Sheringham Golf Club ended a 27-year drought in men’s county team tournaments with victory in the Norfolk Seniors Scratch Knockout.

They edged their King’s Lynn counterparts in a thrilling final staged at Sprowston Manor Golf Club.

The 3-2 winning margin gave Sheringham’s men their first team triumph since the 1997 Barnard Trophy.

The hard-fought head-to-head with fellow north Norfolk club King’s Lynn provided a fitting climax to the inaugural staging of a competition that attracted a 17-strong initial entry.

The format of one foursomes followed by four singles has produced some great matches throughout the season. It has also highlighted the quality and depth of seniors golf in Norfolk – and the final offered another glowing example.

The opening foursomes tie was all square at the turn before Sheringham duo Neal Milton and Paul Sennett took control, winning three straight holes from the 14th to close out  their opponents Richard Brown and Steve Goymer.

Sheringham stalwart John Little always had the upper hand in his singles duel with recently-crowned Norfolk Seniors’ champion Mark Butt. Little led 2-up at the turn and, with victory secured, shook hands on the 16th green.

Team-mate Mark Williamson fought out a ding-dong encounter with King’s Lynn’s Mark Jennings that resulted in a share of the spoils. Jennings delivered a gutsy up-and-down from greenside rough at the last to clinch a well-deserved half.

King’s Lynn captain Colin Moody showcased similar short-game prowess, saving par from the sand at the side of the 16th green. That was good enough for him to defeat Jon Batten 3&2 in a game that Moody controlled.

Fittingly, the overall match came to a dramatic conclusion after Sheringham’s Steve Dunsire staged a remarkable comeback against Iain Yule who led 5-up after eight holes.

Dunsire kept chipping away at Yule’s advantage and was only 1-down by the time both men unleashed their tee-shots on the par-5 18th hole.

After Yule found a spot of trouble in the trees, Dunsire piled on the pressure with a soaring 3-wood from the heart of the fairway that came to rest just six feet from the hole. It proved to be the telling blow and Dunsire duly collected a vital half-point to give Sheringham the outright win.

Sheringham captain Gary Brayshaw said: “From a good drive, Steve has then ripped his 3-wood – it was probably a career shot and came at the conclusion of what was undoubtedly the game of the day. When he was 5-down, I had more or less written off the point.

“Overall, it was a fantastic final – a really tight game, but always played in an excellent spirit by both sides.”

Match result: Sheringham 3 King’s Lynn 2

Neal Milton + Paul Sennett won 3&2 against Richard Brown + Steve Goymer

Jon Little won 4&2 against Mark Butt

Mark Williamson halved with Mark Jennings

Jon Batten lost 3&2 against Colin Moody

Steve Dunsire halved with Iain Yule