Competitions

Under 14's v Norfolk
Played at Braintree Golf Club - 30 August 2011

Played in excellent golfing conditions against a side with handicaps considerably below the Essex team all through the list, the Norfolk boys showed fighting spirit and made life as difficult as they could.

The morning foursomes were somewhat one sided, however, and Essex took a 4 point lead into the afternoon with some excellent performances from Conner Morris and Jack Dyer, and particularly from Kieran Whiting and Zac Taylor who were playing their first County representative match at this level, winning 5&4

Perhaps this engineered a complacent attitude from the Essex boys because the afternoon saw many of the regular players making a struggle against their determined opponents. Early wins from Sam O'Brien, Conner Morris and Jack Dyer were hard fought. Will Turner crafted a dominate win, but the tail of the field , consisting of four players who were appearing in the squad for either the first or second time, all came in with really good wins. Elliot Palmer, Jack Brown, Kieran Whiting and Zac Brown performed really well and enabled the afternoon singles score to end up 8:2 in favour of Essex. A win of 12½ : 2½ for the day.

Norfolk did not go home without the satisfaction of knowing that they had made a fight of it, and had contributed to a great days golf

Braintree Golf Club were magnificent hosts, going out of their way to make the day a memorable one for both teams and managers.

The Keith Bass Trophy

Colne Valley Golf Club - 26 July 2011

Played on an overcast summer day with a slight wind and a prospect of rain that never really arrived, the Essex boys looked forward to the competition with some relish. On paper they were the team with the best chance of winning and confidence was high, even amongst the management if I’m honest A home advantage with the opposition having little chance of a practice round everything seemed good.

The competition is played over 27 holes. Nine in the morning and eighteen in the afternoon. It was apparent early on that that things were not going the way we expected. We had confirmed that the way to play Colne Valley was to seek the best position for each hole rather than blast our way around the course, but several double bogies due to lads seemingly aiming for the narrowest part of the fairway with a driver on the first hole (par5) seemed to show that our lads were not going to accept this and we started badly.

The morning honours went to Bradley Finch (37) from Bedfordshire followed by Charlie Walsh (Norfolk) and Jack Hawksby (Bedfordshire). Several boys including some Essex boys were on 39.

In the afternoon Sam O’Brien (Essex) scored a 74 including a 9 on the second hole to give him the runners up prize over Louis Lazarus (Essex) (1 handicap) on countback. Sam showed that the course could have been beaten on the day scoring level par for the remainder of the round. Sam plays off 4. He and Louis shared 113 over 27 holes

Winner of the Handicap prize was Charlie Walshe form Norfolk scoring a nett 105 for 27 holes

The winner of the Keith Bass Trophy was Alex Bithrey from Bedfordshire playing off 6 who scored 111 for the day and ran out a worthy winner.

Perhaps our disappointment was for Ryan Cox – playing his first representative game for Essex who signed for a wrong score. His correct score would have given him 6^th place in the scratch scores and he would have won the handicap prize. Full praise to him for realising his mistake and pointing it out to the officials. The right thing to do but what a disappointment for him and eventually the team, because Essex would have won the team prize if his score could have been included. In the end it was Bedfordshire that took the Team prize.

Our grateful thanks to Colne Valley for hosting the competition and making us so welcome.

Essex Boys taking part Louis Lazarus (Romford), Sam O’Brien (Stoke by Nayland), Conner Morris (Rochford Hundred), Bobby Parmar (Loughton), Jack Dyer (Rochford Hundred), Christopher Grant (Thorpe Hall), Dylan Mahmut (Romford) and Ryan Cox (Warley Park). Luke Gosling (Ballards Gore) acted as reserve.

Keith Mitchell (Under 14 manager)

Essex versus Hertfordshire

Mill Green Golf Club - Tuesday 31st May

ESSEX 8 - HERTFORDSHIRE 7

On a day when rain threatened and actually did fall, and the wind blew, making shot selection difficult and challenging, the boys from both counties produced a day of good golf played in a competitive but very friendly atmosphere that was appreciated by all who watched this encounter.

The difficulties most of the boys experienced in getting to the course, thanks to an accident on or around the South Mimms interchange, meant that practice before the game was much reduced, but the teams did not seem greatly affected and began the morning foursomes with the usual enthusiasm this particular fixture produces.

Honours seemed to be fairly even in the opening sorties but some determined play from the Hertfordshire boys gave them the lead before lunch by the narrow margin of 3-2. Three matches went to the last hole with two being halved, but wins for Will Robinson & Charlie Wilkinson and Luke Hynes and Jamie Knight gave Hertfordshire the edge.

The lunchtime break gave the Essex lads a chance to re-group and their entered the afternoon with a more determined attitude. Some excellent shots were played that seemed to be well rewarded with birdies throughout the afternoon and the Hertfordshire boys impressed with their ability to produce excellent short game strokes that often left the spectators and their opponents somewhat shocked . However, the overall power play by the Essex team proved a little too much for some of the younger and smaller Hertfordshire boys and Essex took the afternoon singles by 6-4, so winning the overall match.

Only 4 boys managed to winn both their matches, Luke Hynes and William Robinson for Hertfordshire and George Tunbridge and Bobby Parmar for Essex.

Our thanks to Hertfordshire for providing and excellent course for this match and for the hospitality and goodwill displayed throughout - a most enjoyable day for all concerned.

Keith Mitchell - Essex Under 14 Team Manager