HALIFAX & HUDDERSFIELD V SUGC

Sunday 18 August 2024, Match Report

Playing H&HDUGC at a firm and unpredictably bouncy Huddersfield Golf Club on a windy day boasting six team members, playing on their home course, was always going to be a challenge.

With many blind shots, resulting in lost balls particularly on the back nine, local knowledge was always going to be priceless.

In the morning foursomes, which was closely contested with five matches being settled on the 17th and the sixth going to the 18th, Sheffield more than held their own by leading 7 - 5 at lunchtime. Armed with the knowledge of the morning round and a clearer picture of the shots to be played in the afternoon we approached the singles matches with a degree of optimism in taking on, by now, a very well supported H&H&D squad.

It is not as though we played badly, but when your lead player is level par after thirteen holes and 6 down, one knows it is not going to be easy.  If we complain that we did not get the rub of the green, it will sound churlish, but shots played to greens in the afternoon were now reacting in totally opposite ways from the morning round.  Shots pitching on the green and flying through in the morning were now suddenly stopping well short, and when one sees a home player whose tee shot has flown deep in to the woods and, to all intents and purposes lost, find the ball sitting up on a mysteriously good lie, hack it out with his recovery shot for the ball to fly out, across the fairway, destined for thick rough on the opposite side only for the ball to hit another player's bag and come to rest in an advantageous position, enabling him to win the hole and achieve a halved match, one realised it was not our day.

Other remarkable shots were witnessed, one of the best being an approach shot to the 14th green flying through one side of the buggy, in which two SUGC officials were seated, and out of the other side and come to rest in a much better position than the thick rough for which the ball was destined.  This piece of luck was to no avail because the opposition chipped in from the bunker anyway for a birdie three, when it was reasonable to think Sheffield held the advantage.  As one Sheffield player commented, on the three occasions he birdied a hole, they got a half.

The knowledge and performance of the six local players certainly paid dividends in the afternoon singles, by returning a maximum 12 points from those matches, although in return one particular Sheffield performance is worthy of note.  From being 5 down after six holes in the afternoon, Neil Stone fought back to win 2 & 1 to gain 2 of our 5 afternoon points.

Whilst H&H&D ran out clear winners on the day 24 - 12, seven of the twelve singles matches went to the 17 green and one finishing all square.  It was a shame we could not quite convert those close matches in to points.

Nigel Ogden, 19 August 2024

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