With sadness, (but also some degree of relief!!), we held our last Order of merit event of the 2024 season on the Old Course at the Gog Magog golf club in Cambridge.

Opened in 1901 and just 3 miles from Cambridge City Centre, the Old Course has all the character you would expect from a club with so much history – with great variety, great views and a great test for all abilities.

The last event would not be the same without it being the best-attended event of the season, with 88 players participating in just our second shotgun start. A huge thanks to the 57 members and 31 guests who attended the day and enjoyed a course that was in superb condition and played in tropical weather conditions for mid-October. After the relentless rain in September and delayed start to this event last year, I don’t think anyone expected to be playing in 18 degrees, hazy sunshine, and light winds. It really was a treat and if you believe in fate, a payback from the weather gods for having to cancel Aspley Guise just 3 weeks earlier.

Once again and certainly a theme throughout the season, the club could not do enough for us on the day. A big thanks to John (bar and catering manager), Tracey and the rest of the staff for their superb hospitality and delicious food, which consisted of a carvery and sticky toffee pudding.

Scores were indicative of conditions on the day, ranging from 21 – 40 points across both members and guests, with an average score of 30.47 points.

Congratulations to Andy Turpin for winning the day with 40 points, collecting the prestigious Anthony Barmes award and for avoiding an inevitable cut. Whilst not presented on the day, a huge congratulations goes to Damien Goldsack who won the overall OOM award for the season and the Anthony Barnes shield will be presented to Damien at the AGM in February – assuming of course he doesn’t decide to jump on a plane again last minute to get some sunshine in Spain 😉. A special mention goes to Mark Winchester who came runner up in the overall OOM points for the season, followed in 3rd place by Kenny Egan who turned up on the day, but may regret his decision not to also jump on a plane last minute with Damien and get some Spanish sunshine!

Congratulations to team ‘The Steve’s’ (Stephen Rose, Steve Rhodes, Martin Claxton – known to his friends as Steve and Barry Burroughs – also known to his mates as Steve) for winning the best team prize with 122 points. A special mention to guest Lynn Baker who collected the best individual guest prize with 38 points.

A huge congratulations to guest Rob Hall who not only collected the nearest the pin skills prize on hole 4 but proceeded to take just one shot on the next nearest the pin (par 3) hole 9 with his first ever hole in one. Rob rewarded his bank balance for such a tremendous feat by kindly providing a bottle of red wine for each table for dinner. A kind gesture and a superb achievement. Congratulations also goes to guest Wil Huisman who collected the nearest the pin in 2 prize on hole 11.

Finally on the prizes, congratulations to Alan Wright for winning the ‘Beat the Pro’ competition on hole 17, where the prize was a £100 credit for the pro-shop at GOGS. It was a real treat and pleasure to have the company of club professional Tom Baptie for the day, who managed to restrict the number of players in the draw (for hitting the green and getting inside his ball) to just 11 from 86 players. Thanks to everyone for participating in the event, where £500 was raised on the day for my chosen charity of the year ACTION medical research for Children.

A big thanks to Tristan Drane from The One Group for sponsoring the day and providing some fantastic prizes. With money from the sponsor, £10 from each ticket sold, £280 in fines and £500 from beat the pro, we raised just over £2,000 on the day. This tops off a truly magnificent season when it comes to raising much needed funds for a wonderful charity and I will be forever grateful for everyone’s generosity throughout the season.

A big thanks also to Lewis Coghlin from ACTION medical research for making the trip from Brighton to join us for dinner and say a few words about the charity. I know he has had a positive impact on many members throughout the season and he (along with his colleague Toby) is very much looking forward to attending the AGM next year.

As I start to reflect on my year as Captain and prepare my 2-hour speech for the AGM in February, I couldn’t finish my last Captain’s report of the season without saying a huge thank-you to Karl Gjertsen and Kari Sewell for their unwavering support this year. I simply could not have done it without you, and I wish Kari all the best for next year and I know you will absolutely smash it as our Captain for 2025.

Lastly, (I promise) thanks to every single one of you for showing me much love throughout the season, firmly getting behind me as your captain, and for giving me the opportunity to make some wonderful friendships and business connections. I will treasure this experience for the rest of my life and continue to support the society where I can for many years to come.

Cheers

Steve