2023 Team Results

SWICC 2023 - The Full Report

Day 1: Gloucestershire vs Wiltshire – Monday am

The day started with a bit of a chill in the air and the threat of rain but the team were undeterred and gathered on the 10th tee (yellow course, 1st tee) a short, potentially driveable par four, to support each other off.

Team:
Alex Saunders and Taylor Hodgson
Molly Stewart and Kate Thurlow
Megan Bartlett
Izzy Lloyd
Elin Tynan

At the halfway stage, the foursomes matches of Alex and Taylor were A/S, and Molly and Kate were 2up. Megan was facing a challenging opponent who seemed to have the rub of the green and found herself 3 down, despite playing some excellent golf. In contrast, Izzy and Elin were both 3 up.

Moving back onto the red course, the usual front 9, all matches were fluctuating in an ever-increasing breeze. Both foursomes travelled down 18 1 up and we managed a win in the first and a half in the second.

In the first singles, Megan continued to fight in her tough match and also found herself going down 18, having been 3 down with 3 to play. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to continue the win streak and lost on the last.

Elin had flown to 4 up through 10 and there was no stopping her once she achieved her lead, eventually securing the win 5 and 4.

Izzy had found herself in a rollercoaster match with her opponent clawing her back from 4 up, to level. Unphased, Izzy closed out her match 2 and 1 to secure the win for Gloucestershire.

Result: 3.5 – 1.5

Somerset vs. Gloucestershire – Monday pm

In what is always a closely contested match, we were pleased to find ourselves playing the red course first in what was now a strong wind, gusting to 35mph.

Team:
Megan Bartlett and Molly Stewart
Elin Tynan and Taylor Hodgson
Jo Hodge
Summer Carash
Alex Saunders

Megan and Molly played a very strong pairing from Somerset and gave a great account of themselves throughout the match. Their eventual 4 and 3 loss certainly did not reflect how well they had played.

Second foursomes pairing Elin and Taylor got out to a strong start managing to get to 3up through 3 holes. Their form continued and they made light work of their match closing it out 5 and 4.

Ever consistent Jo plotted her way around never really letting her opponent gain any hope. Jo’s highlight being a shot to the 159-yard par 3 13th which nearly pitched in the hole. She closed her match out on the 15th where crowds had started to gather.

Summer was playing her first match for the GLCGA team and fought hard the whole way – with her opponent and her caddy confirming that they ‘just couldn’t shake her off’. Just a couple of minor errors led to Summer narrowly losing by 2 and 1.

Finally, it was left to Alex to close out the match for Gloucestershire. Many in the team joked that we should move to 18 and wait for her there; however, it seemed a large enough crowd had gathered on 16 and Alex decided to finish her match there for a change! This final win, gave Gloucestershire the three points we needed to beat Somerset, giving us 2 wins from day one.

Result: 2-3

Day 2: Gloucestershire vs Dorset – Tuesday am

Having started the week with two wins on the first day, the team were raring to go against a strong Dorset team, who had started in the same fashion.

Team:
Elin Tynan and Taylor Hodgson
Megan Bartlett and Izzy Lloyd
Summer Carash
Jo Hodge
Alex Saunders

Elin and Taylor played a very steady match with little to separate the pairings for the first 9 holes. Slowly their opponents’ putting proved too consistent and they lost on the 15th.Megan and Izzy battled back from going 3 down early, managing to turn the tide later in the game and finishing off in style on the 18th in front of the gallery to secure the half.

Summer was playing her second match for Gloucestershire Ladies and was lucky enough to have recent Gloucestershire Captain Andra Knight on the bag. She played consistent golf in what was a very close match the whole way and only narrowly missed out, losing 2 and 1.

Jo found herself up against a barrage of birdies but remained positive; despite finding herself 5 down with 5 to play, she battled hard, eventually losing 3 and 2.

Alex took up her regular position as anchor and played her usual solid golf the whole way. With moments of brilliance, she took down a very strong opponent 5 and 4. The second match in a row Alex managed not to pull a crowd to the 18th by finishing early!

Result : 1.5 – 3.5

Devon vs Gloucestershire – Tuesday pm

After a ridiculous turnaround time due to the new format and two tee starts, the team rushed out into the now pouring rain to take on Devon.

Team:
Molly Stewart and Kate Thurlow
Jo Hodge and Izzy Lloyd
Elin Tynan
Taylor Hodgson
Megan Bartlett

Both foursomes pairings met fierce opposition and struggled to find momentum in the appalling conditions. After delivering more brollies and more caddies arriving at the halfway stage, both pairings, unfortunately, lost on the 14th and 15th holes.

Elin found some putting form and managed to be 2up at the halfway stage. Playing one of Devon’s top points scorers was never going to be an easy match and with holes going either way on the back 9 the match eventually ended in a loss for Gloucestershire on the 18th hole.

In her first singles match, Taylor battled hard against another opponent who never seemed to miss a putt. Taylor continued to play fantastic golf, but her opponent managed to close the match out 3 and 2 with a 25ft birdie putt.

Megan continued her stellar ball striking for the week in her match at the back of the field. Barely letting her opponent win a hole, she finished the front 9 with three consecutive birdies to take her 4 up, finally winning 3 and 1.

A difficult day for Gloucestershire, but plenty learnt and still plenty to play for in our match against Cornwall on Wednesday.

Result : 1-4

Day 3: Gloucestershire vs. Cornwall

After a ‘bad day at the office’ on Tuesday due to the appalling conditions, the team arrived at the course eager to take on Cornwall in the morning sunshine.

Team:
Elin Tynan and Summer Carash
Megan Bartlett and Izzy Lloyd
Jo Hodge
Molly Stewart
Alex Saunders

Even though Tuesday’s results hadn’t gone the way we had hoped, the team wanted to finish strongly with a victory over Cornwall.  A win for Gloucestershire together with some other results going our way, a second place finish overall was still possible.

The new pairing of Elin and Summer led the way playing steadily, being all square going through the 8th hole. However, they quickly accelerated away around the turn and were 4up after 12, going on to win their match 6 and 4.

Meg and Izzy made a great start and were 3up through 6 holes. Their opponents tried to make a comeback which was very quickly quashed by Gloucestershire going on to win their match 3 and 2.

Jo Hodge, carrying an injury, came up against very tough opposition and unfortunately lost her match 6 and 5.

Molly Stewart, in her first singles match of the competition, played consistent golf from the start and was all square through 8. It must have been something about that hole for Gloucestershire as Molly also put the pedal to the metal and was quickly 3up through 11, going on to secure a convincing win 6 and 4.

Alex Saunders, her in favourite anchor position, got off to an uncharacteristic start and was unfortunately 1down after 8.  Once again, that hole was the turning point in the match with Alex quickly 3up through 13.  She had heard that several matches had finished early and not wanting to miss the crowd, went on to secure a 5 and 3 victory in front of both teams.

Result: 4-1

The resounding victory over Cornwall, together with some other matches going our way, Gloucestershire secured a second place finish in the competition behind Dorset.

Some spectacular golf was played over the 3 days from this new, but tight knit group, with everyone pulling together to achieve the best possible outcome as a team.

Thanks to The Burgundy Brigade, both in person and online, for your support it is hugely appreciated.

Onwards to Perranporth in 2024!

2nd team vs Dorset

Yeovil GC

Sunday 25 June 2023

Sunday 25 June was our second 2nd team match against Dorset away at Yeovil Golf Club. Lots of familiar faces in the squad but we were pleased to welcome Elizabeth Robbins, our Junior County VC, to the team.

After a very early start, the first tee was 8.30am; we got underway with the morning foursomes. Although not especially long, Yeovil is a tight course and needs accuracy which was tricky in the swirling wind.

The team got off to a great start winning the morning session 2-1.  Taylor holed out with a putt from the fringe to win their match and a fantastic fight back from Molly and Millie after being 3 down to win their match on the 18th to rapturous applause and cheers from the rest of the team.

After lunch the wind picked up even more, making the course tighter still, but we were hopeful of the 3 points needed.

Elin led the way with a convincing win, quickly followed by Taylor.  Unfortunately, the rest of the team weren’t so lucky despite fighting hard to the end.

With Dorest fielding some fresh players in the afternoon singles, several of whom had home course advantage, it was always going to be a tough battle. Full results are below.

We now have to wait for the outcome of the rest of the matches in our Group to find out if we’ve made it to the 2nd Team County Finals. We’re keeping everything crossed.

2nd Team vs Wiltshire

The Bristol GC

Sunday 11 June 2023

On Sunday 11 June we had our first official 2nd team match against Wiltshire at The Bristol.  We were pleased to welcome newcomers to the second team Sophie Williams and Rosie Boyle, as well as returning player Kelly Armfield.

They would be forgiven a few nerves on the first tee but soon settled into the games with big drives and excellent approach shots all round.

The team got off to an excellent start, winning the morning session 2.5 to 0.5. A particularly strong finish from Kirsten and Kate meant they came back from 2 down with two to play to halve their match.

Team Sophie managed back-to-back birdies late in the back nine to go ahead and then refused to let go of their lead to win on 17.

In the worst of the weather just before lunch, Kelly and Rosie managed to stay strong and hold onto their lead at 17, leaving their opponents with no more holes to play with after a short game error.

After more rain over the lunch break, everyone returned to a softer course for the singles, with Gloucestershire needing another 2.5 points to secure a victory.

More excellent performances in the afternoon with Kirsten leading the way with her win, followed by Rosie Boyle taking the team total to 4.5.  We only needed half a point for the win with 4 matches still out on the course.

Sophie Dodds was unlucky having held her opponent for the majority of the round, likewise Kelly Armfield. Kate Thurlow won 1 up taking us over the finishing line to 5.5 and Sophie Williams turning her match round from 2 down with 2 to play, for the half and taking us to 6 points.

A brilliant team performance and the first step towards the County 2nd Team Finals in September.
Full team results below.

Our next match is on Sunday 25th June; we are away to Dorset at Yeovil Golf Club. All supporters are very welcome.

1st team FRIENDLY MATCH VS WORCESTERSHIRE & hEREFORDSHIRE

Fulford Heath GC

Sunday 7th May 2023

Sunday 7 May saw the 1st team travel to Fulford Heath to take on Worcestershire & Herefordshire in our annual practice match against them.

Being on another of the bank holidays in May this year, there were a few tired faces having celebrated the King's Coronation the day before; but the sun was shining, and the team were ready for action on what looked to be a beautiful course.

We had seven players on the day and were lucky to be able to play the new inter counties format for both rounds - so a rare practice match where we could practice multiple foursomes pairings and singles options.

Team for the day:

Jo Hodge
Alex Saunders
Megan Bartlett
Molly Stewart
Izzy Lloyd
Taylor Hodgson
Millie Gait

Once we got out there, we discovered the ground was still quite wet underfoot from the deluge of rain throughout April, therefore, the course was playing a little longer than usual. The team played some very solid golf despite this and managed a 3-2 win in the morning session.

It was the first day of the year we could remember playing with short sleeves and the sun cream went on for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, the heat combined with the long travel time in the morning meant that tiredness caught up with us and we lost the afternoon session 5-0, leaving a 7-3 victory to Worcestershire & Herefordshire overall.

The team battled brilliantly, and all matches could have gone either way, with all of them going to 17 or beyond. Some lessons learned and some great foursomes pairings practice. Full team results below.

2nd team friendly match vs worcestershire & Herefordshire ladies

puckrup Hall gc

saturday 11 march 2023

Our season opener for the 2nd Team was the usual friendly match against Worcestershire & Herefordshire, this year hosted at Puckrup Hall GC, Tewkesbury.

To say the day was a bit cold and wet would be like describing the Sahara Desert as ‘a bit sandy’…

Our team for the day was a mix of experienced squad members:

• Izzy Lloyd, Minchinhampton GC
• Kate Thurlow, Cotswold Hills GC

• Elin Tynan, Minchinhampton GC

and some players new to the squad this year:

• Sofia Benitez, Bristol & Clifton GC
• Millie Gait, Knowle GC
• Molly Stewart, Bristol & Clifton GC

In near freezing (but dry) conditions our morning pairings for the foursomes were Izzy and Millie, Kate and Sofia and Elin and Molly. These were all completely new pairings and also Molly’s County debut.

Clearly they were very cold and eager to get back in the Clubhouse for an early lunch with each pair winning very convincingly 6/5 and all walking in on the 13th!

So we’re leading 3-0 from the morning session.

After lunch, the rain came so now not only freezing cold, the team were soaking wet.  Although the going got tough, the team got going.  Elin was the first to bag her win, swiftly followed by Millie, Sofia, Kate, Izzy and Molly. The afternoon points total being 6-0.

A 9-0 victory - what a way to start the season!

Huge thanks to all the team for playing some fantastic golf in awful conditions; to the caddies who braved it with their players and to The Burgundy Brigade for their support.