Match Report from County Match Days 2024 - Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club

Match Report from County Match Days 2024 - Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club My 4th year of captaincy has brought us to the Suffolk coast over the period 27th-30th June.

A 2 hour drive for most of the team brought us to the coast by 11.15 on the Thursday morning and after a team talk the players went to warm up on the range before their sandwich lunch and the 12.40 start for practice. Sue Caley went out with Ghie McGinley and shared much of her links knowledge from the southern coast of Wales and her youth. Ghie was a keen student and the two were preparing for the possibility of a foursomes partnership on Day 1.

Luca, Chanel and Annabel went out next and making copious notes on the challenging course. These were all to be shared with the rest of the team later back at the hotel. Ixie, Jolie and Caitlin were the last out, with Jolie and Ixie fairly new to links golf and the three finding new challenges at every hole.

After the round the players made their way back to the hotel in Ipswich, whilst Margaret and Claire attended the captain's meeting to be introduced to the rules officials and meet the captains of the other 5 counties. Essex, Suffolk, Cambs & Hunts, Norfolk and Hertfordshire make up the East region and over the next 3 days we would compete to find a winner and representative for the national finals.

Bedfordshire were confident of putting up a good show this year, with a newly selected welsh women's team member, our county champion, a NAIA US College champion, a LMU college graduate, a Welsh seniors team player and a past LET Access member amongst our team. I couldn't be prouder of these players who are donned in yellow and representing the county with pride and commitment. I announced to the squad that Luca would be acting as playing captain and feeding back views from the players to myself to ensure that we were factoring all options into team selection.

Before supper I announced the team for the following morning and promised those present that I would aim to play them all the following day. Friday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before leaving for the club at 7.15. Practice range was used by all the players before Luca led the singles at 9am against Cambs & Hunts. Annabel followed with Chanel completing the singles line-up. Ghie and Sue were followed by Jolie and Ixie in the foursomes.

The top two singles dominated their matches from the start with support from David Hawkins as caddy to Luca whilst Chanel lost a tight match to their no 3 and Jolie & Ixie fell short in the second foursomes. At 2 points each it came down to the first foursomes where Sue was working hard with the support of Ghie who was learning how to play the links style golf. A tight match was edging the way of our opponents when it came to the 16th. Fortunately for us their drive ended up out of bounds and Sue and Ghie converted their opportunity to get back to all square. On 17 Cambs and Hunts got the win to give them a 1 hole lead and the honour on the 18th tee. A nervy tee shot resulted in the Cambs & Hunts team being over the back of a par 3 in two shots and then not getting up and down in 2. Sue was left with a downhill 10 footer which slid agonisingly by to leave Ghie with a 3 foot putt back up the hill. Nervelessly Ghie holed out to win the hole, halve the match and get a halved result against Cambs & Hunts overall. Edge of the seat stuff against our local rivals. Caddies Martin Thomas, Dave McGarry, Jo Harrison and Margaret Seabrook played a great part in the result and offered to continue into the afternoon.

In the afternoon we played Hertfordshire and tee off was at 2.30. Caitlin was brought in to replace Ghie and was given the task at the top of the order to play their no 1. Caitlin played well but found an opponent who had a hot streak in the middle of the match culminating in a holed second shot for an albatross on 13. She worked as hard as she could but came up against the Hertfordshire player who was having an exceptional day. Luca and Annabel completed the singles line-up and both had solid wins of 5&4 - Dave Mcgarry commencing a very successful caddying role for Luca. With Jolie and Chanel playing foursomes and losing to a pair that included a past English seniors champion in Jackie Foster it was left to the remaining foursomes pair of Ixie and Sue to decide the session.

From the beginning Sue and Ixie returned to a tested pairing which has already brought them 3 wins in previous years. Putts were being holed and Ixie was finding the perfect yardage with approach shots to devastating effect. By the 9th hole they were already several holes to the good and the win was confirmed on 13 when another hole was won and a 7&5 result in the bag. Great effort throughout the team and a solid win of 3-2 against Hertfordshire. Day 1 finished and for myself as Captain this was my best ever result on one day with an unbeaten team. We finished on 1.5 points which was tied for the lead and well in the mix for Day 2. Day 1 produced 4 unbeaten players in Annabel, Luca, Ghie and Sue. Evening meal on Friday night was at the club and after the food, Annabel led the players down to the beach for a little R&R. Fun was had amongst the waves with a few selfies, some stone skimming and splashing around. The team were relaxed and enjoying their time together both on and off the course. Chanel sneaked back to the practice ground to work on her driver - a true team player.

Day 2 schedule included matches against Essex (defending champions) and Suffolk (hosts) which was going to provide a strong test. We knew the test was all the more challenging as Jolie was due to leave at lunch due to other commitments. This would leave us with 7 players for 7 places for the last two matches. Essex in the first match were smarting slightly from their first day loss to Suffolk so we knew that we had to get out of the blocks well in the morning.

An early departure from the hotel allowed us to breakfast at the club before warming up on the range. Resting Ghie for the morning we sent out Luca, Annabel and Caitlin in the singles with Sue and Ixie continuing in foursomes followed by the pairing of Chanel and Jolie. Up top Luca was having a real tussle with Katy Yates, the left hander, with rarely more than 1 hole in the game. The quality of the golf was top level and there was barely anything to separate them with 5 halves in birdie over the 18 holes. Coming up the 18th, Luca was one down but didn't have another birdie in her and lost by 1 hole. Caitlin got off to a flyer being 3 up after 6 with Dad on the bag. However a combination of good golf from the opponent and hard luck for Caitlin took the game from her and by the 11th she was 1 down. Fighting all the way, but it wasn't to be and the match was lost on 17. Meanwhile Annabel was continuing with the rock solid golf that she had displayed on the Friday and wins on 17 to leave us 1-2 down. Ixie and Sue were having a tight game in their foursomes which they were leading for large parts, albeit by a small margin. Two up with 2 to play should have been enough but the experienced Essex partnership reeled them back in to halve the match on 18. Chanel and Jolie also had a tough fight but went down on 17, meaning that although we lost 1.5-3.5 all 5 matches went to the 17th or 18th hole. Credit must go to the commitment of the players, right to the end against strong opposition. Bedfordshire are really competitive against all of the counties this year.

So with a loss, a win and a half we entered the afternoon session still feeling upbeat although knowing that it would be all hands to the pump against Suffolk. A strategy was needed and Luca and Claire came up with one for the afternoon. The singles were stacked with arguably our strongest three in Luca, Annabel and Chanel. Ixie and Sue were sent out as an established pairing and Caitlin & Ghie completed the line-up. So the ambition was to take all 3 singles and have an established foursomes followed by a brand new pairing where anything could happen! So could the team follow the instructions….. Chanel went off like a steam train and was already 4 up by the 8th hole. She continued to play at the level that we know she has and provided a great example to the teenager that she was up against. Well done Chanel on a 5&4 win. Luca and Annabel were in closer battles, whilst Ixie and Sue were in a tight match at first foursomes. Jo who was on Sue's bag has had many visits to 18th hole in the last 12 months and was hoping that this could be finished ahead of the final hole. They were playing against an ex professional and the experience of Sharon Luckman from Suffolk so it wasn't going to be easy. This proved to be the case as they had to work really hard to keep the match close and coming up 16 at 2 down it looked like the challenge may be just too hard. On 17 they capitalised on a mistake from the opposition and then on 18 Ixie put the pair onto the putting surface for two whilst the opponents failed to make the green in regulation. Sue put the approach putt to about 3 feet and Ixie calmly holed out amidst cheering teammates.

Meanwhile back on the course the two singles at the top of the field were making their impact and with Luca closing out on 17 then Annabel finishing her match on 16, Bedfordshire had achieved the 3 full points from the singles that we had aimed for. With one half from the foursomes we beat the host county 3.5-1.5 and finished the day in a strong position overall. We would be going into the final day equal with Essex on 2.5 points in second place but a half point ahead on the countback, with Norfolk our final opponents leading on 3 points. The aim would be to beat Norfolk by at least the same margin as Essex if they were to beat Cambs & Hunts.

Claire announced the team on Saturday night, which would be the same as on the Saturday afternoon, allowing everyone to have a good night's sleep knowing what part they would be playing in the morning. All 7 players would be playing in the Norfolk match and were raring to go against the team who were leading but felt that they could be competitive against them.

Sunday morning and we arrived at the club for breakfast after which the players in yellow took to the practice ground, clearly focused on the job in hand. Annabel would be leading as the county champion, Luca second and Chanel 3rd out. Sue and Ixie were out next with Caitlin and Ghie as tailenders - Captain Claire was confident that we had the firepower to win this crucial match, but it would be close. Luca went out all guns blazing and the resistance of Tracy Williamson, a previous English seniors champion, was quickly overcome as she won 6&5. Luca, mindful of her teammates, quickly went to support Chanel as caddy as she played 12, working hard to keep her match level. This was truly a team effort as Chanel took on board her playing captain's input and fought to the 16th but was still 2 down. Birdieing 17 she stood on the last tee knowing that another birdie could force a much-needed half, but sadly the putt didn't fall and a half in par meant a loss by 1 hole - such small margins at this level.

Annabel was having a similar battle, coming through the 11th hole, 4 down, but with the wonderful Sherry Pugh on the bag, she too came to the 18th hole 1 down. The battle was close now and all of the team realised the magnitude of the games left on the course. Annabel gave everything she had but sadly came up just short, her first loss of the week and only by 1 hole - a few tears shed on that final hole, but our champion did us proud in Felixstowe and went home with a Claire's Bear for her efforts in memory of our dear friend Claire Arbuckle. So 2-1 down with the foursomes to come and both of them were working hard to turn this match in Bedfordshire's favour. Ixie and Sue had another close match but were marginally ahead going into the back 9. They are fast becoming a strong pairing, reliable and have a good understanding of each other's game. An exquisite chip from Ixie on 16 gave Sue a half chance of closing out the match, but after the putt slid by the hole, this time Jo didn't have to worry about the 18th hole as they closed it out on 17 to make the score 2-2. One match to go and Caitlin and Ghie were working so hard on keeping Bedfordshire in the title chase.

Playing against the Norfolk captain who had her game face on, it was always going to require a nerveless performance, and the girls just fell short in spite of some top level golf. So we lost 2-3 to the eventual winners and Essex overtook us in the overall results but a 3rd place was just reward for a team who gave everything for each other, their caddies and the yellow of Bedfordshire.

Thanks so much to all members of the team, the support team in Margaret and Jo, caddies in the form of Dave McGarry, David Hawkins, Helen Taylor, Martin Thomas, Sherry Pugh, (Jo and Margaret too). So sorry that Kim couldn't be with us, but she was with me in my mind each and every minute. I couldn't be more proud of the players and of all of you who lived and breathed the yellow of Bedfordshire over those 4 days. We celebrated Luca's birthday on Sunday lunchtime with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday from the whole clubhouse and then presented colours to Ghie and Ixie who have now fulfilled all the requirements in representing the county against all the region over 3 years.

We look forward to hosting this great event at John O'Gaunt next year from 29 June to 2 July.

Thanks to all Claire Cummings Women's Team Officer (Captain)

EAST REGION INTER COUNTY MATCH DAYS Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club 30th June 2024

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