CGS shine as the lights go out at the forest
Both societies assembled on Saturday 15th September 2012, to contest the Carib-Morris Cup, an event in its fourth year in succession. The Chris Morris society had held the trophy following their victory last year at the Little Lakes course. This year the Chris Morris society had the benefit of home advantage and seemed optimistic about their chances of retaining the trophy. However, both teams were concerned that the later tee times raised the prospect of the last 3 matches being played in failing light.
For the CGS, careful thought and consideration had been given to the pairings and the order in which they would be sent out. The decision was taken to send out the season’s form player first to set a positive tone.
Match 1
Bob Dhammi and Frank McCook led the CGS charge and were paired against two of the Chris Morris Society’s best players, one of whom played off scratch. Bob and Frank got off to the worst possible start and found themselves 5 down after 7 holes. At that stage they knew they were facing the stiffest challenge and that birdies were required. At the 8th hole the astonishing and valiant fight back began. By the time they arrived at the 17th the match was all square. Unfortunately, Bob and Frank were unable to snatch victory and lost the last two holes. Bob and Frank showed the importance of momentum in golf and why one should never give up as anything is possible on the golf course.
Match 2
Match 2 saw Linton Bell and Keith Riley getting off to a quick start by winning the first hole with Keith leading the way. Linton weighed in on the second hole by sinking a lengthy putt for par to halve the hole.
As the CGS players began to relax their golf became more fluent with Linton leading from the front. This had the desired effect on Keith who also began to play with greater freedom. The CGS pairing won the next four holes to lead by five. The seventh hole was halved before the Chris Morris pairing won the eighth hole to reduce the deficit to four.
Linton and Keith demonstrated the value of team work by supporting and assisting one another. This was particularly evident when either player made an error. Linton and Keith strengthened their grip on the match by winning the ninth, twelfth and thirteenth holes and then closed out the match 7 & 5.
Match 3
The 3rd match saw Vassel Brown and Elford Douglas taking up the challenge. This was an interesting match that sea-sawed up to the 14th when the Chris Morris pairing made what appeared to be a decisive move into a two-hole lead. The outcome seemed even bleaker when the Chris Morris pair had two putts on the 16th to close out the match 3 & 2. However this hole was halved when they three putted and Vassel made a bogey 4 to halve the hole.
The match entered the 17th hole with the CGS two down with two to play. Vassel produced a brilliant long and straight drive before hitting his pitch shot to about 15 feet. Having secured their par, Vassel was faced with the daunting task of having to make the birdie putt to keep the match alive. They say cometh the hour, cometh the man. Vassel proved this to be the case by sinking his birdie putt to reduce the deficit to one.
When we came to the tee box on the 18th hole the light was fading and the pressure was squarely on Vassel and Elford. Things didn’t look promising when neither Vassel nor Elford were able to produce their best drives. Elford hit an excellent recovery shot with his 5 wood out of the rough to leave his approach in the middle of the fairway about 150 yards to the green. The approach shot hit a tree left of the green and the ball finished just short of the green. The Chris Morris pairing saw their chance to apply pressure by hitting the green in regulation and securing their par. Elford was left with a 20 foot chip that had to go in to halve the match. Thankfully, the chip went in and the shout was heard by the fourth match making their way up the final fairway. This half point proved crucial at the conclusion.
Match 4
In the 4th match Dean Leith and Keith Salmon were up against Dave Comerford and Martin Crawford who were arguably the Chris Morris’ strongest pairing. Dean and Keith went 2 up after 3 holes with some excellent golf from both players. From that point on the CGS pair never looked back and with a combination of great chipping from Keith and solid putting from Dean the Chris Morris pairing where under constant
pressure. When this match reached the turn the match was all but won. The match was eventually closed out on the 15th hole with a 4 & 3 win. Dean added that the match was played with good spirit in a friendly atmosphere with plenty of good banter.
Match 5
Game five saw Ian Higgins and Lloyd Thomas (aka Buggsy) Ian Higgins reported that he and Buggsy were in control over the first 15 holes. However, following a lapse in their concentration, they had to dig deep in order to secure the last 2 holes for the win. Ian said that they worked well as a team and were able to get the job done in the end.
Match 6
In the final pairing Ronald Ross and Trevor Lammy were entrusted to bring home the final point if required. Ronald reported that there match was evenly contested throughout with neither pairing being able to gain the upper hand at any point. This pattern continued up to the 17th hole and at that stage all four players agreed that it was too dark to continue the match and settled for a half.
A great win for the CGS and thanks to all players for attending.