Here we are at event number seven for 2026, Felixstowe Ferry which made a welcome return back to the rota after a few years away. An absolutely brilliant course with just enough wind on the day to keep it entertaining and provide the full links experience! Unfortunately the new clubhouse was delayed however the weather was kind enough to allow for our first al fresco presentation. The new clubhouse does look fantastic however and I’m sure we’ll all get to enjoy it on another day.

The team at the club were very helpful despite everything and the day went smoothly with everybody enjoying the challenging conditions.

Despite the small matter of a football match in the evening we managed a good attendance with 43 players in total, made up of 34 members and 9 guests. Our guests for this event were: Alex Cox, Andrew Tilbury, Andy Phillips, Charlie Hunter, Graham Shaw, John Zajac, Louise Upton, Neil Tibble and Tom Blackburn-Maze. 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.

Scoring on the day was surprisingly good given the wind, with an average of 28.91. This was made up of 24 birdies, 170 pars, 284 bogeys, 234 double bogeys and 62 pickups.

Sun Street Travel were the sponsors for this event and Martin Guildford very generously provided some fantastic prizes with various American whiskeys and bourbons along with some Italian wines for the skills prizes.

On to the prizes;

Skills Prizes

Nearest the pin on hole 9 – Ben Leach
Nearest the pin in on hole 12 – Simon Whitmore
Nearest the pin in two on hole 18 – David Gipp

Very well played everyone!

Team Event

3rd place (however no prize) – Team Sewell with 110
2nd place – Team Dude Where’s My Car Keys Molyneux with 112 points
1st place – Team Captain with 116 points with a fantastic contribution from everybody in my team – Richard Pilsworth, Tom Meeks and Andy Turpin

Individual Guests

In third place, with 29 points, was Tom Blackburn-Maze
Taking second place was John Zajac with 31 points
And narrowly taking first place with 32 points was Graham Shaw

Individual Members

3rd place, in what is becoming a relentless run of good performances was Karl Gjertsen with 38 points
2nd place, a disappointed captain with 39 points after only scoring a miserable 3 points on the final 3 holes
1st place, a very happy treasurer in Richard Darler with a frankly outstanding 41 points

Very well done, Dickie.

Wooden Spoon

Our wooden spoon winner at Felixstowe Ferry with 18 points was Dan Stringer in what must have been a very trying round.

Cuts and Shots Back

Simon Vowles gets cut another 1 shot after a good performance and 37 points
Karl Gjertsen, possibly now approaching what his real handicap should be… is cut another 2 shots
Unhappily I also have to cut myself 2 shots
Richard Darler is rewarded for his skill in tough conditions with a 4 shot cut
Dan Stringer will be delighted to receive 1 shot back which should ensure a minimum of 19 points at the next one…

Order of Merit Table

The race for the Anthony Barnes award continues to simmer… Click here to view the current Order of Merit table.

Fines and Misdemeanours

And now we have the obligatory fines for silly behaviour. I’m very pleased to say we again excelled ourselves in this regard. 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:

• In what is becoming a theme for the year, Andrew Abbott for not reading his emails and enquiring about the dress code
• And the theme for the day, Dan Stringer, Tristan Drane, Adrian Grant, Brian Scally, Mark Upton, Simon Vowles, Andrew Coury and even Kari Sewell all managed to hit up on groups in front
• Greg Butterworth needing more of a challenge decided to play from the white tees on the 12th hole
• Ben Leach, somewhat mystifyingly, taking driver on a par 3 with wind behind, hitting the wrong green and then putting on it
• And Graham Shaw, a guest, nearly killed David Clark with an errant ball

And as usual, a special thank you 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, it really is a pleasure arranging these days for everyone and when they are as well received as Felixstowe was it really puts a shine on the experience. As it was also the mini tour 22 of us ventured into Ipswich for the evening to witness the emotional rollercoaster of the game against Argentina. I’ll stop there, still angry. However a great night was had by all and it’s fair to say that playing Purdis Heath the following day was just an incredible experience. What a course it was and I sincerely hope we can get it on the rota in seasons to come.

2026 CBGS Captain – Paul French