Society Day, and time for the annual chest-beating known as Captain vs Vice – a competition usually won by the latter for some reason.
We travelled south to one of our favourite courses – Lo Romero. Ted Harris was the keeper of the trophy having been the victor in 2017. The Captain arrived with grim determination etched on his forehead. Teams picked, a change of format, a short walk to the first tee and the course was laid out before us.
And what condition it was in, absolutely magnificent. The fairways replete with spongy grass, bunkers overflowing with sand and greens manicured to perfection. To cap it all, the weather was superb. A shaky start for a few, up the bank on the left hand side, and a nervous trip across the water on the second – but once we got into the swing of things, the golf flowed.
The pace was good and the golf was good too. At the halfway stage things were tight with little between the two teams, the Vice Captain just edging the competition. The Captain rallied his troops for a back nine push, the trophy already on his mantelpiece in his mind. Arriving at the 18th, it was still tight and the tension got to some of the better players who generously gave their balls to the frogman.
Back to The Royal Oak for a meal and liquid refreshment and time for the eagerly await results. In third place was the pairing of Ray Phillips and Dave Pope with 32 points on a countback. In second was Nigel Cotton and the Captain with 34 and the overall winners were Bob Eno and Peter Palmer with 37 points. Nearest the pin on the 5th was the aforementioned Peter Palmer and on the 15th was Ray Phillips.
The team scores ? Well the Vice Captain’s team pressed to the end but the final result was a win by 1 point for the Captain. Thanks to all who took part, a thoroughly enjoyable days golf. Special thanks go to the Captain’s team for their performance and commiserations to the Vice Captain’s team who ran them close.
Steve.
