July/August 2026 update

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 – 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 Richard Bowen.

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 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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