The Bury St Edmunds junior team kicked off their Suffolk Team Championship campaign with a fine win away at Ipswich Golf Club.
Playing individual Stableford with all three team member’s scores to count, every point was vital and the team comprising Lucas Bond, Ethan McCleary and Jacob Severn acquitted themselves admirably.
They returned 38, 38 and 34 points so their total of 110 was two better than the par total of 108 and 13 shots ahead of the Purdis team on 97.
Bury St Edmunds’ triumphant team of Lucas Bond, Ethan McCleary and Jacob Severn Picture: Simon Byford
The team will face Fynn Valley in their next match.
Meanwhile, Bury’s male members started their Winter Goblets campaign. A four-round foursomes competition – with the best three scores to count – it’s always a popular competition, although Nick Bonney & Colin Gray are doing their best annually to deter all competition.
Last year’s winners again got off to a flying start returning 39 points. Dean Shave & Toby Whiting, along with Paul Glasswell & Peter Mallinson, were only a shot adrift on 38 points.
With four other pairs returning 36 or better, hopefully a few pairs can keep it interesting for Bonney & Gray, unless the unthinkable happens and they drop points!
The Bury Senior men also played the second round of the Glasswell Cup. It’s run as a singles Stableford but on the same ‘best three from four’ format as the Winter Goblets.
Fred Bennet had a miraculous round in tough conditions to return 36 points, Paul Smith was second on 36 and Robert Duncan third on 35.
In the overall standings, John McKeown tops the table on combined 72 points, one shot ahead of Robert Duncan on 71. Andrew McKee is third on 66 points.
Stowmarket GC
There was a Men’s Stableford held at Stowmarket GC across the weekend.
On Saturday, Nick Ridley and Mark Turnbull both produced superb 39-point rounds, but unfortunately they both reside in Division 1. After consulting with The Count, Nick was awarded first place. Peter Blenkinsopp had 38 point for third place.
Division 2 also required The Count, with Tom Chapman’s 36 points deemed superior to that of Graham Jessup’s. Max Lamb was third with 34.
Division 3 was a clearer affair Stuart Harland topped the chart with 33 points. Rodney Elsden was second on 32 and Rick Ruegg third with 30.
Sunday was also no rest day for The Count, who was required to decide places in all three divisions.
Dave Penny returned the round of the day to win Division 1 with 39 points. Rick Brothwell was second on 36 with Ian Hurst-Cotton third on 36 but falling foul of the calculations.
Damon Large won Division 2 on 37. Again there were two scores of 35 with Nigel Burch in second over Paul Robinson in third.
In Division 3 there was a card play-off for first place, with Rhys Gardener’s 35 placing first, Mick Taylor second on the same score and Callum Braker in third on 31 points.
The Suffolk GC
The Winter League at The Suffolk kicked off once again. Always a popular event, the greensomes format keeps players competitive through the winter but in a more relaxed format.
Terry Hall & Jack Pearson returned 40 points to top the table, but with Daniel Kaye & John Pritchard just one point behind on 39 and with four other pairs on 35 or better, the competition will be as hot as always.
Rarely does a week go by without a Seniors competition, and this week we have two. First up was the Seniors Stableford, in which Neil Mawson returned the best round with 32 points in tough conditions. Roger McGann edged out Alexander MacCormick after the pair both scored 31 points.
Then it was time for the Seniors Remembrance Texas Scramble. McGann and MacCormick set aside their differences after The Count’s intervention above, and teamed up with Bob Hope and Andrew Rudd to score a superb nett 58 to blow away the competition. Second place, on nett 62, were the team comprising of Norman Hartley, Richard Graves, Nick Rippington and Roger Daniel.
And still there was space for a Midweek Stableford for main members of the club. Graham Chapman was top with 39 points, and along with James Laflin in second on 37, I seemingly write about these two characters every week. Keep playing well guys. Dave King was third on 35 points.
Thetford GC
Each year Thetford Golf Club hold an event to commemorate and support Remembrance Day, titled the Poppy Day Texas Scramble.
The event is always full and enjoyed by many, with a shotgun start and everyone arriving at the clubhouse together for presentations.
This year’s event was the first of the season to be played from the blue tees – a bespoke course set out for winter play, WHS rated and a real test of golf.
The winners with an incredible nett 51 (21 under par) were James Armour, Callum Benham, Jacob Bogle and Alex Gathercole, beating the runners-up by 2 shots (nett 53).
The scoring was outstanding, with the lowest being a nett 63, and 25 of the 32 teams scoring 59 or less.
A traditional seasonal competition in the run up to Christmas is the Turkey Trot, a Stableford competition.
At a time when many courses are closed or played in waterlogged conditions, Thetford’s sandy fairways and greens saw the event played on full greens, with no mud on shoes.
The winner was Callum Olpin, who played in the next to last group of the day. Finishing in twilight, he pipped Gary Robinson (40 points), who had been clubhouse leader for most of the day, by one point to shoot 41 points.
Meanwhile, Gerald Mayo won the November Seniors Stableford with 38 points, beating Barry Brackenborough by virtue of The Count.
The scoring for the event was relatively low, a function of the cooler conditions that limits how far the ball travels, as well as the new challenging blue tee course in play at Thetford.
With 92 players, the senior events continue to be extremely popular and well subscribed.
Thetford have also recently announced their 2026 Open calendar, and next year’s schedule is: Men’s Spring Open (April 2), Mixed Open (May 20), Seniors AmAm (June 25), Captain’s Charity Day (July 11), Ladies’ Open AmAm (August 6), Junior Open (August 14), Senior’s Open (September 10), Festive Pairs (November 19).
At each event, competitors enjoy a round of golf at Thetford, with the chance to win prizes, and after play enjoy a two-course meal from the club’s award-winning chef.
To find out more information and sign up to play, go to www.thetford.intelligentgolf.co.uk/opens on the Thetford Golf Club website.
Have a great golfing week.
