Royal Hospital School Golfing Society

Archived news articles
2021
Sunday 19/12/21	Sunday Turkey Trot Texas Scramble 35 brave souls brought some Christmas cheer to a misty damp golf course and took part in our Christmas Texas Scramble. The teams were sorted out by myself prior to the game thereby providing a good mixture of young and old, many thanks to my Vice Captain Paul Unsworth for sorting out the cards and naming the teams accordingly. It was great to see everyone return to the King's Head afterwards and carry on the Christmas spirit. Prizes were awarded to the winners, runners up and losers in fact everyone received something including the bar staff. It was great to see Banjo was part of the outright winning team, well done. However, the best part of the whole proceedings personally was the fact that over the course of the two Christmas Competitions in excess of a £100 has been donated to my chosen charity The Multi Systems Atrophy Trust, many thanks to all. Also on the day we were finally, after many attempts, able to make a presentation to our previous Chairman Roger Tyler. Our present Chairman Gordon Smith reflected on the service Roger has given both as Chairman and a Committee Member and duly presented him with an engraved wine glass as well as 12 bottles of fine red wine. May I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and ALL THE BEST FOR THE NEW YEAR. Dave Wood Captain
Wednesday 8/12/21	Midweek Christmas Competition - December 2021 21 Festive souls took part in the midweek competition suitably turned out in Christmas jumpers, and in some cases hats, and I am glad to say the sun decided to shine on us once again. The winner with a very impressive 42 points was Steve Butcher, 2nd Clive Rennison 38 points and 3rd Laurie Justice 37 points, nearest the pin on the 6th Roger Holmes. No one managed it on the 17th so the prize was presented to our host Caroline. As a departure from the normal prizes, winners received items of Christmas Fayre with all of those taking part also receiving a little gift from Santa. £50 will be on its way to the Captain's Charity The Multiple Systems Atrophy Trust care of entry fees and a few fines for no jumper, many thanks to all. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 28/11/21	Monthly Competition - November 2021 Sunday saw 28 brave souls battle against Artic conditions to take part in November's monthly competition. The overall winner on count back with 37 points was (Dusty) David Stuart Thompson , Div 1 winner (Doody) Roger Goodchild RU Keith Last, Div 2 winner Catriona Herbert RU Chris Herbert. Nearest the pin 8th Ian Whitty 13th Chris Herbert. Within this competition we also had a Par 3 competition kindly sponsored by Terry Whiting who provided a magnificent trophy, this was won by Keith Last who beat his son Glen by one shot. Congratulations to the winners and well done to everyone who took part. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 7/11/21	Medal Competition Last Sunday saw the postponed Medal Competition take place in far better conditions than the previous Sunday. A field of 28 players took part and the eventual winners were: Gross Tony Wright, RU Dave Springate Nett John Keeble RU John Scoines Nearest the pins hole 4 David Stuart Thompson 17 Tony Wright. Well done to the winners and thanks to everyone for taking part. Dave Wood Captain
Wednesday 13/10/21	Wednesday Warrior Competition This was competed for, for the very first time on Wednesday 13th with most of the Wednesday Warriors taking part. The winner with 43 stapleford points was Bob Stone, 2nd Dave Wood (39) 3rd Tony Wright (38). This was the last formal competition to be played for this year and happily once again the sun shone on us and thanks to the ground staff for preparing the course for us. Dave Wood Captain
Summer 2021	Summer competitions The final of the Summer Pairs competition proved to be a very close match with the winners not decided until the final hole so congratulations to Roger Holmes and Ian Whitty and commiserations to Richard Lawson and Mick Suckling. The John Symes singles trophy was won by Rob Collett, congratulations Rob and commiserations to Chris Herbert. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 26/9/21	3 Clubs and a Putter Competition Yet another fine day saw 28 competitors take the field for the 3 Clubs and a Putter Competition. This proved to be a very tight and eagerly contested competition with 11 players scoring 36 points and above. The eventual winner with 39 points was Paul Unsworth and the runner up on count back with 38 points was Clive Rennison, congratulations to both. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 12/9/21	RHS Golfing Society Championships Our annual championships took place on Sunday 12 September with 30 members taking part. Once again the weather gods looked kindly upon us and we were blessed with a fine sunny day. Thanks also to the ground staff for having the course in great condition for the day's events. Winners were:- Championship Gross Winner Ian Whitty, runner up Dave Springate Net Winner Ian Roberts, runner up Patsy Grimsey Over 65's Winner Patsy, runner up John Scoines Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part, also thanks to Terry Powell for collating all of the results. Dave Wood Captain
Sundays 22/8/21 and 29/8/21	Over 15 Handicap and Monthly Competitions - August 2021 Congratulations to John Scoines for winning the Over 15 Handicap Competition with 39 points closely followed by Ian Roberts with 38 points. The trophy will be presented at out presentation evening in October. We had 23 golfers turn out for the August Monthly Competition, the overall winner with 40 points was Richard Lawson, Div 1 David Springate 39 points, Div 2 Peter George 38 points and Tony Wright won the nearest the pin on both the 8th and 13th, congratulations to all. Dave Wood Captain
Wednesday 11/8/21	Midweek Competition - August 2021 The monthly midweek competition, on Wednesday 11th August, saw 18 members take part on a fine sunny morning with the course in excellent condition. Headlines for the day and congratulations must go to Tony Wright who set a new course record of 60, needless to say Tony also amassed 43 stableford points and won the competition. I wonder how long this score will stand before it is beaten, quite sometime I expect. Full result:- 1st Tony Wright 43 points 2nd Colin Scott 41 appoints 3rd Roger Holmes 40 points Nearest the pin 8th Bill Hewlett, a few inches more and this could have been quite expensive , 13th Roger Holmes. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 25/7/21	Captain's drive in and team competition Despite the forecast the weather kept fine and we even experienced some sunshine which came out just in time for a most enjoyable BBQ at the King's Head. I am pleased to say that in the drive in I managed to find the fairway with my first attempt and surprised everyone by going beyond all of the members markers! Eight teams of four took part in the golf, each team consisting of 2 Div 1 and 2 Div 2 players, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and thanks to the ground staff for a great playing surface. The eventual winners were the team comprising of T Wright, P George, T Futardo and S Butcher, 2nd D Springate, I Whitty, J Rice And C Scott, 3rd Doody , D Wood, C Herbert & R Head. Nearest the pin hole 6 T Futardo, hole 10 J Mellis and nearest the pin in 2 on hole 2 T Wright. A special thanks to the Ladies who provided a halfway house on the 10th tee, the sausage rolls were delicious as was the quiche, mind you the beer didn't help as all of my team put their balls out of play on the 11th!! The real winner on the day however was my chosen charity The Multiple System Atrophy Trust who will be receiving a cheque in excess of £200, grateful thanks to all of those who took part and donated it is most appreciated. Dave Wood Captain
Wednesday 9/6/21	Midweek Competition - June 2021 Twenty members entered June's midweek competition. The winner with a very creditable 37 points was Clive Rennison, 2nd Tony Wright and 3rd Doug Barwick. Colin Scott won nearest the pin on the 4th, unfortunately no one was successful on the 10th. Thanks to everyone who turned out in the glorious June sunshine, never was a pint at the King's Head afterwards more looked forward to. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 29/5/21	Monthly Competition - May 2021 May's monthly competition took place on a lovely sunny day, far better than the grey cold windy day last month, the only problem there was also a month's growth to the grass in the rough. Hopefully this will be cut before we play our next monthly competition. Thirty competitors took part and the overall winner with a creditable 38 points was Ray Head, Division 1 winner was your captain Dave Wood and 2nd was Tom Roberts, Division 2 winner was Graham Smith, 2nd Bill Hewlett. Nearest the pin on the 8th Terry Whiting and on the 13th Keith Last. Dave Wood Captain
Wednesday 12/5/21	Midweek Competition - May 2021 Wednesday 12th saw the very first of our midweek competitions. It was pleasing to see a field of 22 competitors take part on a lovely sunny morning and enjoy some very competitive golf. The honours went to:- Ist Dave Wood 42 points 2nd Simon Wood 39 points 3rd David Stuart Thompson 38 points Nearest pin 6th Tony Wright, 17th Ian Whitty Thanks to Terry Powell for checking and correcting the score cards and for adjusting the handicaps accordingly. Please lookout for the date of the next midweek competition, which is likely to be Wednesday 9th June. Dave Wood Captain
Sunday 25/4/21	Monthly Competition - April 2021 Sunday April 25th saw the first monthly competition take place since socially distanced golf restarted and the first under my captaincy. Although it was a very chilly and windy Sunday morning a near maximum field of 35 hearty souls turned up to participate some even in shorts!! The overall winner with a very creditable 41 points was Tom Roberts and in 2nd place with 36 points was Tony Furtardo, Div1 winner was Dave Springate and the winner of Div 2 was Bill Hewlett. Winner of the nearest the pin on the 6th was John Keeble. Unfortunately no one was successful in getting on the green on the 17th. Congratulations to all of those and thanks to Terry Powell for recording all the results. Although not the most pleasant of conditions to play in I am sure they will get better as we progress and the rough grows longer! Thanks to all of you who turned out and I look forward to seeing you all again as the season marches on. A great start to the golfing year lets hope we can continue without any lock downs this year. Dave Wood Captain
Monday 8/3/21	Annual General Meeting The RHS Golfing Society AGM was held on Monday 25th March 2021 using Zoom for an online AGM for the first time for the Society. David Wood was elected society captain. Outgoing captain Keith Chittock was thanked for covering the role for 2 years and for organising so many excellent events and away-days. Keith has kindly agreed to remain on the Committee as lead for Tours and Away days. Following a long and distinguished career on the Committee, including as Treasurer and latterly Chairman, Roger Tyler has decided to take a well-earned retirement. Under Roger's leadership the Society has continued to grow and evolve into the friendly and vibrant organisation it is today and Roger was thanked for his passion and commitment over the years. Gordon Smith was elected as the new Chariman of the Society with Andrew Smith being appointed as the Society's Treasurer taking over this role from Gordon.
2020
Thursday 24/12/20	New flags, pins and cups Safe Golfing. New flags, pins and cups have been fitted on the greens along with easy ball retrievers.
Sunday 20/12/20	Charity Christmas pairs competition A Christmas pairs competition was held on 20th December. Victorious were Paul Unsworth & Doody Goodchild with a splendid 75 combined stableford points. Runners up were Keith & Glenn Last and third David & Staszek Stuart Thompson. Proceeds were donated to E.A.C.H.
Sunday 5/7/20	Hole in One for Paul! Congratulations to Paul Unsworth for his hole in one on the 4th hole. Suitable social distancing was observed when he bought a round to celebrate in the King's Head afterwards.
Friday 15/5/20	Golf course reopens After being closed for seven weeks, due to the lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the golf course at the Royal Hospital School reopened for use by Golfing Society members, School staff and School students. Play resumed on a bright, sunny Friday morning with the course looking in excellent condition. The splendid view from the first tee was a welcome one as shown in the photo below. All golfers now have to pre book tee times and follow safety precautions, including maintaining social distancing at all times, especially in the car park, around tees and around greens. Click here to read more
2019
Wednesday 28/8/19	Greens under repair The good news is that the benefit of the excellent work done by Steve Mutton and his team can already be seen on the three greens that have been under repair and all players owe a big thank you to everyone involved. The greens are now back in use but the grass is being left longer than normal while it becomes fully established. Players are asked to please ensure you treat ALL the greens with the respect they deserve and repair ALL pitch marks, which is for the benefit of us all. These photos illustrate the impressive progress made so far on the 3rd and 9th greens.
Friday 12/7/19	New Golf Flags Smart golf flags showing the new school logo have been installed on the course.
Monday 30/4/19	New Practice Nets New Golf Practice Nets have been purchased by the Society and positioned just behind the first tee. Members now have the opportunity to loosen up and perfect their swing before venturing on to the course. The Golfing Society is very happy to share this facility with the school to support pupils and employees wishing to develop or practice their golf.
Monday 25/3/19	Annual General Meeting Nearly 30 members attended The RHS Golfing Society AGM on Monday 25th March 2019 at the King's Head in Stutton. Keith Chittock was elected society captain taking over from Richard Lawson who was thanked for his work on behalf of the society and said what an honour it had been to serve in the role.
Sunday 17/3/19	Bob Good's Memorial Day 17th March 2019 A Memorial Day, planned by his wife Maggie and Bob before he died for St. Patrick's Day, was held on Sunday 17th March 2019. Bob Good, who was Chairman of the Golfing Society for 13 years, died in July 2018. The Memorial Day started with a service of celebration in the impressive surroundings of the RHS Chapel followed by a buffet in the Jellico room. The buffet was followed by the dedication of the memorial bench, donated by the Golfing Society and erected by the 8th tee. The final event of the day was a nine hole Texas Scramble golf competition. Click here to read more and see photos
2018
Friday 2/11/18	Presentation dinner The Society's presentation evening was held on the 2nd November at the King's Head. The evening started with the presentation of trophies to winners and runners up for competitions held throughout 2018. This was followed by a meal and live music enjoyed by over 50 members. 2018 Individual winners were: Championship Singles (gross score) - Terry Powell Championship Singles (net score) - Ray Head Senior singles - Ray Head Winter Pairs - Andy Smith & Steve Wain Summer Pairs Shield - Terry Powell & Tom Roberts Ray Head with one of his trophies
Monday 19/3/18	Annual General Meeting The RHS Golfing Society AGM took place on Monday 19th March 2018 at the King's Head in Stutton. Richard Lawson was elected society captain and David Stuart-Thompson was thanked for his excellent service to the society during his two years as captain.
2017
Sunday 5/11/17	Don Whitby Shield Competition Over 20 Society and School members competed in a very close run competition on Sunday 5th November with the School running out eventual winners. The texas scramble format created an enjoyable atmosphere for all and the top team score came from the team comprised of John Whitby, David Springate and Steve Wain with a score of 52.3. The shield was accepted on behalf of the school by Clive Rennison.
Sunday 9/7/17	30th anniversary competition and BBQ On 9th of July 1987 the inaugural meeting, chaired by Tony Cairns, was held to form the Royal Hospital School Golfing Society. So 2017 is the thirtieth anniversary of that meeting and with 9th July falling on a Sunday a celebration was planned by the current committee on the actual day of the anniversary. The celebration day included 9 holes of golf in morning for the Tony Cairns trophy fought out between a Captain's side and a Chairman's team followed by refreshments with a further 9 holes team better ball matchplay in the afternoon culminating in a barbecue in the early evening. The day was well supported by the members with 32 playing golf which, with the addition of partners and families, swelled to 61 attending the barbecue. Click here to read more and see photos
Sunday 28/5/17	Monthly stableford competition Thirteen players took part. Gordon Smith came first with an excellent score of 36 points, with Terry Powell 2nd scoring 34 points. Nearest pin on 4th/13th - Mick Suckling Nearest pin on 6th/15th - Richard Lawson
Friday 31/3/17	Awayday at Newton Green Golf Club Sixteen players took part in the awayday at Newton Green GC which began with a hearty brunch. The golf started under cloud and finished in bright sunlight with the players enjoying the course, although traffic alongside and across the green presented extra challenges during the last few holes. Keith Chittock claimed first prize with 36 points followed by John Scoines on 34 points winning second place on countback. The sixth green yielded the nearest the pin prize to Terry Powell with the very first shot from the group.
Sunday 26/3/17	Monthly stableford competition After enjoying Rosie's bacon rolls, and a tot of the Captain's Scotch 14 players took part on a sunny windy day, with tricky bumpy greens. Richard Lawson came first with an excellent score of 37 points in the trying conditions, with Bill Seggar 2nd scoring 34 points.
Monday 20/3/17	Annual General Meeting The RHS Golfing Society AGM took place on Monday 20th March 2017 at the King's Head in Stutton. Nearly 30 members attended and enjoyed the excellent buffet provided by the King's Head after the meeting.
2016
Sunday 27/11/16	Charity day A charity pairs competition was held on November 27th with proceeds donated to the Royal British Legion. Winners were R Goodchild (Doody) and T Wright snr. £130 was raised and donated to Holbrook Local branch. A letter of thanks has been received thanking the society. Photograph below is Doody receiving the RBL cup on behalf of himself and Tony Wright. A thank you goes to all participants and members who made donations.
Friday 28/10/16	Presentation dinner The Society's presentation evening was held on the 28th October at the King's Head. The evening consisted of a three course dinner followed by the presenting of trophies to winners and runners up for competitions held throughout 2016. The evening was a great success and attended by over 40 members. 2016 Individual winners were: Championsip Singles (gross score) - Terry Powell Championship Singles (net score) - Patsy Grimsey Bill Ives Memorial Trophy - Patsy Grimsey John Symes Memorial Cup - Keith Chittock Summer Pairs Shield - Paul Unsworth & John Keeble 3 club challenge - David Stuart Thompson 2016 Team winners were: Tony Cairns Trophy (Chairman V Captain team competition) - Chairman's team Don Whitby Trophy (Society V School team competition) - Society's team A very deserved award of a Society Club sweater was made to Bryan (Banjo) Collins for unstinting support of the society and in particular for many years purveyor of pickle onions awarded to competition last place.
Friday 28/10/16	Away day at Waldringfield GC In the afternoon of the Presentation Dinner 15 members took part in an "away day" at Waldringfield GC. David Stuart-Thompson was the winner with 37 points. He is pictured below with the second and third placed players and winner of the nearest the pin competition.
Friday 7/10/16 to Sunday 9/10/16	Away weekend at Sprowston Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club Fifteen members of the Society braved the October weather in Norfolk for a long weekend at the Sprowston Manor Golf Hotel and had a very enjoyable stay including 3 rounds of golf on a challenging parkland course. The weather was mainly kind - sunny and showery - but overall, the course won the contest mainly due to interesting and perplexing borrows on tricky greens. The 3 days were won overall by Dave Wood, and Nearest the Pin awards were well spread around. Other course bookings meant a slightly delayed start on the first day which brought a new meaning to 'Blind Pairs' for the last few holes for the last pairs out! The weekend included convivial restaurant dinners at this very comfortable Marriott hotel - with good food, despite one member's view, that the mashed potato slightly resembled a popular modelling product for children (doh!). A highlight was the Chairman's Cocktail Party, which featured a wide array of cocktails and canapes - especially popular were the Bloody Marys and the Salt n' Vinegar canapes which were enthusiastically consumed and much appreciated by the team. All in all, a superb venue and a great weekend, perfectly organised and marshalled by Captain Dusty. Well done and thanks Dave, and congratulations to all the competition winners.
Sunday 2/10/16	Club Championship On Sunday 19 players entered the club championships and enjoyed playing on the course which had been prepared well by the ground staff, including cutting a lot of the rough helping play to run smoothly. Champion golfer was Terry Powell with a gross score of 71, second Shaun Welham (77) and third David Springate (78) Handicap trophy was won by Patsy Grimsey net 59, second was Stefan Potentas (60) and third was David Springate (64) As all three are over 55 yrs the positions were the same for the Seniors trophy. Trophies will be presented at our annual dinner on Friday 28th October so please reserve the date in your diaries and look out for further information about how to book.
Monday 5/8/16	Away Day at Harwich Twenty players arrived at Harwich Golf Club in bright sunshine to enjoy bacon rolls and coffee before assembling near the first tee. The tree lined fairways and well kept greens provided a good test of golf with the ability to hit a straight ball an advantage. The round was followed by welcome refreshments along with fish and chips. John Keeble returned the highest stableford score of 36 points with Tom Roberts second and Bob Stone third. Nearest the pin was won by Paul Unsworth. The picture below shows the winners with their prizes and our captain, David Stuart-Thompson, in front of the 9th green.
Monday 6/6/16	Away Day at Southwold On a clear sunny day at Southwold Golf Club 16 players enjoyed bacon rolls and coffee in the characterful clubhouse before taking on the course. With some tight fairways, difficult rough in places, gorse bushes seemingly positioned to be most awkward and some tee shots requiring a good carry the course proved a challenge. The expansive views to sea and inland were a real treat on such a fine day. Back in the clubhouse fish and chips accompanied by some local ale completed the experience. Terry Powell posted the best stableford score of 36, impressive at a handicap of 6, and the picture below shows him being presented with the prize by our captain, David Stuart-Thompson, in front of the 18th Green.
Sunday 29/5/16	May stableford competition Playing straight was essential on the day of the May monthly stableford and special thanks need to be given to the green keepers who kindly did a grand job on the greens and fairways and Bill Seggar for preparing the holes. This together with really nice weather encouraged a very good turn out of 24 players. Commendably two players managed to break 30 points, Richard Lawson with 30 and Mike Suckling with 35 who took the glory on the day. Nobody managed to be on the green in two on the 2nd/11th but Terry Powell managed closest the pin both times playing the 6th/15th. Thanks again to Rosie for the pre-match fare.
Sunday 24/4/16	April stableford competition Sunday April 24th saw our first stableford completion of the year preceded by the Captain's drive in. 18 members turned up and were greeted with hotdogs and refreshments. The drive in was won by Steve Wain. Considering the windy conditions the stableford scoring was good and Terry Whiting won with 41 points closely followed by Mike Suckling with 39. Thank you for all those who were there to support and made the day a very enjoyable one. Money taken was donated to the King's Head charity in aid of children with cancer.
Monday 21/3/16	Annual General Meeting The RHS Golfing Society AGM took place on Monday 21st March 2016 at the King's Head in Stutton with an encouraging attendance of nearly 30 members.
Sunday 20/3/16	Captain's team vs Chairman's team match Twenty two players took part in this event which was played under light cloud with occasional sight of the sun. The foursomes format proved good fun and surprisingly quick to play. Having the 'spare' players advancing up the fairway as ball spotters was a great advantage on some holes. The overall result came out in favour of the Chairman by just two holes. The teams were playing for the Tony Cairns Trophy and the picture below shows Tony Cairns presenting the trophy to Chairman Roger Tyler.