Sidmouth seniors travelled to Libbaton for the first leg of a two-leg meeting, writes Chris Grubb.

The match was played out in ideal weather conditions although the course had not dried out as much as some, so the bounce of the ball was a little more predictable than at back on the Sidmouth course!

Libbaton is a very long par 72 in contrast to our own course, which probably counted against Sidmouth, particularly with the handicaps as they were and giving away a number of shots.

Seniors captain for the day, Tony Stoyle partnered with Paul Blay and both delivered the goods with some exceptional play as they secured a two-and-one victory.

Next out were Chris Grubb and John Townsend who had to conceded 14 shots to a very good 27 handicapper and, despite birdying two holes, eventually went down five-and-four.

Brian Cole and John Saunders lost four-and-three before Ken Price, playing with ex-Libbaton member Brian Rice, could not benefit with that local knowledge and went on to lose three-and-two.

Malcolm Caudwell and Colin Padden played well and recorded a very credible half and, last but not least, Phil Spencer and Terry Blackler struggled against the final Libbaton pairing to lose seven-and-six.

This all left the overall score as Libbaton four-and-a-half to the Sidmouth one-and-a-half so there’s work to be done in the second leg being played back at Sidmouth in early October.