Colin Paddon again led the seniors away to Crediton, writes Terry Carter.

Partnered by David Roberts, their handicaps were well-matched with the home pair. However, as usual, home advantage came into play, particularly on the greens, and a four and three win gave Crediton the first point. The seniors captain also had a lot on his mind, as he is considering drafting more of the section’s youth wing into his teams in the future. This move has been prompted by one or two recent incidents, in particular, when one of his chosen players arrived at the club in his slippers, having forgotten to put on his shoes.

In a second baffling occasion, another had played in a lovely, comfortable knitted, red, woollen cardigan, despite the team colours requiring a dark blue sweater.

Next off was another well-matched game, when Pop Banfield off 13 and Barry Jones off 20 faced John Essery and Walter Lonsdale also off 13 and 20. Banfield did display some frustration at the slow pace of the captain’s game in front and, despite an eagle from Jones on the sixth hole, Sid’s pair trailed slowly for most of the round and also lost four and three.

Hugh Dorliac and Charles Brown had a tough contest in their game and, at one stage, found themselves two down. However a determined effort brought the game back to all square and a shared point. Yet another hard fought contest faced Tony Crow and Bruce Harcourt, with Crow giving two and seven shots to the home pair. After going two down and fighting back to level, then one up at one stage, a half on the last ensured the points were shared in an enjoyable game. The home pair was again receiving shots as John Hicks and Peter Emery attempted to level the match and, with his usual precision, Emery managed to hit the overhead wires twice with his first and second drives.

This clearly impressed and unsettled their opponents, who subsequently lost the game two down. In the final four ball, Dieter Ritz and Trevor Bradley now had a great opportunity to secure a surprise Sidmouth win, particularly as Bradley was receiving seven shots from his generous partner. However, a two down defeat for our pair gave Crediton the last point and a narrow home victory.

Result: Crediton 3 Sidmouth 2