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Well what a competition this year was!  We welcomed our newest 50+ player Greg Whalley to the team.  The weather was scorching with red warnings for both Wednesday and Thursday with temperatures reaching mid to high 30°C.  The organisers, understandably, were worried about the well-being of us older gentlemen and decided no more than 18 holes should be played per day.  So, after the first round of 18 holes (Weds) the 2nd & 3rd rounds (Thurs) would be played over 9 holes and on Friday the 4th round was played over 13 holes with the finals also over 13 holes in the afternoon (Friday was due to get cooler!).

The team and pairings were:
Richard Willacy & Greg Whalley
Gary Hector & Matthew Pyke (C)
John Groombridge & Tim Blood

The drawsheet and scores are attached but the chain of events was,
1st Round v City of London won 2.5 – 0.5
2nd Round v Brighton won 2.5 – 0.5
3rd Round v Edinburgh won 3 – 0
Semi Finals v Chigwell won 2 – 1
Finals v Watson’s Lost 2.5 – 0.5

However, as Matthew wrote,

Sadly we came up just short to Watsons. BUT all 3 games went up extra holes. Willacy/Whalley lost on 2 extra hole having halved in birdie 3s on 18. Greg holing a long putt to half and go down extra holes. Hector/Pyke were dormy 3 and birdied 18 but lost on first extra hole. Groombridge/Blood had a great game and we are taking a win on 1st extra hole but game was called before Tim could hole the winning putt. So technically we lost 3-0 but we are claiming 2-1 (and organisers recorded 2-1). Great few days and well done the team and David M for being a great supporter and spectator for the duration. Hopefully 1 better next year and most importantly we are on the board in Worplesdon GC!!

Well done team a fantastic few hot days and golf.

Results.-Day-3-afternoon

Unfortunately Worplesdon decided it didn’t want non members playing at the weekend so the GM Qualifier had to move, and what a great choice with West Sussex GC, Pulborough.  A little gem.

Under the wonderful leadership of Pete W the team pairings were,
Gary Hector & Matthew Pyke
Richard Willacy & Greg Whalley
Dave Higginson & Pete Whalley

Sadly, Richard W sustained an injury playing the par 3 eighth hole and had to retire, which put an end to Taunton’s hope of qualifying for the Finals in Norfolk.  Given the foul weather over the last two years there was an element of relief in the air!

Finals are due to take place at Hunstanton and Brancaster on 15-18 Oct 2026.

Final qualifying results:
GM Qual 2026

Once again we had wonderful weather at T&PGC and thanks to Clive for arranging the weather and the day.  We had better attendance this year than last with 6 pupils, 3 staff and 13 OTs.  Format for the day was singles stableford with scores from both teams averaged to give one overall score.  The OTs won the match for the sixth year in a row by the tightest margin ever – an average of 30.60 points per player to the schools average of 30.56 points per player.

The winner of the 45th edition of the Thone Cup was Bob Lyon and the winner of the G B Johnson silver salver for the pupils was Dexter Middleton-Smith.  Sadly, we learnt Liam Demspter is moving on after six years in charge of golf at school to be Head of Biology at Repton School.  We wished him all the best for the future and thanked him for everything he had achieved at TS.

Clive informed us that with the additional support of OTGS members the school now has a golf simulator – ‘The Westy’ and a brand new chipping and putting area.  Golf is now one of the sports that is contributing to the schools position as a top twenty sports school in England.  The school finished 2025 ranked 26 in England in the ISGA (Independent Schools Golf Association) rankings.  Onwards and upwards!

Here we go again!  A few of us arrived on the Tuesday for the first practice day.
To set the scene the weather was fabulous, blue skies and a moderate breeze.  Our first round was against Stowe late Thursday morning at Royal Cinque Ports Deal.  This year the team welcomed back Mark (Banners) Banham and a new recruit from Cornwall JJ Debenham.  Taunton’s track record over the last 10 years was better than Stowe so a first round win was looking promising.  However, we never anticipated Stowe importing 3 plus handicap players from abroad!  Sadly, we lost 3-2 but to complete the picture we had 2 pairs losing on the 18th green.  Stowe continued to the quarter finals of the main competition.

Usual hold up on the 5th hole at Deal.  On Friday we played Dulwich in the Plate at Prince’s, who also lost their first round.  We always knew this would be a tough game.  At this stage teams are reduced from 10 players to 6, which like deciding the 10 man team and pairings is never an easy task for our Captain Pete.  Well done Pete you did a great job.  Again sadly we lost to Dulwich 2-1.

We now had an afternoon free so many of us decided to play the Himalayas at Prince’s, which after so many years in this competition we have never played.

Team this year was:  Pete Whalley (C), Greg Whalley, Phil Stickler, Gary Hector, Richard Willacy, Mark Banham, JJ Debenham, Jack Malden, Andy Ford, Ed Bradnock, Dave Higginson.

By looking at HH Scratch page you can see the full statistics of the competition and see who won/lost or drew.

Another superbly organised event and wonderful camaraderie and again welcome to this scratch competition JJ.

Some wonderful pictures of Deal.

And so the team scratch events kick-off with the Brent Knoll Bowl down at Burnham & Berrow.  Team this year consisted of,

Pete Whalley (C), Gary Hector, Phil Stickler, Richard Willacy, Greg Whalley, Andy Ford.

The weather stayed dry most of the time but the wind was strong throughout the weekend making conditions and scoring difficult.

The draw took place Friday evening following the usual auction where Taunton was bid for at £50.  The first round draw was against Old Epsomians which unfortunately we lost 2-1.  Gary & Phil Won 1Up, Richard & Pete Lost 2-1, Greg & Andy Lost 5-4.  1st Round of the Plate Taunton sadly lost to Lloyds bank 2-1.  Gary & Phil Lost 2-1, Richard & Pete Won 3-1, Greg & Andy Lost 5-4.  On Sunday we played in the scratch Stableford with Epsom who lost in the 2nd Round of the main competition.  The team struggled to reach the high eighties which is required to do well.

Another great weekend despite the result but a good warm up for the Halford Hewitt in two weeks time.

Another great day at Swinley.  30 OTs and guests enter for the day playing for OTGS Challenge Cup in the morning and Greensomes Cup in the afternoon.  Sadly we seem to have lost the Challenge Cup BUT we do have the base!  Guests competed for a separate prize in the morning but could take part in the Greensomes Cup.  The weather once again was favourable, the course was in good condition given the time of year, the lunch was as good as ever, what was there to not enjoy?!

Once again a massive thanks to David M for organising and indeed sponsoring the event.  David has indicated strongly this might be his last year of organising the event  after 55 years!  Many complimentary comments have been received confirming  the players greatly enjoyed the day and his generosity.

Results in the morning, Individual Stableford (Challenge Cup),
1st      – Gavin Krombas 42 Pts
2nd    – Dan Trapnell 35 Pts

Afternoon, Greensomes,
1st      – Mark Hallas & L. Hill  37 Pts
2nd    – Jamie Hunt & Mark Bootherstone 36 Pts

Date for 2027, Tuesday 9th March