Captain’s Corner  

I am writing this having just returned from Temple Golf Club who have hosted our inaugural Mixed Invitation. A great success, a well presented course (apart from the recent hollow tining) and an excellent meal after the golf. The event was won by Peter and Fran Hill with 42points (stableford better ball). I am assured by their playing partners that it was Fran who got the majority of the points so regrettably we won’t be able to get Peter cut on general play.

Another first later in the year will be a past captains (of our association) event, to be held at Studley Wood. A number of past captains are unavailable (it seems October is a popular month for the retired to go holiday) but the lack of numbers is made up for in the quality of those participating.

What an enjoyable year I have had to date. In addition to the inter county matches and internal competitions I have been to a number of dinners and captains days of the counties we compete against. You see the same faces on a regular basis and over the past two years I have built relationships with a number of people. It is always good to chew the cud and learn and share the problems that other golf clubs and associations face in these uncertain times. It is not all doom and gloom but we do suffer more than most as we are a relatively small group compared to others and do not get courtesy of the courses we use, as in the main the other counties do.

In July I had my captain’s day at my home club, Burnham Beeches. Though I say it myself it was a great day. The weather was kind to us. The sun shone though at times it was quite windy. It was a good job I used extra strong rope and long pegs to tie down the gazebo. I was ably assisted on the day by my wife Laura, her sister Jayne and my future daughter in law Natalie. For those of you that sampled the cakes it will come as no great surprise that they are   entering The Great British Bake Of 2018. The day was won by Colin Elwell with 40 points.

The golfing highlight and achievement for us this year was our victory in the Four Counties South with a magnificent 203 points. A victory, based on our previous performances, I was not expecting. I was unprepared with a winner’s speech but I bluffed and muddled my way through. The event was hosted by Berkshire at the East Berkshire Golf Club in Crowthorne. Six pairs playing better ball make up the team with the best five counting. I believe from memory that the score we dropped was 37, a score that in the past would have been our highest. Regrettably we didn’t fare so well at the Four Counties North. We finished fourth, 31 points behind the winners from Hertfordshire.

The season started with our spring meeting at Berkhamstead Golf Club. A wee gem in a rural part of Hertfordshire. Renowned for the fact it has no sand traps but its narrow fairways, gorse, heather and grassy hollows make it as severe a test as we would want to face. The day was won by Austin Cashin with 41 points.

To date we have played 9 matches and have won 3. I won’t go into the details of every match and the performances of individuals but I have to say I didn’t help in any way in getting us off to a flying start. In April we played Bedfordshire at Flackwell Heath. Our matches against Beds are unusual in that the winner is decided by the number of holes up over the eight matches. I have played Flackwell Heath twenty odd times over the years and I was playing with the current captain. We played against two guys who had never played the course before and we lost seven down. The overall result was a win for Beds by seven holes. Sorry! So much for home advantage. My form picked up after that and thanks in part to my playing partners I have won every game since.

Sandwiched between the matches we played with the Past Ladies Captains of Buckinghamshire. The event was hosted by Oakland Park and won by John Pettit and Gail Sharp with a magnificent 46 points

There are always highs and lows in the golfing calendar and one of my highs was my tour to South Wales. Who said that it is always rains in Wales. We had four days of sunshine with temperatures in the 30’s. Too hot for some but better that than high winds with driving rain. We stayed at The Vale Resort and played their championship course and in addition Cardiff, Radyr and Whitchurch. All four courses have held various Welsh and British championships over the years and in spite of their difficulty we all played reasonable golf but none so well as Gerry Cotter who was the winner of the Miners Lamp. I am looking forward to Gerry’s tour next year when I will be able sit back and not worry about the administration and organisation.

The season is coming to a close now. Only two matches and our Autumn/AGM meeting at Harewood Downs. I hope we are victorious in the last two matches to improve our win/loss ratio and get a good turnout at Harewood Downs.

I would like to say a big thank you on your behalf to those who have worked so hard for us all behind the scenes.  Our secretary Peter Short, Treasurer Doug Ebdon, match manager David Liston and clothing manager John Mannering. In addition, the match managers who have dealt with matches on a one off basis. Also to those of you that have stepped up at the last minute as late reserves. 

In closing I would like to thank those of you that participated in the spring meeting and my captain’s day and were so generous with your donations to my charity, the Paediatric A&E unit at Wexham Park Hospital. I won’t bore you again with my association with the unit but they have benefited to the tune of £834. The unit is also the chosen charity of my captain at BBGC David Barker who with the Ladies captain have raised over £8000 through the year. This money will allow the unit to buy a few luxuries for the unit that fall outside their allocated budget from the NHS. I had planned to ask again at the AGM for you to dip your hands in your pockets but I think you have been generous enough. THANK YOU once again.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving you this year and I am not looking forward to the seasons end but end it must. It will be an honour to hand over the reins to Gerry Cotter. If Gerry has half as much fun and enjoyment as I have had this year he will be a lucky man.

Rob