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GRAFTON MORRISH UPDATE

News!! Whitgift WIN the Grafton Morrish.

l to r; Max Stanley, Rocky Chapman, Jack Raison, Toby Kemp, Nick Baxter-Brand, Laurie Evans

  Whitgift beat Birkenhead 2-1 in the final this afternoon. Stanley/Chapman won the second match and Baxter-Brand/Kemp were beaten in the third, leaving the first match out as the decider, featuring Laurie Evans and Jack Raison as the Whitgift pair. Laurie has provided the following detail of the conclusion to their match.

They were level coming down the 17th but lost that hole to a 10-foot putt. So, one down on the 18th tee, which is pushed right back for the occasion. Whitgift hit their tee shot wide. In Laurie’s own words, “we had to chip out on to the fairway from the caravans” but then they hit an approach to 25 feet. Birkenhead’s approach (their second shot) finishes short, and crucially their third, a putt, doesn’t make it up the slope and rolls back to where it started. Their fourth finishes six feet away, but they miss the putt and take six. Whitgift two-putt for a five. Level.

The first playoff hole saw Whitgift hit the green in regulation, whilst Birkenhead missed it. They chip from off the green to six feet. Whitgift have a 15ft putt for the birdie and the win but miss, Birkenhead miss their six-footer ….. then Whitgift miss from three feet! Halved in five. Can you feel the nerves?

The second playoff hole was the 18th. Again. This time around, Whitgift’s tee shot finds the right hand rough, but a brilliant wedge from there finds the green. Birkenhead’s approach was underhit, and they have to chip on to the green in three. Whitgift’s putt from 20 feet finishes ‘dead’ for the par, and Birkenhead miss from 12 feet. Victory!

Evans/Raison ended the tournament with five wins from five; Max Stanley also had five wins but with two different partners (Rocky Chapman came in for Harry Sellers (photo above, on the left), who had to leave for a family emergency – now resolved). This is impressive golf, in testing conditions, and also bear in mind that the Birkenhead team in the final included five players from Hoylake’s scratch foursomes team.

A great win – Whitgift’s first in any major scratch foursomes tournament (excluding the over-50s Cyril Gray – forgive me). The Grafton Morrish is an open competition and well over 100 schools enter it. Congratulations to the whole team, including Carl Hills and Rob Sandford – who helped Whitgift win qualification and seeding to the second round – and especially to Toby Kemp, who organised and captained the side to their victory.

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Whitgift are playing in the final of the Grafton Morrish after overcoming Brighton 2-1 in the semi-final. There were victories for Evans/Raison and Stanley/Chapman (Rocky Chapman replaced Harry Sellers in the line-up in this match). The opponents in the final are Birkenhead, who also reached the final last year.

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Whitgift reached the semi-final for the first time, by beating Stamford 3-0 in their match on Saturday afternoon. Evans/Raison, Stanley/Sellers, and Baxter-Brand/Kemp all won their matches on the 17th hole.

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Whitgift beat Charterhouse and reach the quarter-final stage for only the fourth time. Evans/Raison won on the 18th to secure a 2-1 victory.

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The Autumn Cup meeting was held on a September Sunday to see if we could tempt those who work during the week along to join us. That did not work. Weekends are often busy for parents etc, and only nine golfers turned up at Shirley Park to do battle. And a bit of a battle it was; Shirley Park has seen better days, according to some who have played there regularly; the tees and fairways in particular looked very tired and worn after a punishing summer. But the sun was shining and we were playing in enjoyable company, and we had a satisfying meal to end the day.

As to the scoring, with only nine players, there were only two prizes to be won, and they went to Martin Down, who scored a very creditable 36 points and won the Cup, and Alan Scovell, who had driven from Suffolk, and scored 34 points.

Kevin Prideaux de Lacy at Shirley Park

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Also in September, the school invited us to see how they were upgrading their golf academy facilities on what is a radically transformed Puntabout. Those who went were allowed to use the practice nets and short game area, and get a bit of tuition from Tim Trodd, the school’s golf professional. The headmaster told us about his own efforts at Croham Hurst and more importantly, about his plans to build a golf simulator at the school.

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OWGS goes to Sherwood Forest

The Autumn Tour went to Nottingham this year. Well, the hotel was in Nottingham; all three courses played were nearer to Mansfield, and all three were located very close together – Hollinwell, Sherwood Forest, and Coxmoor. All three were in delightful heathland settings, were well laid out, and all had their different challenges. At over 6,600 yards off the yellow tees, Hollinwell is a true test of golf, and it is an Open Championship qualifying venue; it is probably fair to say that the fairways were not in their best condition, but overall, this was a feast for the golfing eye.

Hollinwell’s 16th hole, at the end of an afternoon

Sherwood Forest and Coxmoor were not far behind in terms of quality, but it would have been nice if they had told us in advance that we would be playing with some holes undergoing maintenance; there were four holes altogether which had (seemingly hastily created) temporary greens. At £125 a pop for the green fee? But that didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves.

For those after some fun, there was plenty, and with Alan Scovell masterminding the scoring and reward process, there was always something to play for – or, in some cases, avoid. There were prizes for the winners (individual and team), for runners-up, for the winning school house, for longest drives, for nearest the pins, for sartorial elegance, and less kindly, for missing something (forgetting to pack your golf clubs, for example? – yes, it happened). And they were prizes with a difference – nearest the pin winners went home with a packet of local cheese!

So who won? Lots of people. Alan Scovell took the overall tour honours over the three days, with the days’ individual winners being Alan at Hollinwell (40 points), Peter Gale at Sherwood Forest (45 points) and Don Anderson at Coxmoor (33 points).

Thanks to Alan, John Gould, Tony Harris and Jerry Hamley for organising a very enjoyable tour.

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Betchworth Park was the venue for our Hornsey-Walker meeting in August, and it was another lovely day, but with a wind that became quite blustery at times. The fairways looked parched (photo) – as does everywhere – but all the approaches to the greens have been kept well-watered, and the course presented a challenge for most.

Scoring was varied, with a number of players reaching 30 points, but there were two standout rounds which eventually won the day. Second and third places went to two new members, who have joined only this year. Third place was won by Yatin Patel who scored 32 points and edged out Nigel Huxtable on count back, but both of them were seven points adrift of the runner-up, who was Richard Bowen, on 39 points. Beating everyone was society captain Mark Chatham, who had clearly ensured that his sister-in-law Laura Thomas (the winner of the last two meetings) was absent for this one!

Mark scored an excellent 40 points, one of the highest winning scores we have seen in recent times, and took home the Hornsey-Walker Cup; he is also a ‘Veteran’, but given the rule that says the winner of the Hornsey-Walker cannot also win the Veterans’ Cup, the latter was presented to RichardBowen. (Photos of both cup winners shown, receiving them from match manager Tony Harris).

Next year will see the 100th anniversary of the first Hornsey-Walker Cup meeting, and plans are afoot  to make it a special celebration for our oldest society trophy.

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Croham Hurst hosted us for a small match in mid-August, and predictably the afternoon/evening was a pleasant one, but ended with a win for the home team, who triumphed 3-0 on fairways which Tony Harris described as ‘flattering but difficult to hold on to’.

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It was another hot day when we visited Copthorne GC for Pip Burley’s umpteenth President’s Meeting, but we had a good turnout, including one new member (welcome, Richard Bowen), and many who had sampled Copthorne’s offering on a less pleasant day last year, but were eager for more.

Copthorne is a lengthy course, with three par 5s on the front nine, and a total yardage of over 6400 from the yellow tees. But in compensation for some, the ball was running a long way on bone dry ground. That was fine if you were straight off the tee and with your iron play, but less good if you were a little wayward; thus many an errant shot kept running until it found the rough, or alternatively one of the many ditches which cross the course (and which, it is rumoured, once held water).

But despite this, and maybe despite all evidence to the contrary, Whitgiftians demonstrated themselves to be quick learners, because in 2025 the winning score had been 34 points, a tally which this year was only enough for fourth place (bad luck, Martin Down). It was beaten by three players, two with 36 points and one with 38. Readers of recent editions of this post will not be surprised to learn that the player with 38 points was Laura Thomas, who had also led the way at Wildernesse last time out, and who then, as now, was denied the trophy on offer because she was playing as a guest, and the society’s trophies can only be won by members. So the President’s Putter went to Derek Turner, a first society win for him (photo), who beat Kevin de Lacy on count back, both being on 36 points.

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Four OWs turned out for the Loretto Foursomes, an event hosted by the Old Lorettonian Golf Society at West Sussex and frequented by many from other schools. Of the Whitgiftians present, Alan Scovell and Ian Chicken (photo) did best with 32 points, and had they played anything like as well on the back nine as they had on the first (23 points, and level par), they would have taken the Loretto trophy, but alas, it was not to be.

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The annual match against Dulwich (the Old Alleynians) was played at Tandridge in early July, which means (this year, at least) that it was a very hot day. Nonetheless, 16 OAs turned up, full of optimism after last year’s win; and, well, only 15 OWs turned up if truth be told – the 16th was unavoidably detained by a hospital visit. He was replaced by an Old Tonbridgian who happened to be passing the car park when Jeremy Stanyard (the OW captain for the day) arrived. Knowing the OT to be the son of his opposite number in the OA side, and a very useful golfer, proved too great a temptation, and James Earl was instantly recruited as an honorary OW for the day.

It may therefore cause readers to raise their eyebrows when they learn that the OW side ran out eventual winners by 4 1/2 points to 3 1/2, but fear not, James Earl was not amongst the winning pairs – he is that good that he had to give too many shots to his Dulwich opposition, and therefore did not contribute the winning point (or even half-point). Those who did win from the Whitgift side were  Jeremy Stanyard/Nigel Bowthorpe, Ian Chicken/Peter Skeen, Andrew Carr-Locke/Mark Chatham, and Martin Hayes/Adrian McMillan, whilst Jerry Hamley/Alan Scovell delivered the crucial half point which tipped the final score in Whitgift’s favour.

The course was in great shape, and the Tandridge supper after the golf was as good as it normally is.

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CYRIL GRAY 2026

Last year, Whitgift beat Ampleforth in the Plate final, but this year, Ampleforth turned the tables and won a slightly truncated final 2-1; it was played over only 13 holes (omitting holes 11-15), because of the heatwave. Whitgift had reached the final courtesy of a walkover when Bishop’s Stortford withdrew because they could not raise a team. This might have worked to Whitgift’s advantage insofar as they did not have to play on another very hot morning, but equally it could be argued that Ampleforth had had the chance to get the feel of the course.

Certainly they started more quickly than Whitgift and took an early lead in all three matches, due in part to some superior putting. However Whitgift fought back across the board, and after nine holes were ahead in the second match (Casebourne/Kiddell) and level in matches 1 and 3 (Hayes/Williams and Haswell/Ufton respectively). With only four holes remaining, they appeared to have the momentum.

Unfortunately Whitgift came unstuck on the par 3 10th in both the matches that were level, and badly missed the green in both cases. Ampleforth took their chance to reassert themselves and take back their lead, winning match 3 with a bogey 4. Whitgift also lost the next hole (the 16th) in match 1, and subsided 2&1 on the 17th. Casebourne/ Kiddell closed out their match 3&2 (achieving a 100% record in the Plate matches), setting up a tense decider as Haswell/Ufton reached the 17th still 1 down in match 3. But a wonderful approach from the heather by Whitgift was followed by a half-hit chip and the hole, and the match, was lost to a solid par 4 by Ampleforth.

The main competition final was won by Watson’s, who beat Taunton.

Whitgift (l to r); Neill Williams, Martin Hayes, Jonny Ufton, Mark Haswell, Rob Casebourne, Richard Kiddell.

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Whitgift have reached the semifinals of the Plate competition, beating Blundell’s and last year’s Cyril Gray champions Glenalmond on Thursday. Bishop’s Stortford are the next opponents. Matches are being cut to nine holes because of the continued heatwave, and the Seniors competition, normally played as a stableford on the tournament Friday, has been cancelled this year.

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From left to right – Casebourne/Kiddell; Edwards/Hayes; Ufton/Haswell.

Phew. The temperature reached 36 degrees during the first round of the Cyril Gray (the Hewitt for over-50s) at Worplesdon on Wednesday 24th June. And if you think that is just above freezing, you are either in a different country or on the wrong scale!

It was very, very hot (even to watch, let alone play), and with a heatwave forecast to last the duration of the competition, the organisers took the sensible decision to push the start of the Plate back to Thursday and to limit the further rounds (not the Final) to nine hole matches, to ensure no-one was expected to play more than 18 holes on any one day. And there were iced towels available at the half-way hut.    This is the ‘old man’s Hewitt’, after all.

And Whitgift found the first round competition from St Paul’s too hot to handle. Not the strongest possible team for Whitgift, perhaps, but certainly not a weak one, with handicaps maxing out at about 6. Nonetheless, St Paul’s started far the stronger of the two teams and some extravagant early putts put them two up after two holes in both the top matches. In the top match, featuring debutants Rob Casebourne (50 years, two weeks old!) and Richard Kiddell for Whitgift, this was a lead that was never dented, and despite an improvement in fortunes over the next ten holes, a further two outrageous putts at 13 and 14 from St Paul’s took them four clear and the match finished 4&3 at the 15th. Well, they say “it all comes down to the putting” and they were certainly right in this case!

Martin Hayes and Nick Edwards in the second pair had an even tougher start, and were three down after three holes, which they rapidly recovered over the next three to bring the match back to all square after six; Martin nearly holed out for a one at the 4th. But some wayward play, especially around the turn, allowed St Paul’s back in front, and this match also finished at the 15th.

With the top two matches lost, Jonny Ufton and Mark Haswell, playing steadily throughout, had to end their match prematurely, as it could no longer affect the result. They were two up at the time, but the official result gave them only a half.

So a disappointing outcome, and the last match won in the main Cyril Gray competition remains the 2024 final, But the Plate is still to come (also to be played over nine holes); maybe Whitgift can repeat their success in winning this last year. They will need to start stronger than on Wednesday.

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MATCH v TRINITY

The second of our matches was played at Purley Downs GC in early June, against Trinity GS, with the natural local rivalry between the two schools being enhanced by the presence of many PDGC members on both sides of the match. Thanks to the generosity of those members, other OWs and OMWs were able to play in the match at very cheap rates.

Conditions were very windy, and a close match was drawn 3-3, so Trinity retained the relevant trophy, the Harrods Putter. Apparently there were discussions as to whether there should be some sort of tie-breaker, with Whitgift preferring a cumulative totals of holes won (led no doubt by Mark Chatham/Alan Blok, who recorded a 7&6 victory) whilst Trinity suggested a singles play off down the 1st  hole! But past history suggests that Whitgift retained the trophy at least once after a draw, so it is only right and proper that Trinity should retain it on this occasion.

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CAPTAIN’S DAY

Mark Chatham’s Captain’s Day meeting was held at his home course, Wildernesse GC, on Thursday 28th May, in the middle of the end-May heatwave that we had, but not so hot that the golf was unduly affected. Nonetheless,  all those finishing were eager for their post-round drink (or two)!

A full field of 32 was reduced somewhat by a few late withdrawals, due either to illness or reluctance to play in the heat, but 28 can claim to have completed the course, some at a more leisurely pace than others. Everyone enjoyed the course, which was in great condition.  It is challenging, being mostly tree-lined and therefore quite tight, with greens which are naturally quick and all the more so after the long dry spell. Those who can hit the ball straight and putt consistently fared the best.

All in all, scoring was quite good and there were five scores at 34 points or better; a three-way tie for third was settled on count back in favour of Michael Wall, but those three were three shots adrift of the front two, guest Laura Thomas (the Captain’s sister-in-law) and Kevin Prideaux de Lacy, both of whom scored 37. Laura, a 10-handicapper, became the first female ever to win an OWGS event, claiming first prize with a stunning 23 points on the back nine and therefore the better countback score. Kevin however won the Captain’s Cup, given the society rule that only members are permitted to win the trophies.

All enjoyed the very welcome post-match dinner, itself well above par, and were grateful to Mark for his hospitality and administration of the event.

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MATCH V SCHOOL

The match against the school was played at Croham Hurst on Wednesday 13th May, and it was refreshing to be able to field a team which was younger than usual, strengthened by the presence of recent alumni Rocky Chapman and Johann Perera. This match is contested by one schoolmaster and one OW, playing against two schoolboys.

The schoolboys normally show the rest of us how the game can be played, but on this occasion both we and they were in the end frustrated by the weather, which produced some very heavy showers and a cold northerly wind, so the afternoon sunshine in which the match started (photo) was soon forgotten. All of the matches were called to a halt before the 18th, and the luckier groups abandoned their games on the 10th or 11th, next to the clubhouse. Rumour has it that the combined masters/OW pairs were ahead at the time, but the records will show this as ‘Match abandoned due to rain’!

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GRAFTON MORRISH QUALIFYING

Whitgift were successful at Grafton Morrish qualifying this year. Led by Toby Kemp, the team won the preliminary round held at Royal Ashdown Forest, scoring 92 points across the three foursomes pairs. All playing off scratch, Laurie Evans and Jack Raison led off the field and scored 29 points; Rocky Chapman and Nick Baxter-Brand had an eventful round with two eagles and five birdies, but with three double bogeys thrown into the mix, finished with 32 points; Carl Hills and Rob Sandford, a newcomer to these events, played very steady golf without much joy on the greens, and came home with 31 points. An impressive total from Whitgift left playing partners Winchester, this year’s runners-up at the Hewitt, trailing in second place with 87 points, the same total as Cranleigh, and Sherborne took the final qualifying space, on 83. Wellington, Whitgift’s nemesis in April’s Hewitt, finished in fifth place, outside the qualifiers, and other notable non-qualifiers, in other area heats, were Eton, Harrow, and Loretto. Qualifying is not straightforward!

Whitgift will play the Grafton Morrish finals in October, at Hunstanton and Royal West Norfolk (Brancaster).

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Upcoming –

Grafton Morrish Qualifying – for the first time, we are playing our qualifying round at Royal Ashdown, on Sunday 10th May, starting at midday. Toby Kemp is captain of the side.

The match vs the School takes place at Croham Hurst on Weds 13th May.

Mark Chatham’s Captain’s Day meeting is on Thursday 28th May, at Wildernesse. There is currently a capacity field of 28, but new applicants can go on a waiting list in case of any cry-offs.

The society held its AGM at Tandridge GC on Monday 13th April. The day started with golf for some, and four teams (two 3-balls and two 4-balls) ventured out in what turned out to be ‘changeable’ conditions (it hailed on us at one point). The best two stableford scores counted on each hole, and the 3-balls had a ‘ghost’ player’s score to attempt to even things out between them and the 4-balls. The eventual winners were Peter Gale, John Gould, Martin Down and (a very welcome) new member, Yatin Patel, scoring a total of 86 points. John set the tone by personally registering four points on both the 1st and 2nd holes!

The AGM itself was attended by 28 members and guests, among them the school’s new headmaster, Toby Seth, and three past presidents of the society, Mike Wilkinson, Mike Spanswick and Dudley Thompson. The headmaster addresses us all at dinner and told us of the hopes to upgrade the golf practice facilities at the school, and various presentations were made; the Challenge Cup (knockout trophy) was presented to Mark Chatham; the Walker Cup (for achievement in and contribution to school golf) was presented to Callum Dalby (who scored six birdies in his round in the earlier golf); and Hewitt centenary books were presented to the guest presidents, by the existing president (Pip Burley).

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HALFORD HEWITT 2026 UPDATES BELOW

Rossall are the new cup winners. They beat Winchester 4-1 in the final played on Sunday afternoon, Both of the morning semi-finals were close affairs, with a 3-2 scoreline in each match. Radley won the Plate – for the second year in succession.

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The Hewitt semi-finals are Rossall v Loretto and Eton v Winchester; to be played on Sunday morning.

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In the Hewitt, prolific past winners Eton and Harrow have reached the quarterfinals, but none will relish the prospect of meeting Loretto, who have reached the same stage, having despatched Whitgift’s conquerors, Wellington, in the third round.

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Whitgift’s interest in the Plate came to end on Saturday with a 3-0 defeat to Westminster. On to next year  ……

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Whitgift had an easy win over Clifton in the first round of the Prince’s Plate, 2 1/2 – 1/2.

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It was not to be. Wellington beat Whitgift 3 1/2 – 1 1/2. Commanding win for Evans/Raison in the top match but that was all the good news. See results below.

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Team news. Martin Hayes (capt) has selected the following squad of 11 to represent Whitgift in this year’s Hewitt. The first round is tomorrow, starting at 8:20am at Deal –

Nick Baxter-Brand
James Beck
Rocky Chapman
Laurie Evans
Richard Gibson
Carl Hills
Stuart Hollins
Toby Kemp
Jack Raison
Rob Sandford
Neill Williams

Congratulations and good luck to the whole team.

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Whitgift fielded ten pairs of foursomes in the Thompson Tankards, boosted in terms of numbers and quality by the presence of the Hewitt team, who were preparing for the Halford Hewitt opening match the following day. It was a typically blustery day at Princes and the scores generally reflected that. Stuart Hollins and Carl Hills finished in top spot, with a commendable 34 points; probably not enough also to win the Peter Kenyon Bowl (which is the foursomes competition organised by the Hewitt committee for participants from all 64 Hewitt schools), but we will see when all the results are in!

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The new society golf season gets under way at Prince’s on Thursday, 9th April with the Thompson Tankards, a foursomes competition run as part of Halford Hewitt week. Alongside four or five pairs of ‘fully handicapped’ society members, many of the school’s scratch Hewitt team are expected to take part, since they will not be playing their first round match in the Hewitt itself until Friday 10th, when they take on Wellington in an early start at Royal Cinque Ports, Deal. Martin Hayes captains the side for the first time. We wish them all the very best of luck.

The day after the Hewitt is completed, the society’s AGM and annual dinner takes place at Tandridge GC on Monday 13th April, with golf beforehand for those who cannot wait to get started.

The draw for the 2026 Halford Hewitt took place at the East India Club on Wednesday 7th January. Whitgift will play Wellington in the first round, the match being played at Royal Cinque Ports GC, Deal, on FRIDAY 10th April, starting at 8.20am. Note this is one of a very few matches not to be played on the opening day (the Thursday), which means that if Whitgift get through, they will play a second round match later on the Friday. So if you want to come down to Deal to watch, you might get to see two matches instead of one ……

Two interesting ties elsewhere in the draw; Eton v Charterhouse and Tonbridge v Harrow. Between them, those four schools have won 50 of the 94 Hewitts played since 1924, so two of those many-time past winners will not make the second round!

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The final of the 2025 knockout was played between the Captain, Mark Chatham, and the Secretary, Peter Gale.  Unfortunately for the Secretary, rank was pulled, and it proved to be a very one-sided affair. But at least it was played in fairly dry conditions, which is remarkable given the weather we have suffered in early 2026. Congratulations to Mark.

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Martin Hayes has been appointed captain of the Halford Hewitt team, and will begin preparations for the 2026 tournament, the draw for which happens in January. We wish Martin every success in his new role.

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The season’s finale happened in Belgium this year, the first overseas venue for the 14th autumn tour. Nine participated, taking three cars across the Channel in ‘Le Shuttle’, and heading directly for the first golf course, Koksijde Golf Club, en route from Calais to our hotel in Bruges. Scoring was surprisingly good, given that virtually everyone had been up since 4am or 5am the same day, and that most holes had water featuring somewhere. Martin Hayes won with 36 points, playing off 2. Having had varying success in locating the underground car park near the hotel, the party enjoyed an excellent Belgian stew at ‘t Nieuw Walnutje in Bruges, before gratefully retiring after an 18 hour day.

Royal Zoute GC, the following day, offered immaculate club and practice facilities, and presented a very different challenge, but with a similar outcome, Hayes finishing top again, this time with 34 points. But he could not quite complete ‘the triple crown’ on the third and last day, being beaten by a super 36 points from tour debutant Kevin de Lacey, who clearly enjoyed the sea air at Royal Ostend GC, on the coast.

Overall tour honours however went to Martin, with Kevin taking the eclectic prize. And out of nine nearest-the-pins, Martin won six of them, which just about says everything you need to know! Huge thanks are due to Alan Scovell, who organised the entire event and somehow produced so many prizes that nobody went home empty-handed, albeit their wallets were a bit lighter.

There are individual snaps of the party below (l to r; Gale, Hamley, Harris, de Lacey, Hayes, Mason, Gould, Scovell, Huxtable), as well as some others reflecting the tour.

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Thanks to Tony Harris for the below report on the Betchworth fixture, and also for overseeing the entire programme of events this year.

Our last open event of the season was held at the lovely Betchworth Park, competing for our Autumn Cup.

A somewhat lower turnout of 13, but the course was in great condition and we all enjoyed the golf and the dinner afterwards.

It was good to see Mike Berners-Price back with us, and it was he who triumphed with 32 Stableford points, just pipping 3 players by 1 shot. Our captain Mark Chatham secured second place on countback. Daniel Emkes was third. Nearest the pins went to Pip and Mike.

Despite the dire forecast we got away with only 3 holes of rain, so ended up dry and sunny.

Work is well underway for the 2026 program of outings and matches, so hope to see many OWs during the year.

On 28th August we played our annual fixture vs Croham Hurst GC. The course played well, and we were fortunate to miss the forecast bad weather. Croham were their usual excellent hosts, and all matches were played in a good spirit. Later we enjoyed the traditional very generous fish and chip dinner. The hosts outplayed us, and we lost 3 matches and halved one, former Croham captain Guy Mackey using his local knowledge to help secure the half for us.

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For the second year running, the society’s oldest trophy, and the second-oldest, were contested at Sweetwoods GC, situated in a lovely valley just on the Kent/Sussex border. The Hornsey-Walker Cup made its first appearance nearly 100 years ago, in 1927, and the Veterans’ Cup (now for those over 65 years old, but originally for those over 50), arrived ten years later. Both were up for grabs and 20 players set out in competition; one or two grabbed a buggy to help them with the slopes around the course, which were all the more tiring on what was a warm and sunny day.

The course more than held its own on the day. Only four players scored over 30 points, and no-one played to their handicap. In third place was our guest Laura Thomas, who scored a highly commendable 32 points; Daniel Emkes was second on count back and won the Veterans’ Trophy, also with 32; and Martin Hayes, playing off 1, pipped them both with 33 points, thus winning the Hornsey- Walker Cup for the first time. Not surprisingly, Martin also won the scratch prize, whilst John Gould and Peter Gale won bottles of wine for nearest the pins on the 5th and 17th holes. The main winners, Martin (left) and Daniel (right), are shown below receiving their cups from match organiser and former society captain Alan Blok. Well done, Alan, for organising a successful and enjoyable day.

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The President’s day meeting was held at Copthorne GC (photo above) towards the end of July. Copthorne is a venue last visited by the society in 1958, and so it was new to many of the 24 who played, and they will perhaps have been caught unawares by the ditches which line, and in some cases cross, the fairways, unseen from a distance but very evident when your ball lands in one. Even the eventual winner Don Anderson was a victim (photo right – with encouragement, if not engagement, by Martin Down).

The test match in Manchester, being played the same day, had the best of the weather, but Copthorne, whilst dry and reasonably warm to start with, endured a spell of persistent rain in the afternoon, and all of those who played were wet by the end of play. In such circumstances, the scoring was good, with all three podium places being earned with a very respectable 34 points. Countback therefore decided the prizes, and Don Anderson finished first, winning the President’s Putter and Prize, with 19 on the back nine, followed home by Martin Hayes (18) and Robert Hollidge (16).

President Pip Burley addressed the meeting over a pleasant dinner, and thanked in particular John Gould, who organised the day with his normal enthusiasm and care. Pip awarded the prizes, assisted by the captain Mark Chatham (photo, with Don Anderson in the middle).

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July started at Purley Downs GC, for the match versus Trinity GS. There were twelve Purley Downs members within the two teams, seven for Trinity and five for Whitgift; this provided a solid base for the two teams, which is very welcome as we have sometime struggled for numbers for this fixture. The course itself was in great condition, with the greens running at their normal speed (fast), and there were fantastic views over London on a bright and quite hot day.

Five pairs set out, playing four ball better ball, and only one Whitgift pair (Alan Blok/Peter Gale) registered a win, the other four matches all going in Trinity’s favour. So the Harrods’ Putter, first contested in 1971, stays in Trinity’s hands.

May is normally quite a busy month in the society calendar but this year there is only one event to report on, namely the match (alongside the schoolmasters) against the school. Played in a four ball, better ball format, the match was played in excellent conditions at Croham Hurst, on an evening which only got at all cold after the sun went down.

This match is often referred to as the society’s annual golf lesson, as we watch the boys hit the ball miles, and sometimes also straight. It proved the case on this occasion, as the boys scored a reasonably comfortable victory, by three matches to one, with one halved. New Captain Mark Chatham was the only victorious OW (pictured on the first tee). Many thanks to the masters and the school for providing such pleasant company, in addition to some welcome refreshment after the golf.

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Another defeat came in June, this time in the annual fixture against Old Alleynians at Tandridge. The weather at the start of proceedings was more reminiscent of Deal in February than Tandridge in June, but there it was; the warm dry spell was at an end.

16 players on each side was a good turnout, and four fourballs set off from each of the 1st and 10th tees, in matchplay format, the better ball on each side counting on each hole. The course was in excellent condition and the fast and treacherous slopes on the greens caught many a player out at some stage, sometimes resulting in a ball which was being putted on the green finishing at some distance off it!

The afternoon finished with another Tandridge supper, the exchange of pleasantries   between the captains, and the revelation that the Dulwich side had emerged the winners by 5 matches to 3.

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Whitgift finished fifth out of eight schools in the qualifying round of the Gordon Thorburn Schools Putting Competition held at Royal Wimbledon in early June. The team was Chris Jones, Nick Baxter-Brand, Toby Kemp and Nic Gates. The top two in each qualifier go through to the final of the competition (the following week), which was won by Uppingham.

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Captain’s Day was at a new venue for the society; Nizels Golf and Country Club, just south of Sevenoaks, brought to our attention by society captain Mark Chatham, who was men’s captain at Nizels at one stage. And a thoroughly pleasant venue it proved to be, with an attractive and challenging golf course that presented problems for most of our members. Relatively few played close to their handicaps. It was a baking hot day, and whilst there was plenty of water in the course hazards, there was probably not enough consumed by members, some of whom struggled in the heat.

23 started, a good turnout for us. Most people took time to adjust to the run on thefairways, which was considerable on the dry surface, and the pace of the greens, which were slightly slower than expected; hence scoring on the back nine was in most cases better than on the front. In the end, count back determined all the ‘podium’ places, with Alan Blok (32 points) edging out Kevin Prideaux de Lacy (also 32) for third place and Society president Pip Burley nipping in front of guest Paul Stewart, both on 33 points, to win the top prize and the Captain’s Trophy.

The society’s new golf shirts made their first significant appearance (photo – Hughes, Chatham and McMillan).

Thanks to Mark for his administration of an enjoyable day.

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Just a word to congratulate Whitgift alumnus Riccardo Fantinelli on reaching the semi-final at the R&A’s Amateur Championship, the winner of which gets a place in the field at The Open.

Unfortunately Riccardo lost his semi-final at Royal St George’s, but the achievement in reaching the last four is underlined when you consider that the competition comprises 288 top amateur golfers, who have to play two rounds of stroke play (this year at Royal Cinque Ports and Royal St George’s) and finish in the top 64, who then play knockout golf for six rounds to determine the ultimate winner. Riccardo shot 6 under in the stroke play, to finish tenth best of the qualifiers, and then won four knockout matches before finally losing in the semi-final.

The last Whitgiftian to reach the same stage of The Amateur Championship was Peter Hedges in 1982.

Riccardo might take further solace in the fact that another Italian lost the semi-final in 2003. His name? Francesco Molinari. Well done, Riccardo.

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CYRIL GRAY, 25th June 2025

Whitgift 1, Canford 2

As Whitgift set out to defend the title they won so impressively in 2024, this is definitely not the result they would have been anticipating.

(Photo left; Standing l to r; Ufton, Haswell, Gibson. Seated l to r; Williams, Hayes, Edwards) On a day which became increasingly hot, Whitgift started with great expectations of another decent run through the competition, even though first round opponents Canford  have a very good record of their own (four competition wins, one more than Whitgift). Whitgift played their third pair up front, hoping it would work in their favour, but as it turned out, Canford did exactly the same, so no advantage was won or lost. Jonny Ufton and Mark Haswell went out first, Martin Hayes and Neil Williams (unbeaten over two years in the Cyril Gray)  second, and Richard Gibson and Nick Edwards brought up the rear.

The early signs were not great; in the second game, perennial winners Hayes/Williams went behind to a par on the first, having missed a short putt, and there was every indication in the first few holes that Canford were not going to be rolled over easily. In fact, Canford were soon ahead in every match, and putts were dropping for Canford whereas Whitgift struggled by comparison on the greens. At the turn, Canford were 2up in the first match, 3up in the second, and level in the third (which soon changed when Canford won the 10th in that match). So Whitgift were up against it and facing an early exit; could they respond?

Hayes/Williams (photo, right) birdied the 11th to reduce their deficit to two, but quickly lost the 12th, and saw Canford hole another decent length putt to halve the 13th. Still 3 down. Williams holed from 12 feet on the 14th to salvage another half, but holes were running out, and when Hayes found the green side bunker on 15, with a difficult lie, that match was lost 4&3. Canford had played superbly, scoring 3 under par through 15 holes, with seven putts holed from outside 6 feet.

However, light was beginning to dawn elsewhere. Ufton/Haswell clawed a hole back on 12, somehow halved 13 and 14, and then got back to parity on the long 15th. The par-3 16th was halved in unimpressive fives, by which time Gibson/Edwards had themselves dragged their match level after 14. So Whitgift could still win the tie if both outstanding matches went their way. It looked promising when Haswell summoned a huge and straight drive down 18, so impressive that his opponent pulled his drive short and left. Canford could only find the bunker with their second, and Ufton secured a once-unlikely win with a seven foot putt for par. Whitgift had secured that match, having never been in front until the very end.

So all attention turned to the last match, where Canford, who had seemed to be getting a little wayward, scored two birdies on the 15th and 16th, to win both holes, before messing up on the 17th and allowing Whitgift to win that hole with a bogey 5. As Edwards struck his 150 yard approach to the 18th green, it appeared perfect to start with, directly over the flag, but it proved a club too many and fell off the back of the green, from where Gibson came close with his pitch but not quite close enough. A par was enough for Canford, and the tie was theirs, 2-1.

A bitter pill for Whitgift, but a close match played in good spirit by two teams who, on their day, would be capable of going the distance in this competition. Canford were just a little more ‘on their game’ and were deserving winners.

Update

Whitgift beat Fettes 2-1 in the Plate first round, with wins for Hayes/Williams (on the 19th) and Ufton/Haswell (comfortably). Gibson/Edwards lost 1 down.

26/6/25 Whitgift bt Stonyhurst 3-0 in Plate second round. Hayes/Williams 7&5; Gibson/Edwards 19th hole; Ufton/Haswell 1up.

27/6/25 Whitgift bt Brighton 2-1 in Plate semi-final. Hayes/Chatham lost 3&2; Gibson/Edwards won 5&4; Ufton/Haswell won 3&2.

Whitgift bt Ampleforth 3-0 in the Plate Final. Hayes/Williams 6&5; Gibson/Edwards 2&1; Ufton/Haswell 3&2.

Ufton/Haswell won all their five matches in the week.

WHITGIFT WIN THE CYRIL GRAY PLATE

L to R; Mark Chatham; Nick Edwards; Mark Haswell; Martin Hayes (Capt); Richard Gibson; Jonny Ufton; Neill Williams

Whitgift’s third win in the Plate, following on from 2001 and 2011.

Tony Mason and Peter Blok (photo; top left, below) came second (to Canford) in the Cyril Gray Seniors with 26 points.

In the main competition, Glenalmond won the Cyril Gray Salver for the first time ever, beating Chigwell 2-1 in the final. Chigwell also lost the 2024 final – to Whitgift.

The draw having been made in London at the East India Club, Whitgift will play Radley in the first round of the Halford Hewitt, at Royal St George’s on Thursday 10th April, starting at 9.30am. The full draw can be seen at https://www.halfordhewitt.org/2025-halford-hewitt-drawsheet/ ; probably the tie of the round sees multiple winners Epsom and Tonbridge clash, on the 11th, also at Sandwich.

Support for the Whitgift team is always very welcome.

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The Whitgift squad for the Halford Hewitt 2025 has been announced. It is –

• Laurie Evans
• Neill Williams
• Richard Gibson
• Stuart Hollins
• Toby Kemp
• Jack Raison
• Max Stanley
• Tom Bloxsome
• Matthew Webster (capt)
• Nicolas Gates
• Nick Baxter-Brand
• Matt Spriegel

Updates on the team’s progress in the competition will be posted on this page.

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On 3rd April, the society’s AGM was held at Tandridge, where Mark Chatham (photo below, in the centre) was elected Captain for the next two years, and an enjoyable Tandridge buffet, alongside Tandridge pudding, was enjoyed by over 20 attendees. Mark Haswell was awarded a winner’s trophy for the Cyril Gray, and Alasdair Grievson was awarded the Challenge Cup, having won the 2024 knockout competition. Neil Kendrick, master i/c golf at the school, spoke about the enthusiasm within Whitgift school golf at the moment. To the surprise of many, themselves included, Peter Gale, John Gould and Martin Down won the team golf event preceding the AGM.

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Hewitt week always opens with the Peter Kenyon Bowl, a foursomes competition open to any pair of members from one of the 64 Hewitt schools. Whitgift participate in this, and hold their own internal foursomes competition at the same time, for the prize of the Thompson Tankards, which are now running short of space for any future winners’ names!

Martin Hayes and Alan Scovell (photo, left and right) won the Thompson Tankards this year, with an impressive 35 points, in difficult conditions. However, this was not enough also to win the Peter Kenyon, which was won with 39 points by another school.

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Grafton 1st round result – Malvern 2 1/2; Whitgift 1/2

North Norfolk can be the most pleasant of places, even if a little hard to reach. The sun can shine; the sea can sparkle; the birds can sing, and the coastline can be spectacularly beautiful. Or not. Friday morning began – for your correspondent – with the not-so-gentle sound of a 50mph northerly rustling the roof tiles and horizontal rain lashing the window. Several layers of windproof and waterproofs later, and we arrived at the clubhouse of Royal West Norfolk GC, which is sometimes cut off by the highest tides and looks somewhat forbidding as it appears on the coastline in the gloom of an early (7.40am) start. The clubhouse has an automatic door which saves its members from having to open it or close it in the teeth of such a wind; a wise investment. A certain sense of hysteria was noted in those within, everyone amused at the ridiculousness of trying to play golf in such conditions, which, even if the rain relented in time for the start, caused the Brancaster sand dunes to deposit much of their content in the eyes of the players (and of spectators – it stings!) and on the greens, which ended up looking as though they had just been dressed as part of a maintenance programme.

I cannot remember seeing so many provisional balls being hit (by both sides); eventually the custom of the players not teeing off walking down the fairway whilst their partners are teeing off – to save time – fell by the wayside; on too many occasions, those players were needed back on the tee because of an errant drive. It was chaotic. Bags of clubs and trolleys were being blown over time and time again. Another oddity was having to wait for a ball to stop oscillating in the wind before hitting it; on one occasion Malvern putted up to within six inches of the hole, and waited – waited for the ball to be blown backwards into the hole. It did eventually fall in, but only after eleven seconds had elapsed on the watch, when only ten are permitted! That could have got tense, had the players allowed.

The opening drives of both Whitgift and Malvern had to be retaken, both having been aimed left and finishing 100 yards right; Whitgift lost the hole to a seven. I believe one four claimed afterwards that on the first three holes, they took 12 drives (ie two provisional balls on each hole). Apparently, in practice the day before, the short 4th was reachable with a nine-iron; on Friday, they were taking a three. It was brutal, all the more so when the rain reappeared mid-round.

All three of Whitgift’s pairs (above – Harrison Sellers/Jack Raison; Max Stanley (mostly shrouded)/Toby Kemp; and Matt Webster/Nick Baxter-Brand made a shaky start, and the scoreboard (had there been one) would not have looked kind to Whitgift during the outward half. A left-to-right wind does not appeal, apparently, to Nick B-B; however a right-to-left wind does. Small wonder then, that things got better for his pairing at the turn; having been 4 down after 9 holes, he and Matt Webster started a recovery, as did Sellers/Raison, who had been 5 down after 8, and that only because their opponents did not insist on the 3-minute deadline for finding a ball being strictly enforced. They recovered too, and won two holes on the bounce. The middle match  however, was closer throughout, and this spectator at least (actually, I was the only one!) thought that Kemp/Stanley had the more solid game and would ultimately emerge winners; but perversely, this went from 1up to Whitgift after 8 holes to 2 down after 13.

Could the mother-of-all-comebacks be on the cards? Unfortunately, no. Sellers/Raison eventually went down to a 3&2 defeat, whilst both matches behind them went down the 18th. Kemp/Stanley got back to level at 16, only for Stanley to be blown off balance during his tee shot to 17, resulting in a topped drive. With that hole lost, they played the last 1 down and did not manage to win the hole. Baxter-Brand/Webster continued their recovery all the way, eventually levelling things up on 18. So, a closer match than the scoreline suggests, and fingers are crossed for a good performance in the Solihull Salver, effectively a plate competition for both first and second round losers.

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The Solihull Salver result was disappointing in that Whitgift scored 85 points (scratch, between the three pairs) which left them about mid-table and 15 points off a terrific 100 points scored by Birkenhead, the winners. But what a difference a day makes! To the weather, in particular. Any team scoring 85 the day before would have been top of the heap. And Malvern, Whitgift’s successful opponents the day before (second round losers also can enter the Salver), only scored 83.

In the main competition, Loretto ended up winning the Grafton Morrish, beating Alan Scovell’s local school Woodbridge in the final. In another example of how fickle our game can be, Charterhouse were losing semi-finalists this year – a year in which they finished a full three places outside the qualifying positions at Royal Wimbledon (four places behind Whitgift). How did that happen? Apparently, there was a late withdrawal, two weeks before the competition, and, after an email to all the non-qualifiers, Charterhouse emerged as the only one who could put a team together in the available time.

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The season meanders to its conclusion, and the final open meeting of the season took place at Cuddington on what was, at first, quite a bright afternoon; it was only in the latter half of our round that the showers started to move in, and we got a little wet. Nothing too bad however, and it certainly did not adversely affect the scoring, which was generally impressive. There were seven scores of 34 points and upwards, but the leading three all came in the first group to go out; former President Dudley Thompson scored a magnificent 40 points, winning the Autumn Cup, edging out his playing partners Mike Berners-Price (38) and Ben Rudall (37). Ironically most people seemed to score better on the second nine (when it was raining) than on the first (when it was not)! Prizes were awarded by Tony Harris over Cuddington’s ‘Golfers’ Grill’, which appeared to be greatly enjoyed.

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The Autumn Tour visited …… Norfolk. Apparently this is the country’s driest county, although that reputation was not generally enhanced over the three days of the tour. Admittedly the first day’s golf at Bungay was technically in Suffolk, by the slimmest of margins, but the weather was most definitely coming from its neighbour and it was very very wet, testing to the limit the waterproof qualities of the outerwear. So wet that the golf lasted merely the ten holes necessary to get back to the clubhouse, which was a shame because Bungay is a nice course, and a bit of a steal at a £33 green fee. The Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth was our respite for two days, and very welcome it was, offering heated towel rails with which to dry out several layers of clothing. Albeit named in a different era, and showing the age of numerous seaside hotels, the food and the service were imperious in quality – no doubt fostered by the 51% ownership by its staff (source: Peter “I talk to people” Kelley).

Gorleston on Wednesday morning was not quite as wet as the previous day, probably because the wind was so strong that it blew most of the rain on to Bungay and beyond. With the previous day’s results rendered null and void, this was the first round to count towards any awards, but stableford scores varied between 17 and 30, indicating the difficulty most of the party found with the conditions. Another nice course, but with its coastal location making it vulnerable to erosion over the years, forcing it to buy an area slightly further inland on which to build more golf holes when necessary. Definitely a test when the wind blows.

Great Yarmouth and Caister GC on Thursday was a different proposition altogether. Built in and around the racecourse, this was most definitely third out of three in terms of quality – ‘by a distance’ in racing parlance. The greens were generally good but, even allowing for the hollow tining being done, some of the fairways resembled Big Side on a bad day in the 60s. The best of the turf was on the racecourse itself, an area which is ironically deemed ‘ground under repair’ for golfers. Scoring however was better, because of the sunny and relatively calm weather, by an average of about four shots compared to the previous day.

Tony Mason was a deserved winner, hoovering up with scores of 30 points and 34 points on the two days, and emerging as overall winner and eclectic winner, as well as leading Cross’s to retention of the ‘house’ trophy. Martin Hayes showed his class in terms of  the number of ‘nearest the pins’ that he won. Thanks are due to John Gould and Alan Scovell for the organisation of yet another successful tour, with Tony Harris, Jerry Hamley and Nigel Huxtable helping out with the admin.

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Last but not least, in terms of action  in 2024, the final of the society knockout has now been played. Alasdair Grievson triumphed on home territory – Royal Wimbledon – over Peter Kelley, and so wins the Challenge Cup. Congratulations, Alasdair.

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