras – or
a banana”
And preferred post-round drink?
“Guinness,
Guinness and yet more Guinness”
“Lager – with lager
chaser!”
After driving through heavy rain for much of the way down on the M5 everyone finally managed to meet up on Saturday evening at the Barnstaple Hotel. A few members had played at Ilfracombe in the afternoon but, after 18 holes in a howling gale, Steve Lloyd, Ian Talboys and Tim Thacker had an eventful journey on what should have been the short drive to the hotel after Steve’s SatNav went berserk. At one point it announced that they were travelling at 857mph – in the middle of the Atlantic ocean! At that speed even Marcho in his Audi S5 Quattro would have had trouble keeping up (although he’d try his best and no doubt give his passenger Jamie Moore another chance to change his underwear).
The Hotel was fairly modern and contained a leisure club with outdoor and indoor heated swimming pools, a fitness centre, 2 saunas and – more importantly – 3 bars! Service could have been quicker though (and prices a little lower!) but, come 10pm the small lounge was dotted with members watching Rory McIlroy's 3rd round of the US Open during which he managed to forge an 8 shot lead going into the final day. At one stage, Simon Hayward was having some difficulty understanding Alan Tolley’s comment that McIlroy looked ‘nervous’ (especially as he had a 6 shot lead at the time) but the Society’s roving reporter wasn’t being negative for the sake of it, but merely putting on his commentator’s hat and making a ‘professional’ observation. I hope Simon has since managed to watch the BBC TV ‘special’ on Rory’s triumph as he will no doubt have witnessed Rory himself admitting he was a ‘bag of nerves’ at the start of Saturday’s round!
A spot of controversy even before the matches began came when Graham Bilsland decided, at the last minute, to share a room with Bill Ball instead of his regular roommate (and king of the snorers) John Mansell. John was understandably put out, but not so much that he wouldn’t be sharing with Graham but, of more concern was that he might have to pay the single room rate!
Oh, and just in case you weren’t aware, a group of 12 young ladies on a hen night in Barnstaple accosted 5 society members en route from a local pub to a nearby Chinese restaurant waving a camera and asking for a photo. John Mansell was convinced that they had been searching Barnstaple all night especially for him and then spent the rest of the evening trying to persuade Graham Bilsland to retrace their steps to the pub just in case the young ladies were waiting for him to return!
Sunday 19th June 2011 - morning
Saunton Golf Club (East Course)
9 x foursomes matches
If Saunton was more accessible it could easily be in the running for an Open Championship as it contains 36 holes of true links Championship golf surrounded by enormous sand dunes.
The East course is rated the 15th best in England and hosted the Amateur Championship in 1997 which was won by Sergio Garcia.
The prospect of rain was in the air as we all (well, Howard Holliday apart) assembled for the traditional team photos outside the club house. Some much needed practice on the chipping green.
It wasn’t long before the rain started to fall and the early starters certainly had the worst of it but, by the time all the matches were out on the course the rain had dried up, the sun was poking through the clouds and we were all set for an exciting 3 days of matchplay golf
| Simon Hayward & Bobby Ho | beat | Brian Keates & Gordon Sullivan | 1up |
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Bobby had imagined this would be a walk over but those battle hardened old
chaps fought on well. Dormie 2up on the 17th tee, Keates played 50 yards
short of the green in the rough. Bobby and Simon smiling to themselves
quietly. Well what fools! Gordon pitched his 2nd to gimmie range and won
the hole with a nett birdie so the Captain’s pair were just 1up on the last tee.
After much trials and tribulations, both teams had their ball over the back
of the tricky 18th green in 3, but the Challengers with a shot. However,
Brian ignored Gordon’s advice to use his putter and pitched it way down the
green instead. Hole halved and matched done. The result? Two old guys
moaning at each other for a good half an hour afterwards! |
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| Adrian Marchant & Mike Fox | beat | Bill Hancock & Paul Herrmann | 2/1 |
The first hole on the East Course at Saunton
The match continued to swing between 1up and all square due to some excellent golf by both teams. Most notably Foxy’s driving (no not the buggy, although it was gleaming), I mean off the tee. There was the odd moment of WTF. For example when Foxy was waggling his club around preparing to take a shot just by the green. To his horror he managed to hit the ball forwards about 2-3 inches by accident which meant the hole was lost. It can only be assumed that Foxy was distracted by Mooro & Neil Smith cursing and swearing because they had to call their playing partners back due to woeful tee shots. The defining moment of the match came on the 186 yard par 3, 17th. Bill and Marcho had played impeccable tee shots to each of the par 3s on the odd numbered holes. This led to each of them being halved in par, however on the 17th Marcho hit a driver to within 15-20 feet which Bill couldn’t match. The match was conceded on the green. A nail biter of a finish to a match that had been played with great spirit. Foxy couldn’t wait to take his nice shiny buggy for a spin so we didn’t play the 18th. |
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| Neil Smith & Mark Johnson | beat | Dave Grubb & Jamie Moore | 8/6 |
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The Captain’s pair were 5 down on the ninth green. Dave then proceeded to
hole a long putt from some distance for a 5. The first time since the first
hole that they had anything to celebrate so there was understandably a
celebration, high fives, running around the green and cheering. Neil then
holed his putt to go 6up. It was turning into a one sided match with Grubby and Jamie completely out of form but they had cause for more celebration later on when Grubby putted from off the green and sank the putt – but they still lost the hole and at the next, Jamie nailed his drive straight down the middle, but Neil put Mark in the rough on the next fairway, Mark had a tough shot over the dunes but managed to find the edge of the green. Grubby and Jamie had spent a while discussing what to do with their shot – a shot of about 100 yards. They both fell into fits of laughter as Grubby put the ball in the middle of some marsh grass. |
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| Steve Harris & Graham Bilsland | beat | Jeff Thacker & Barry Whitmore | 2up |
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No match report available. |
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| Stewart Fairweather & John Mansell | beat | Alan Tolley & Graham Adams | 5/3 |
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A match which could have gone either way but the tone was set on the very
first hole with the Challengers 25 feet away in 3 but a duffed chip from the
Society’s champion snorer left the Captain’s side well short of the green
having played 3. Stewart then chipped up to 15 feet and John nonchalantly
rolled in the putt to put the pressure back on the team oddly wearing
tangerine. After Graham had left his first putt well short Alan then shaved
the hole with his putt for the half. 1 down already, and after some steady
play from Stewart and some (typically) wayward driving from the Challengers
team Captain, Alan and Graham managed to lose the first 6 holes to be 6 down
after 6. To their credit the Challengers fought their way back into the game
but their opponents were just too good on the day. |
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| John Evans & Terry Tomkiss | beat | Steve Lloyd & Martyn Dodwell | 2up |
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Steve and Martyn went into this one undefeated in BUNGS tour foursomes so
looked like a formidable pair for tour ‘virgins’ John Evans and Terry
Tomkiss to be playing, even if they were receiving 13 shots. They got off to
a flying start however with a nett eagle at the second and a nett birdie at
the third to go 2up. Steve and Martyn managed to win three holes in a row to
go 1up after 7 but Terry and John hit straight back, with some excellent
drives and using their shots well to play the next five holes in nett 2under
to win four of them, going 3up. They were pegged back to 2 on the 13th but
Terry and John continued to hit the fairways and went dormie 2up after 16.
Steve and Martyn won 17 to take the match down the last and Steve felt that
an unlikely half point could be on the cards, despite him playing poorly. He
psyched himself up to hit a big drive round the corner, only to slice it
into the dunes. Martyn hacked it back onto the fairway, meaning Steve had to
put their third shot very close to have any chance. Standing over his shot
with a positive attitude, Steve visualised drawing his 8 iron within inches
of the cup – it’s a shame his golf swing couldn’t match his mind’s
expectations as he hit a horrible shot from the heel of the club short right
of the green. He did hit the target with something though, his size 10 made
perfect contact with the side of his golf bag. Terry and John were safely on
the green in 3 (nett 2) and the match was conceded. |
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| Ian Talboys & Andy Smith | beat | John Shaw & Bill Ball | 4/3 |
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The Challengers pair sailed to victory helped in no small part to Ian's low,
hooked tee shot on the 14th being deflected from inevitable doom in some
deep rough back into the fairway by John Shaw’s trolley whilst he took
evasive action. |
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| Shaun Mullaney & James Shipman | beat | Phil Latham & John Haley | 1up |
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Phil had a particular score to settle with Shaun – a financial one as a
matter of fact so it must have been all the more sweeter to get his £20 back
on the outcome of the match, especially as they were given no less than 14
shots! |
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| Tim Thacker & Howard Holliday | beat | Adam Thompson & Karl Hughes | 1up |
Although this photo doesn't show it, Tim was fretting somewhat as playing partner Howard Holliday was nowhere to be seen, with their tee time imminent
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Match Score
Captain's Team - 5 / Challenger's Team - 4
During the lunch break members of the society were enjoying a post lunch drink (a G&T for John Shaw) on the terrace whilst watching some of the remaining matches out on the course finish the 18th. However, the pleasant ambience was broken by a quite ‘unpleasant’ incident as, after playing a shot to the green, one of the members was seen to turn round and kick his golf trolley. When the group reached the clubhouse it transpired that the perpetrator of this totally irrational behaviour was none other than Society secretary Steve Lloyd. No doubt the appropriate complaints have been made about his behaviour to the Staunton Golf Club committee.
Sunday 19th June 2011- afternoon
Saunton Golf Club (West Course)
9 x fourball-betterball matches
The West course at Saunton is slightly shorter than the East but with tighter fairways and smaller greens it proved to be a tougher test in many ways.
| Simon Hayward & Howard Holliday | beat | Mike Fox & Gordon Sullivan | 5/4 |
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No match report available. |
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| Adrian Marchant & Graham Bilsland | beat | Bill Hancock & John Evans | 3/2 |
The second hole on the West Course at Saunton
Playing the 10th, Marcho hit a good drive and Graham put his in the sand on the right. Bill and John both put their tee shots in the rough on the left hand side. John decided to take a provisional as he had a shot and it turned out to be a good idea as we couldn’t find his ball. Bill played his shot from the rough back onto the fairway so he too was in the hole. Unfortunately he then realised the ball he had played wasn’t his so he was now out of the hole. When both teams got to the green Marcho noticed the ball Bill was playing had whopping great big ‘J’ on it just like the one John had written on his – Yes, that’s right, the ball Bill had played was actually John’s! To compound things we can only assume John had found a ball in the rough that wasn’t his and pocketed it. It turned out to be Bill’s......You couldn’t make this stuff up! 6 down with eight to play was when the Captain’s team came into their own. They won the 11th, 12th, 13th, & 15th to get it back to 2 down. The challenger’s team were on the ropes at this point. Marcho was very tired as Graham isn’t as light as he used to be. Graham had lost his mojo, which he went looking for on the 15th by lying down in the rough and staring up at the sky. On the 16th the game swung as the Captain’s team hit crap tee shots (their words) and the challenger’s team hit less crap tee shots (our words). Another cracking match played in great spirit. |
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| Martyn Dodwell & Karl Hughes | beat | Dave Grubb & Tim Thacker | 3/2 |
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No match report available. |
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| Steve Harris & Phil Latham | beat | Barry Whitmore & James Shipman | 1up |
Phil Latham strides back to the 2nd tee after losing his ball
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| John Shaw & Stewart Fairweather | beat | Adam Thompson & Alan Tolley | 4/2 |
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Alan wasn’t looking forward to playing against Stewart again after his
opponent had hardly put a foot wrong in the morning foursomes – and he was
at it again at the start of this fourball match with nett birdies at the
first 2 holes, followed by another birdie, this time from John at the par 5
third with the result that the captain’s team were 3up after only 3 holes
played. The Challengers thought they might be back in it after Alan’s tee
shot at the par three 4th hole seemed destined for the middle of the green
but a wicked bounce took the ball into a nearby bunker and the hole again
went to the captain’s side who showed their superiority with Stewart’s
magnificent tee shot into the teeth of the wind at the long par three 11th.
John eventually sealed the match at the downhill par three 16th with a well
struck tee shot to 20 feet and, with 2 putts for the match it was all over
for the Challengers who never quite managed to gel with each other on the
day. |
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| Ian Talboys & Steve Lloyd | beat | Jamie Moore & Shaun Mullaney | 5/4 |
Jamie Moore heading for the first tee
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| John Mansell & Paul Herrmann | beat | Graham Adams & Mark Johnson | 4/3 |
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6 down at the turn, the Challengers staged a mini comeback with Mark paring
the Par five 10th, Graham getting a 2 on the 11th, and Mark again
paring
the par five 12th. Steady play by the opposition saw them home 4&3 though. Mark later commented that he will always remember the view he had, when standing on one of the higher tees, as he looked out over the course taking in the view and saw, dotted all over the place the ‘tangerine’ shirts of his fellow Challengers team. |
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| Jeff Thacker & Bobby Ho | half | Neil Smith & Brian Keates | A/S |
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Brian and Neil were 1up standing on the 18th tee so all they needed to do
was halve the hole but both of them managed to 3 put from no more than 6
feet! The match was more memorable for Neil's incessant FARTING and him
continually having to say SORRY!! A really fun match, played in excellent
spirit but did Neil change his pants before sitting down for dinner? |
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| John Haley & Andy Smith | beat | Bill Ball & Terry Tomkiss | 3/4 |
| A rather thin fox came up close to the group at one stage and was obviously very hungry. Bill found a couple of biscuits in his bag a gave them to the fox!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah. However, when John mentioned this later on to James Shipman he said the same fox came towards his group but he chased it off. Where is the man’s compassion? | |||
Match Score
Captain's Team - 8.5 / Challenger's Team - 9.5
The Challengers with the slightest of leads going into the second day and all to play for.
Back at the hotel everyone gathered for the evening meal at 9pm. Steve had been really organised this year by asking everyone for their menu choices well in advance to save doing it on the day. That said, it wasn’t enough for former Captain Andy Smith to indicate that he was having the soup for starters – Smithy wanted Steve to find out what kind of soup it would be! The highlight of the meal was Howard Holliday’s ‘unusual’ interest in the sticky toffee pudding, which he managed 2 portions of.
With most of those present retiring to the adjoining bar afterwards to see how Rory would get on in the final round of the US Open (Alan having reassured Simon that the man from N Ireland was looking more relaxed than the day before!) it wasn’t long before the atmosphere was broken by someone having fallen asleep in their chair – yes, you’ve guessed it, John Mansell was in full ‘snoring’ mode which meant that Graham’s last minute decision to share with Bill was the right one.
Mind you, he wasn’t the only one to pull the plug on a blossoming relationship – after one night sharing with another former captain Brian Keates, John Haley did the same and both spent the rest of the tour in single rooms, although the parting was a strictly ‘friendly’ one I am assured.
Monday 20th June 2011 - morning
Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!) Golf Club
9 x foursomes matches
When John Mansell was told over breakfast that Royal North Devon is the oldest club in England he replied, “No it’s not – St Andrews is!”
Jeff Thacker had asked Grubby how long it would take to get to Westward Ho!, "Exactly the same as Today, just a bit further" replied Dave.
Westward Ho is only 20 minutes drive from the hotel and although it is much flatter than Saunton, the course is more exposed to the wind and with its spiky rushes, grassy mounds and deep bunkers poses a more challenging contest in some ways. The weather wasn’t too inviting on arrival with the prospect of heavy and persistent rain to come later on during the morning, the early starters were clearly hoping to be safely back in the club house before it all began. Marcho, your date has arrived! (it wasn't just Mansell and Bilsland who were on the pull this year).
It is fair to say the course is not to everyone’s liking but, even if your golf isn’t up to much there is plenty of wildlife to enjoy with wild horses roaming all over the place (one in particular hell bent no doubt on confronting yet another former captain, Bobby Ho in relation to the ‘ball up the arse’ incident which occurred on the 17th hole in 2004).
Oh, and we mustn’t forget the sheep! Bill Hancock (yes, I know, another former captain) was to experience a complete whitewash on this tour, losing all 5 of his matches and it would be interesting to learn just how much of that was down to the appearance of those loveable woolly animals putting Bill off his ‘stroke’ (see the write up for the 2009 South Wales tour). At least at St Andrews you only have to negotiate the bunkers ; at Westward Ho you’re more likely to be playing shots around grazing horses or over sleeping sheep!
| Simon Hayward & Tim Thacker | beat | Neil Smith & Ian Talboys | 2/1 |
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The night before Neil experienced the scariest sight of the tour as he
looked into his rear view mirror to see Foxy’s face as he nearly ran into
the back of his car at a roundabout on the way back to the hotel. No
surprise then that Neil can remember nothing about this match at all! |
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| Steve Lloyd & Andy Smith | beat | Bill Hancock & Terry Tomkiss | 5/4 |
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Steve Lloyd is used to getting limited sleep on our golf tours due to Martyn
Dodwell’s snoring, but it wasn’t the snoring that kept Steve awake on this
occasion, it was the sound of his room mate throwing-up for most of Sunday
evening. Whether it was a stomach bug, food poisoning or dehydration, poor
old Martyn was in a very bad way and had to spend the rest of Monday in bed,
missing-out on the golf matches that day. Steve and Andy started with a birdie 4 at the first and continued some steady play to be 3up after 8. Bill and Terry got themselves straight back into the match, securing a par and using their shot at the 9th. The fightback was short-lived however as Terry topped his drive at 10 into the sea rushes and then Bill hooked his into the rushes at 11. Terry’s provisional also ended in the rushes, so the hole was conceded before they even left the tee. They did managed to win the 12th and, on the 13th tee, when Steve said to Andy “Look at the size of that fairway Smithy – you can’t fail to miss that”, Bill replied “You could always put it in a bunker” and Bill did exactly that, putting his partner right up the face and the hole was lost. A par three at 14 was enough to secure a 5/4 victory for Steve and Andy. |
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| Dave Grubb & Shaun Mullaney | half | Graham Adams & Mike Fox | A/S |
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A battling display by Foxy here, and thanks to his determined play the
Challengers were only 2 down at the turn, despite some messing about in
‘Hell’s Bunker” at the 4th where Mike put his tee shot an inch from a
sleeper. Graham could not go over the bunker
(shear 10 feet of railway sleeper) so he just had a stab at it side ways
into the bunker. When they lost the 15th they were 2 down & 3 to play
before somehow managing to halve the 16th. They then won the 17th after
Shaun’s tee shot had come to rest in what might have been an animal
scraping. Competitive to the end however, Shaun was denied ‘relief’ and the
hole was conceded. At the 18th with Foxy and Graham on the green in 3 – and
with a shot – the hole was again conceded for a battling half point which
must have felt good given the situation with 3 holes to go. |
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| Steve Harris & Adam Thompson | beat | Paul Herrmann & Bobby Ho | 2up |
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The Captain’s team quickly raced into a 2 hole lead, but after 10 holes,
Steve and Adam had got their noses in front. On the 11th they were
helped when Paul played his approach to the 14th green and not the 11th.
Bobby was enjoying a ciggie at the time and when he realised what had
happened his face was a picture – definitely one of the highlights of the
Tour! 1up
playing the 17th the hole took almost 30 minutes to play and was
eventually halved (a gross 7 against their opponents 8 net 7). Steve and
Adam then went on to win the 18th to clinch victory. |
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| John Mansell & John Evans | half | Alan Tolley & Mark Johnson | A/S |
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A match which began in dry, windy conditions but ended in steady rain – and
it was the steady play of the Captain’s team during the opening holes which
took them into a 2up lead, despite a miraculous shot from Mark out of the
bunker from hell after Alan had topped his only tee shot of the entire
weekend! The Challengers fought back well to level the match at the turn –
helped by a ‘duffed’ chip by John Evans which took off at right angles after
landing in a sheep’s turd! Using their shots well though, the Captain’s
pairing got themselves in front again, 2up with 3 holes to play. At this
stage, the rain had become more persistent but Alan’s tee shot at the par 3
16th was good enough to win the hole so still 1 down playing the 17th which
was playing all (and more) of its yardage. Both teams were some 200 yards
short of the ditch in front of the green having played 2. The Captain’s team
decided to go for it, John Mansell’s fairway wood shot coming up just short
of the ditch. Alan and Mark then had a player/caddie consultation with Alan
telling Mark to lay up with 130 yards to go, Alan’s favourite rescue club
distance. Mark’s 9 iron shot landed exactly 131 yards from the green and
Alan duly put their 4th shot to within 8 feet. The Captain’s side were still
not on the green in 5 but they did at least have a shot to play with and
John Evans almost won the match with a double-breaking putt from the fringe
which lipped out. So, with Mark missing the 8 feet putt the hole was halved.
The Captain’s side dormie by now but both Alan and John played poor tee
shots as the rain began to fall more heavily. However Mark played another
superb 9 iron to leave Alan 135 yards from the green, whereas the 2 x Johns
were messing about in the water hazard which ran down the right hand side.
Alan again found the green with his 3rd but Mark left his first putt well
short and Alan missed a 5 footer for the hole and a guaranteed ½ point.
That left John Mansell with a 3 footer to halve the hole and win the match
1up but he somehow missed it and the match ended all square – a great
comeback from 2 down with 3 to play for the Challengers – Alan and Mark
particularly proud of their combined strategy on the last 2 holes! |
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| James Shipman & John Shaw | beat | Adrian Marchant & Karl Hughes | 1up |
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Even before the match began Marcho was relishing getting in among the sheep
but the match got off to an unusual start as the challenger’s stood back to
watch James’ tee off the first with a driver he had borrowed from the pro
shop (which was even ‘wilder’ than the beast he had left in the car!). I’m
sure you can guess what happened next.....yes he stuffed it into the ditch.
Thankfully his playing partner was very understanding as he was heard to say
“You bloody idiot! What the hell do you think you were doing?” That pretty
much set the tone of the round as John & James continued to bicker in a Statler & Waldorf style for the rest of the round. Throughout the round Statler & Waldorf managed to keep Karl & Marcho in the match by missing putts that they would normally sink without a second thought. In addition to this Karl was driving well and sinking some testing 10 footers to keep the challengers within one or two holes. On the par three, 14th the Captain’s team thought they were going to go 3up with four to play. Statler (I mean John) put his tee shot on the green and Marcho thinned a 7 iron 50 yards right of the flag. Karl had other ideas as he proceeded to play a lovely chip, which landed softly on the green and rolled straight into the hole! James only just missed his putt for a half which meant the challengers were only 1 down instead of 3. 16 was probably the crucial hole in this match as the challengers knew if they could win this hole they had a shot on the 17th. It came down to a putting competition between Statler and Marcho after Karl and then Waldorf fluffed their putts. There was only ever going to be one winner as Statler nailed his putt dead centre while Marcho watched his slide past on the left. Hole 17 was halved after Marcho was distracted by some of his ‘groupies’ wearing their lovely woollen coats. Marcho’s putt to win the 17th lipped out, much to the dismay of his groupies who didn’t realize they were on the menu that night. The 18th was halved after great drives by Statler and Marcho and solid iron play by both Waldorf and Karl. A close finish to a game that Statler & Waldorf controlled throughout. |
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| Jeff Thacker & Jamie Moore | beat | John Haley & Brian Keates | 2/1 |
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No match report available. |
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| Howard Holliday & Bill Ball | beat | Phil Latham & Gordon Sullivan | 5/4 |
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No match report available. |
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| Graham Bilsland | beat | Stewart Fairweather & Barry Whitmore | 3/2 |
| No match report available. | |||
Match Score
Captain's Team - 13.5 / Challenger's Team - 13.5
Monday 20th June 2011 -
afternoon
Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!) Golf Club
9 x fourball-betterball matches
| Paul Herrmann & Jamie Moore | beat | Steve Harris | 3/1 |
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No match report available. |
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| Brian Keates & Graham Bilsland | beat | Simon Hayward & Bobby Ho | 1up |
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Very good play from Graham coming in 1 over gross. Most used phrase during
the match: "Oh, Brian” |
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| Mike Fox & Karl Hughes | beat | Bill Hancock & James Shipman | 5/4 |
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Highlights of this match were Foxy playing like a dream and Karl Hughes's
fantastic driving. James and Bill were both totally out of form -until the
match was over! |
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| Ian Talboys & Adam Thompson | beat | Bill Ball & Barry Whitmore | 5/4 |
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Neither Bill or Barry were at their best in this match leaving Adam and Ian
with a comfortable victory. |
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| Dave Grubb & John Shaw | beat | Graham Adams & Andy Smith | 2up |
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Graham reckons he would have happily paid to watch some of the golf in this
match had he not been playing himself. Smithy and Shaw were almost in a
league of their own, each one playing some sublime golf. However, Grubby did
manage to win the 4th (Cape) with a 5 and Graham also made par at the 5th.
Grubby also chipped in from around 100 yards at one stage, after John’s
ball had found the deep reeds never to be seen again. On the very next hole
he somehow managed to drain a 40 foot putt – ironically after John had
called a penalty on himself after his ball had moved at address.1 down
playing the last the Challengers could only stand and watch as John played
the hole perfectly for a birdie 3 to secure the win. |
|||
| Alan Tolley & Phil Latham | beat | Shaun Mullaney & Terry Tomkiss | 7/5 |
|
On paper, another close game in prospect and with Shaun driving well over
the opening holes Alan and Phil fancied they were in for a tough match. But
after Shaun missed a short putt at the first and Alan did the same thing at
the 2nd the Challengers suddenly took the game by the scruff of the neck and
after that never really gave their opponents a chance. The only downside
was Alan’s penchant for leaving his brolly behind on at least 3 occasions
which clearly didn’t endear him to the group playing behind, especially when
he refused to swap brollies with Howard. With Shaun out of sorts the
Captain’s team were well and truly under the cosh and it showed when Terry
almost lost his wayward trolley on the beach as things went from bad to
worse. Indeed, at the 10th Terry was at it again – this time being chased by
a sheep as he went to play his 2nd shot (we’re still not 100% sure it wasn’t
Terry chasing the sheep!). With the Challengers well in front Phil decided
to step up a gear juts after the turn, winning the 11th, 12th and 13th to
make it a convincing win. |
|||
| Adrian Marchant & Steve Lloyd | beat | Jeff Thacker & John Evans | 8/7 |
|
Steve was on fire from the outset and could have won the match on his own as
he was only +1 gross. The other point of note was as the group behind played
the 7th (aptly named Life Boat) Terry’s trolley made its way to the sea
before the life boat set sail. None of the group noticed its ‘departure’
until Steve shouted across to them. Then Terry became the life boat as he
raced to rescue his trolley as it made for the rocks. Steve had earlier birdied the first hole for the second time that day and followed this with 7 pars and a bogey on the front nine. With Marcho also contributing with a nett par when Steve made his bogey and a nett birdie on the 9th, Jeff and John had no answer to this barrage and found themselves 8 down after nine holes. It could have been one less had John’s tee shot on the par three 5th not hit a sheep up the arse and ricocheted back into a deep bunker much to John displeasure. The sheep disappeared before Marcho had the chance to rub it better. Jeff Thacker’s comments on the match? “We got a good dicking!” |
|||
| Mark Johnson & John Haley | beat | John Mansell & Howard Holliday | 5/4 |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Tim Thacker & Stewart Fairweather | beat | Neil Smith & Gordon Sullivan | 2/1 |
|
A very tough match in which Neil fought all the way to try and win. However,
with Tim and Stewart producing magical shots and Gordon complaining when the
opposition missed a put to win the match because he wanted to walk in – Neil
was up against it all the way. |
|||
Match Score
Captain's Team - 16.5 / Challenger's Team - 19.5
Tuesday 21st June 2011
Weston-super-Mare Golf Club
18 x singles matches
On the 2004 Tour the singles matches were played at Minehead but you won’t find too many BUNGS members with favourable things to say about the experience, so this year the decision was made to drop in at Weston-super-Mare instead which meant a reasonably early start from the hotel but at least it would take around 90 minutes off the journey home.
The course at Weston offers views across the Bristol Channel and although it’s an easy course to walk the greens were fairly fast, the fairways running hard and with a strong wind blowing it made for yet another challenging day for all concerned.
It didn’t help when the Club put back our start time by 1 hour just before the Tour began to accommodate their Ladies’ captain’s day so, instead of starting at 10am the first group didn’t get under way until around 11.20am.
One or two society members were also confused as there were 2 separate codes to remember to access the club house.
Anyway, 3 points behind the Captain’ s side needed to pull out all the stops if they were to finish on top at the end of the day.
| Dave Grubb | beat | Graham Adams | 5/4 |
Graham then topped the ball towards the green and the hole was eventually halved in 8! Graham was then forced to concede the next 4 holes with some awful play and he found himself 5 down at the turn. 
Opening tee shots from the two team Captains
At the short 14th he was short of the green off tee, whereas Dave put his ball in the bunker. Instead of a subtle chip to the hole however, the Challengers Captain topped it (again) and putted out for a 4, but Dave played an excellent sand save for his 3 and the match. |
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| Phil Latham | beat | Simon Hayward | 2/1 |
| No match report available. | |||
| Neil Smith | beat | Bill Hancock | 2/1 |
|
After all the hype about Bill playing badly and how Neil was going to win
easily, Bill played fantastic golf until the 15th and for most of the match
he was in front but it was all decided over the closing 4 holes which left
Bill with the unenviable record of played 5, lost 5. A key factor in Neil
winning the match were: A taxi driver with a very noisy diesel engine
pulling up at the gate behind the 7th Tee just as Bill was about to tee off,
as Bill turned and gave him a stare he said “I’m not putting you
off am I”; Adrian Marchant explaining to Bill what a “Nipple
Licker” is on a dog leg hole, how it opens the hole up nicely. |
|||
| Steve Harris | beat | John Evans | 3/2 |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Alan Tolley | beat | Tim Thacker | 3/1 |
|
A measure of how good this win was for Alan – it was only Tim’s second
singles defeat since 2003! Tim clearly started the favourite and, despite
losing the first hole, found himself 1 ahead playing the hardest hole on the
course, the 5th. Tim’s 2nd shot with a rescue club from the light rough was
a fantastic strike, ending up less than 3 feet from the pin. Alan was 30
feet away in 3 but with a shot and, in typical matchplay fashion, he rolled
his 30 footer into the back of the hole leaving Tim to sink his 3 footer for
a half in nett birdie 3s! The match was always a close affair with both
players on good form but, the more experienced Tim had the advantage as they
walked off the 10th green being 2up. Alan stuck to his game plan though and
Tim suddenly had a few problems on holes 11, 12 and 13 into a strengthening
right to left wind, enabling Alan to halve the match with just 5 holes to
go. The short 14th was halved before the turning point of the match came at
the 15th. Alan hit one of his best drives of the weekend straight down the
middle of the stroke index 2 hole, whereas Tim found the fairway bunker and
couldn’t reach the green in two. Alan, with a shot was 4 feet away in 3, the
hole was conceded and, at the very next hole, Alan’s 3-wood from 190 yards
into the wind found the centre of the green for a guaranteed par 3. Tim’s
tee shot was again affected by the wind and he missed the green on the left
but, after a poor chip, his putt for a half from 35 feet lipped out so he
found himself 2 down with 2 to play. Alan, with his last remaining shot was
never going to lose the long 17th however, so the win was virtually sealed.
Even though he was 2 down at the turn to the Society’s toughest singles
opponent, Alan had his matchplay head on and hung in there, taking his
chances when they came. There was a lighter moment as both players walked
off the 18th when Captain Graham Adams asked Alan how he had got on. “3 and
1” came Alan’s reply. “Never mind” said Graham –before being put right by
Alan : “I didn’t lose, I won !”. Given his singles’ record Tim must have
been disappointed but he was extremely gracious in defeat, acknowledging
that Alan had been ‘simply awesome’. A few days later, after his
disappointment had cooled he was even more appreciative of Alan’s
performance. A great match, with some excellent golf from both players – and
played in a tremendous spirit. Alan later admitted that this was his best
moment on any BUNGS Tour so far! |
|||
| Howard Holliday | beat | Steve Lloyd | 3/1 |
|
After playing so well on Monday, Steve was confident of taking on anybody in
Tuesday’s singles. Anyone that is except Howard Holliday! Howard had beaten
Steve in the singles at Fulford three years previously, so Steve was looking
for revenge but after a half at the first, Steve topped his drive at the
second and was down in the match already. A birdie 2 at the third squared
the match but another topped drive at the fourth meant another loss, but a
par with his solitary shot squared the match after 5. Howard won the 7th to
go one up and that’s how it was at the turn. Holes 10, 11 and 12 were pivotal. After fluffing his second at 10, Howard somehow got up and down from a difficult position for a half to stay ahead. Steve then three putted from the front of the 11th and had to settle for another half and when Howard missed the difficult 12th with what seemed like little chance of getting ‘up and down’, Steve saw his chance to square the match. He hit a great 3 iron for his second shot but it just trickled off the back of the green, down the slope into a tricky lie in the rough. After finding the putting surface with his third, Howard still faced a tricky 20 putt along the step of the two tiered green. Not wanting to do anything stupid to gift the hole to Howard, Steve safely found the green and two-putted – only to see Howard roll his putt in for a win to go 2up. Steve rallied to birdie the next but this was matched by Howard, who then went 3up after Steve found the sand at the short 14th. Steve reduced this to 2down after 15 and should have reduced this further at the difficult 16th but failed to chip and putt from just off the green. Dormie 2down on the 17th tee, Steve tried to hit a big drive around the corner but topped his driver for the third time and the match was done and dusted. |
|||
| Paul Herrmann | beat | Mark Johnson | 1up |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Adam Thompson | beat | John Shaw | 5/3 |
|
John was not at his best, with the exception of the par 3´s where he made
three 2´s, unfortunately for him only one of them was good enough for a win
and Adam ended up winning 5 & 3. He later admitted that, in effect, Adam had
‘massacred’ him - and sweet revenge for the first day’s fourballs defeat at
Saunton! |
|||
| Adrian Marchant | beat | Jeff Thacker | 4/3 |
|
The result will always say 4&3 but it doesn’t begin to tell the real story
of how hard this match was mentally. Marcho was driving the best he had all
weekend and Jeff was his usual consistent self knocking his ball straight up
the middle time and time again. Marcho missed an easy opportunity to take an
early lead on the 2nd hole by three putting from 15 feet. This was quickly
put behind him as he won the 3rd to go 1up. The 4th & 5th were halved due to
some excellent shots by both players. Marcho won the 6th after hitting a
monster drive which was followed by a flick with a wedge onto the green.
Jeff hit straight back by winning the next hole which was the short par 3. At this point our match was interrupted by a taxi driver that pulled up by the gate just as Bill Hancock was about to play his tee shot. Bill was playing Neil Smith in the other match in our group. The taxi driver wound his window down and shouted “Don’t let me put you off!” Bill turned around and muttered under his breath “well f**k off and you won’t.” Suffice to say Bill hooked his tee shot 20 yards left. After this brief interruption Marcho went into the turn 1up after Marcho won the 8th and Jeff took the 9th. Marcho thought he had opened a good lead by winning the 10th & 11th to go 3up, but quickly saw this reduced when Jeff won the 12th. On the 11th tee Bill was severely put off when Marcho informed Jeff his tee shot was best described as a “nipple licker”, it had opened up the hole nicely. Jeff had reduced Marcho’s lead to two, but Marcho won the par 5 into the wind and the short par 3, 14th to go 4up. As they stood on the 15th tee Marcho knew that one more good drive could be enough to finally shake off Jeff “The Terrier” Thacker. Jeff as usual put his drive straight down the middle, but then he over hit his second through the back of the green. Marcho put his shot onto the dance floor which added a bit more pressure to Jeff’s next shot. Unfortunately for Jeff he took 2 more shots to get onto the green which presented Marcho with the opportunity to close out the match by halving the hole. Jeff was later heard to say that he couldn’t have played any better as he had hit a nett 71. It just so happened that Marcho shot a nett 67. Excellent scoring as a result of four people having a great laugh all the way round! |
|||
| Ian Talboys | beat | James Shipman | 5/4 |
|
Quite a whipping, in James’s own words. After a great par to start to go 1up
James's early promise soon disappeared. Ian was one up at the turn but
James rallied well by winning 10 and 11 (where a glorious 4 iron sealed the
tough nearest the pin prize). James nearly managed a spirited half on the
12th after a shank then a penalty drop but Ian hit his second onto the par 5
13th green for an easy birdie and James could only manage a par after
hitting a 3 wood pin high so Ian went dormie 5 and closed the match on the
short 14th with a half in 3s. |
|||
| Bobby Ho | beat | Martyn Dodwell | 2/1 |
|
A very closely fought battle. Never more than 1 hole in it until the very
end. Highly enjoyable. |
|||
| Barry Whitmore | beat | Graham Bilsland | 3/2 |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Karl Hughes | beat | Jamie Moore | 3/1 |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Terry Tomkiss | beat | Andy Smith | 2up |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| John Mansell | beat | John Haley | 6/5 |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Mike Fox | beat | Stewart Fairweather | 3/1 |
|
Stewart’s form sadly deserted him and with Foxy striking the ball well,
especially off the tee he was always too good for his opponent, winning
comfortably. |
|||
| Shaun Mullaney | beat | Brian Keates | 2up |
|
No match report available. |
|||
| Bill Ball | beat | Gordon Sullivan | 3/1 |
| Gordon hit his ball into the greenside bunker on the 16th hole. He went into the bunker but before he went to play out he stopped and started doing up the buttons on his T Shirt, including the top one. John Haley, playing alongside in the other match said "I am not surprised you are doing your shirt buttons up, it is getting cold" whereupon Gordon replied "it’s not because I am cold; it’s to stop the sand going down the front of my shirt!" | |||
Final Match Score
Captain's Team - 25.5 / Challenger's Team - 28.5
So, a victory by 3 shots for the Challengers ‘Paddy Power’ team led by the irrepressible (he’s been called worse) Graham Adams who was clearly delighted by his team’s efforts – in spite of those orange/tangerine shirts he chose for us to wear on day one.
When the teams were drawn for the Tour back in April the general consensus was that they were fairly evenly matched and this proved to be the case. 4 of the 5 sessions could easily have gone either way and there was hardly anything in it for a long time. The turning point, as far as the overall result is concerned, was definitely the fourballs during the afternoon session at Westward Ho when the Challengers not only dominated play and duly surged into a 3-point lead, but they also inflicted some of the heaviest defeats in BUNGS Tour history on their opponents. That session apart there was very little to choose between the two teams at the end of the day.
Oh, and so what if John Mansell had to cope in a room all on his own this year – at least everyone else was able to get a good night’s sleep!
Quote from the winning Captain
It was a hugely enjoyable weekend, and hugely frustrating as well! Maybe the stress of being Team Captain, and wanting so desperately to perform well, I put myself under an amount of pressure my game couldn’t cope with, and with new clubs too! Easy excuses to make perhaps, because overall I played appallingly and only managed to win 5 holes outright all weekend. Thinking back now, it was only when my singles match against Grubby was almost lost, and I relaxed, that I finally managed to hit the ball something like I know I can. Result? Won 2 holes in succession, gave myself some hope of a comeback, but then put myself under pressure again, screwed up and lost the match!
To my team:
Hi Guys! I just wanted to thank you all for your efforts on behalf of “Team Paddy Power.” Those of you who have captained a Tour team before will understand me when I fail to explain how proud I was to send you all on your way from the 1st Tee at Saunton East, and how chuffed and (virtually) speechless I was when receiving the Trophy on your behalf. (For those who haven’t yet captained a team I can recommend the experience.) Going into the final matches with it all still to play for, it was also more than a little nerve racking to wait for you all after the 18th and get your results, and to win by 3 points was fantastic.
Ok, so we all wanted to beat whatever opposition we were drawn against, but the battling and competitive spirit I witnessed, sometimes in adversity, speaks volumes for the character of you all. Personally, I played crap (no change there then.) Thanks to the insurance paying up I’d only played one round with my new clubs before Devon, and I struggled with them, particularly the irons, all weekend. So to Alan, Mark, Foxy & Andy I offer my condolences for being paired with me, and my apologies for playing so badly.
Special thanks to you though Foxy for carrying me so valiantly to my total of ½ a point for the Tour! Special thanks to must go to my Vice-Captain Ian, without whose help, guidance and advice, both before and during the event, were invaluable. I look forward to seeing you all in the near future at a regular BUNGS event”.
And Finally
A huge thank you must go to Steve Lloyd for putting the whole package together. 36 members of the society enjoyed 3 days of competitive golf and some great moments into the bargain but none of it would have happened without Steve’s dedication and commitment so we are eternally grateful for all his efforts on behalf of the society.
Thanks also to the 2 Captains, Dave Grubb and Graham Adams for ensuring that the matches were played in the right spirit.
Here’s to yet another successful tour – perhaps with up to 40 members present – next year in North Wales.
This report was put together by Alan Tolley, ably assisted by contributions from Graham Adam, Dave Grubb, Steve Lloyd, Mike Fox, John Haley, Bobby Ho, Adam Thompson, John Shaw, James Shipman, Tim Thacker, Jeff Thacker, Mark Johnson, Adrian Marchant and Neil Smith.
Current BUNGS tour win percentages
(After the 2011 West Country Tour)
| Member | Tour Win Percentage | No of Tours Attended |
|---|---|---|
| Hornby, Brian | 100.0% | 1 |
| Latham, Phil | 75.0% | 3 |
| Fairweather, Stewart | 70.0% | 2 |
| Holliday, Howard | 69.8% | 10 |
| Lloyd, Steve | 68.1% | 13 |
| Dodwell, Martyn | 66.4% | 13 |
| Booth, Steve | 66.3% | 4 |
| Galloway, Gordon | 64.0% | 5 |
| Newton, John | 63.2% | 7 |
| Hughes, Karl | 62.9% | 13 |
| Shaw, John | 61.9% | 12 |
| Harris, Nick | 60.0% | 1 |
| Vale, Craig | 58.3% | 3 |
| Weston, Paul | 57.5% | 8 |
| Hayward, Simon | 56.7% | 3 |
| Smith, Neil | 56.7% | 6 |
| Talboys, Ian | 56.0% | 13 |
| Thompson, Adam | 55.0% | 7 |
| Thacker, Tim | 53.4% | 11 |
| Moore, Jamie | 52.9% | 6 |
| Marchant, Adrian | 52.5% | 6 |
| Bayliss, John | 51.9% | 8 |
| Harris, Steve | 50.0% | 2 |
| Johnson, Mark | 50.0% | 1 |
| Poultney, Les | 50.0% | 2 |
| Smith, Andy | 49.5% | 11 |
| Sullivan, Gordon | 49.2% | 12 |
| Weston, Darren | 47.9% | 7 |
| Mansell, John | 46.9% | 9 |
| Shipman, James | 46.9% | 12 |
| Harris, Tom | 46.7% | 3 |
| Heathcote, Ivan | 46.3% | 8 |
| Bilsland, Graham | 46.0% | 10 |
| Hancock, Bill | 45.4% | 6 |
| Black, Graeme | 44.3% | 7 |
| Tolley, Alan | 44.0% | 10 |
| Thacker, Jeff | 44.0% | 5 |
| Fox, Mike | 42.7% | 12 |
| Ho, Bobby | 42.0% | 11 |
| Herrmann, Paul | 40.3% | 9 |
| Craddy, Chris | 40.0% | 3 |
| Ball, Bill | 40.0% | 1 |
| Tomkiss, Terry | 40.0% | 1 |
| Keates, Brian | 39.0% | 10 |
| Haley, John | 38.8% | 2 |
| Stevens, Richard | 36.8% | 6 |
| Jones, David | 35.0% | 2 |
| Mullaney, Shaun | 35.0% | 4 |
| Thacker, Mike | 34.7% | 5 |
| Whitmore, Barry | 34.5% | 11 |
| Evans, John | 30.0% | 1 |
| Jackson, Anthony | 30.0% | 4 |
| Grubb, Dave | 25.0% | 6 |
| Adams, Graham | 12.5% | 4 |
