Swindon's golf croquet team lost a closely contested match away to a strong Bath side in the South West Federation Level Play League on Friday 4 August. Luckily, during this inclement summer, the match was played in dry conditions with the sun even making a brief appearance.
The day started well with points shared in the first round of games 2-2. In the second round Swindon raced into the lead with wins for Clive Smith, Tony Mayer and Terry Theobald in the singles games and Dave Booth and Terry Clements in the doubles.
This put Swindon in a strong position with a match score of 6 - 2 in their favour.
The third round of games was drawn 2 -2 to leave Swindon with an 8-4 lead at the lunch break. This score line was helped by wins for Terry Theobald and Colin Brain, both making their debuts in this challenging format, winning both their singles and doubles games.
After the lunch break, Bath came back strongly and went on to win all 8 games in the afternoon session with the Swindon players just missing out on some hard fought, tight games. The lawns, which were damp during the morning, had dried out which made it difficult for the visitors to adapt to the faster lawn conditions.
Although hard fought and competitive, a very friendly atmosphere lasted throughout a day of very enjoyable croquet. Team captains Bob Hart and Terry Clements agreed they would look forward to meeting again next season.
Swindon team captain, Terry Clements, said "The overall result was a disappointment as we could, and perhaps should, have gone on after the lunch break to clinch the victory but it was also very encouraging to see high handicap players Colin Brain and Terry Theobald come into the side and perform so well. This can only auger well for the future success for the club."
Swindon's final level play match of the season is away to Camerton and Peasedown on Friday 18th August.
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