Our fourth Order of Merit event of 2025, was Luffenham Heath Golf Club – a popular course set in picturesque heathland surroundings. There was more of a chill in the air despite being in the middle of a dry, warm spell of British weather, but it stayed dry for us. The course looked great and played well, and our CBGS members and guests had a great day out. We had 48 players attend, with 38 members and 10 guests. The average point score on the day was 30.9 points, with 2 eagles, 13 birdies, 199 pars, 316 bogeys and 334 doubles or worse. The day was sponsored by Coutts, with some great prizes for the winners. Sponsors play a crucial role in making these events possible – thank you, Jon Derbyshire, for your valued contribution. It was a pleasure to welcome some new members to their first CBGS event, where they received their ties. A warm welcome to CBGS: Declan Fitzhenry, Andrew Abbot, Andrew Mason, Chris Newsome, and Shaun Roberts. On to the prizes:

Skills prizes

Nearest the pin on the 5th – Adam Fernandez.
Nearest the pin in two on the 8th – Chris Newsome
Nearest the pin on the 17th – Adam Fernandez

Team prize

There was a tie for first place! On countback, Team Coutts came second with 121 points. The winners, with 121 points, were team Karl.

Individual guests

Bill Beadles scored 34 points to come second among our guests. First place was won by Simon Ainger with 37 points.

Individual member

Richard Waters came second with 39 points. Our winner, with an impressive 42 points, was Steven Rhodes.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Wooden spoon

The role of captain definitely comes with its challenges, not least of which is the ongoing battle to actually play decent golf. Despite a valiant effort from Philip Gilbey, the wooden spoon was, for the third time this season, on countback, claimed by yours truly… Kari Sewell.

Cuts and shots back

Simon Whitmore, Tom Meeks and John Altomone – 1 shot cut
Richard Waters – 2 shot cut
Steven Rhodes – 4 shot cut

Fines

As always, we rounded off the day with a round of fines for various acts of daftness. All proceeds go to our chosen charity this year, Little Miracles, who are most grateful for your continued silliness. Here’s a selection of the finest fines:

Gary Hanson, for leaving your bag behind at East Herts
Karl, for incorrectly spelling his own name
Andrew Coury’s group was fined for slow play (keep up with the group in front on my watch!)
Craig Saisbury for not knowing who the captain is
Dickie Darler for throwing clubs (it may have been 3-4 clubs!)
Dan Webster for not having the Coutts trophy cleaned
Adam Fernandez for wearing what can only be described as a hoodie
Martin Guildford for putting the wrong ball
A commendable effort from Chris Newsome in trying to steal Kenny’s tie – unfortunately, it still landed him with a fine.
And finally, while I don’t like to pick on our sponsors, it came to light that Jon hadn’t paid his annual subs. Worse still, he forgot to book his own team for the event and had to rely on last-minute cancellations just to get a spot.

I hope you all enjoyed the day, and I look forward to seeing many of you at John O’Gaunt.

2025 CBGS Captain – Kari Sewell