THE Seniors Winter competitions have now been completed at Forest Hills, as Bill Peffers defeated Steve Cole in the final of the singles, in a match that went to the final hole before the result was decided.
In the Seniors Roll-Up on Thursday, that was a Combined Stableford, the players may have felt that however well or badly they played, their fate was in the hands of their partner.
In the partnerships of Paul Taylor and Gerry Woodley, Roger Preece and Tom Murray both pairs scored 74, which resulted in a victory salute from Paul and Gerry, due to a better back nine.
Alex Harvey and John Moore together with John Binnie and Colin Chappell occupied the minor places on the podium.
There were five twos recorded, by Kevin Doyle, Alex Harvey, Tom Murray, Dave Stuart and Pete Walters.
The visitors to Mile End later in the morning, were the Seniors from St Pierre, and there was an aerodynamic feel to the match, as it was noted that one of the visitors had flown in a Lancaster Bomber in the 1940’s, and another saw his drive on the 11th, soar into the bluest of skies, before it nosedived into the Forest Hills course managers pick-up truck, that emerged from behind the hedge line, before taking the impact broadside.
So, by comparison, the golf was somewhat boring.
In the opener, Ken Lawrence and Paul Williams, got their team off to the best of starts, as they saw off their opponents,as they won 3 & 2.
Captain Keeble and Vice Captain Bridges then faced the challenge of the visiting Captain Alan Horne, who is a past member of Forest Hills, and Phil Collins, who thought they were enjoying “Another Day in Paradise” as “Against all Odds” the visitors won a close match, 1 up.
In match three, Geoff Norris and Mike Steward fought back form being 2-down after 6 holes, to manage to achieve a well deserved half.
Next up, Darren Page and Colin White won 2up, before Ray Innes and Phil Gwynne put daylight between the sides, winning 4 & 3.
Richard Demery and Barry Klein then laboured to get a half, to guarantee their team a share of the spoils.
The overall result was put into question, as Steve Cole and Steve Keepax then lost the penultimate match 2 down, but Martin Shipley and Glyn Earle settled the nerves, as they won the final match 1 up, to leave a match score of Forest Hills 5 - 3 St.Pierre.
Despite the afternoon matches depleting the numbers, the Saturday Stableford still attracted 46 entrants, and in Division One countback was needed to sort out the podium as the first three individuals returned 38. Steve Giles won with Terry Davies in second and Dave Virgo third.
Andy Shenton won Division Two with 43 points. Bob Davies was second on 41, and Andrew Johnson third on 39.
The Norris Decanter Combined Pairs on Sunday, was won by Rob Stow and David Payne with a level par score of 72. Matt McGirr and Connor Mullan were second on countback from Roger Hall and Ady Brown, as both pairs scored 71.
Saturday afternoon saw Broadway as the visitors, to Mile End, for the latest North Gloucestershire Foursomes League fixture, as Forest Hills attempted to maintain their unbeaten start to the new season, against another team yet to taste defeat this season.
Gav Butcher and Stu Hardy won the opening match 5 & 4. This was followed by Lee Ayers and James Bath being taken to the final hole, before they managed a narrow win 1up.
At least a share of the points were guaranteed, when Lee Hanson and Will Smith shook hands on the 14th, as they won 5 & 4.
Next, Josh Goode and Paul “Sty” Williams lost 2 & 1, to make things interesting, but the points were in the bag, as Nick Jacobs and Scott Ayers managed a 3 & 2 win in the fifth, which was just as well as, Luke Martin and Dan Maller lost 3 & 2, to leave the final score of : Forest Hills 4 -2 Broadway.
The B Team undertook the journey into the Cotswolds, to try and maintain their own unbeaten record, against Broadway B.
Things could not have gone much worse, as Vice Captain Alan Edwards and Alan Franklin lost 4 & 3, Patrick Simco and Keelan Reddan 3 & 2, Connor Mullan and Clive Skinner 2 down, Frazer and Derek Freeman Jones 2&1, John and Dave Wilding 6 & 4, before Chris Norris and Tom Knight managed a well earned half, to leave the final score of : Broadway B 5.5-5 Forest Hills.