Match v Royal Porthcawl

A very distinguished team of ORGS members paid its annual visit to Royal Porthcawl on 3 & 4 September.

This is a fixture which owes its existence to the late and very much lamented Gareth Griffiths, erstwhile captain of RPGC, who remarkably in the past made the very surprising and unusual suggestion that he would like to play golf again against our mature and abstemious vice-resident, the effervescent Jock Fraser. About 5 years ago this was duly arranged and the result has become a very happy perennial event. Selection is on a dead man’s shoes basis which means that this year’s team plays next year and that any defaulter cedes his place to his replacement and has to wait for a vacancy in the future at the generous and exclusive discretion of the match manager.

This year the ORGS excelled themselves surpassing all expectations and defying past form; and won by 8 matches to 2.

On the Monday afternoon Colin Passmore & Bertie Garforth-Bles, Jock Fraser & Nick Hills, Tim Watts & Rob Prior and Antony Aitken & Christopher Gabbey all won their matches, our only defeat being suffered by John Newton and Guy Steele-Bodger, new members of the team, which this year has been expanded from 8 to 10.

On Tuesday morning Gabbey & Fraser, Newton & Garforth-Bles, Prior & Passmore and Steele-Bodger & Aitken all won. The less said about the defeat of the Hon Secretary and the match manager, the better.

Royal Porthcawl is a wonderful golf club with a great golf course from which one can see the sea from all 18 holes. The clubhouse is unique. There is plenty to drink and the dormy house is very comfortable. There were single rooms for all of us except Prior and the vice-president who are forging a very special and intimate relationship. The hospitality is exceptional and our opposition, delightful. The welcome which we receive is fantastic and a most jolly dinner was embellished by some very fine singing by Peter Owen, the opposition’s captain, to whom we are particularly grateful for his faultless organisation. Next year we will need to respond with a choral rendering of the Floreat and rehearsals will start at the Scottish meeting where we hope Richard Lloyd will return to conduct us.

All is set, dates fixed and dormy rooms booked, for next year and the victorious team is re-selected and signed up.

Rob Prior was active with his camera and will provide illustrations which will show just how much fun we had.

I have no doubt that matches against select teams from good golf clubs should be encouraged by the ORGS.

Nick Hills