By Rick Woelfel
Philadelphia Golf Magazine

  The result was not particularly surprising. After all, the lineup representing Tavistock Country Club in this year’s GAP Team Matches was one of the strongest and deepest fielded by any club in the history of the competition.

  But that didn’t make the result any less satisfying to the victors. Tavistock rolled over its three opponents in the Division AA playoff to become the first club to successfully defend the team match championship since Yardley in 1997 and ’98.

  Tavistock scored 109 points in the four-way skirmish. Little Mill Country Club was next with 71 3/4, Commonwealth National Golf Club was third with 58 1/2, and Lu Lu Country Club was fourth with 44.

  Twelve players represented each club, with three competing at each club in threesome matches. Three points were at stake in each match, with additional quarter points awarded for margin of victory.

  Tavistock dominated on its home grounds. Michael Tash, Bill McGuinness and Doug Cusick combined for 38 1/4 points. Tash, the reigning Patterson Cup and Silver Cross champion, scored 16 3/4 points on his own ball, more than any other player at any site.

  Tash feels that putting up big numbers at home has been a significant factor in his club’s winning the past two championships. "We’ve been fortunate enough to get to the finals," he said, "but until last year we didn’t know how important it was to win at home."

  Selecting the appropriate players to play at each of the three away courses is a big factor in the matches as well. Tavistock sent two-time New Jersey Mid-Amateur champion Tom Gramigna to Lu Lu because he enjoys the course and had played well there in the past. Jamie Slonis wound up at Commonwealth National and won 9 1/4 points.

  "We tried to match up guys that were comfortable in certain places," Tash said.

  Slonis also served as a mentor of sorts to teammate Ryan Jordan, who was competing at Commonwealth National for the first time. The layout can be an intimidating place for a newcomer (or a veteran, for that matter), but armed with notes and suggestions from Slonis, Jordan won 15 3/4 points, more than any other participant, except Tash.

  The members at Tavistock take the team matches very seriously, even those who aren’t involved in the competition. On the Saturday afternoon of the playoff, more than 20 members were out on their course watching the matches.

  The club’s success in the team matches is of relatively recent vintage. Bill McGuinness, who has played in them for 24 years, recalls when Tavistock had trouble filling out a lineup. One day in 1985 was the low point.

  "We had to forfeit two spots in a match," he said, "on our first team.

  "We tried hard. We just didn’t have enough talent back then."

  Today things are radically different. A solid corps of low-handicappers has joined the club in recent years, several of whom have had success individually at the local and regional levels.

  Currently, Tash holds the Patterson Cup and Silver Cross and Gramigna is the reigning and three-time New Jersey Mid-Amateur champion (after beating Slonis in the final).

  But as successful as they’ve been through their careers, men like Tash and Gramigna have their hands full trying to win their own club championship.

  "Tavistock is an exciting place to be right now," McGuinness said.

  Yet as competitive as Tavistock’s players are against one another, the team matches are something the entire club rallies around.

  "I’ve played in better-ball matches," Tash said, "but when you’re talking about 12 guys coming together … [winning the team match title] is as big a deal at our club as winning the club championship."

  Tavistock became the 14^th club to have won the GAP Team Matches championship more than once. The matches have been played 105 times since 1897. Huntingdon Valley has the most victories with 31.