Report by Boys Team Manager Gerald Duddy;Â
Aldwickbury Park GC was the scene for the 2025 edition of this annual friendly against the u16s from Surrey. Hertfordshire were hoping to avenge last years one sided result at Windlesham GC and despite both teams missing some regular players, this was a great opportunity to give some fringe players and members of the Development and U14 squads a chance to show what they can do and stake a claim for selection in the upcoming league matches against Norfolk and Suffolk.
Overnight withdrawals from the Surrey squad meant they were unable to field a full team of 10, so it was agreed that matches 1 to 4 would be triangular matches pitting 2 Hertfordshire players against a Surrey player in two individual matches. George L got Herts off to a winning start with a comfortable 2 hole victory against the same player he faced in the same fixture last year, but Rohit K was unable to match that result against the same opponent, eventually going down 4&3. Surrey’s No2 player was relentless around the greens and grabbed the next two points available against Joe K and Marcus A-K. And when Alfie J suffered a 7&6 defeat, Surrey found themselves with a 4-1 advantage and the mood around the course was a dark as the overhead clouds.
That advantage didn’t last long however as Ollie B and Louis B-W, both of Bishop Stortford GC, recorded comfortable wins by margins of 2&1 and 4&3 respectively. When Billy P then added another win for Hertfordshire, the scores were tied and with Herts ahead in the final 2 matches on the course, hopes were high for a home win.
However, as the old adage ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch’ goes, the Surrey players in matches 8 and 10 had other ideas. Marcus A, had been 1 up with 3 to play before eventually losing by 2 holes when his opponent won the final 3 holes.
With Surrey now holding narrow lead and an overall victory now out of our grasp, it came down to Jack W in match 10 to try and get the final point and secure a tie. 2 up through 15 holes and looking in control, Jack’s opponent made a birdie on the long uphill par 5 16th, just moments after Jack’s own birdie putt had missed. Both players made pars on the par 3 17th after demonstrating sound short games.
Therefore, it all came down to the final hole. With his opponent safely in the fairway, the assembled spectators watched in disbelief as Jack’s tee shot pitched in the fairway and ran for about 50 yards, eventually finding the lake that separates the 10th and 18th fairways. Jack battled to try and match his opponents bogey 5 but when he was unable to both players shook hands and settled for a halved match.
Whilst the overall result didn’t go our way, there were certainly signs of encouragement and lots of positives to take away for the future and we look forward to travelling to Surrey in 2026 to gain a first win in this fixture since 2024.
