Orchardleigh Golf Club, near Frome, was the venue for the final gathering of Somerset Golf Captains in 2022.
Despite several late withdrawals, forty eight past captains from golf clubs across Somerset travelled to the far east of the county for the Autumn Meeting.
Orchardleigh Golf Club enjoys a superb setting in picturesque parkland with mature trees and some stunning holes on a beautifully designed layout. The weather was kind to us: dry, bright and sunny and the course was in great condition. The speed of the greens caught out several members by surprise, and there was a wide range of scores of amongst the 24 pairs which competed.
Coffee and bacon rolls on arrival were followed by 18 holes of golf, and then a one-course basket meal. The teams competed in a four ball better ball stableford format off the yellow tees with 85% handicap allowance.
To their great credit, there were several scores in the 40s: and the top five positions were closely contested. Indeed, the final winners were only decided on count back (“22 out and 23” beating “23 out and 22 in”).
Before members left, a short presentation was held in which Captain-Elect David Bate thanked Orchardleigh for their hospitality and encouraged those Captains present to book their places at the 2023 Annual Dinner which will take place at Taunton Rugby Club on Friday, the 3rd of March.
Somerset Golf Captains Secretary John Beer then read out the results, and the prizes were presented by the President Bob Acland.
Spot prizes were also provided by the Somerset Golf Captains Committee and bottles of wine were presented to the following lucky winners.
Nearest the Pin (Hole 3): Mike Poole (Long Sutton)
Nearest the Pin (Hole 7): Paul Hucker (Burnham & Berrow)
Nearest the Pin in 2 (Hole 8): Matt Lazenby (Weston-super-Mare)
Nearest the Pin (Hole 10) : Dean Hamilton (Wells)
Nearest the Pin in 2 (Hole 13): Phil Slater (Wells)
Nearest the Pin (Hole 17): Ian Gover (Minehead)
The main prize winners in the competition were as follows:
4th Place: Jim Boyce (The Mendip) & Harold Lidbitter (Frome) – 43 points
3rd Place: Dougie Woods (Worlebury) & Jim Skinner (Worlebury) – 44 points
2nd Place: Phil Barrett (Taunton & Pickeridge) & Ian Gover – 45 points (on countback)
1st Place: Martin Bargery (Cricket St Thomas) & Alan Chance (Cricket St Thomas) – 45 points (on countback)
A full set of results can be seen by clicking here
An additional prize is presented following the Autumn Meeting. The “Griffith Trophy” is presented to the member with the highest combined score from both the Spring and Autumn Meetings. Again, the results were very close as follows.
3rd Place : Murray Parsons (Brean) & Jim Skinner(Worlebury): 82 points
2nd Place: Dougie Woods (Worlebury) 83 points
1st Place: Harold Lidbitter (Frome) 86 points
And so, the “Griffith Trophy 2022” was presented to Harold Lidbitter, who was previously Captain at Frome Golf Club, and now plays at Fosseway Golf Club in Midsomer Norton.
This concludes the programme of events for the 2022 season and we would like to thank all members of Somerset Golf Captains for their ongoing support for our activities and events.
The provisional fixture list for 2023 is available on the website by following this link.
The next big event for your diaries will be the Annual Dinner which takes place on Friday, the 3rd of March 2023 The guest speaker will be Roy Walker. Further details will follow shortly through the newsletter and on the website – so please check regularly.
