Narrow one point win for Sidmouth

Seniors Golf: With his captain again on holiday, John Hicks was hoping for a good result from the visit of Exeter last Thursday.

I did think he was looking slightly tense, no doubt in anticipation of his one-to-one interview with Mr Ritz on his return from Madrid.

John may well have gained some encouragement from the news that I was to be his partner on the day but, if so, it would have been misplaced.

Everything went as expected as we went off up the first, with my tee shot finding the trees on the right and the Exeter pair taking the lead.

They won the second, too, but, despite playing like strangers to the sport, we somehow found ourselves both under 10 feet from the pin on the last and only needing to sink one of them for a halved match. We both missed!

Second off was Barry Pettit with Tony Bentall and, despite receiving two and five shots respectively from the visitors, they also lost, this time by 4 and 2.

Persistent readers will know by now that Barry lives just off the thirteenth fairway, and it was around there that we lost sight of his match behind us.

As we sat in the clubhouse showered and changed with still no sight of them, I did wonder if he had stopped off to cut his lawn, but it was just a tough game apparently.

Normal service resumed when Alan Coles and Colin Burford won 5 and 4, and the fourth match out brought some comfort to our beleaguered vice captain with a 7 and 6 victory to put us all square.

Ian Vaile and Colin Paddon were the heroes who lifted J H's spirits, and Adrian Haysom, partnered by Alan Cottle, halved his match to leave it all down to the last pair.

Grant Whillance and Ray Gunston finally gave John Hicks something positive to say in his forthcoming interview when they duly secured a 3 and 2 victory for a narrow one point Sidmouth win.