Moles v Narwhals – 15th March 2026
Match Report - Moles (a) @ Royal St George's GC, Sandwich on 15th March 2026
With fuel prices escalating due to the oil tanker blockade in the Straits of Homuz, Narwhals set off south by both road and rail to reach Sandwich in Kent, just North of Dover, for our first ever away match against The Moles, who include England Internationals amongst their ranks and have a match v USA, including Robert Trent Jones, at Woking on 19th May in 1926 amongst their history.
A practice round at Prince's Himalayas and Shore nine hole courses provided an appropriate opportunity to dust off any journey sluggishness on Friday. The accommodation and dining at Prince's Lodges providing both a perfect venue and food variety.
On Saturday we were joined by a few Moles, including our own Jamie Warman, for a light lunch followed by a social Foursomes at Royal St George's, which was interrupted (for all except the very determined) by a very dark cloud travelling over from Margate, delivering a large hail storm for 30 mins, which put paid to the golf and made the Drying Room in the Clubhouse a very busy area and allowed Guto Lewis to have his leg attended to, which had flared up and was giving rise to concern.
A quick change into formal dinner attire to meet our fellow society members, The Moles, in the Clubhouse Lounge enabled us to observe the rich history of the honours boards, including the Open Championship, over drinks, followed by a very enjoyable formal dinner and a grand welcome to the Narwhals by the Moles Captain, Andrew Jessop, who was splendidly regaled in his Scottish National Dress.
After catching the long overdue Welsh Rugby victory and England's titanic clash with France either side of dinner, a timely return to Prince's Lodge, chauffeured by the RSG Minibus, ensured all were accounted for in preparation for matchday, to enjoy a small nightcap watching the conclusion of the third round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
Matchday saw a heavy frost first thing, but mild temperatures followed, ensuring a timely start from the 10th tee, allowing members not to be interrupted.
The morning foursomes saw Jason Shufflebotham & Mark Jones secure the first point in the top match, followed by three defeats leaving both anchor pairings, Clive Brown & Martin Jones halving and Arthur Jones and Oli Powell winning and salvaging a respectable 3.5 - 2.5 score in favour of The Moles at midday.
A Jacket & Tie lunch was served and we were treated to the options of Beef, Cod, Gammon, Lamb, Lamb Pie or Steak Pie to prepare for the afternoon foursomes.
Starting from the 1st Tee in the afternoon, the Narwhals were now well familiar and well fed and took to the task in hand, to gain a result on the Open Championship Course Medal Tees. Josh Roberts produced a sizzling putting display partnered with Jason Shufflebotham to again win the top match, this time followed by a good win by Mark Jones and Mike Calvert and then a good half by Matt Wharton and Alex Cliffe to have the Narwhals one ahead at this stage with three matches left.
Alas, two defeats followed but all was not lost as Guto Lewis and Arthur Jones brought home the equalising point to earn a very respectable draw against one of the strongest golf societies we have ever played.
Given the pre-match dinner arrangement, the Tusk, despite a 600+ mile round trip, was at a loss where to make an appearance this last weekend and is one for us to consider for the future with similar fixtures. However, those Narwhals who thought they should have carried the Tusk in...... know who they are and they will not enjoy such leeway against the Leatherjackets at Royal St David's, Harlech on April 10th....!
Match Manager - Mark Jones
