Another golfing year dawned for the OB Golf Society on the 19th March at the customary venue of the Royal Worlington Golf Club for the first match in the Calendar, the Old Oundelians. The clubhouse renovations now complete and providing a picturesque backdrop, two teams of 10 took to the 1st and 6th tees with the first two matches being played scratch and the remainder on handicap.
It was honours even in the scratch matches, a point to Langley-Poole (96-06) and Simon Blundell (84-89) for a 5&4 drubbing but a 2&1 loss for Iain Pratt (83-93) and Tim Henderson (64-71). In the first of the handicap matches Kevin Dunbar (74-79) and Andrew Rudkin (64-69) succumbed to the same scoreline but the back two pairs of Chris Johnson (66-75) and James Lawson (61-66) and Oli Nicholas (97-02) and Budge Rogers (49-57) turned the tide, both winning 4&3 and in doing so avenging the narrow defeat of the 2015 fixture.
Following the customary roast lunch, half bottle of wine each and kummel and some terrible jokes from a James Lawson who appeared to have mistaken the golf course for a game shoot (see picture), the teams were shuffled and we took to the course again for a friendlier 18 holes in the afternoon. It did nothing for Oundle, though, going down again to a 3&2 scoreline.
Tom Langley-Poole (96-06)
OBGS Secretary