RAF v Civil Service; 27 Jul

A fine day dawned over the Hodgkin Course at Woodhall Spa GC for the annual RAF versus the Civil Service fixture. This fixture, one of a series of warm up matches for the Inter Service Squad who play The Army and The Navy at The Berkshire Golf Club in September. Unfortunately due to operations commitments, several members of the Inter Service Squad were unavailable but, despite this, a strong team gathered to do battle against a very strong Civil Service team. Leading the way in the morning Foursomes were the experienced pair of Steph Usher and Ian Graham, after a tough match against in form opponents they went down 4 & 3. Captain for the day Steve Beveridge and his partner Mark Rushforth both spent too much time on ‘the beach’ and were convincingly beaten 6 & 5 with Aaron Ashberry and Dave (voo voo zela) Pretorious going down 3 & 2. The next 2 matches provided encouragement for the afternoon singles, including a fine victory for Ian Robinson and Adam Thornhill winning on the last and a very creditable half for the banter kings, Oggie Compton and John Duke.

The afternoon did not start well for the RAF team with the first 4 players all going down. Aaron Ashberry, going out number 5, provided the first afternoon point and this kickstarted a valiant fight back. Ian Graham went down narrowly, despite playing very well after a trip to the range at lunchtime. The final 4 players all brought home excellent points for the team, Oggie and John both winning 1 up on the last, Adam winning 3 & 1 and Ian Robinson winning 4 & 3, capping an undefeated day for all 4 players. See full results.

The final score of 8 ½ to 6 ½ was of great credit to the RAF team who faced very stiff opposition. Captain Steve Beveridge thanked Woodhall Spa GC for providing a course an outstanding condition and the catering team, who as always, provided excellent fare. He thanked the Captain of The Civil Service Team for providing tough opposition and congratulated him on their played 4 won 4 record this season.

Words: Steve Beveridge

RAF V RAF Golfing Society; 28 Jul

The RAF Representative side took on the RAF Golf Society at Woodhall Spa on Thu 28 Jul. The match followed the game against the Civil Service the previous day in which the team performed well but were ultimately beaten by a very strong Civil Service side. A strong RAF GS side were made up of ex RAF players, 8 of whom had represented the RAF at the Inter Service Competition.

RAF Captain, Dean Lewis and Iain Graham got the side off to a perfect start by beating the No1 pairing of Dave Marshall and Mark Oliver 2&1. Steph Usher and Steve Beveridge came back strongly from 3 down to gain a creditable half against Stu Halliday and Mal Wray. Following comprehensive defeats for the pairings of John Duke/Oggy Compton and Dave Pretorius/Adam Thornhill, Fin McLean and Danny Dickson ensured the match was level at lunch by winning their match on the last hole.

In the afternoon singles good early wins for Oggy Compton, Steph Usher, Steve Beveridge and Dean Lewis were countered by defeats for Iain Graham, John Duke, Adam Thornhill and Fin McLean. The result therefore hinged on the last 2 matches out on the course. Danny Dickson did well to win on his debut which meant that Dave Pretorius required a half for the RAF side to be victorious. A great up and down on the last green achieved the half point required and meant that the RAF had triumphed by 8 pts to 7. See full results.

The result was especially pleasing since a number of the players were making their debuts for the Representative side and clearly demonstrated the strength in depth developing amongst the RAF golfing fraternity.

Words: Dean Lewis