England vs Sweden 2009

By Sam Cooper, Junior Captain

The Teams

matches at Hoylake did see someone break the deadlock but, unfortunately for us, it was the Swedish golfers who had been able to open a small margin over the home team and at the half way stage, we found ourselves on the wrong side of a 15-13 score line. Over the course of the week, three formal dinners were laid

In August 2008, Alex Power, Becky Bell, Matt Sudderick

and Sam Cooper from the Royal Liverpool Junior section joined with eight others from Royal Birkdale and Formby Golf Clubs, to make a highly enjoyable and memorable trip to the south of Sweden. On that trip, we had stayed with host families in the local

area, all of whom were members of Ljunghusen, Flommens or Falsterbo Golf Clubs. The Swedes had made excellent hosts, so we were determined to make their visit to England’s ‘Golf Coast’ as good as they had made ours. Having made good friends with the Swedish and other

British golfers already, everyone was looking forward to carrying on where we had left off the previous summer. As soon as our guests had arrived and dropped their luggage at our houses, the Royal Liverpool members and their guests all met up in Chester for what turned out to be an informal catch up for the guys, and a shopping trip for the girls. After a relaxing first day and night, the next day saw us

thrown straight into competition, playing our first of the 6 rounds that would decide the victors of the Pinnington Pot, which had eluded the British last year. A considerably better start to the competition than last

year saw the scores at the end of the first day to be 4-4, after a surprisingly sunny round of golf at a beautifully presented Royal Birkdale. We hoped to be able to gain a lead after the second day’s Greensomes match at Formby Golf Club, but were frustrated yet encouraged to find the scores still deadlocked, each team having 8 points. The third day’s single

on by the host clubs. After the meal at Hoylake, the Junior Captain of Ljunghusen GK made a particularly good speech (in perfect English of course!) before presenting the club with a print of their 9th hole. As well as these formal dinners, there were plenty of opportunities to meet in a relaxed and informal way. One particularly warm evening, the Junior Captain of Birkdale threw a barbeque at his home. Due to the distance between the clubs, the main difficulty that we had to overcome was of a logistical nature. Fortunately, on this night and a few others, the families attached to Formby and Birkdale were kind enough to accommodate everyone who didn’t live in the area. Over the next two rounds of golf, we found ourselves pretty

evenly matched. With only one round of singles left to play at Hoylake, there was still only 2 points separating us – with plenty left to play for! It wouldn’t have been a summer’s day in the middle of August if the weather at Hoylake was sunny and serene – and it did not disappoint. Blowing a gale and driving horizontal rain under our waterproofs, we believed ourselves more than capable of overcoming the conditions and our stubborn adversaries. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and optimism, the Swedish golfers managed to hold on to their slender margin and end the competition retaining the Pinnington Pot by a meagre 3 points out of the possible 48. I hope that we are able to maintain the friendships that

this memorable exchange has formed. This was the last of the weeks’ that were organised through our Golf Clubs that we would all be involved in. Since then a group of the British competitors, including

Matt Sudderick from Hoylake, have returned to Sweden to stay with the friends they had made through this opportunity. I am sure that arrangements such as these will continue, and I certainly hope that the whole group will be able to keep in touch for as long as possible.

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