Report from Senior Men’s Team Captain Matthew Cohen;Â
Following an emphatic away victory against Bedfordshire, the County Men’s Seniors had made the perfect start to their league season. The next challenge was to host BB&O, probably our strongest rivals, on a sun-baked, fast running and bouncy Berkhamsted golf course.
Even with a strong team and a good home advantage, this was not a match to be taken for granted. When the BB&O team arrived, it was clear they had brought their strongest side. They meant business and were determined to beat us on our home ground. For us, it was simply a must-win match!
The order was designed to get us off to a fast start, with three very strong players at the front. Steve Standing, David Lang and Nick Leconte led the way, followed in the middle order by Paul Nancarrow, Phil Embleton, (two reliable serial winners) Gordon Stewart and Peter York (both Berkhamsted members with the advantage of having valuable course knowledge).
At the back end of the order, there was further strength in Simon Kay, Mark Gershinson and John Ambridge, ready to bail us out if things did not go quite as planned.
At around the halfway stage, it was very tight and slightly worrying, with our front three players all down, another all square, and our back marker losing. We needed to turn it around — and fast!
Then, Steve Standing produced the first big shift in momentum, turning a one-down deficit into a 2&1 win over the very strong and in-form George Best-Wilson.
He was followed by David Lang, who also fought back from behind to halve his match against Justin Rhodes, a top English senior amateur golfer.
Nick Leconte, three down after 11, fought back valiantly, winning the 18th to halve his match, and suddenly things were starting to look a lot better.
Our middle order then powered away, winning the next four matches in a row and turning a tense contest firmly in our favour.
Finally, the ever-dependable Simon Kay and Mark Gershinson secured another two wins to complete an emphatic team performance.
Seven wins, two halves and just one loss gave Herts a final result of 8–2. We were all absolutely thrilled by what was a fantastic victory over a very strong BB&O team.
It was possibly our team’s strongest performance for several years. BB&O said it was their biggest ever loss, and they were left stunned.
Thanks go to Berkhamsted Golf Club for hosting us and setting up the course to our liking.
Thanks also to our supporters on the day, including Jane Walter, County President, Louis Matamala, County Secretary, Nick Davis, acting Vice Captain, and the many others, too numerous to mention, who cheered us on all the way.
Their support was much appreciated by the team and really made a difference.
So, that’s two wins out of two. Next up, Middlesex at home on 20th August.
