Submitted by Lauren Thomas on Mon, 25/11/2013 - 14:06
For the Blues, the last weekend of term includes visits to two gems on the CUGC fixture list: St. George's Hill and Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Clubs. The former, an impressive inland course with fairways lined by plenty of heather, pine trees and some of the country's most exclusive real estate, gets many a golfer excited by merely looking at the clubhouse. The weather was also favourable, with the sun welcoming the CUGC on a crisp but dry morning. The Blues had been able to draw some confidence from the hard work put in throughout the term, and stepped onto the first tee keen to avert a repeat of last year's 9-1 defeat.
However, by the time most players had fully woken up, the morning matches were already over, with St. George's Hill taking a comfortable 4-1 lead. Playing one's best after a 6am pickup and a 2 hour drive has never been a CUGC speciality, which the opposition was able to take full advantage of — only the ever-reliable transatlantic duo Cumberland-Lewicki was able to win a point.
Having loosened the swings in the morning, the afternoon play looked much better for Cambridge. Playing only 9-hole four ball better ball matches due to the late time in the year, and able to correct some mistakes from the morning, the Blues won the afternoon session 3.5 - 1.5. Unfortunately, this was not enough to win the overall match, but it set a promising sign for the term's conclusion at Royal Ashdown Forest on Sunday.
Despite having no bunkers, Ashdown's old course is not only a stern test of golf, but also gives some stunning views of the surrounding heathland. This time, the morning's play was a reversal of Saturday. Wins for Cambridge were recorded almost everywhere - almost certainly some of the credit is due to the Ashdown members that so kindly hosted the team on Saturday night.
Play had not been the fastest, which meant the afternoon matches were shortened to 15 holes as had been done in recent years. But the Blues held their nerve, with Williams and Bastianello holing out long putts on the last two holes to clinch a win. Pearmain and Rietschel similarly didn't get put off by a barrage of 4 birdies from their opposition, and a wonderful blind iron shot to two feet on 13 from the former secured Cambridge's second point of the afternoon, and the overall win.
CUGC 4.5 - St. George's Hill 5.5
CUGC 6.5 - Royal Ashdown Forest 3.5