Meon Valley Swept Aside as Lakers Run Riot

Boundary Lakes 5 – Meon Valley 1
(15–3 points)

Wowser! There are convincing victories, there are emphatic victories, and then there are afternoons when the opposition barely has time to settle into the match before someone is offering a handshake.

Boundary Lakes produced one of those afternoons on Monday, sweeping aside Meon Valley 5–1 in a remarkable Windell League encounter that featured two 8&7 victories, another at 8&6, and enough early finishes to make the clubhouse wonder whether everyone had remembered there were eighteen holes. Five wins from six matches, fifteen league points safely banked and a timely reminder that when the Lakers find their form, they can be a rather unforgiving bunch.

Jason Murdock and John Knight certainly weren’t interested in hanging about. Fresh from a financially rewarding week at the NEC, Jason returned to the fairways looking as though he’d discovered a rather profitable new approach to golf. Par, birdie, par, birdie. Four holes played, four holes won, and Meon Valley were already wondering quite what they’d done to deserve this.

Another par at the 6th and birdie at the 7th took the lead to six up. At this point JMK could reasonably have considered retiring to the clubhouse for a coffee and leaving Jason to finish the job. But John wasn’t about to let his partner have all the glory. He stepped in to win the 8th and 9th, leaving Jason to halve the next two holes and complete a staggering 8&7 victory. Eleven holes. Match over. That’s not so much a fourball partnership as a demolition company.

If that seemed a little excessive, Jeff Rowlands and John Blake clearly thought it was a standard worth matching. Blakey opened proceedings by winning the first two holes, perhaps under the impression that he was going to be the star of the show. Jeff had other ideas.

Having halved the 3rd, Jeff promptly lit the blue touch paper, winning six of the next seven holes to establish a seven-hole lead heading to the 11th. By now, even Jeff must have been getting tired of winning holes, so he graciously allowed JB to finish things off at the 11th. Another 8&7 victory, another early handshake, and another Meon Valley pairing left wondering whether they’d accidentally entered a different competition.

Not to be outdone, Geoff Gregory and Dave Carey were enjoying a similarly productive afternoon. The pair delivered the sort of performance that looks almost effortless from the outside, although those of us familiar with senior golf know that appearances can be deceptive. Solid, assured and apparently in complete control, they steadily dismantled the opposition to record an outstanding 8&6 victory.

Twelve holes were all they needed. In most competitions, that sort of performance would have secured the day’s bragging rights and possibly the contents of the prize pot. Unfortunately, two other pairings had already finished a hole earlier. A magnificent result, but only third in the race to the clubhouse. Some days you simply can’t win.

There was rather more conventional matchplay drama in the contest involving Graeme Cook and Greg Wallace. Having forged a successful partnership last time out, Cookie and Wallace found themselves in comfortably the closest encounter of the day. Meon Valley struck first with a birdie at the 3rd, only for Graeme to respond with one of his own at the 4th. Wins at 7 and 8 gave the Lakers some breathing space, but another Meon birdie at the 9th made it clear the visitors weren’t planning to surrender quietly.

Unlike some of their teammates, Graeme and Greg were going to have to earn their afternoon refreshments. And earn them they did. There were no spectacular fireworks on the back nine, just the sort of steady, sensible golf that wins matches. The pair kept their noses in front, resisted the temptation to complicate matters and eventually closed out a thoroughly deserved 2&1 victory. Sometimes the spectacular stuff grabs the headlines; sometimes getting the job done is quite enough.

Another particularly pleasing result came from Bob Fanstone and Sam Heal. Bob’s ambitions of playing Windell League golf last season had been cruelly interrupted by a troublesome back, so his first outing alongside Sam was an opportunity to demonstrate what the team had been missing. And demonstrate it he did.

The front nine was a proper tussle, with neither side establishing much of an advantage until Bob claimed the 8th and 9th to edge the Lakers ahead. From there, the partnership found another gear, with four of the next six holes going Boundary Lakes’ way and Bob personally contributing wins on five of the fifteen holes played. The result was an excellent 4&3 victory, a valuable three league points and a thoroughly satisfying return to competitive team golf. A reminder, perhaps, that you can keep a good golfer out of the team for a while, but you can’t necessarily keep him off the winning sheet.

That left Mark Hannah and Willis, playing in the unfamiliar position of bringing up the rear. Sadly, this was one match where things didn’t quite go the Lakers’ way. Meon Valley made excellent use of their stroke allowances and produced some consistently solid golf. Nothing particularly spectacular, just enough good shots at the right moments to prevent the Boundary Lakes pair from building any momentum. Despite their best efforts, the Lakers couldn’t find a way back, and handshakes on the 15th confirmed Meon Valley’s only victory of the afternoon.

And what a result it was. Boundary Lakes 5 – Meon Valley 1. Fifteen league points to three. Three matches decided by the 12th hole, two of them finished at the 11th, and five winning pairings delivering exactly the sort of performance the skipper will have been hoping for.

The result leaves Boundary Lakes sitting proudly at the top of the Windell League table, and it’s certainly a pleasant view from up there. But before anyone starts measuring up the trophy cabinet, a little perspective is called for. The Lakers have ventured away from home just once so far, and as any seasoned Windell campaigner will tell you, points on the road are rather harder to come by.

Next Monday brings a trip to Wellow, followed by another testing away fixture at Crane Valley. Two matches that could tell us considerably more about our title credentials than the league table currently reveals. For now, though, fifteen points safely banked, five victories and three pairings back in the clubhouse with plenty of afternoon to spare.

Top of the league. Lovely place to be. Now comes the hard bit.

The Windell League table after the latest round of matches tells the story so far. Just remember, there’s still an awful lot of golf to be played.