LUGS on the Heath
After much hype and suspense, the LUGS played their inaugural fixture versus Walton Heath Golf Club on Friday 13th May 2022. Twelve brave souls gathered on one of the most dangerous calendar dates of the year to do battle. The curse of the day struck early as a few last-minute complications (childcare emergencies and Covid19 being the chief suspects) had shrunk the group to a lean six-a-side ensemble. Although smaller than originally planned, the final number of twelve was, at least, easily divisible by four. Three points were up for grabs.
Expectations were high. Those who decided to eat into their precious holiday allowance to take the day off work were demanding fantastic camaraderie, great food, golf and weather. Admittedly, those who hadn’t taken any time off work and were ‘working from the golf course’ were understandably less bothered.
It was obvious that this inaugural match had the blessing of the Golfing Gods as we arrived to bright sunshine at Walton Heath. After a solid hour of drinks on the terrace as the troops assembled, the famous WH goujons arrived among much fanfare and were soon snapped up by the throng of elite athletes. A quick round of Kummels finished off a thoroughly enjoyable start to the fixture; now it was time to get serious out on the course.
Walton Heath, which has a merciless reputation when it comes to its treatment visitors, stayed true to form, recruiting some of the most clinical finishers in the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council vicinity to take an early lead. The devastating combination of Boardman and Taylor were too much for Mobed and Gibbs, who decided to spend most of the afternoon getting close and personal with the heather. Taylor Junior and Shaw also proved a deadly combination against the stoic pairing of Dowie and Palmer. Two matches down and two points to the home side. The final match took place between four LUGS, so perhaps we should leave it up to reader discretion as to which side the point falls. Either way, a Bottomley ball-striking masterclass on the back nine proved too much for the plucky pairing of O’Loughlin and Jowett.
Although not the winning start that the LUGS were after, this was certainly a match that was played in the true spirit of companionship and fun. A fixture that we all agreed should start a long tradition of matches at this great club. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the Heath next year.
The final results are below:
Chris Boardman & Alison Taylor beat Kaihan Mobed & Will Gibbs 3&2
Nicola Taylor & Mark Shaw beat Oliver Dowie and Jonathan Palmer 2&1
Felix Bottomley & Andrew Berryman beat Benito O’Loughlin & Billy Jowett 2&1
London University Golfing Society 