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OWGS PRESIDENT’S MEETING

THURSDAY 24 JULY 2025

NOW OPEN FOR SIGN UP ON THE OWGS WEBSITE

COPTHORNE GOLF CLUB

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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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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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A rare sunny day, for the most part, saw us turn up in reasonable numbers to Hever Castle GC – or at least try to turn up. We had been warned beforehand that there would be roadworks outside the club, but they proved a little more expansive than had been expected, to the extent that all approach roads were marked as ‘road closed’, except that some of them really weren’t. Anyway, most – but not all – made it through.

Hever is a nice course, but very long, so probably not for the faint-hearted; its 17th measures well over 600 yards. And there is plenty of water; it has its own version of Augusta’s ‘Amen Corner’, except that Augusta does not have the geese!

Nick Chatham (left) overcame all opposition, including his brother and his other half, and scored an impressive 32 points, to lift the President’s Prize (a very heavy box from Fortnum & Mason). He narrowly beat Alan Scovell (31) and Martin Hayes (30). Brother Mark Chatham and Jerry Hamley won the two ‘nearest the pin’ prizes.

In addition to the prizes for the day itself, a presentation was made to Martin Hayes (right) of an ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’ for his many feats over a 44 year OWGS career, including 102 Hewitt appearances, plus 59 in the Grafton Morrish and Cyril Gray, combined. Furthermore, his overall win rate exceeds 60%, a significant achievement. This year, the icing on the cake has been to captain Whitgift’s winning team in the 2024 Cyril Gray (see separate news item), scoring five points out of five in his own matches.

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We started with a lunch, followed by a 2pm tee-off in 4 groups. During lunch we observed a minute’s silence in memory of Ken Anderson, who sadly passed away the previous week. In the end we had 3 players tied on 36 points, a commendable score given the very tricky greens. Tony Harris (photo, left, with match manager Alan Blok)  took first place on a 6 hole countback, and so won the Hornsey Walker trophy. Don Anderson came second, and so won the Veteran’s Cup (photo, right). Martin Hayes played sublime golf playing off a 2 handicap, but had no luck with his many birdie putts, so finished in an unlucky 3rd place on his 36 points.

The winning Whitgift team, with trophy – Nic Gates, Richard Gibson, Martin Hayes, Nick Edwards, Jonny Ufton, Neill Williams

CYRIL GRAY 2024 – a tournament win for Whitgift

The Cyril Gray is a scratch foursomes competition played every year at Worplesdon, and contested by 32 of the 64 Halford Hewitt schools; it is limited to players over 50 years of age. There are three pairs per side, and the competition is a straight knockout, one school against another. Whitgift have won the Cyril Gray on two occasions, in 1974 and in 1999, twenty-five years apart, so those with an eye for symmetry were in eager anticipation of the 2024 event. The sense of expectation was increased by the prospect that captain Martin Hayes would be able to call on the services of three or four very capable golfers who have just turned 50, with all the advantages that brings in terms of relative fitness and strength.

Day 1

A week that was generally sunny began with a first-round tie against Ampleforth, on tournament Wednesday.

The team for round 1 was (photo, back row) Jonny Ufton, Richard Gibson, Mark Haswell, (front row) Nick Edwards, Martin Hayes, Alan Scovell. Gibson & Edwards led the way and were never in serious trouble, beating their opponents 5&4, and so the overall win depended on one of the other pairs. Hayes & Haswell, playing second pair, were generally ahead through their round, initiated by a superb approach on the 1^st from the left hand rough to about six feet from the pin, by Haswell – but it got close on one or two occasions, whilst the third pair (Ufton & Scovell) fell away on the back nine. So, an eventual 3&2 win for Hayes & Haswell was welcome, and the 2-1 win qualified the team for the introduction of Neill Williams, so successful the previous year, and the experienced Nic Gates, who were available for the following rounds.

Day 2

Fettes were the next opponents, a school with six tournament wins and a 7-2 playing record against Whitgift. Former captain Tony Mason has especially fond memories of them (Fettes beat Whitgift in the 2014 final). The suspicion early on was that Fettes, perhaps with knowledge of Neill’s arrival, had played the ‘undercut’, by putting their weakest pair out first against Hayes & Williams (photo).

Whether or not that is the case, Hayes & Williams cruised to a 9&7 win, and whilst the two matches further back were closer, Whitgift emerged overall winners by 2 ½ – ½, with a 4&3 win for Gibson & Edwards, and a half declared in the other match when the overall result was decided.

The going got significantly tougher in the afternoon, against more, and still familiar, Scottish opposition in the form of Watson’s, who also held an historical edge against Whitgift, this time by 5-3. Martin Hayes himself decided on a change of order for this match, playing Gates & Ufton as second pair, with Gibson & Edwards playing third. Despite stepping up against strong opposition, Gates & Ufton were always in the match, and after six holes, Whitgift were ahead, albeit narrowly, in all three matches. Then, shock horror, around the turn Watson’s nudged themselves ahead against Hayes & Williams, whilst at the rear, Gibson & Edwards were showing their superiority, pulling 4up after 13 holes. The middle match started to look key, and Gates & Ufton were hanging in, still 1 up after 12. The cut and thrust continued down the stretch, certainly in those top two matches, and both matches completed the 16^th hole at evens. With the third match now won, in the top match Whitgift found themselves needing to hole a knee-trembling five-footer for par on 17 to stay level, but Hayes rose to the challenge, and frayed nerves (mine anyway) headed towards the 18^th hole, with the two remaining matches still level. This could go either way.

Hayes sent his drive on the last about 290 yards down the middle of the fairway, whilst his Watson’s opponent was probably about 50 yards further back. Watson’s approach was to the left-hand side of the green and toppled over the bank into quite a deep swale, whilst Neill Williams, ever the calm executioner, delivered a 150-yard wedge to within four feet of the hole. Watson’s failed to make par and conceded the match, thus giving Whitgift a semi-final berth.

Such is the delicacy of these matters, with handshakes exchanged but little in the way of backslapping, that Whitgift’s celebrations failed to convey themselves to the match following, and so neither Gates nor Ufton knew that the overall result was decided, and neither did their Watson’s opponents. Clearly both would have seen that the top match had concluded, but with what score?! So, imagine the relief of both Whitgiftians, and the dismay of the Watson’s pair, when Watson’s won the hole – and everybody watching just shrugged their shoulders. It’s probably fair to say – and understandable – that both pairs were annoyed with their fellow team members and supporters! Hayes put it down to his desire to sharpen their match practice, unaffected by knowing the result up top!

A 2-1 win for Whitgift, in what proved to be the closest tie of Whitgift’s tournament.

Day 3

The final day dawned, with the good weather still on offer, plus a semi-final against local rivals Epsom, who had beaten Glenalmond, Eastbourne and Blundells en route. Epsom and Whitgift players generally know each other quite well, because they often play practice matches against one another, and a great many of them are fellow club members at Walton Heath. And on this occasion, whilst Whitgift reverted to order of strength in their pairings, Epsom appeared to flip their order, with the strongest going last. Match 3 was going to be tricky.

It was. Try as they might, Gates & Ufton never really got into the game, were six down after twelve holes, and lost soon after. However, the top two pairs took things in their stride and both emerged as fairly comfortable winners, with everything over by the 15^th hole, leaving time spare in the morning to catch up with the Seniors competition where Tony Mason and Peter Blok were representing Whitgift (you need two players with a combined age of 140 for this one) over one round of scratch stableford. Tony and Peter grew into the round and finished with 25 points, good enough for third place behind Canford and King’s Canterbury.

One team without any time to spare, however, were Chigwell, who were battling Merchiston for the remaining place in the final. Playing in the second semi-final is always hard because you are at least half an hour behind the first semi, and have to play catch-up over the lunch break, with little time for even a sandwich. This is compounded if, as in Chigwell’s case, your match goes to extra holes; one of their number was seen stuffing a sandwich into his bag for the final. Meanwhile, Whitgift had a fairly relaxing lunch ……

Miracle of the Macon

Domaine de Rochebin Macon Villages 2022 is described as “Deliciously light in body, vivaciously fresh and clean. Peach stone fruits, pear, apple and melon with a hint of cream oak and nuttiness. Refreshing, balancing acidity with lovely light minerals.” Empirical analysis suggests it is also good for your golf.

Certainly Gates & Ufton, soundly beaten in the morning, emerged stunningly fortified in the afternoon, playing in the third pair with a refreshed freedom and confidence. A rifled iron into the fourth green by Gates set up Ufton for an 8-foot birdie two and set the tone for the front nine, from which they extracted a 3-up lead.

The top two matches were much closer affairs and fluctuated either way, and therefore the balance of the entire final fluctuated in turn. Hayes & Williams made a relatively slow start and were 1 down in the early stages, but made a strong recovery on the 13^th and 14^th, eventually winning on the 16^th after their opponents hit a wide tee shot. Gibson & Edwards, on the other hand – apparently playing Chigwell’s strongest pairing – lost a hard-earned lead on the 12^th when driving out of bounds, and could not recover, going to the 17^th tee two down. By this stage, all attention was back on the third match, which reached the 15^th green with Gates & Ufton still 3 up, but with Gates marginally wide with a 15-foot effort from the side of the green to win the hole and the match. 3up with 3 to play, and a crowd of people around the par 3 16^th green, including the Cyril Gray President in a buggy holding an inviting glass of wine – was it the de Rochebin? Gates hit an iron about 25 foot past the pin, straight but all downhill from there. Chigwell were closer, so Jonny Ufton had to putt  first, hitting a finely judged putt which was never moving fast but still managed to trickle past the hole, leaving his partner with a 3-foot putt, but importantly, uphill. Chigwell just failed with their effort from about 15 feet, leaving Nic Gates with the opportunity to make the winning putt. Which he duly took (photo).

The official result appears to have been 2 ½ – ½, which implies that Gates’ winning putt was holed before Whitgift were beaten 2&1 in the second pair, but Gates & Edwards appeared to accept that they had lost. And who would begrudge Chigwell, who had fought so hard in their first ever final? And without the chance to indulge at lunchtime!

Congratulations to all who played, including Messrs Haswell and Scovell in round 1. Martin Hayes emerged from the week with five points out of 5, followed by Neill Williams 4 out of 4, and Richard Gibson and Nick Edwards, both 4 out of 5. Nic Gates and Jonny Ufton won the deciding match and are seeking sponsorship from de Rochebin.

Drink responsibly.

Alan Scovell’s Captain’s Day was held at Purley Downs (Purley Ups and Downs to the less fit amongst us) in early May. A reasonable turnout, no doubt inspired by the prospect of more Fortnum & Mason biscuits amongst the prizes, took to the course on a warm and sunny day – quite a change from the year’s weather to date – and were rewarded by greens in top condition, running true and (very) fast. Views right across London failed to distract the more diligent players, and Don Anderson (right) came out top, for the first time in …. er …. days. His score of 38 points was two ahead of David Absalom in second and three ahead of Alasdair Grievson,  the latter making his first appearance in a society meeting and, by his own admission, more accustomed to being beaten by Ian Chicken in our knockout competition. The biscuits were shared liberally with prizes also handed out for those nearest the pins on the par 3s, and just about anybody else that had turned up.

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The Combined match (the OWs playing alongside the Masters) against the School took place on a very bright Wednesday in May. The school team was a mix of ages (with boys from the Lower 1st through to the VIth form) and handicaps from 1 to 16, very similar as it turned out to those on on the OW and Masters side. So a good match was in prospect. And so it turned out – with a narrow 3-2 win for the OWs/Masters. 

There were some astonishing reports from the course. Tony Harris reports that his schoolboy opponent hit the back of the 204-yard 16th with a 7-iron; his schoolmaster partner hit the 350-yard 9th with a mishit drive; and most impressive of all, OW Harrison Sellers (far left in the group photo) scored an albatross on the par-5 10th hole (468 yards), holing his 60-yard second shot – yes, 60 yards. Do the maths. Harry explained his 400-yard drive by the fact that it caught the downslope – others pointed out that the downslope only starts after about 330 yards. Some feat and (probably!) the first albatross in OWGS history.

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About 115 schools enter the Grafton Morrish; broadly any of the schools affiliated to the Headmasters’ Conference are eligible. To narrow this down to the 48 that can contest the finals at the end of September, regional qualifiers are held. Whitgift falls in the London region for this purpose (curiously, Rugby do as well, while Dulwich contest the South-West!), and qualifying happens each year at Royal Wimbledon GC. This year’s event was on Sunday, May 19th and 14 schools turned up in the hope of winning one of the six berths available for the finals at Hunstanton and Brancaster. It was a brilliantly sunny day.

The qualifier is an 18 hole scratch stableford, for three foursomes pairs. Whitgift’s team (captained by Toby Kemp who was unfortunately injured) was Harry Sellers/Carl Hills; Joe Carmody-Firth/Max Stanley; and Nic Gates/Nick Baxter-Brand. The received wisdom before the event was that 80 points would be enough to qualify, based on previous years’ experience, but the greens were still a little soft after all the rain we have had. Still, Whitgift’s eventual score of 88 points (with the pairs scoring 31, 31 and 26 respectively) looked easily enough, especially when proven-winners Charterhouse, who were Whitgift’s playing partners on the day, only scored . However it was a close-run finish. Eton (winners of the Hewitt in April) scored 97 points, with two of their pairs scoring 38 and 36 (gross 69 and 71 respectively), KCS 90, Epsom and St George’s both 89, WHITGIFT 88, followed by three schools on 87 (Harrow, Rugby and St John’s) only the first of which qualified automatically for the finals (on count back). Phew! Great scoring but a nervy end to the day for many; Charterhouse, Rugby, Westminster, St Paul’s and Highgate being Hewitt schools who missed out. No wonder some maintain that the Morrish is more difficult to win than the Hewitt – and that was just qualifying!

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Another fine day saw the OWs take on the Old Alleynians in the annual ‘South London Derby’ at Tandridge. This is always a friendly and well-supported event on both sides and again, it was 16-a-side, with the OAs fielding a fairly low-handicap side including three of their Hewitt side. Whitgift didn’t field any, and had only three players with single-figure handicaps, against seven from the OAs. So the OWs generally were in receipt of shots, and not giving them!

There was some good golf played, especially by the society’s captain for the day, Jeremy Stanyard and his partner Kevin Powell, who played comfortably better than his handicap. Stanyard & Powell prevailed 5&4 and were back in the clubhouse before anyone else. The OAs Jonnie Waugh drove the green on Tandridge’s 16th and furthermore found the back tier where the flag was. This was a very close match which the OAs eventually won on the 18th. Another OA, Hugo Avshu took the prize for the longest drive on the par-5 9th hole, leaving himself only a pitching wedge to the green; however he could only halve the hole with Alan Scovell. Alan and partner Roger Oldfield (the grateful recipient of two shots on some of the holes!) eventually won this match 2&1. Overall, the OWs emerged triumphant by 5 matches to 2, with one halved.

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Every year, Royal Wimbledon host a schools’ putting competition, now named the Gordon Thorburn Schools Putting Competition. Whitgift have only just been allowed back into the competition, having been relegated last time out. Each school team has four players, who play individually against their opposite numbers in seven other schools. There are four qualifying evenings and the leading two schools from each evening go through to a final in the following week . The bottom two teams in each group are relegated.

In this year’s event, Whitgift were represented by Matt Webster, Nic Gates, Richard Gibson, and Chris Blundell (an RWGC member). The team finished in fourth place out of eight, and the individual results are shown below.

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The Whitgift flag flies at Deal in preparation for the centenary competition which starts on Thursday  (cover).

And this is where it starts. The first round today (Thursday) v Shrewsbury at 11.30. Yesterday was Peter Kenyon Bowl and the society’s internal foursomes competition, the Thompson Tankards, at Prince’s. And 55 years after he last won it (yes, 55), Robert Hollidge won the Tankards, playing with Jeremy Stanyard (right). Well done, both.

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It was not to be, sadly. Shrewsbury played some great golf and edged the first round against Whitgift 3-2, with the fifth match going to the last hole. The scorecard doesn’t quite reflect the tension of the match, with the last Shrewsbury pair, 3 up with four to play, being pegged back by Richard Gibson (right) and Nick Baxter-Brand to 1 up with two to play. Whitgift had chances on both the last two holes but could only manage halves on each. To next year.

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The major surprise of the second round was to see Loretto (winners in 2021, 2022, and 2023) beaten by Uppingham. Repton (who lost to Whitgift in the first round last year) are going well and are already through to the quarter finals. Shrewsbury lost to Tonbridge.

In the Plate, Whitgift beat Liverpool in their first round match.

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Whitgift beat Clifton 2-1 on Saturday morning to reach the Plate quarter finals, where they will play Bradfield.

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Bradfield prevailed 2-1 against Whitgift in Saturday afternoon’s Plate quarter-final and will play Forest in Sunday’s semi-final; the other semi features Epsom and Berkhamsted.

In the main competition the semi-finalists are Bedford, who play Cranleigh, and the more familiar names of Eton and Tonbridge. But special mention must go to Brighton, who won three matches against Canford, Lancing and Fettes, before falling to Cranleigh in their quarter-final. Brighton’s previous record in the competition over the sixty three years since 1960 was Won 4, Lost 62 (Covid meant no competition in 2020). Some improvement!

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Following on from the comment about Brighton’s improved performance, we cannot conclude this Hewitt report without tipping our hat to two less-fancied teams who made their respective finals – and one of them won.

In the main competition, Bedford made their first ever final, beating Repton and Cranleigh on their way. However it was their luck to face Eton, who had won every single one of their twelve finals in the Halford Hewitt and were not about to let superstition get in the way of their 13th. And so the centenary edition of the Hewitt ended as had the first in 1924; a win for Eton.

Perhaps more surprising was Forest’s win against Epsom in the Prince’s Plate final. Overall, there is the impression not only that the standard of the competitions is rising year on year, but that the improvement is across the whole field of 64 schools. In football’s Premier League, it is often said that there are no easy games (with just a nod to Palace’s 1-0 win at Liverpool!). Maybe the same is becoming true in the Hewitt .

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Tandridge GC hosted our AGM and very enjoyable annual dinner, with some team golf beforehand. The evening activity was joined by some 30 people, about half of whom ventured on to the golf course. The AGM itself saw Mark Chatham appointed vice captain, and Laurie Evans and Martin Hayes both elected to the committee. Mark also won the annual knockout tournament, and so was awarded the Challenge Cup, whilst schoolboy Paul Ellinghorst (photo) won the Walker Cup for his contribution to School golf. Paul demonstrated his potential on the golf course too, hitting his 223 yard tee shot on the par 3 13th to within six inches of the hole.

The meeting also saw the launch of society captain Alan Scovell’s appeal for funds to support younger players in the Halford Hewitt and other major competitions. Participation in these events can cost significant sums and the society’s goal is to ensure that players who are good enough for the teams can afford to play, no matter their financial status. The appeal looks set to be well supported by the society.

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Riccardo Fantinelli, OW (see Jan/Feb report) continues his winning form in the US; in early April, he won the Princeton Invitational, which is presumably his home tournament on the US inter-collegiate circuit. He scored at 6 under par for the three round competition.

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The society team’s efforts in the Halford Hewitt are recorded in a separate article under ‘News’

12 OWs joined nearly 800 others at a black-tie dinner at the
Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane to celebrate 100 years since the Halford Hewitt was first played. All 64 ‘Hewitt schools’ were represented, plus several guests, some of them representing the various courses on which the Hewitt has been played over the years.

The dinner was preceded by the draw for the 2024 competition, to be played on 11th-14th April. Whitgift were drawn to play Shrewsbury, in the first round.

l tor: Dudley Thompson, Oscar Bailey, Carl Robertson-Hills; Tom Bloxsome; Martin Hayes     

l to r: Jeremy Stanyard, Nic Gates, Chris Blundell, Stuart Hollins, Richard Gibson, Matt Webster

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The society’s 2024 fixture list has been published on this website. Please see under ‘Fixtures’ in the menu bar. The first formal event will be the AGM and dinner on Thursday 21st March, at Tandridge Golf Club. For the first time, it will be possible to play golf before the evening events; please see under Fixtures for more details. After that, the first formal competition of the year will be the Thompson Tankards, a foursomes event at Prince’s in April. This is our only society foursomes event of the year, and comes at the start of Hewitt Week (see above).

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From time to time, we hear of great things from Whitgiftian golfers playing in competitive golf outside the UK. Members may be aware that there have been a number of golfers who have left school and gone to the US on golf scholarships. One such is Riccardo Fantinelli (left), who has some astonishing accomplishments against his name; readers may recall his finishing runner-up in the British Boys Championship at Deal a couple of years ago.

Riccardo is now at Princeton, where he led the university’s golf team to victory in the 2023 Ivy League team event, and won the individual championship, with a score of 5 under par. He has also represented Italy in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi GC; the team finished fifth, one of their best three ever finishes in the event.