The first Sidmouth seniors match of the season against Dawlish Warren was led out by captain Chris Grubb, partnering John Billingsley, on a beautiful warm spring day offering ideal conditions for golf, writes Hugh Dorliac.

The Sidmouth pair were two up at the halfway point and playing well, going four up after the 13, but then losing the 14th and 15th!

Happily, they regrouped and finished the contest by winning the 16th and the game by three-and-two.

Next out were Brian Cole and John White; with John playing particularly well – and with the occasional support from Brian – they chalked up a confident, and comfortable, five-and-three win.

Hugh Dorliac and Vernon Ruffle, the third Sidmouth pairing, struggled to keep up with the superb display of putting by the Dawlish pairing and, despite being two up after 12, eventually lost by one on the final hole, but Vernon did gain the consolation prize of nearest the pin on the 12th, which cost him a small charity fine for getting inside the captain’s shot!

Richard Seaver and Colin Paddon put on a superb display and completely controlled their game, easily winning, eight-and-seven. Their success also included a long putt from Colin on the eighth, which rattled the flagstick before dropping in for a four.

Richard chipped in for a three on the ninth, putting them seven up at the halfway point, which completely demoralised the Dawlish pair.

John Bainbridge and playing partner Paul Blay were two up at the halfway stage and went on to secure a five-and-four success, but, rather comically, one of the Dawlish players lost control of his trolley on the 18th fairway, only to see it veering straight into the captain’s charity bunker, costing him a hefty charity fine!

The final pairing of David Bromage and Charles Brown had a straightforward match, winning on the 17th by two-and-one, with Charles proving that sometimes a long holiday from golf can improve your game!

The overall result for the first match of the season was an excellent 5-1 win for the Sidmouth Seniors.