Result: Win by 11 points

Home team (+16)
Rob Urquhart & Richard Owen
Toby Hunt & Dave Winter
David Marsh & Jason Loubser

Away team (-5)
Jon Cooper & Phil Flanagan
Ian Smith & Nick Heale
Graeme Syme & Tim Meyer

RPGC started the year with a stonking victory over Iver Golf Club. The format is teams of six on the home course and six on the away course playing greensomes stableford. The total points for both teams are added up home and away and the most points overall wins.

Getting 12 players for the Bank Holiday weekend was no easy task, and I would like to thank all of you who turned out and did such a sterling job. Iver is a tricky 9 holer and your Captain made his first big mistake by encouraging the team to practice on the very fast putting green. The Iver team sat in the clubhouse and watched the lambs practice putting, knowing this was the only green not sanded and hollow tined, ensuring three putts for most players for the first six holes!

The away team fielded two new members to ‘team golf’ in Nick Heale and Graeme Syme. Graeme partnered Tim Meyer and achieved a very creditable 28 points, whilst Nick carried – I mean played with – Ian and also achieved 28 points. I played with Phil Flanagan, who decided this was a good day to try out his new spectacles.  I now know what ‘astigmatism’ means, the glasses having an inbuilt bias for all putts of 5 feet to the right. Suffice it to say I would not park next to Phil for the next week or two until he gets used to them. It did, however, provide me with a ‘first’ as Phil started to ask me to read his putts for him. Hitherto, no-one has ever let me read anything for them, including the local rules. Phil and I three putted our way to a stunning 29 points. Overall, we lost away to Iver by 5 points. We then waited an hour for the home team results (a three and a half hour round at Iver – really!).

Eventually the results came through. Our secret weapon – Richard Owen and Robert Urquhart – had burned up the course with 39 points – a massive 14 more than their playing partners. Dave Marsh and Jason Loubser (another welcome new team player) beat their playing partners by three and Toby Hunt and Dave Winter met expectations with a reliable and hefty 35 points. Thanks to the away team holding on – and the home team winning by an amazing 16 points – the first round ended in a win for Richmond Park.