At last week's Sunday morning knockabout, our club captain asked one of the higher mid h'cappers if he could play the league event today. He couldn't. He asked the person next to him. He couldn't.

Finally he asked me. I bit his hand off. I'm not proud. I'm delighted to have played for the team in my first season. Ok, it''s a small club, and it's not easy for us to find 10 x 18HC or better and 2 reserves, but even so - I was chuffed...

...though scared. I haven't played Fourball Better Ball before, and I wasn't quite sure about it. I didn't know if I was playing as one of the reserves or in the main team.

Today rolled around, and I was delighted to note that of the higher HC monkey-muppet players, I had made the main team, and two others (two 20 HC's compared to my 22) were the reserves. I hadn't played with my partner before, though he's a nice guy, though he never says anything. He really reminds me of a tramp - kind of a shuffly, mumbly character.

We were the third match on. The match was away at a course I hadn't played before - gulp. It wasn't long, at 5860, but it was a lot longer than I'm used to.

First tee; gulp. I don't think I'll ever get rid of first tee nerves. I don't even know if I want to, but I noted the OOB all down the right, and figured that my course management was going to be spot on today.

I took the 3H as the first club I KNEW I'd get in play. Me to tee off first - pulled slightly, but over the ditch, in play and all good. My partner has a slight Stress Related Brain Fart, and in the end picks up, but I get up and down for a par 4, halving the hole. Good start.

Even better, on the next 350 yard par 4, my opponents concede with my partner and I having played three, and them nowhere near.

I drain a nasty 5 footer for a par and a half on the third, and now, looking back on it, I think I scored pretty well, but you know how it is in matchplay? It doesn't matter - it wouldn't matter if I went round in 105, what matters is what happens hole by hole...

By the time I tee off on the long par 3 4th hole, my partner has settled into the rhythm of me teeing off first so he can see what he has to do. That's cool, I don't mind. We still haven't lost the honour, but I put it in the greenside bunker. My partner is good though, and he holes out for a bogey half. Still 1 up.

The 5th is an enormous 456 yard par 4, on which 3 of us get a shot. Again, with OOB all down the right, I take the 3H and find the fiarway, albeit a little short. My lay up of the first ditch is right, but I catch a beauty of a 3H which goes well through the back. A chip and two putt is a nett 5, and is enough to halve.

The 6th goes pear-shaped. My drive is short and my partner is in the ditch. Hmm - guess it's up to me then... My 2nd is well short, and the chip and two putt isn't enough - I concede our opponent's one foot par, and we're back to all square.

Lost the honour as well! Gah!

The 7th is ok - I top my long 2nd shot, leaving me too much, but my partner sinks a tricky putt for par and a half.

The short 8th leaves both me and my partner with tap-ins for bogey, and our opponents concede the halved hole.

Still all square and I want our honour back!

It's on the long par 5 where I'm nowhere, but again, my partner hits an innocuous looking chip that runs and runs, and gives him a par to win the hole. 1 up

It's a nine hole course, so we saddle up, and prepare again...

My 10th tee shot is a belter - again, I'm taking no chances, keeping it in play with the 3H. On most drives, I'm giving 30 yards away to all my opponents, but I'm still winning holes, and it simply doesn't matter.

My pitch is on the green, and the first putt stays 3 feet resolutely right. Everyone else is out for bogey, and I have this to win the hole. I hit it slightly hard but stuff it down the back of the hole 2 up.

My partner halves the 12th, to which I contribute little...

I don't play badly on the next, but find the greenside bunker on my approach. I'm out but some distance away, played three, and my opponent is 3 feet away for a par, which they concede for a win for us.

At this stage, my head starts to get ahead of me, if you see what I mean. 3 up, 6 to play. I try to clamp down on that. I wonder about getting slightly psyched with my partner, "Come on! We've got this. Just gotta keep it together..." but that's not his style. I just need to hold on to the positivity, but take it a shot at a time...

I pull my 4H left on the 175 yard par 3 4th, but it stays in play - just... The chip is on, about 9 feet short, leaving me with a foul looking downhiller. My partner is on the fringe, but flubs his first shot, leaving him 12 feet away.

Our opponent's chip is beautiful - a work of art, and rolls - perfectly judged - to one foot. After such a wonderful shot, it would be churlish to not concede it.

That gives us a 9 footer and a 12 footer, one of which needing to go down to halve. My partner's doesn't; it slides just by.

Gulp.

I try not to think about that, about anything other than visualising the path of the putt and hearing the sound of it dropping.

I stroke it... watch... wait... rattle. Gorgeous. Horrible to have to make it to halve, but it's there - 3 up, 5 to play.

On to the crazy long par 4 again...

My drive this time is well away, sliding right, but there's plenty of room out there. Not, perhaps, enough to accomodate the slice that my partner puts out there, and he's really annoyed. I tell him not to worry; if he can't have a smack at it when we're three up and five to play with mine on the fairway, when can he?

Again, I lay up my 2nd, but this time I end up with a huge tree in the way. I realise it's a bit careless. One opponent puts his into the hedge by the green for two. My partner continues to hack his way in a non-green direction. Hmm.

I shove a gentle 2H into the tree. It rattle around a bit but pops out probably 65 yards from the green. I put the SW long again, and in the meantime, the other opponent has ended up by the front bunker, played 3. He chips, but it isn't the best, leaving him a nasty 5 footer for a 5.

We search for the ball in the hedge. By now my partner has picked up. In the end, he finds it, but moves it, and declares it.

We're all a little unsure what to do; I grab the rulebook out of my bag, and can find what to do if an opponent moves it in a search, but not if it's the player's own ball... In the end, we decide it's loss of hole for him, but not for his partner (NB-I still can't find a rules reference for this. Can anyone help?)

So - down to me. I have a horrible lie, sloping down towards the bunker on bare earth, playing over the bunker. Yuk. I concentrate on trying to hit into the back of the ball, and it's good; at least inside my opponent. I now him to miss, and need to sink mine.

He does and so do I. Another gulp. Another half.

3 up, 4 to play...

One opponent all but drives the green on the 280 yards 4th. My drive is fine but the 2nd is a long way through. I chip back, but leave it short, but luckily my partner is tidying up after me, and manages to halve it with his par.

Dormie 3.

I get under the shot on the 16th, but it's fine, on the fairway. I'm sure I didn't top the 2nd, just closed the face of the 2H til it was nearly vertical. It never got more than 2 feet off the ground, but stayed on the fairway, just 100 yards short.

My partner is in the ditch, and isn't going to contribute, and one oppo plays OOB twice. It's between me and their lower HC.

His 2nd shot slices wildly right, but his third is at the bank below the green. My 100 yard picth is woeful, sliding way right, and my pitch on bounces once on, and then over the back. He chips on with his fourth, maybe 8 feet away. This isn't looking good.

I chip on, and it's a little short - 6 foot? Played 5. He putts - and misses. I concede the putt.

I want to halve the hole, not thinking that doing so would be a win, just thinking about getting it down. There's a fair bit of break here - I aim a hole to the left - and let it go.

It never looks like missing.

On then - as it rattles - do I realise. 3 and 2 to us - COME ON!!! I'm delighted! My first league match, and we win.

The rest of the team have mixed fortunes, and we come away with two wins, two losses and a draw.

I played very successfully off the required 18 HC, and won or halved 8 holes. My partner won or halved 5, and we both won or halved 2.

Great times. I have no idea what I scored and it didn't matter. I did what I had to do, and it felt good One of the other players noted that that gives me a 100% success rate for 2007 but more importantly, the captain told me he was keen to play me more next year.

To be honest, I'm still kind of buzzing about it 3 hours later! Good times...