The weather was hot, the showers were hot, the curry was hot-tish and the cherry trifle went down a treat. Everyone entered the clubhouse after this match against Carmarthen red-faced and perspiring. Well most did.

The Buddie Boys, aka John Hancock and Paul Bradley, looked relaxed. They didn’t complete the course, they walked in after 14 holes and ambled down the roadway for a quiet pint, while the teams behind them were burning up the course. John indicated that Paul had been on good behaviour and as a result his game improved. They halved the first and third holes in this conflict against Peter Jones and George Laidlaw and lost the second. They each told the other to pull their finger out and as a result won the rest of the holes up to the ninth. They were on fire - sorry that was the sun! Whatever the reason, they didn’t let up and completed this match on the 13th. Peter reckoned he had to, he had run out of balls!

Dudley had nominated Stan Hudson as his saviour this week as he faced the Carmarthen skipper, Hywel Morris, partnered by Ken Gealy. Stan had to be reminded that this was a game of golf when he stated that Dudley had a very good ‘innings’. The opposition agreed that this was a game of ups and downs. Two up to all square to two down, a situation that was repeated throughout the afternoon as they drove through the heat haze. Dudley birdied the fifth, while Stan was peeved that he had lost the 13th having scored a three - the opposition had a shot and won it with a three net two. This match ended on the sixteenth.

Bart Youll breezed into the clubhouse with a smile indicating that he and John Stevenson had won their match against the steady pairing of Jim Crawford and Rob Thomas. John slid in after him claiming that he was completely wilted. It must have been the effort made to support Bart, who, by the way, sunk a monster putt on the 14th for a four.

Allen Watts and Des Stone were, meanwhile, engaged in a tussle against Mick Fenny, Carmarthen club captain, and Ray Sinden. On the front nine, only one hole was won - Des managed a four net three on the fifth. The other eight holes were halved. Mick and Ray hit back by winning the 10th to resume a level playing field. Allen answered this with a birdie three on the 11th and he and Des each scored a three on the 12th to go two up. A birdie four on the 14th gave them a three-hole lead and they managed to stay ahead to shake hands on the 16th.

Martin Neilan and Derek Cole found themselves up against stiff opposition as they tried to overcome the expertise of Elwyn Morgan and Chris Smith. Martin birdied the first and the fifth to help stay at all square and they managed to reach nine holes still level. They couldn’t quite maintain their form as the heat of the day drained some of their energy. This match ended on the 17th when both Derek and Martin found themselves bunkered. They both chipped out and their putts were conceded. Elwyn and Chris then proceeded to hole their putts, each for a two. ‘Ah well,’ said Martin, ‘we can’t complain. We were beaten by a better team.’

There is a ball on the beach adjacent to the 12th hole. It belongs to David Rees and he said that whoever finds it is welcome to it after that shank! He and Alan Jones had won the first, but succumbed to the pressure exerted by Rodri Davies and Clive Evans as they battled the heat of the afternoon. The Carmarthen pair were at the top of their game as this gritty exchange played out across the course. It finally came to a head on the 16th when both Rodri and Chris achieved a birdie to finalise proceedings.

The success of the day rested on the last pairing. Alan Yates and John Hall were facing Dennis Driscoll and Jimmy Myo and this match appeared to be quite even for most of the way round. They said they remained quite competitive up until the 14th and then they wilted completely. They faced the 16th two holes down. They were unable to overcome the opposition and so the two down became three down with only two holes to play.

W hot a day? One to be remembered for a number of reasons, the heat, the course and most of all the company. We look forward to the return match in a couple of weeks time.

Results: D. Williams and S. Hudson lost to H. Morris and K. Gealy 4 and 2; A. Watts and D. Stone beat M. Fenney and R. Sinden 3 and 2; D. Cole and M. Neilan lost to E. Morgan and C. Smith 4 and 2; J. Hancock and P. Bradley beat P. Jones and G. Laidlaw 7 and 5; A. Jones and D. Rees lost to R. Davies and C. Evans 4 and 2; J. Stevenson and B. Youll beat J. Crawford and B. Thomas 2 and 1; A. Yates and J. Hall lost to D. Driscoll and J. Myo 3 and 2.