Another glorious English summer’s day saw us arrive to grey skies and the threat of rain at John O’Gaunt Golf Club. Despite this, everyone was in good spirits and set out on the course with dreams of something magical happening… For most of us, this was not the case; however, Greg Butterworth managed to pull off one of the single largest shocks in golfing memory by getting an eagle the proper way, and by all accounts, with an outstanding golf shot, with a hole in one at the very tricky 16th. To make it extra special, this hole was organised as a Beat The Pro, which he certainly did, an absolutely amazing achievement!

The team at the club were brilliant as always and put on one of the single biggest feasts we’ve had. The omission of a dessert was not noticed and the food itself was absolutely delicious so thank you very much to all involved.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of last-minute dropouts, however, the event was still well represented with 51 golfers in total, made up of 38 members and 13 guests. Our guests for this event were; Alex Cox, Austin Leivers, Darren Bishop, Edwin Lewis, Jordan Henry, Kyle Warren, Lol Lewis, Louise Upton, Mick Spina, Pasc Benedetto, Ryan Greenwood, Tom Blackburn-Maze and Will Huisman. Guests are always welcome at CBGS events, and once a guest has played one event, they’re eligible to apply for membership the following year if they are so interested. Several did show an interest, so that is good news for next year.

Scoring on the day was a mixed bag however, overall, the weather didn’t affect the average and the outcome was a very average 29.24. This was made up of 1 hole in one (eagle), 17 birdies, 154 pars, 373 bogeys, 334 doubles or worse and 39 pickups.

Exit Blueprint were the sponsors for this event and Karl Gjertsen, our esteemed Secretary, very generously provided some fantastic prizes for those of us who didn’t have the worst of days. And one prize for one that did…

On to the prizes;

Skills Prizes

Nearest the pin in two on hole 1 – Dan Cockerton
Nearest the pin on hole 4 – Sharon Gledhill
Nearest the pin in two on hole 12 – Ryan Greenwood

Team Event

3rd place (however no prize) – Team Greg with 114 points
2nd place – Team Davies with 115 points
1st place – Team Altomonte with 116 points. An outstanding result in the conditions and very well played

Individual Guests

In second place, with 36 points was Mick Spina
Taking first place, with 41 points was Ryan Greenwood, a prospective member and again very well played

Individual Members

A relatively tough day out, however, a few did manage some notable scores…

3rd place, tied with with 38 points were Karl Gjertsen ( a JO’G member…) and Dave Clarke in his second event of the season who had already been, very generously and magnanimous of me ‘only’, cut 2 shots for his win at the Wandlebury.
2nd place, Ray Cawston with an impressive 40.
1st place, and in no way expected by anybody was a simply outstanding round from Greg Butterworth of 44 points (also a JO’G member…) so hole in one notwithstanding, a brilliant performance.

Maybe a little local knowledge can be valuable…

Wooden Spoon

Our wooden spoon winner at John O’Gaunt, on a back 9 countback against Jake Gibbs and Adam Fernandes, was Bill Dastur.

Adam Fernandes in second last was gifted a beautiful golf towel emblazoned with “I hate golf, I hate golf, I hate golf, I LOVE GOLF”. Very appropriate by all accounts.

Cuts and Shots Back

John Altomonte and Karl Gjertsen get cut 1 shot.
Dave Clark, in yet another uncharacteristic fit of generosity, only gets cut 1 shot also.
Ray Cawston gets cut 3 shots.

Deserving of a new paragraph, Greg Butterworth, he of pre-season “I need a higher handicap”, claims, gets cut 7 shots.

Order of Merit Table

The race for the Anthony Barnes award is heating up. Click here to view the current Order of Merit table.

Fines and Misdemeanours

And now the part we have all been looking forward to, we have the obligatory fines for silly behaviour. I’m very pleased to say that yet again, we were all more than happy to tell tales on teammates who misbehaved. All in good humour and well received for a great cause. Every penny raised supports CPSL Mind, who do fantastic work and are hugely appreciative of our support. Here are a few of the standout fines from this round:

Dave Clark and Simon Vowles for being so keen to book on the mini tour they booked Felixstowe as well
Simon Vowles, Richard Darler and myself for booking onto John O’Gaunt twice (Mr Vowles really needs a competent secretary – @TheOneGroup…)
Greg Butterworth, clearly feeling superior, decided to take a ride in a buggy from a team mate without authorisation
Many people also seemed to think that a relaxation of the dress code meant they could seat themselves for dinner before given permission to do so… There were so many they were asked for honesty and there was a good number who obliged…
Mark Upton who was reported by his own guest as he’d waved to say hello to him in the car park on arrival, only to be summarily ignored

Also, a special mention to Jeremy Wager for very kindly photographing the prize-giving and providing an excellent selection of photos from the day.

To Finish

Once again, thank you all so much for your support. I now very much look forward to seeing those brave souls attending the Past Captains Tour in Marbella on Friday. Here’s to another outstanding weekend of golf and fun. The next event is at Essendon on the 1st of July followed by Felixstowe Ferry, and the mini tour, on the 15th of July. Wellingborough, another perennial favourite, is on the 10th of September and ALL should note this is my birthday event (actual date the 8th). Please note Essendon will be a return to the normal dress code however it may be relaxed slightly if the weather decides to give me a break.

2026 CBGS Captain – Paul French