NGL Ladies Vets 1st Team match v Leicestershire & Rutland

Wellingborough GC 12th June 2017

The NGL lady vets first team players met the Leicestershire and Rutland vets at Wellingborough on Monday 12th June. These matches are played off scratch and Northamptonshire have always played their pairings in strict handicap order, so our first pair were Carol Gibbs and Gill Snelson and playing at their own course they were soon 3 up after 8 holes, Carol drove her ball to the bunker on the 9th hole and put the next shot 8 foot from the pin, the Leicestershire  pair needed to hole a longer putt for 5 which they missed so Carol had 2 shots to win the hole and as Carol's father had always told her if you have 2 shots for the hole take them. Carol and Gill continued to play well and ended winning their game 7 and 5.

The next pair were Gillian Curley (Northants County) and Lorraine Gilder (Northampton) who came to the 8th hole 4 holes up. Lorraine drove over the pond on the 9th but stayed in the rough, however her second shot landed 6 feet from the pin and it was a delight to see her sink the putt for a birdie. Gillian and Lorraine also ended  winning their game 7 and 5.

Angela Duck (Northants County) and April Owens (Staverton) were our  third pair to tee off and April drove on the first to within a short iron of the green and having managed to land the ball softly sunk the putt for a birdie. They continued to play steady golf although the opposition come back to level the score and the match went from one side to the other until Angela and April managed to stay ahead and win by 1 hole.

New girl Yvonne Wilcox from Rushden was paired with Tracy Bishop our vice captain from Silverstone and after 9 holes Tracy and Yvonne were 1 down. There were playing against Sue Bromwich the President of L&R and her partner Lynne Jones a past Vets captain and at the 11th par 3 hole Sue managed to sink a long putt from the back of the green to win the hole. Yvonne and Tracy continued to be 2 down until the 15th hole where Tracy won with a par and then on the 16th Yvonne did the same to bring the match all square. The 17th was halved so the match rested on the tricky 18th hole. Yvonne found the water and after taking a drop put the ball on the green and sunk the putt for 5. The opposition looked in a good position until both players missed judged their approach shots and landed on the path so they too could only manage a 5 the match ending all square.

Match 5 found Maddy Henderson (Kingsthorpe) and Pat Silburn (Oundle) drawn against two steady players, one from Hinkley and one from Rothley Park. The match swung from one side to the other but eventually ended in a half, which was a fair result in the end.

Liz Johnson (Elton Furze) and new girl Sue Wildman from Stoke Albany played some steady golf but were up against an on form pair from Leicestershire who won 4 and 2. As nobody knew the handicaps of the opposition it may have been that these players were lower handicaps than the Northants pair.

Pauline Hurley and Sue Pawson  both from Elton Furze played against two ladies from Rothley Park and the friendship between Pauline and Sue made for a relaxed game which helped them play some of their best golf to win 7 and 6. Sue was delighted with her playing having scored two birdies during the match.

Last minute replacements Myra Landsburgh (Nene Park) and Karen Johnson (Oundle) were our final pair and played some steady golf , Myra sinking some great putts to keep the match so close. However, a win was needed on the 18th hole but unfortunately they could only manage a half so the match ended with a win for Leicestershire by 1 hole.