The weather forecast early on looked very grim for West Sussex GC and many had driven long distances from Herts, Bucks and London through torrential rain. We teed off at 9.00, 5 matches, waterproofs at the ready, the dark skies quickly cleared and we were rewarded with a dry round with a challenging SE wind. Drinks on a sunny terrace before lunch followed Eastbourne taking the morning by 4 matches to 1.

An excellent buffet lunch was enjoyed by all whilst a heavy shower came and went before teeing off again at 14.00. Tonbridge put on a good fight back to avoid buying the drinks for another year, winning the afternoon session 3 1/4 to 2, but it was not enough with Eastbourne winning overall by 6 to 4 1/4.

It was great to see many younger players.  Some excellent competitive golf was played by all with many matches going to the last. The course was in excellent condition with the heather just beginning to bloom.  All are looking forward to next year’s fixture on Sunday 19th July at West Sussex GC.

Tonbridge Team: Bayley (+1.9), Butlin (12.2), Evans (2.3), Howie (14.2), Instance (5), Kapila (5.6), Kibblewhite (2.2), Morgan (15), Pryor (13), Quantrell (6.8)

Eastbourne Team: Baddeley (10.2), Barwell (9), Burrows (8), Dawson (+1.1), Dunn (10.5), Hampton (5), Pearce (11.2), Sharpin (2), Trott (1.5)