Dorset County Golf Union
Dorset U14 v Hampshire U14
Wellow Golf Club
Friday 12th April
Dorset under 14's took on Hampshire under 14's at Wellow Golf Club on the best day of the year so far. The sun was out and the sun cream on!
Hampshire has always been a strong side but this was the first time this friendly fixture had been played in a few years so the boys did not know what to expect. Congratulations to the six lads who were making their debut for Dorset; understandably, there were some nerves kicking around the team. When the team sheets came out it was obvious it was going to be a tough game as Hampshire's handicaps ranged from 3 to 11 whilst Dorset were 11 to 19. However, the boys were going to learn an awful lot regardless of the outcome.
The morning foursomes got off to a pretty good start with all 5 matches holding their own. Halfway through Dorset were up in 2 and narrowly down in 3. The Hant's boys did turn the screw in the end won 4 matches with just Jacob Higgins and Louis Wilkinson managing a solitary win for us.
After a spot of lunch, the afternoon singles got under way. In each match we averaged around 8 shots higher in handicap so the boys were going to need to be at their very best! Unfortunately, after a reasonable start the opponents started to play some superb golf and our boys were under the hammer. We only managed 1 halved match from Dan Pratt, which although we were playing a good side, was very disappointing.
This under 14's team do however have a great attitude and will improve very quickly. They all learnt a lot from this experienced and it opened their eyes to the standards they need to strive towards. We have a training session next week which will be a great opportunity to discuss the match and where are the main areas we can improve.
I'm sure this match will turn out to be a blessing in disguise and will kick start some great things from these boys!
David Cooper (U14 Manager)
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