Having the earliest tee time at 7.30am saw us beginning in inclement weather and most of the team began poorly, however the forecast was correct and the umbrellas were discarded after four holes with the sun coming out but the wind remained - always a trickey proposition at Howick!

We started on equal points with The Grange and a win was vital to get us off the bottom of the table but more importantly, a huge win would put us in contention. However this was another learning experience as we could not pull off the win and had to settle with a four all result.

The first matches were a contrast with Keith Aitchison winning comfortably and Mike Hyams suffering another loss.  Alex McKay and Iain Craig playing his first match for us followed with Alex always in control winning his match on the 13th.  Iain started horribly losing the first four holes before getting a couple back only to lose the last two holes to be four down at the turn.  The Scottish fire in the belly kicked in as his opponent faltered and Iain pulled off a remarkable comeback never losing another hole and winning on the 17th. 

Dean Phillips was still smarting from his previous loss at Pakuranga and this determination proved too strong, putting away his opponent by the 16th.  Ed Duffy was guilty of playing the man rather than the course and couldn’t pull off his second win.  Sometimes in matchplay when things don’t quite go to plan, it’s a better strategy to just focus on playing the course and forgetting about your opponent.  So it was down to our last two players, Rob Butler & Michael Maingay to try and add to our total but Rob had a day to forget and while Michael was receiving shots he just can’t find a way to win at the moment. 
Results with scores:
 
Keith               Win 3 & 2                   (84)

Mike               Loss 5 & 4                 (90)

Alex                 Win 6 & 5                   (81)

Iain                  Win 2 & 1                   (82)

Dean               Win 3 & 2                   (81)

Ed                   Loss 2 &1                 (86)

Rob B             Loss 6 & 5                 (85)

Michael          Loss 2 & 1                  (82)

We now play Howick at Akarana on 1st April with two matches remaining after that and while it’s unlikely we won’t get the wooden spoon, we certainly can’t make the playoffs with the points situation below. 

Aviation                      29

Akarana                     27.5

Titirangi                      27

Maungakiekie            27

Howick                       25.5

Clarks Beach             21.5

Maramarua                21.5

The Grange                20.5

Remuera                    20.5

Pakuranga                 20