UK ODU Photo Gallery: 2021 UK ODs v Old Haileyburians Golf Day

The OD team outside rhe RAC Clubhouse: Damon Crowhurst (F, 1991), Steve Suckling (F, 1976), Michael Watson (G, 2011), Greg Baldwin ((O, 1975), John Wyatt (W, 1963), Mike Taylor (G, 1959) and Graham Llewellyn (G, 2010)
(Michael and Steve in the new OD golf shirts)

On Saturday, 4th September, the UK OD golfers took on the Old Haileyburians for the fourth annual derby. Trailing at the start, we lost this match as well and face next year with the daunting task of restoring our honour.

That said, this was the very best of our outings with the OHs; the camaraderie and good-natured competition are something we all look forward to and building on year-on-year.

Mike Taylor and Michael Watson (the ODs) took on a talented Rob Ambrose and James Mcaleer (the OH's) at the 13:10 tee time. The OH's got off to a brilliant start with a Rob Ambrose birdie on the first hole - the OH's clearly setting the tone for the afternoon and making their intentions clear. Taylor's brilliant 18-foot clutch putt a few holes later resulted in the match going all square going into the tight par 5, fourth hole. Having had no success with the driver off the tee, Watson took out the 3-wood and split the fairway leaving him with a 7 iron into the tree-lined par 5 - this lead to a straightforward two putt Watson-birdie which the OHs could not counter as Ambrose was unable to retrieve his errand second shot that clearly disturbed the local Flora And Fauna. Each pair exchanged heavy punches for the rest of the front 9 but neither team showed weakness as they reached the turn leaving the bookies scrambling to make picks.

The half-way house break clearly benefitted the OH's who found some incredible short-game form going into the important stages of the match coupled with some careless unforced errors from the ODs, who clearly got their money’s worth exploring the unchartered and untrodden parts of the course. A string of excellent holes down the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th from Mcaleer could not be answered by the ODs, who, despite some excellent ball striking off the tee, lacked the ability to make putts when they counted - proving the old Locke adage, "You drive for show, but putt for dough", true - Watson and Taylor clearly having left their putters in the freezer overnight. Having already won the game going down the last 3 holes, Watson found some excellent form giving the fans a glimpse at what he is capable of and perhaps an indication that the next OD/OH encounter will result in a more successful outcome for the OD pairing in future encounters. Despite going home empty-handed a great day out for the lads.

And from John Wyatt: Just to clear up any confusion. Graham, Colin and I had a very entertaining game and I certainly found my playing partners excellent company. After being behind for most of the game, I was 1 up after the 16^th, then it was all square after the 17^th and we halved the final hole, so the match was halved. Congratulations to Peter on getting the balance of handicaps spot on. Mine was a hard-earned half against two OH players, one of whom was a single figure handicap, ie our match score was 21/2 to 11/2!

Greg Baldwin Damon Crowhurst had this to say: after a poor star we were able to pull back to 'all square' which is a position we held well into the game, before being beaten by 'a series of fortunate events' where when one the opposition was out of contention, the other had an unbelievably good hole (20 foot puts etc.). We played well and were in contention for most of the match but were ultimately beaten by a better side. And from Mike Taylor, "Against a scratch and 8 handicap pairing, we held them for the first nine, but became erratic on tee and green thereafter, as they steadily improved and tightened their grip on the match. Great afternoon in excellent company! Thank you to all concerned!

And the score for the day? 2-1 to Haileybury

Click on the photos to enlarge