Doug Goodall captained the seniors as they visited East Devon last week, conscious that home advantage counts, although the aggregate score from home and away still determines which captain will get the bragging rights at the post match dinner, writes Terry Carter.

Goodall was giving the shots as he and Charles Brown again faced David Crowe and Mike Whitehead, and despite going one down at the turn a strong finish with four consecutive holes won, earned a three and two victory for the first point.

Following a marginal two point advantage from the home match this lifted spirits, but the popular golf expression “It was all downhill from there” fit’s what followed!

Tony Crow was also giving shots to the home pair as he and Terry Blackler played Colin Metcalfe and Mike Norman, but this game was lost two down for East Devon’s first point, and Peter Emery and Bob Johnston then lost four and three to Budleigh pair Mike Moore and Alan Cottle.

Emery did tell me that he felt honoured to have influenced his partner’s career record, as this was apparently the first time that Bob Johnston had lost an official match.

Barry Jones and John Searle lost their game two and one to Norman Forte and William Stogden, with the latter giving six and eight shots to our pair, and the remaining three games went the same way led by another four and three defeat suffered by John Hicks and Vernon Ruffle. Ken Rothwell and Bob Skelly enjoyed a close game throughout but lost two down, and David Roberts and Les Pratt lost by the same narrow margin, but the 6-1 home win for East Devon more than compensated for their recent defeat at Sidmouth.