Warwickshire Golf

MAXSTOKE MAKE IT A DOUBLE

The rain eased enough for the final of the Warwickshire Cup to be played on Saturday at The Warwickshire Golf and Country Club.

Our finalists were Stratford on Avon and Maxstoke Park who actually faced each other in the final of the same event back in 2005. The players and their pairings were as follows;

As in many foursome matches the scores remained relatively equal with holes exchanging from either side early on but at the turn Maxstoke held a 3 hole advantage in both match 1 and 3 and match 2 remaining all square.

The 12th hole in this event is always the scene of a ruling or two - and this wasn't the year to disappoint. In short, after being dealt with by match referee Claire Barker, it resulted in both pairs from match 1 heading back to the tee which mean that match 2 was called through. Thankfully, the hole was halved in match 1 so they could both put it behind them.

News from match 3 was that Maxstoke were taking control over their opposition and were 3up after the 12th hole and managing to keep the pressure on winning their match 4&3.

Match 2 headed down the 18th hole after a great up and down from the Stratford pairing. Both teams hit good drives and positional 2nd shots and both failing to make the putting surface on their 3rd shot. However, a good pitch from Maxstoke finishing close to the hole was enough to tempt Stratford to go for the win, resulting in a longer putt than they may have liked. Stratford putt slide by the hole and the hole was won by Maxstoke along with the match 1up.

With two points on the board for Maxstoke the cup was theirs, but match 1 was also coming down the 18th hole after a fantastic birdie on 17th from Stratford reducing their score of dormie 2 down to 1. Stratford played this hole very well hitting their shots into good positions and finished 10 foot from the hole in 3 shots. Maxstoke found the rough with their second shot but a very good pitch across some awkward slopes saw their ball inside Stratfords. Stratford putting first and holed their 2nd birdie in a row, this was followed in by Maxstoke Park for birdie confirming a halved hole and a 1up victory.

This win means that Maxstoke have done 'the double' and are holders of both County Foursomes Championships! Gary Greenway and Paul Walker (and Antony Gascoigne) won the Summer foursomes knockout (The Bainbridge Shield) last Autumn and now the Club hold the Winter team knockout. 

The final score of 3-0 certainly didn't tell the story of the match, but from what has been seen over the last few years, it seems to be that a Club has to finish runner-up a few times before they get their victory. So, well done to Maxstoke Park but beware Stratford on Avon next year!

Our thanks go to Paul Taylor and the team at The Warwickshire for their continued support hosting this event and their generous catering offering to the teams was extremely well received. Also thanks to Club Captain Sean Ward who presented the prizes on the day (pictured far left in the right hand side photo) and for the support form Union referee, Claire Barker and our President Graham Barton.

A completed draw can be seen HERE

A match result sheet from the final can be seen HERE

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