Message from the County
Welcome to the Autumn edition of County
Jottings. Our golfing season is complete and we have had a reasonable year in
the Leagues, the 1st Team could only manage 2nd place
after a disappointing loss to Hertfordshire at Stoke Park. The Seniors however,
not only won the League, but went on to win the Daily Telegraph Trophy at
Dunstable Downs beating Hampshire 7-3. The Seniors also won through to the
Finals of the Southern Counties Foursomes but lost to Hertfordshire in the
Semis. All our teams did well in the EGU County Qualifying events but never
threatened the winners and we have a lot of work to do to ensure we perform to
our potential. A revised coaching and training programme has been set up to
develop our course management, mental and technical skills. Our ‘Club &
Coach’ and BB&O Golf Partnership programmes continue to flourish and we
have increased our financial input considerably to ensure the success of our
new Development Plan for 2010-2013. Our special thanks to all those volunteers
who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make this a success.
Congratulations to all the winners of our
Championship and Trophy Events, also to those who represented the County at
Junior, Senior and County levels. David Lane (Goring & Streatley) again won
the Scottish Seniors and added the Italian title to his list of achievements. Eddie
Pepperell (Drayton Park) is in the England Elite Squad and played in the GB&I
winning team against Europe as did Max Smith (Newbury Racecourse) who also represented
England at Under 18 level. Max won the Peter McEvoy Trophy and has now been
promoted to the England A Squad along with Craig Hinton (The Oxfordshire).
Sandy Bolton (Goring & Streatley) represented Scotland in the Boys
Internationals and capped his season with a worthy win in our Amateur
Championship. Eddie Pepperell also reached the final of the (British) Boys
Amateur Championship only to come up against an inspired Tom Lewis at Royal St
George’s. Tyrrell Hatton (Harleyford) led England to victory in the Canadian
Junior International Challenge in Ontario and took the individual title by 7
shots in his last event as a Junior.
Finally a special thanks to all
the Clubs and Members who willingly gave up their courses for our events this
year. We are appreciative of your support of County Golf.
BB & O County Matches
Our final match of the season
saw us take on Hertfordshire at Stoke Park on 23rd August. A half or
a win would mean we were League Champions and after a great start in the
morning we were leading 3-1. Just 3 points from the 8 singles would see us home,
but quite frankly, we never looked like achieving that. The Hertfordshire team
were determined to turn the tables on us and win the League themselves and
after 9 holes in the afternoon we were well behind, never to recover.
Eventually we lost the singles 1½-6½ and the match 4½-7½
Team at Stoke Park: Steve
Barwick (Stoke Park), Sandy Bolton (Goring & Streatley), James Brockington
(Henley), Kevin Freeman (Stoke Park), Tom Lawson (Ellesborough), Max Smith
(Newbury Racecourse), Nick Woodage (Donnington Grove), Adam Wootton (Oxford
City).
The Team at Stoke Park
BB
& O Juniors Matches
Under 14s
At Verulam on 17th
August we fought back well to defeat Bedfordshire 8½-6½ after a very poor
morning but could not make up the ground against Hertfordshire and lost that
match 10-5.
Team at Verulam:
Sam
Brass (Castle Royle), Tom Butterworth (Harewood Downs), Alex Bruce (Sand
Martins), Alistair Cameron (Beaconsfield), Matteo di Carlofelice (Mentmore),
Harvey Coyle (Reading), Daniel Hucker (Beaconsfield), David Walton (Castle
Royle), Alex Wills (Harewood Downs), Henry Wilson (Woburn).
Under 16s
At Aylesbury Vale on
18th August we played our final matches in the Under 16s League. In
a tight match against Bedfordshire we just had the upper hand in both the
morning and afternoon games. A single point difference each time gave us the
match 7-5. Against Middlesex we shared the honours in the morning, but they
outplayed us in the singles winning those 6-2 and taking the match 8-4.
Team at Aylesbury
Vale: George Abbott (The Oxfordshire), James Butterworth (Harewood Downs), Will
Cooper (Woburn), James Foster (Newbury & Crookham), Jordan Mann (Sand Martins), George Munsey (Frilford Heath),
Dean Newbold (Frilford Heath), Joe Richardson (Frilford Heath), Josh Stanners
(Hazlemere), Sam Williams (Castle Royle).
Surrey beat us 9-6
in this annual match kindly sponsored by the MUGS. The boys all enjoyed the day
at West Hill and were given a gift by the MUGS to commemorate the day.
Team at West Hill: George Abbott
(Chiltern Forest), Ben Beach
(Burnham Beeches), James Butterworth (Harewood Downs), Jake Canning (Stoke Park), Matteo di Carlofelice
(Mentmore), Will Cooper (Woburn), James Foster (Newbury & Crookham), Jordan
Garnish (The Oxfordshire), Joe Richardson (Frilford Heath), Josh Stanners
(Hazlemere).
The Team at
West Hill
Under 18’s
After
not playing a number of matches due to the opposition cancelling, it was good
to finish on a winning note when we played Wellington College on 10th
October at East Berkshire. Having been beaten in the away fixture in February
we turned the tables on the College winning 5-3. The College fielded 2
outstanding Girl students and no doubt, the 2 boys who lost to them, got some
ribbing!
Team
at East Berkshire: George Abbott (The Oxfordshire), Adam Batty (Hazlemere),
James Butterworth (Harewood Downs), Will Cooper (Woburn), Jordan Garnish (The
Oxfordshire), Josh Stanners (Hazlemere), Alex Stubbs (The Oxfordshire), Scott
Webster (Henley).
BB
& O Seniors Matches
Our 3rd match of
the season and we were off to The Berkshire again on 17th August.
Not a happy hunting ground for us, but a severe threat from the County
Secretary, informing the team of his skills with Photoshop had the desired
effect. Bedfordshire were not in with a chance after this pep talk and despite
a wobble in the middle (typical of all Seniors) we took the match 6½-3½.
Team
at The Berkshire: Derek Bell (Newbury & Crookham), Bob Clarke (Mentmore),
The Team at The Berkshire
You should see the doctored
version!
Southern Counties Seniors Foursomes
On 21st August it
was our turn to host this event this year and we went
to Goring & Streatley to test the stamina of some of the finest Senior
athletes in the South East. After a tense semi final against Surrey we
prevailed (after the most peculiar tie break system ever devised) and went on
to play Hampshire in the Final. Our outstanding fitness enabled us to keep
ahead in all our games and we came home 4-1 winners.
Team at Goring &
Streatley: Derek Bell (Newbury & Crookham), Rod Crisp (Ellesborough),
Getting them to stand facing the sun for the photo was
a good wheeze!
The Team at Goring & Streatley
In our last match of the
season, at Ellesborough on 1st September, we needed just 3 game
points to win the League. Wanting to keep our unbeaten record was the order of
the day and despite losing 2 games we had banked on, the rest of the team
performed well, and some convincing wins took us home 6-4 and top the South
East North of the Thames League. We now go on to play Hampshire, winners of the
South, in the final.
Team at Ellesborough: Bob
Clarke (Mentmore), Rod Crisp (Ellesborough), Adrian Donkersley (Gerrards Cross),
Robert Gill (Gerrards Cross), Neil Franklin (Beaconsfield), Graham Hart
(Frilford Heath), Cliff Pearce (Flackwell Heath), Gilbert Runnicles (Gerrards
Cross), John Summers (Frilford Heath), Jim Wilson (Frilford Heath).
The Team at Ellesborough
BB & O
Championship & Trophy Meetings
Champion Club & Courage
Trophy
Due to torrential rain at
Oxford City on 17th July, this event was rescheduled for 15th
August and kindly hosted by Denham. Due to the difficulty of arranging another
36 hole competition with 24 teams of three, it was decided to make the
qualifying event an 18 hole medal with two players and both scores counting.
This did favour the stronger Clubs and it was no surprise when the Stoke Park
team of Kevin Freeman and Steve Barwick came home in level par 140 scoring 72
and 68 respectively.
The Flackwell Heath pair of Ian
Jackson and Paul Lewington did very well scoring 145 to finish 2nd
and Tadmarton Heath’s Spencer Hallam and Liam Robinson finish 3rd.
The Stoke Park Team
Autumn
Trophy
The BB & O Autumn
Trophy was played at Henley Golf Club on Friday 18th September 2009.
We had a good entry of 60 for the final Order of Merit event, once again,
consisting mainly of players of 5 handicap and below. Ashley Walton (Frilford
Heath) had already secured the OOM title as his nearest rivals were well off
the pace. Sandy Bolton was also assured of 2nd place after his win
in the Amateur Championship at Burnham Beeches.
The morning scoring was
very good, on a gorgeous day, with Christy Whelehan (West Berkshire) leading
after a fine round of 68 – 2 under par. Next best was Sam Whitehead (Woburn) on
level par with 4 others on 71 and three more players on 72 including local
favourite James Brockington. There were altogether 25 players on 75 and below
in what one was one of the best morning’s golf at a Championship for quite some
time – well – since last year actually!
The afternoon scoring was
not as good despite the fine weather and a number of the early leaders could
not repeat their morning’s efforts. Defending Champion Nick Hills (Donnington
Grove) set the early pace after adding a lever par 70 to his morning 72 but was
quickly overtaken by James Brockington who had produced a 3 under par 67 to
finish on 139 a total of 1 under par. Out on the course Jon Carter (Reading)
was playing inspired golf and had reached the turn in just 30 shots and was
also 1 under for the day. Unfortunately, he was not able to keep up that
standard and despite a fighting finish he would fall short of Brockington’s
target who was a worthy winner of a highly competitive Championship.
With Carter and Hills taking the 2nd
& 3rd prizes in the Scratch event, the leading Handicap prize went to Asa
Phillips after an excellent afternoon net 68 was added to his morning 70. with
David Swift (Maidenhead Artisans) in 2nd place.
|
Scratch |
|
|
AM |
PM |
Total |
|
|
1st & Trophy Winner |
James Brockington |
(Henley) |
72 |
67 |
= 139 |
|
|
2nd |
Jon Carter |
(Reading) |
74 |
68 |
= 142 |
(on countback) |
|
3rd |
Nick Hills |
(Donnington Grove) |
72 |
70 |
= 142 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Handicap |
|
|
AM |
PM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st |
Asa Phillips |
(Goring & Streatley) |
70 |
68 |
= 138 |
|
|
2nd |
David Swift |
(Maidenhead Artisans) |
67 |
72 |
= 139 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best Scratch |
|
|
AM |
PM |
|
|
|
|
Christy Whelehan |
(West Berkshire) |
68 |
|
|
|
|
|
Richard Clarke |
(Beaconsfield) |
|
69 |
|
|
James Brockington (Henley)
14 Years & Under Championship
The BB & O Boys 14 years and Under Championship
was played at Maidenhead Golf Club on Monday 26th October. There was
a good entry of 30 boys with handicaps of 20 or less for this Championship
which has been changed to an 18 hole competition. This enables us to start
later in the morning and avoid the possibility of a frost delay or bad light. Once
again we had a dry day, mild and quite sunny. Most of the Boys found scoring
difficult with the course playing quite long and there were plenty of nerves
around as a lot of the lads had not played in a County event before. The early
leaders were Jake Dines (Hinksey Heights) and just behind him was Alistair
Cameron (Beaconsfield). Out on the course, pre tournament favourite, Will
Cooper (Woburn), was making up ground after a poor start. He had recovered his
game and was grinding out a score with a series of pars. With a few holes to
play it was clear it was only his to lose and he rose to the occasion with a
very solid run home. His score of 71 just one over par, was the lowest score
recorded in the 12 years of the Championship.
In the handicap prize section Adam Dewji (Woburn)
looked assured of victory after an excellent net 64 but he was outshone at the
very last moment when Max Nicholls (Newbury & Crookham) produced an amazing
78 net 62 to take the prize and also finish 4th in the Championship
proper.
|
Scratch |
|
|
AM |
|
|
14 Years
& Under Champion |
Will Cooper |
(Woburn) |
71 |
|
|
2nd |
Jake Dines |
(Hinksey
Heights) |
76 |
|
|
3rd |
Alistair
Cameron |
(Beaconsfield) |
77 |
|
|
Handicap |
|
|
AM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st |
Max Nicholls |
(Newbury
& Crookham) |
62 |
|
|
2nd |
Adam Dewji |
(Woburn) |
64 |
|
|
3rd |
Patrick Bart |
(Burnham Beeches) |
68 |
|
Will Cooper (Woburn) receives the Salver from Iain
MacCaskill (President).
Hillman Trophy Plate
The 15th Final of the Hillman Trophy Plate
between West Berkshire and Buckinghamshire took place at Sonning on Saturday 31st
October. Play is over 18 holes singles matchplay for a seven man team, with
each team having three players in handicap range 6 to 9 and four with a
handicap of 10 and over up to a maximum of 20. Both teams were in the Final for
the 1st time. West Berkshire prevailed 4-3
after getting off to a great start by winning the first 3 games. Despite a good
fight back from the Buckinghamshire tail it was too little too late and the
West Berkshire Captain, Charles Dixon, had the honour of winning his game to
take the Trophy for the first time. Everyone was very grateful for the warm
hospitality given to us by the host club and for the fine condition of the
course.
West Berkshire: Tony Coventry, Steve Cox,
Charles Dixon (Captain), John Farrelly, Roger Gaskell, Jason Kendal, Andy Mackenzie,
Buckinghamshire: Stu Bean, John Catherall,
Pat Carroll, Barry Lavers (Captain), John Lutterell, John Spendley, Trevor
Webb.
Hillman Trophy
The 18th Final of the Hillman
Trophy took place at Frilford Heath over the Green Course on Saturday 10th
October. Play is over 18 holes singles
matchplay for a seven man team, with each team having three players in handicap
range 6 to 9 and four with a handicap of 10 and over up to a maximum of 20. Calcot
Park had previously won this Trophy in 2002 but it was new experience for
Studley Wood. Things got off to an amazing start as the 1st player
for Studley Wood had thought the start time was an hour later than published.
With seconds to go before he was disqualified he ran on to the tee and boomed a
drive straight down the middle. So much for warming up and preparation! Crucially
this would prove to be the defining game in the match. Disqualification and the
last 2 games would have been played out – probably ending in a tie. As it was
Studley Wood won the first game and the Calcot Park team struggled to hold on.
The vital point for Studley Wood came on the 17th green in game 5 and they
secured their first win in the Championship. A wonderful final played in the
best of spirit and congratulations to all the players for their performance
over the season. Everyone was very grateful for the warm hospitality given to
us by the host club and for the fine condition of the course.
Studley Wood: Barry Darby, Pat Clavent,
David Dust (Captain), Mark Darnell, Alban Dynoe, Tim Jones, Andy Sutton.
Calcot Park: Ron Grinham, Mark Guest, Mark
Osborne, Kevin Payne, Ian Pellow, Simon Powell, Mark Syrad Captain), Charlie Trayhorn.
Order
of Merit
Ashley Walton
(Frilford Heath)
Junior
Order of Merit
Joe Richardson (Frilford
Heath) jus pipped Jordan Mann (Sand Martins) to win the Junior Order of Merit
Trophy. He had a very steady year culminating in his win at the Beaconsfield
Junior Open.
Joe Richardson (Frilford
Heath) being congratulated by Club Captain – Jock Skinner
English Golf Union – South Eastern Group Events
Junior
Foursomes
Played at
Thetford on Wednesday 26th & Thursday 27th August. Our
Team of 7 players were: Sandy Bolton (Goring & Streatley), James
Brockington (Henley), Jake Canning (Stoke Park), Dean Newbold (Frilford Heath),
Josh Stanners (Hazlemere), Ashley Watkins (Burnham Beeches), Luke Williams
(Frilford Heath).
The format is to play 2
foursomes games both morning and afternoon. Counties are allowed to play any 6
of the 7 players throughout the Championship. With 11 Counties in the English
Golf Union South Eastern Group 2 must drop out each year to allow the event to
be completed in two days. After last year’s great win we were in a positive
mood and felt we had a good chance of challenging for the title again. We had a
strong side with Josh Stanners having just won the Faldo Series at Brockett
Hall, Sandy Bolton had been picked for Scotland in the Boys Home Internationals
and had just won the BB&O Amateur Championship. Luke Williams was the
current BB&O Junior Champion and James Brockington had made an impressive
start in his County 1st Team debut. We got off to an average start
on the first morning with a win against Norfolk but suffered a loss to Sussex.
At this point we were not too worried as we felt there were better things to
come. The afternoon was very poor. We were always going to struggle against the
strong Surrey side and went down 2-1, but we expected to beat Bedfordshire and
ended up losing ½-2½ We now had no hope of retaining our title but were
optimistic of a mid table finish. Thursday morning was more of the same and we
were comprehensively beaten by Kent and just managed a half with Suffolk. We
were now lying in the relegation zone and as we were playing Hampshire and
Hertfordshire, both of whom were vying for the Title, our chances looked slim.
We managed just ½ point from the first 2 games and with the final pair in
trouble off the tee it was odds on we would be relegated. A recovery from the
trees left James Brockington some 50 yards short of the 18th green
and to everyone’s amazement holed his wedge shot to sneak a win against the
Hertfordshire boys and the all important point needed to avoid the drop. We
edged Bedfordshire out on ‘goal difference’ and were extremely lucky to get
away with it.
|
Player |
Club |
Played |
Won |
Half |
Lost |
Game Points |
|
|
James Brockington |
(Henley) |
8 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Ashley Watkins |
(Burnham Beeches) |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
Josh Stanners |
(Hazlemere) |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
Luke Williams |
(Frilford Heath) |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2½ |
|
|
Jake Canning |
(Stoke Park) |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
Sandy Bolton |
(Goring &
Streatley) |
8 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
1½ |
|
|
Dean Newbold |
(Frilford Heath) |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
Final Placing |
Played |
Won |
Half |
Lost |
Match Points |
Game Points |
|
County |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Surrey |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
15 |
17 |
|
Sussex |
8 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
17½ |
|
Hampshire, IOW
& Channel Isles |
8 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
15½ |
|
Hertfordshire |
8 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
12½ |
|
Kent |
8 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
13½ |
|
Suffolk |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
10½ |
|
Berks, Bucks &
Oxon |
8 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
8½ |
|
Bedfordshire |
8 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
5½ |
|
Norfolk |
8 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
7½ |
The Team at Thetford
Seniors League Final
The League final was played a
Dunstable Downs on 15th October against Hampshire. We got off to a
terrific start and won the first 5 games with Gilbert Runnicles, David Lane and
John Summers all making birdie 2s to win their games 1 up. These very close
games all went our way and if they had been 3 halves then things could have
been a lot different. Rod Crisp had the honour of getting the match winning
point and with the Trophy assured the last two games settled for a half and we
took the match 7-3.
Team at Dunstable Downs: Bob Clarke
(Mentmore), Rod Crisp (Ellesborough), Adrian Donkersley (Gerrards Cross),
The Team at Dunstable Downs
Southern Counties Seniors
Foursomes Final
The unbeaten team then went to Orchardleigh in
Somerset to contest the Finals of the Southern Counties Foursomes on 20th
October. The other group finalists were Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire and
Suffolk and given the luck of the draw, we met Hertfordshire in the first semi
final in the morning. Traditionally our closest rivals in the North of the
Thames League, Hertfordshire seemed to cope with the dank and gloomy conditions
on a long golf course better than us. We always felt that this match would
determine the winners of the Final and so it proved as we struggled to find any
form in the last 3 games. Realistically we never looked like wining despite
taking 1½ points from the first games and in the end lost 1½-3½. On a rainy afternoon
we beat Suffolk for 3rd place and Hertfordshire were worthy winners
after beating Gloucestershire 3-2.
BB
& O County Union Half Year Council Meeting
A turnout of over 50 attended the Half
Year Council Meeting on 13th March. Iain MacCaskill highlighted the
achievements of the year and the County Secretary/Treasurer outlined the
changes to the handicap system with the introduction of the Central Handicap
Database.
After the meeting the delegates enjoyed
the hospitality of Frilford Heath and played the Green Course on a beautiful
Autumn day with Jamie Herbert and Mick Osborn from Bicester winning first prize
in the Greensomes event.
Jamie Herbert & Mick
Osborn
And
Finally
We lost another good friend
in BB&O this year when Rex Hepburn (Newbury & Crookham) died on 21st
September. Rex was a Life Vice President of the County Union and will be best
remembered for his outstanding work with our Juniors. His teaching background enabled
him to command a great deal of respect, and I suspect a little fear, as he
coaxed the best out of his lads. Rex was also instrumental in starting the
Douglas Johns Trophy, a tournament that has gone from strength to strength and
is producing a whole crop of outstanding winners who will, no doubt, go on to
even greater achievements in the Professional game.
Rex Hepburn