Welcome to the first events in 2025. A small but select group travelled from the North, the South and from Wales for golf at Thorpeness, Ipswich and Colchester. The weather was amazing the whole time – warm and very sunny, the golf and the courses were as ever – mixed, and the company was terrific and a very good time was had by all. For the full report from The Captain, click here.
There was time to relax on arrival but the training for golf had to start immediately.
And then it was time for golf. Day 1 was at Thorpeness – home to the House in the Clouds. As there were 7 members playing, a stableford was the competition format with the captain playing in a 4 ball with Mark Horner, Steve Jones and Angela Grant for the front nine holes before dropping back to play with Tony Gill, Paul Melding and Alison Stanbrook on the back nine holes.
The competition itself was keenly contested, with Alison Stanbrook taking the spoils with a fine 32 points. The captain finished a creditable 2nd with 31 points, with the rest of the field not far behind.
Members sat down for a very enjoyable meal in the club restaurant following the day’s play.
Day 2 was at Ipswich GC. A stableford competition in groups of 3 was the chosen format of the day, “This course can be truly regarded as one of Braid’s masterpieces, requiring accurate shot-making in a tree lined haven of tranquillity.” It is fair to say that Purdis Heath fully met and went beyond members’ expectations.
As for the competition, it was great to see our Honorary Secretary Tony Gill back in the winner’s circle, following his recent injury problems. Tony scored an excellent 34 points over such a stern test of golf, with Angela Grant coming in as runner up with a very credible 31 points.
Day 3 was at Colchester GC where we were joined on the day by society stalwart Malcolm Harris and welcomed new member Vince Nicholls. This boosted our playing numbers to 9.
As decided the previous evening, the format for the day was to be teams of 3, with the two best stableford scores from three counting on each hole.
The winning team on the final day was the Captain, Tony Gill and Malcolm Harris with 79 points with the runners up position going to the team of Mark Horner, Steve Jones and Angela Grant with 76 points.
The visit to Colchester Golf Club was particularly enjoyable for Peter Stanbrook, who was a member of the club in the late 1970s and by surveying the winner’s boards in the clubhouse, it had been a successful membership! He proudly showed off some of the trophies he won during his time there.
This was a very successful trip, blessed with fantastic weather and great golf courses in a corner of the country we had never previously visited. Once again, a heartfelt thank you goes to all the JBGS members who attended.
This was a superb tour. Suffolk/Essex is a bit out of the way for some, but it is well worth visiting. All three courses were Braid through and through.
Social side was also well up to par, as far as I can remember…!