​The inaugural LMEGA Friendly International Match took place on Saturday 22nd June at The Buckinghamshire, basking in pre-arranged blue skies and soaring temperatures. Teams of four players from the UK, Japan, China and the Rest of the World arrived eagerly in the morning to enjoy the full-on hospitality one would expect from such a special venue, and to receive guidance for what lay ahead in the morning and afternoon competitions.

​The day was split into a nine hole Texas Scramble in the morning followed by eighteen holes of stableford (best three of four scores per hole) in the afternoon. A well-rehearsed explanation from the Match Manager using the latest British technology ensured all teams were playing to the same rules in the morning. At 10.00 sharp, Team China duly despatched all four of their balls down the middle and out of sight, which turned out to be a good indication for what was to happen in the afternoon session.  Other teams also put some balls out of sight (but only because they didn’t float!) with Team UK performing consistently (including the 8th hole!) throughout their morning adventure.
 
The Texas Scramble session ended in an incredibly close result with just four points separating all teams. The results of the morning session were announced at lunch to ensure the unmistakable air of competitive tension remained for the afternoon. Results for Texas Scramble were as follows (lowest total shots wins);
 
UK = 34 shots (despite collectively putting £20 of golf balls into the lake on the 8th!)
China = 35 shots
Rest of World = 36 shots
Japan = 37 shots  
 
At the end of lunch and to provoke indigestion, all teams were pre-warned of the back nine holes of the eighteen they were about to face. Sure enough, these holes stretched both patience and ball supplies as The Buckinghamshire stole back most of the well-received Triland sponsored golf balls! Scores dipped for most teams in the afternoon with the exception of Team China who went from strength to strength or rather from birdie to birdie! Team China racked up points at a rate of knots normally reserved for Lord’s Cricket Ground and opposition players were quickly exhausting all superlatives. It was clear early in the afternoon session that other teams were playing for second place. After a mind challenging count-up, the results for second place were very close with just a single point separating second and third. As this was the main competition of the day and due to the friendly nature of this match, only the top two teams were announced;
 
China = 125 pts
UK = 106 pts
Next Best = 105 pts

There were many standout performances of the day but special mention goes to Rebecca Liang and Geng Mingjun who both scored 41 points in the afternoon for Team China. Not to be entirely outdone, Colm Brady shot a “net” hole in one on the 13th, which was only a 410 yards, par 4, stroke index one. Go figure!!

​Through astute planning(!), every competitor left The Buckinghamshire with a prize. A dozen bottles of red wine awaited the winners (not each!), with all other players walking off with a coveted pair of LME socks!
 
In all seriousness, the LMEGA should consider expanding this event further next year. The day brought together many different nationalities to have fun, meet new people and make new friends. Such benefits are the key goals of the LMEGA. Let’s aim for teams from US, Germany, Netherlands and many more for next year! Thank you to all those who attended.

LISEGS were so enamoured by the lunch at Denham last year that they demanded we book the course again this year. At last we were blessed with some decent weather after three and a half inches of rain drenched the South East for the previous two weeks.

The morning fourball better ball saw LISEGS register early successes when Dr Colin Griffiths and John Ambery went down by 1 hole and Steven Spencer and Rakesh Gupta also succumbed by 2 & 1. However, Martin Abbott and the recently returned Seamus O'Connell handed out a 6 & 5 beating to their opponents. Unfortunately, Captain Allan Kerr and Jan Rommer also went down 2 & 1, so at lunch, the wonderful lunch, LISEGS stood 3-1 up.

There was all to play for in the afternoon singles and, fortified by the lunch, Seamus O'Connell registered his second victory of the day by 5 & 4. The Captain, likewise, brought in a point making the match all square at 3 all with six singles still out on the course but Jan Rommer and John Ambery were both beaten by 2 & 1, the score now lying 5-3 to LISEGS.

Steven Spencer halved his singles but Martin Abbott beat the LISEGS secretary, Bill Ford by 5&3 as Colin Griffiths took a half, leaving the score 6 - 5 to LISEGS. Everything hung on the last singles as the team waited with bated breath for Rakesh Gupta, who brought home a resounding victory by a dog licence, seven and six, leaving the scores tied at 6 - 6.

As the Beckermet trophy was held by the LMEGA, we retained it, the great lump of iron ore sitting somewhere in the Captain's cabin for another year.

On a day that promised nothing but pouring rain and duly delivered about 3/4 of an inch in a constant drenching drizzle the LMEGA once again took on the Scrap. One look at the BSMA handicaps revealed possibly the greatest work of fiction since Leo Tolstoy put down his pen and said "Finished at last - now do you think I could call it 'War and Peace'?"

However, nothing daunted by weather or the competition, we played an 8-a-side match with singles matches going out in fours, making for a very friendly mix. This year the match was restricted to only 18 holes, followed by the usual excellent Berkshire lunch, although there is a majority vote for next year's match to revert to morning fourballs and afternoon singles.

Sadly none of the younger working LMEGA members applied to play in this match despite this being one of the premier courses in Britain and the venue having been expressly booked to attract more members who said they would only be prepared to take time off work if they could play the top courses. It is to be hoped that the RAC and Walton Heath drag them out. it is a shame that the pressure is consistently put on the old guard.

The first singles between The Captain and Gary Holloway ended in a nail-biting half with Allan Kerr sinking a putt on the last green, while their companion match ended with Edward Sawbridge winning so the score stood at 1 1/2 to 1/2.

The second pair of singles saw the President go down but Alex Heath salvage a good win, the score standing now at 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 to the LMEGA. Surely this could not last, but in the third pair of matches John Ambery recovered form to record a 7 and 6 victory while Jan Rommer gave way, but the score was now 3 1/2 to 2 1/2.

There was all to play for in the final pairs but sadly it was not to be. Colin Griffiths slipped up and Steven Spencer went down 2 and 1, leaving the Scrap winners by 4 1/2 to 3 1/2, the trophy remaining with the BSMA for another year.