Juniors set tough test for LGM

LA GRANDE MARE'S men's golf team has painful memories of its last visit to the L'Ancresse links. It went down 4-3 to the Royal Guernsey in the 2004 local final of the Hampshire seven-a-side knockout.

Tomorrow, the team returns to the course to face the Guernsey Junior Golf Club in the semi-finals.

Neil Black, La Grande Mare's best player, said it would be tough but they were looking forward to it.

'It will be interesting, but they've got a good team.'

La Grande Mare has chosen a team of entirely single-figure handicap players and non-playing captain, David Richards, is confident of victory.

'It's our best side of those people playing well,' he said of a team which includes newcomer Brian Corey.

The full team and handicaps are: Black (2), Kevin Buckley (8), Alex Burns (7), Corey (6), Alastair Jardine (5), Roland Mills (3) and Ricky West (9).

Black, who plays off 1.8, arrives at L'Ancresse having won the scratch prize in his home club's Window Design Medal, one of the bigger dates in the LGM calendar.

After a disappointing front nine, the Irishman took just 29 for the inward half and posted a 68 gross.

'I haven't had a game of golf like that for a long time,' said Black.

Seven-over for the tougher front half, he hit the birdie trail after the turn.

His net 66 left him three shots adrift of the overall winner, Jamie Polson, younger brother of Muratti footballer Stuart.

Playing off 14, he beat West on countback.

The highlights of Polson's round were birdies at the fourth - 'I'm normally happy just to par it' - and the 16th.

With no disasters and only four double-bogeys, and despite getting a little nervy, he held on to win his first golf competition.

Polson also walked away with the category three prize, while West's consolation for missing out on the main award was to take the category one/two prize. Mike Burrows topped category four.

STATISTICS reveal that the newly-extended par four fourth is the toughest hole at La Grande Mare.

From 896 recorded competitive rounds since the opening of the 415-yard hole last year, the average score is six.

With the eighth, also 415 yards long, averaging 5.84 and the ninth (397 yards) rated the next hardest on the course, club captain Richards has plenty of evidence to support his claim the front nine is now the tougher and indeed a punishing half.

The fact that Black required 39 shots to cover it in winning the scratch prize at the Window Design event only adds weight to that theory.

The men's 2005 captain is delighted with the progress being made in terms of membership and course improvements.

He points to a drainage programme which is paying dividends.

'As usual at this time of the year, some parts of the course are wet and muddy, but it was closed on only one day during January,' he said.

Indeed, these are good times for the Richards family.

While David enjoys the benefits of a captaincy year, wife Marion has been selected in the Guernsey women's team for the NatWest Island Games.

She is the first La Grande Mare-developed woman to represent the island women's team.

Staying with the Grande Mare theme, the club committee hopes to prepare players better for the challenges of matchplay competition by introducing a round-robin league.

The intention is to run two divisions of 12. 'It will give them a record and make it easier to pick the sides,' said David Richards.