When I retired from full-time work just over two years ago I had this idea that I was going to put my feet up and enjoy life.
Instead I became Seniors Captain at Dunston Hall Golf Club on the outskirts of Norwich.
Let me make it perfectly clear that I am loving every second of my retirement but as for putting my feet up? Not a chance.
I probably underestimated the work involved in my stint as captain. With many golf clubs it is little more than a badge of honour. But it is not like that at Dunston Hall and I have to say that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I knew before I took it on that I was going to have to give it 100%.
(Image Credit: Dunston Hall Golf Club)
I have just organised my first official event, a quiz in the clubhouse bar to raise money for my chosen charity, the East Anglian Children’s Hospices (EACH). It turned out to be a huge success, raising £600. And we have another one on March 27.
But I would never have believed how much worry it caused me.
I put signs up on the noticeboards, I went on social media and the club advertised it in their newsletter.
Would anybody want to take part?
In no time at all, I had more than 60 people lined up to take part. EACH even said they would enter a team and that one of them would give a short presentation about the charity.
EACH had pointed me in the direction of a quizmaster. I contacted him by email and then spoke to him on the phone. It turns out he is the Norwich Town Cryer. He said he was happy to do both quizzes.
Then I had to speak to the bar manager and ensure the tables would be set up properly and that there would be enough bar staff on duty on the night. I was told that two young barmen would be working. It didn’t fill me with confidence.
Raffle prizes! You can’t have a charity quiz without raffle prizes. I bought some wine but that was never gong to be enough. My predecessor as captain stepped forward and told me that he would provide some prizes. He was amazing. How many did I want? What did I want? I figured that I would raffle six bottles of wine and would need a further six raffle prizes.
“No problem at all,” he said. “I will leave them with the starter on the Tuesday before the quiz.”
On the appointed Tuesday, said starter informed me that nothing had been left for me. I emailed our benefactor and asked if he had forgotten them? “No Derek, I left them behind the starter and told him I was doing so and that they were there for you to pick up.”
I returned to the golf club in a blind panic and there they were, exactly where I had been told they would be.
On the day of the quiz, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.
Would everybody turn up? Would anybody cancel? If so, how many? Would they turn up on time? Would I be left on my own? Would the quizmaster be any good? Would the EACH team turn up? Would the PA system be there? Would it work? Would anybody actually buy any raffle tickets?
I turned up way too early. Of course I did. I started setting up the prizes and sorting out the quiz sheets and then I began to panic about 60+ people converging on the bar at the same time, clamouring for a drink. I asked one of the young barmen if they could take table orders throughout the night. “Of course we can Derek. That’s not a problem at all,” he replied.
The quizmaster was the first to arrive and the second I met him I knew that we were in safe hands. I had asked everybody to be there at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. And do you know what? Most of them were. They all paid their entry fee and bought their raffle tickets.
The table service worked like a dream, the quizmaster was fantastic, the charity talk during the interval was just right, the raffle went well, everybody had a good time, we raised a decent amount of money and yes, we are going to do it all again.
The less said about my team’s performance in the general knowledge round the better – we scored ONE out of 10.
But I have now had a proper taste of what lies ahead in 2026. Does it scare me? Of course it does. But am I excited by it all? What do you think? Of course I am!
We now move on to the first of 20 inter-club friendly matches where my next worry will be whether all of the 12 team members I have picked will all turn up…a captain’s work is never done!
Derek Clements is a seasoned sports journalist and regular Golfshake contributor, specialising in tour coverage, opinion pieces, and feature writing. With a long career in national newspapers and golf media, he has reported on the game across Europe, the United States and Australia. A passionate golfer, he has played and reviewed numerous renowned courses, with personal favourites including Pebble Beach, Kingsbarns, Aldeburgh, Old Thorns and the K Club. His love of the game informs his thoughtful commentary on both professional golf and the wider golfing community.