Warwickshire Golf
Tough battle at Stratford Oaks for the Men’s 1st Team against Northamptonshire
The final friendly of 2022 was against Northamptonshire on Sunday 24th April. Stratford Oaks Golf Club kindly accepted the fixture and looked after our needs excellently all day. The weather was cool and windy, the course and greens were firm giving all players a testing day ahead.
Warwickshire’s Team consisted of:
Louis Sanders (Copt Heath)
Stuart Bloxham (Coventry Hearsall)
Ian Smith (The Warwickshire)
Steve Creed (Stratford Upon Avon)
Gary Skipp (Robin Hood)
Warren Bladon (Kenilworth)
Rob Bardsley (Moor Hall)
Mike Pell (Olton)
Rhys Lawrence (Maxstoke Park)
John Paul Banbury (Moor Hall)
Following breakfast Louis Sanders & Warren Bladon began the morning foursomes. A tight match with Northamptonshire ahead on the front nine by one after 6 and 2up after 9. A couple of early back nine wins for Warwickshire meant A/S after 12 and then winning 13 gave a lead that Warren & Louis would not let go winning the match 1up.
Rob Bardsley partnered Stuart Bloxham in the second match and again Northamptonshire ‘bossed’ the front nine to create a 3up advantage. Warwickshire battled brilliantly to win three out of the first four holes after the turn and be A/S after 13. Again, Northamptonshire got ahead after 17 but a solid drive from Stuart up the par 5 18th, second on the back edge from Rob and two putts gave Warwickshire a very hard earned half point.
Mike Pell and Rhys Lawrence featured in match three against Captain Lee Hitchcock& Taylor Sargent. Nip and tuck for the first 9 saw a 1up advantage for Northamptonshire, the visitors would increase that to 3up after 13 and eventually win by 4&3.
John Paul Banbury & Ian Smith took control of Match 4 being 2up after 6, 4up after 9 and 3up after 13, but 4 birdies in the last 6 holes from Northamptonshire resulted in a halved match. Tough to take for Ian & John but still a half point to keep the overall match score at 2-2.
The last morning match was settled pairing Steve Creed & Gary Skipp. This close match was A/S after 6, but Northamptonshire gained a 2up lead after 9 and kept ahead by one after 13. Steve and Gary have total belief in their abilities and rallied to get the match down the 18th. They would prevail and won 1up, well played !!!
Morning Foursomes – Warwickshire 3 Northamptonshire 2
Following lunch, the singles matches began with Louis Sanders, Rob Bardsley and Mike Pell out in games 1, 2 & 4.. All three matches had no more than a hole or two in them but all resulted in the visitors winning 2&1, 2&1 and 3&2 respectively. Match 3 provided good news with Warren Bladon racing to a 5up lead after 8 holes. He would be pegged back slightly to 3up after 14 but closed the match on the next hole winning 4&3.
Rhys Lawrence went one better than Warren and stood 6up on the ninth tee !! Again, Northamptonshire would fight as expected but Rhys was too far ahead and ended the match on the 16th green 3&2.
Match score at this point – Warwickshire 5 Northamptonshire 5
With 5 matches remaining, Stuart Bloxham played solid golf to be A/S after 8, but was just behind after 14 by a hole. A 2&1 loss would give Northamptonshire a match lead for the first time. John Banbury took early control in match 7 being 2up after 8 and increased that to three during the back nine but again his opponent fought hard and John would find himself A/S on the 18th tee. Two very solid shots to the back fringe on 18 and a lovely delicate chip meant a birdie 4 for the Moor Hall man. His opponent was equally impressive and they shook hands with a well earned half point each.
Ian Smith was at 8 and looked comfortable after 9 being A/S. Losses in the back nine meant a 2&1 loss. Steve Creed in the last match was dominant from the off and was 4up after 6 and 5up after 11. Steve duly delivered again with a 6&5 victory, well done Creedy !!
This meant the match result depended on match 9 between Gary Skipp from Robin Hood and Jamie Milligan from Kingsthorpe. This close match was A/S after 8, but Gary got ahead on the 9th and increased that lead to 2up after 14. Jamie followed the Northamptonshire trend and won holes to stand on the 18th A/S with the honour. The tee shots that were hit probably gave Warwickshire a slight advantage but both players found the 18th green in two. Jamie putted and left it just short. Gary eyed up the 40’+ downhiller and then drained it with pace for a fantastic eagle and 1up win !!! The Warwickshire team whooped whilst Northamptonshire wondered what had just happened.
Match result ended in a Draw (7.5 to 7.5), which seemed a fair result considering the difficult course and weather conditions.
My thanks to Lee and his team for a great battle all day. Our appreciation to Stratford Oaks GC for hosting this fixture, excellent food and providing an enjoyable test. I am sure Warwickshire County will be requesting your facilities in the future.
My personal thanks to Warwickshire President Mark Reynolds and his wife Deb for their usual support, starting duties and match updates. Thank you!!
Our first League match is against Shropshire & Herefordshire at Oswestry GC on Sunday 8th May, any support would be fantastic.
Karl Smith
County Captain
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