Neath Team Golf – Review of 2015 Season
The purpose of these notes is twofold:
1. to tell the membership of the achievements of our teams
2. to encourage members to ‘have a go’ as there are opportunities open
to all across a spectrum of abilities and handicaps.
First Team
Matthew Arbourne (Captain), Daniel Davies, Richard Hooper, Craig Melding,
Jonathan Owen, Darren Richards, Richard Williams.
The season started with an away fixture against Radyr who have been our
main rivals for the league title in recent years. Things looked quite promising
with all matches up through 14 holes but Radyr showed their class and
fighting spirit by squeezing out a 2-1 victory.
Since that first match the team remained unbeaten for the remainder of the
season dropping only one more point with a half away to Mountain Ash and
taking 17 points out of a possible 20 to win the Premiership title – a
remarkable performance.
With that record you could be forgiven for thinking that the title would have
been secured relatively easily but it really was a very close run thing.
The team needed to win their final game away against Glamorganshire to
secure the title which we managed, and eventually ended up beating
Mountain Ash to the title by a single point as they applied maximum pressure
beating Radyr home and away in their last two matches. A great achievement
on their part and a huge shock to Radyr,leaving them a further point behind
on 15.
Captain Matt Arbourne said: “Every member of the team contributed hugely
as I don’t remember such close finishes to so many matches in a single
season. Many games were turned the right way when things were all square
on the final hole – it was quite unbelievable. It just highlights the team’s sheer
grit, determination and ability to perform under pressure.
Next season is going to be a real challenge. Not only are we the team
everyone wants to beat as we have won the Premiership title in four out of the
last five years, but we will have to do without Craig [Melding] as he turns pro
on 1st October. We all wish him the very best for the future. Hopefully another
new superstar will emerge to replace him.
The Welsh Team Championship was played at Glamorganshire G.C. Penarth
this year. After a rain delayed start on the Friday, the team managed a good
victory against a strong Langland side and another comfortable win against
Morriston on the Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon saw us into the
quarter final where we met the host team Glamorganshire and unfortunately
lost a very close encounter 3-2 - being decided in the final match on the18th
hole. A bitter disappointment to us all but especially me as mine was that final
match!”
In their last match of the season the team represented Glamorgan against
Celtic Manor, the Gwent champions at St. Mellons GC on Sunday 11 th
October.
The match result doesn’t make for very good reading having being an 8-1
defeat to Celtic Manor. However, this does not tell the whole story as most
matches were very closely contested.
The morning foursomes saw us trailing by 2 1/2 points to 1/2 point with two of
the three games going down the last hole. The afternoon was a similar story
with 3 matches going down 18, one finishing on 17 and the other on the 15th.
Clearly there were matches which could have gone either way but the ability
to turn tight matches in our favour eluded us on this occasion.
Captain Matthew said “Despite the result going against us, it was still a very
enjoyable day with fine weather and good company from the Gwent boys.
Disappointing but still very proud of my players.”
Second Team
In recent years, the club’s second team has achieved successive promotions.
In 2013 they achieved top honours as league champions gaining promotion to
Division 2 and in 2014 tied for first place being promoted to Division 1. Thus in
2015 they were in a position to gain promotion for the very first time to the
Premiership – a unique situation whereby both our first and second teams
would have been in the top echelon of Glamorgan golf.
Unfortunately they were unable to achieve this objective in 2015 but did
consolidate their position in Division 1. This provides a platform whereby the
many up and coming young players who have represented the club this year
can take it forward in future years.
Captain Kevin Spears says: “Over this three year period all team members
(too many to mention individually) played some of the best golf I’ve witnessed
in over thirty years of representative team golf – a fantastic standard
considering the opposition was always so strong consisting of most other
clubs first teams. The results achieved were all the sweeter for this and I’m
particularly pleased and consider it an honour and privilege to have been a
part of it.”
Links Team – Handicap 6-9
A very successful season with the truly amazing record of zero losses,
drawing only one game and with all other matches, both home and away,
being won! Additionally, the team won the Cup to complete a great season,
an amazing achievement winning cup and league double.
There was a dramatic finish to the Cup win. The team was 2-1 down in the
match with Jo Howe and Ben Doyle being 1 down with 3 to play holding their
nerve and eventually coming through and winning their game to force a playoff. From there James Thomas and Tom Burridge won the first extra hole in
twilight conditions to secure the Cup – a fantastic result!!
Captain James Rees said: “Captaincy was very easy this year due to the
quality, commitment and enthusiasm of the team members. Thanks to Paul
Melding for the great job he’s doing with the juniors as they played a big part
in the team. We can look forward with some confidence to next season and
beyond with the talent now available and coming through.”
Quartz Team – Handicap 10-18
The year started very positively with a win at home in the cup followed by an
away win in the league at Glynhir. One more win followed but then a
disastrous run of 6 defeats (albeit narrow losses) left us in a very precarious
position fighting to stay in Division 1. We managed to win two more games but
unfortunately this wasn't enough to save us from the drop!
We did manage to get to the semi-final of the cup but were beaten
by Glynneath who were the eventual winners of both the cup and the league.
An end of season trip is going to Saunton Sands in North Devon to enjoy
some late Summer golf!
Captain Brian Hamer said: “During my 5 years of Captaining the Quartz Team
we have experienced the highs and lows of winning the league and the cup
and now relegation – a bit of a rollercoaster but that’s life!. Next year Lee
Gamlin will be Captain and hopefully he will he will lead the team to bounce
straight back to Division 1. I wish him and the team the very best of luck and
to thank all members who have played for the Quartz team this year and
indeed under my Captaincy in previous years.”
Stones Team – Handicaps of 18 and above
A “curate's egg” of a season – good in parts!
The season started with 3½ –1½ defeat away to Glynneath (the eventual
winners of the League) and ended with a 1½ – 3½ victory away to Pennard.
The League highlights were away victories against Fairwood Park and
Pennard and the low point was a home defeat against Gower.
The Cup highlight was the quarter-final victory over Pennard. A narrow
victory 3 – 2 at home meant that we needed at least a half in the away leg.
This did not look likely after the first four games leaving the score at 2 -2 with
Pennard 4 up with 4 to play in the final game. A magnificent final four holes by
Andrew Brown and Chris Messenger secured the required result and the
match was halved 2½ – 2 ½, an exciting and incredibly close run contest
resulting in an overall winning score of 5½ – 4½!
The semi-final against Fairwood Park played at Pontardawe saw another epic
battle which we unfortunately lost. The rules of the cup dictate that if the
match is tied the result is decided by “holes up” and if still tied the result is
decided by “the bits”. The match was tied 2½ – 2½, with Fairwood 7 holes up
and Neath 6 holes up, had it gone to bits we would have won 4 – 2. Another
toughly fought match that this time saw us lose by the very narrowest of
margins.
In summary, we ended the season in third place in Division 1. Eight points
behind the runaway winners Glynneath and one point behind runners up
Gower (particularly disappointing as we had to concede a game away
because we were a player short and lost the away match 3 -2)
Lack of numbers still causes a headache; every year the list goes up on the
notice board and for the second year running nobody has put their name
down. We have to rely on word of mouth and high-jacking prospective
players. What is particularly galling is, that once somebody has played
Stones golf they enjoy it.
Players we have lost during the course of this season, due to handicap
reduction were: Gregg Hazel, Bernard Henderson, David Bate and Andrew
Brown.
Stalwarts of the team from previous seasons were:
Darren Eley, Nigel Harris, Huw Hamer, Malcolm Hazel, Gary Griffiths, Peter
Brown, Andy Nicholl, Andrew Barrett, Chris Messenger, Mike Adams, Michael
Broom, Paul Baker, Phil Conway, Martin Mogford with the addition of Mike
Arnold.
Captain Martin Mogford said: “Stones golf is incredibly enjoyable with a good
mix of tough competitive golf within an enjoyable social environment. It
provides a great introduction to team golf and we are always trying to
encourage eligible players to come along and join us. Any player with a
playing handicap of eighteen (or more) who wishes to play team golf, should
put their contact details on the Stones sheet on the Notice Board.”
Ladies Team Golf
It is good to report the Ladies section at Neath GC continues to flourish and
grow with some very strong performances coming from the various league
teams.
First team: Sian Pettman [Captain], Hannah Bowen, Wendy Edwards,
Chloe Saltmarsh, Christine Watkins and Marita Williams with reserves Karen
Parry and Marion Thomas.
Having been delighted to achieve promotion to Division 2 for the 2015
season, there was some nervous anticipation because of the stronger
opposition they were likely to face. With two teams being promoted and
relegated, it is very pleasing to report that the team narrowly missed
promotion and finished 3rd.
Newport were clearly early candidates for one promotion spot as they won 9
out of 10 matches. But there was an exciting end to the season to determine
which other club would join them. All depended on the results of two matches:
Neath v Vale of Glamorgan and Radyr v Raglan Parc. Ultimately, with three
key players unable to play, Neath narrowly lost their home match against the
Vale team and Radyr beat Raglan Parc to secure the second promotion
position.
Captain Sian said “Overall, a successful and pleasing performance
establishing our position firmly in Division 2. Hopefully we can go at least one
better next year and secure one of the promotion spots!”
Second Team: Gaynor Beer [Captain], Karen Parry, Sian Pettman,
Maureen Poulton, Chloe Saltmarsh, Marion Thomas ,Carloe Wilyeo with
reserves Barbara Jones and Margaret Pile.
The team has performed very well in the last few years gaining successive
promotions and it is pleasing to note this trend has continued in 2015.
In topping their Division, the team won promotion to Division 5 West. The
team’s remarkable record reads: 7wins, 1 loss away and 2 draws, again both
away. Captain Gaynor Beer said: “I should like to thank the team for their
commitment and loyalty throughout the season.”
Third Team: Anne Bradley [Captain],Gaynor Beer, Evelyn Dowling,
Barbara Jones, Margaret Pile ,Katherine Sheehan, with reserves Lisa
Harrington and Ann Jefford.
2015 was an important milestone in Ladies golf at Neath GC with the Ladies
section able to introduce a 3rd team into Division 10 of the Glamorgan and
Monmouthshire League - with very impressive results.
Playing 8 matches, the team won EVERY match both home and away,
finishing top of their division and gaining promotion to Division 9 West all in
their very first year.
Although it was clear they had won Division 10 before they played their last
match away at Pontypridd, the team maintained focus to ensure a convincing
win thus remaining unbeaten over the season. A fantastic achievement!!
Captain Anne Bradley said: “I would like to thank all the team players for their
commitment and enthusiasm throughout the season and wish them continued
success in 2016.”