Captain’s Corner
Just before the Rugby World Cup final, Peter Short asked me for a contribution to the Captain’s Corner. I said that I would watch the match and hope for some inspiration. In the event, England lost and so I felt that there was no inspiration available.
However, I was wrong. England were beaten by a South African team that had a better game plan and individuals that played their part better than England’s players did. There was no shame in England losing as, on their way to the final, they had soundly beaten very good teams from Australia and New Zealand.
Then I thought how this might apply to golf and, more specifically, our matches. We will win some and lose some. There will be no shame in losing and we will have done our best.
There are many things we cannot control.
These include the golf course on which we play and how our rivals perform on the day. So we will enjoy the course as well as our opponent’s company and accept whatever result is achieved.
Added to this, as individuals, we do not know how we will execute against our handicaps on any particular day, so if we lose then it may be our own fault as much as the good play of our opponents. If we win, however, it will only be because we were better than them!
For me, the most important point is that ’golf is fun’ and that is how I play the game.
In 2020, we will play the normal 12 county matches, re-introducing the fixture against Hertfordshire that was lost a few years ago, together with our match with the Lady Captains, plus the Past Captains and the Mixed Invitation. We are hosting the Four Counties South match at Hazlemere whilst the Four Counties North match is at Thetford in Norfolk. Added to this the Spring Meeting will be at Aspley Guise, where our very own Phil Price is Captain this year and the Autumn Meeting will be at Sandy Lodge.
I am very proud to be the first Bucks Captain from Oakland Park and I look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible there for my Captain’s Day on 14th July. My tour will be at Dale Hill, not far from Tunbridge Wells, where the two courses (particularly the one designed by Ian Woosnam) are both enjoyable and challenging. The hotel is highly regarded and has excellent leisure facilities. The tour dates are from 14th to 17th June.
I am really looking forward to the coming year. We have a strong committee, with new boy Stuart Rivett taking over from me as Match Secretary and our excellent past Captain, Peter Short, continuing as Hon. Secretary plus Doug Ebdon as our dependable Treasurer and Tony Jeffries selling all the clothing our members want.
I hope you agree with my philosophy of golf and I look forward to playing with as many of you as possible during the year. Those with whom I don’t play will hopefully join me at the various 19th holes along the way where we can share our experiences with a glass or two.
David
.