Another great year of golf and camaraderie across the country for the Society, which continues to go from strength to strength!
It all began at Rye in February with a magnificent weekend which, for the first time included an excellent dinner in the Clubhouse on the Saturday night, and saw the Society field a team of more than 20 over the two days. The horrendously wet weather of the Spring did see two postponements (at West Sussex and Radcliffe) and a novel experience at the Royal Mid-Surrey, when we played on a composite course, but our matches at Walton Heath and Hunstanton both went ahead in March and, as we moved into the summer, the season gathered momentum. At our Spring meeting at Denham in early May, we were delighted to welcome 34 representatives of the 40 matches that we were scheduled to play in 2024 and, as the summer months passed, everywhere we went, we enjoyed wonderful hospitality and friendly competition.
As our season drew to an end in the autumn, we lost two more fixtures (Stoneham and the Girls at the Berkshire), but we also staged our first Northern Members' Meeting, a hugely popular and successful day at Worksop. The traditional Autumn Meeting, at which we compete for the Society's various trophies, was also held at Denham in early October.
All in all, we played 35 matches, losing 17, winning 8 and halving 10 but, as we all know, the actual results on the day, whilst pleasurable when we win, are most definitely not what our Society is all about!
Finally, a few thank yous. To our Match Managers. Without their efforts, the Society would not work. To our 2024 Captain, Guy McDonnell, who led by example, attending pretty much every match even when he was not playing himself and showing absolute commitment to the role. To our Chair, Tony Pigott, led from the front as he always does, and our Treasurer, Ian Hodgson, who has kept a close eye on our finances. At this point, we should also remember the late Charles Robins, who sadly passed away in January 24, but who generously remembered the Society in his will. Our Secretary Richard Baker, despite being prevented from playing for much of the year, once again did an amazing job. It is no easy task but somehow Richard keeps us all on track. And, last but by no means last, our retiring President, Bryan Richardson, deserves special mention. Brysie has been a stalwart of the Society for decades and remains an active member. His successor is Nigel Ross who knows that he has big shoes to fill.
2025 is the Society's 90th Anniversary and we look forward to another fantastic year. We will be celebrating in style in due course so what this space!
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