It was a battle of the generations in the Long Markers Club Championship at Oatlands Golf Club last Saturday.
John Bolster, former Club President, Life Member and 83 years young had to deal first hand with a “Millennial” in the form of Christian Rees, Encourage Shield representative and a young tyro on the course at the tender age of nine.
John, a strong advocate and supporter of junior golf at Oatlands was delighted to take on the challenge.
“This is why the game of golf is great. Which other sport allows you to compete at every stage of your life?" he said.
Christian's father, Earl Rees, a member of Oatlands Golf Club and the Club’s Encourage Shield manager, was thrilled with his son's effort.
“Christian just loves the game of golf. He was delighted to qualify for this event and has embraced the challenge of match play."
Christian progressed through the first round of the Club Championships with a convincing win, the member who he beat has gone into hiding and wasn’t available for a quick chat.
John, similarly, had a strong win and there was plenty of buzz in the clubhouse as to the coming match.
“John is very consistent and certainly has the edge regarding experience, but Christian is playing some great golf at the moment and his handicap is coming down quickly. I'm not sure who wins?" said John Carey, Club President.
The match took place on Saturday, and there were plenty of supporters on hand to witness the first shots.
Bolster got off to a fast start by holing his bunker shot on 1st to win the hole. He hit the flag with his approach to win the 2nd hole and held an early and somewhat unexpected lead.
It's fair to say that Christian was a little shellshocked at this stage and John was certainly giving the youngster no concessions.
We were all pleased to see Christian hold his composure to win the 3rd hole and the scoring remained this way until late in the match when John managed to sneak out a few more holes to eventually win 3/2.
Bolster was gracious in victory praising his much younger opponent. He predicts a bright future for the youngster.
"Christian is a fantastic young golfer with a bright future ahead of him and a credit to how he is being brought up," Mr Bolster said.