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Men’s Golf Captain’s Blog

Gosh, it has come around really quickly – my year as Captain is nearly over as Peter McGovern is busy stretching and swinging his Driver as he thinks about his ‘drive-in’ as Men’s Captain on 14th October 2023.

My final weekend as Captain sees me leading the team in our pursuit of the ‘Whale Cup’ – our annual match against our friends at Royal Mid Surrey.  I have high hopes that we can ‘bring it home’ to join ‘The Horn’ which we won from Richmond Club earlier in the season.

It’s a good time to reflect on the highlights of my year. We have built out the competitive golf and introduced new formats, competitions and reached out to a wider group of golfers – comprising the scratch section, the general men’s sections, and a greater selection of ‘team’ events both internal to men’s golf and including the Ladies’ Section. This year’s ‘Ladies vs Men’s Match’ filled the course and is certain to be equally popular next year. I’m looking forward to the Men’s Golf Dinner at which I will present an incredibly impressive set of trophies to 2023 winners.

Undoubtedly Captain and Professional is the standout event. This season we have played 22 matches with 12 wins, 3 halves and 7 losses. As many know, I have kept a scorecard from each match which reveal some fascinating statistics:

◊ Ricky Pharo averaged 4.9 birdies and 0.47 eagles per round!

 

◊ The biggest winning margin by Challengers was 7/6 by Paul Taylor and Derek Mason – who also shot the lowest net score at 12 under par for 15 holes (when we waved the white flag! ).

 

◊ The lowest gross score by Challengers was 62 ( -9) by Stuart Loggie and David Birn.

 

◊ The lowest gross by the Professional (with a little help from the Captain) was 62 ( -9) against Roy Martin and Richard Spalding.

 

◊ Across all matches the Challengers made one eagle, 20 net eagles, 68 birdies and 108 net birdies.

Each and every match was hotly contested, and I am so grateful to Ricky, Will, Wes, Sam, Ben, and Oscar for playing so well and supporting / carrying me!

 

Last weekend we celebrated the end of the ‘Captain and Pro’ season with a ‘bogey’ challenge against all the seasons Challengers. Scoring was fantastic with Andrew Walker and Alex Milward winning at +13, with Connor Hamilton and Rob Findley as Runners up at +9.  I was delighted to present suitable wines to the season’s winners which ‘went down well’!  I was also glad to offer a prize to Rob Findlay – who played Captain and Pro twice and also helped me out in a ‘Captain and Rob’ match. Thanks bobby, you are a great Club man.

I’ll take my final chance to offer thanks to those who have made this season such a joy. Firstly Ricky Pharo – a proper Professional Golfer and a fantastic chap. To Louis, Matt, and Simon – most certainly a transition year and we have made great strides forward. I thank you for your openness to try new ideas and introduce new competitions. To our grounds staff, David, and Peter – a season with the course in fabulous condition. To the Past Captains who have offered advice and support when sought. To Charlotta, a fantastic Captain of the Ladies with whom I’ve enjoyed many great rounds of golf.  My lovely wife Elizabeth and girls Emily and Imogen – who have endured long weekends where I performed ‘Captaincy’ duties in the Clubhouse.

Finally – the very best of luck to Peter McGovern as he prepares to drive in. You will be an excellent Captain and have a great team around you!

Simon Butler, Men’s Golf Captain