The journey across the River Severn on Saturday 1st September to the arduous Bowood Golf Club in Wiltshire, proved a bridge too far for the elite golf squad of the Rolls of Monmouth.

Despite the recent signs of improvement, the squad members, handpicked by club vice captain Mike Maguire, narrowly missed out on returning to Wales with the spoils.

Club captain Dick Bull, playing with the experienced Roly Bulman, gained a coveted scalp by disposing of the Bowood team captain, Paul Moyle-Harris and budding young partner Paul Rose by a margin of two and one.

A welcome turn of fortune to Russell Webb's recent performances came about by Maguire's deft selection of a new partner, the athletic Nigel James.

Dressed inappropriately for such an auspicious golf course, set as it is in the Capability Brown-designed landscape belonging to the 9th Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, the shorts sporting pair managed to dispose of Bowood's Chiltern and Baggarley two up.

Dick Bull's confidence peaked at this stage as he predicted a white wash of the home side, with the stronger pairings of the Rolls' squad still on the course.

Sadly, in the third game, David Lyon and Roger Lord continued their disappointing form to crash seven and five to dazzling golf by four handicapper Neil Blewitt and his in-form partner Tony Howell.

Worse was to follow when Rolls' favourites, fast improving Richard Gable and veteran Tim Barker, failed to make par at the 18th to fall two and one to Brazewell and Fergus.

With last week's victory at the Herefordshire Golf Club still ringing in his ears, the rapidly ageing Geoff Walsh crashed back to earth when he and his partner Malcolm Thompson were beaten by the narrowest of margins, seven and six, by the seasoned regular pairing of Steve Whitaker and Colin Perryman.

Thompson commented that his only decent drive of the day was the journey to Bowood from his new home in Northampton.

Mike Maguire, who claims an almost unblemished success rate this season, was paired with the enormously long hitting Mike Willis, fresh from his hippy microbus tour of Spain and France.

Thought of by Bull as the bankers of the Rolls' squad, they failed to live up to expectations and were overwhelmed by Bowood's anchor pairing of Gange and Lingard three and one.

This set back has caused Maguire to possibly reconsider his squad rotation policy in favour of establishing and nurturing regular pairings from the large number of golfers at his disposal for these key matches.

Pictured, left to right: Bowood's Chiltern and Baggarley flank the victorious James and Webb of The Rolls.