Gloucestershire Golf Union
Gloucestershire are SW Strokeplay Champions AGAIN!
I was immensely proud for Gloucestershire to be holding the South West Week 2022 at Minchinhampton. The work that Tom Sheffield and his team did to make this possible was outstanding. The whole team worked tirelessly to ensure all the visiting counties, and our own, had the best possible experience for this prestigious tournament. Nothing was too much trouble and my sincere thanks go to: the management and members for hosting this great week; the bar and catering team for excellent food and hospitality; Adam Matthews and his dedicated team of greenkeeping staff for preparing the course in such fabulous condition and setting it up as a fair course for all concerned, and Chris Steele and his pro shop team for their flexibility in supporting the players so well.
My thanks, also, go to Ian Hulse, South West Counties Secretary, for his support and hard work in running the tournament so professionally and for the long hours of work he had to put into this. We all appreciate the hard work that goes into running a tournament.
As I said at the presentation, for me, the thing that really stood out, most of all for the week, was the fun and friendship between captains and team players alike. It was just the best camaraderie I have seen in county golf for many a year.
Selecting a team for this gruelling week is never easy but, once again, that selected team gelled really well and the team spirit was as evident as ever. This year, to have 3 junior players in the team, Louis Ross, Milan Reed and Ash Millington, just showed what a great pathway these young people have into men’s golf and how far they have come this last year. They played some great golf and it really was a pleasure to see Louis in the running for the Clifford Burden Trophy, for the highest match points gained, right up until the last day. His hard work on the first 2 days and his scoring this year, secured him his place in the 6-man team for the strokeplay and he was very humble, but so very unphased, when offered his place.
In the matchplay, I have to say the standard of play from all the counties was at an all time high and we had to fight for every point, in nearly every match, during the whole week. The loss against our old rivals Somerset was a bitter pill to swallow - we were just outplayed on the day. There is no shame in finishing 2nd - we just want to win it all!
On the England County Finals qualifying day, our morning rounds didn’t look too favourable, as we trailed Somerset by 8 shots. However, after a quick team chat and a bite to eat, the team came out in fighting spirit. Nick Day, first in, returned a magnificent 7 under par which basically wiped out the Somerset lead. Scoring from the other players on the course was looking rosy, and with my stress level at an all-time high Dave Hares whispered in my ear, “ Shall we go shopping in Tetbury?” I just couldn’t go anywhere at this point. After a short while our other players started coming off the course and it was such an awesome feeling to hear Jake Phillips say, 5 under skipper, Louis Ross 1 under, Joe Harvey 4 under, Ed Butler 2 over and to cap it off Tom Workman returned a 7 under to confirm our win by a massive margin of 20 shots and secure our place in the England Finals to defend our trophy at Royal Norwich GC.
In the individual strokeplay Nick Day found himself in a 3-hole play-off with 2 young players from Wiltshire and Devon. Of course, Nick coolly brought it home, on the third hole, much to his delight, as he has previously missed out on so many occasions, by 1 shot. The Gloucestershire crowd following him were absolutely elated at his victory.
So, the icing on the cake, of course, was the winning of the team strokeplay and the individual strokeplay, for the second year running. This is just THE best feeling and I am so proud of each and every one of our players for their great golf and their continuing commitment to their county.
I wish all our players and those in the other counties the very best for the rest of the season and look forward to seeing our opponents, next year, at Perranporth.
Finally, my thanks go to all our dedicated followers for supporting us throughout the week.
Gary Ward
County Captain
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