The year was over shadowed by the passing of two of our long standing and past captains, David Morgan in February after a long illness and by Gordon Lamb who bravely succumbed to cancer.
The Society nevertheless continues despite a declining membership and we had our now customary Annual Meeting in October. I can’t do much better than to reprint here the summary of that meeting, as follows.
13 members were originally booked but the day before Judith Smith suffered a fall which required hospital treatment which meant that she and to join us Eric were unable, which was a great disappointment to us and to them. We hope she is now on the mend.
Our first round was on the penal Lakes course and 9 members attempted to keep the loss of balls down to the minimum, most of us without success! The course was lush, the fairways wide and the greens a bit fluffy but usually putted true. One member found the course to his liking and lost only one ball - Peter Jones with 38 points off a 13.9 handicap to win the President's Trophy. He was followed by Chris Phillips (34) and John Astrop (33). Nicola Phillips won the nearest the pin prize.
We had an excellent and convivial dinner in the evening but prior to that our AGM was held. At it the Report and Accounts for 2024 were approved. The sitting Committee comprising David Littlechild, Peter Jones and myself were re-elected en-bloc. It was here that a brief minute of silence in memory of the loss this year of two of our stalwart members, both past captains, David Morgan and Gordon Lamb who will both be greatly missed and this included our thoughts and blessings to their widows, Liz Morgan and Yvonne Lamb.
The next morning after a comprehensive breakfast our three 3-balls assembled on the tee of the Woods course only to discover that due to an administrative mix-up the tee was reserved for others and, indeed due to the lack of a starter, the courses had been mixed up and we had perforce to play the Lakes course once more. And yet again our combined stock of balls were depleted! Not that was any hindrance to the winner of the Captain's Salver where the man very much in form, Peter Jones, scored a magnificent 39 points, followed by Nicola Phillips (34) and John Astrop (30). Chris Phillips completed the family success with the nearest the pin at the 11th hole. The winner of the aggregate award for non winners with 59 points was David Littlechild.
So concluded our annual meeting where it was lovely to meet old faces. It was a successful reunion although we missed the absent Eric & Judith Smith. The hotel was good with comfortable facilities and very good food. Some gripes about the slow bar service were justified. A noisy and large society kept the surroundings lively. The golf facilities were good, notwithstanding the tee mix-up and some poor tee direction signs. The Trackman-enabled Buggies proved very useful to those who hired them. Our group noticed with amusement a three ball ahead of us all loaded up on just the one buggy and proceeded three-abreast to test the suspension to the utmost and thus enjoyed an unsupervised round at a reduced hire rate. The weather was dry but overcast with a chilly breeze on day one.
My thanks to all who made the trip with special mention to our two non playing ladies, Sarah Littlechild and Chris Astrop.
For the 2026 season we have arranged our meeting at the Barnham Broom Golf Club in Norfolk and full details will be sent in due course.
I finish with wishes for your good health and hope you may be able to join us in October 2026.
Richard Johns
Secretary & Treasurer
