When the seniors’ team from Padbrook Park visited Sidmouth earlier this year, they waited patiently in the bar, hoping that the thick fog enveloping the course would disperse, writes Charles Oram.

Unfortunately, it never did, and the team had to return to their Cullompton base without having struck a ball!

They must have feared a repeat of this frustrating cancellation when they came back to Sidmouth recently for the rearranged fixture, since the forecast predicted rain and strong winds. Fortunately, the weather relented this time.

The highlight of the afternoon was the bravura performance of John Hicks.

Playing with Nigel Sharp, he scored a net 59, to swat aside the opposition in the first match of the afternoon, winning by six-and-five.

When Sidmouth seniors played the away leg at Cullompton, only one Sidmouth pair won a match. That pairing included Ray Gunston, and he was triumphant again in this return fixture.

He and Paul Blay won the final match of the afternoon six-and-four.

By the time they reached the 18th, the evening gloom had already descended but Gunston still managed to land his second shot nearest to the pin, to claim a bottle of wine.

Whilst no other golfers in the Sidmouth team could match the standard set by Hicks, they still played well enough to record a victory by four matches to two.

However, the victory was tinged with some sadness, as the gathering darkness drew a final curtain over this season’s series of home matches.