From Mark Harper Sr.–Captain
Tanglewood travelled to Stoney Creek on Tuesday April 29th for a Senior Interclub match. Things looked promising early for Team Tanglewood, but home course advantage took control late in the matches to secure the win for the Stoney Creek team.
Scott Wearn and Dickie Brewer came out of the gates hot with Scott making 4 birdies on the front and they made the turn with a 3 up lead on their opponents. The high man in the group made 4 birdies on the back and shoots a net -4 on his own ball to bring them back even with Scott and Dickie for a half in their match. Scott & Dickie shot net-6 and still only halved their match. Great playing guys and on most days this wins big, but not Tuesday. This match did set the tone for their guys having career rounds in several matches.
In the second match myself and Tom Birrittieri, (that name is the hardest name to spell), “brother-in-lawed” pretty well on the front, but one of their players finally got loose, (his words), and shot a -3 on the back. We just could not get anything going with the putter. Tommy was, as always solid from tee to green, but neither of us could make putts. The usually fast greens were slow, and every birdie putt I had came up short all day, and so did our match, we lost 3 down.
To continue the theme of their guys having stellar rounds, Charlie Fisher and Paul Meyer played in the 3rd match, and ran into a “buzz saw”! One of their opponents shot a 73 with 6, yes 6 birdies. Charlie and Paul fought hard and were only down 1 at the turn, but on the back (like the first 2 matches) proved to be their undoing. They played well, but had no answer for the birdie fest the other guys had. They finished 3 down.
In the last group Joe Crocker and Chris Domanski got down early with their opponents firing 5 birdies on the front to get a 3up lead at the turn. Joe and Chris played hard to keep them close on the back, but Stoney Creek’s guys just kept the pressure on. They finished 4 down which gave Stoney Creek a 48-32 win.
This was not how I envisioned our first match of the season, but it was clear they knew their course and they were prepared for Tanglewood. It is kind of defeating to see so many of their guys shoot abnormally great rounds, and running away with matches. Team Tanglewood didn’t quit fighting all day. Our guys were upset with their performances, as we all felt we could play better. The fact that they were disappointed shows they care about our association and how they represent it. This was our first match and we have plenty of time to turn things around. Our next match is another tough away match at Colonial, where Tanglewood doesn’t have a great history. It will take our best, but I know our guys are more than capable of coming back with the win!!