Gloucestershire Golf Union
2024 GGU President's Address
I began my year of office as County President following the AGM and am pleased to report 2024 as a very successful year for the County. I was extremely honoured to be invited to take on the role and I must convey my sincere thanks to The County and my home club, Chipping Sodbury, for their unwavering support throughout. It was also a great privilege to serve my year to coincide with England Golf’s Centenary where Ian Watkins, who has served the County so well in many roles over the years, has deservedly been elected as England Golf President.
We started the year with some changes to the County’s Executive Committee. Ian Cornwell, who had been County Chairman for ten years, decided it was time for him to pass the mantle on to Mark Powell. A great debt of thanks must go to Ian for all his hard work over many years. Also Mike Slatter (Tewkesbury Park) stood down as Club Representative after serving on the committee since 2018 and Steve Sheppard the outgoing Immediate Past President has taken on the role. We installed a new Treasurer in Stephen Price (Ross on Wye) who took over from John Bennett (Lansdown) who had been Treasurer since 2018. Many thanks to Mike and John for their work with the County.
Gloucestershire is very well respected by our peers for the successes it achieves. This is primarily down to the support given to our players through the coaching that is available to them. Dave Hares (Coaching Chairman) together with golf coaches Tom Motley (Under 18s), James Tuck (Under 16s), Tom Gillespie and Jamie McCormick (Under 14s) have regular sessions with the players to help them improve their skills. We must also give the Gloucestershire golf club managers and staff some well deserved praise for the way they allow us to use their facilities for practise and playing matches and events.
The overall running of the County by our Secretary Dean Newbold is superb, he has an excellent knowledge of the game and is very well respected by both players and officers. With Debbie Casling as support all aspects of administration are well looked after. Chris Boyle (Championship Chairman) does an excellent job and together with Dean they make sure all tournaments run very smoothly. Richard Palmer has taken on the role as Chief Referee, he and his team must be applauded for the amount of time they freely give to support players at events throughout the year.
The year started with probably the worst weather we’ve had for a long time, it rained almost nonstop from October 2023 until April 2024. Consequently seven out of the first fourteen games or matches were cancelled through course closures or poor weather which put pressure on the fixtures later in the year. I’m pleased to report though that the County had another great golfing year and I was proud to get to see all the teams at work.
Some of the highlights from the year .....
Once the weather cleared both Nick Day (Henbury) and Jaxson Perry (Kendleshire) came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. Nick had a stellar year winning the County Championship at Broadway to become County Champion for the 8th time, winning the SW Week stroke play at Budleigh Salterton to become SW Champion for the 2nd time and winning the Duchess Salver for the 14th time. Jaxson also had another great year, he won the West of England U14 Championship, and took all the Gloucestershire titles, to become the U17, U16, U15 and U14 Champion 2024. He also won the SW Schools and English Schools Championships earning him his England School’s Cap. Brandon Skidmore (Cotswold Hills) won the Lagonda Trophy at Gog Magog and Ash Millington (Players) won the Brabazon Qualifier South at Marlborough GC to put him into the final at Hollinwell.
International honours were achieved by Brandon Skidmore who played for England Boys against Wales, Ted Ballard (Sherdons) who played for Wales Boys against England and Jaxson Perry who for the second consecutive year played for England U16s against Italy.
The County Championship was held at Broadway GC in May, the course was presented in excellent condition and as previously stated Nick Day won the event on 10 under par two strokes better than Nathan Moore (Long Ashton) and Matt Bell (Lilley Brook) who both finished on 8 under par. This win took Nick through to the Men’s Champion of Champions event at Woodhall Spa.
South West Week 2024 was held at East Devon GC Budleigh Salterton in June and the weather throughout the week was bright and breezy but cold. The team came 4th in the Inter County event but won the SW Team Qualifier by 8 shots over Cornwall. Although the score difference seems quite emphatic, the result was not certain until the final Cornwall score was entered. After a tense wait another great result for the team was celebrated and yet another trip to the County Finals, which in 2024 was at Whittington Heath near Birmingham. A great deal of credit must go here to Captain Gary Ward and his wife Dawn who put so much hard work into the selection of the team and making certain everything is in place to ensure the competing side of the event as stress free as possible for the players. Top ten individual results for the event were 1st Nick Day -3, 2nd Matt Bell +1, 4th Milan Reed (Long Ashton) +2 and =8th Brandon Skidmore and Louis Ross (Long Ashton) +5.
The Boys Championship was played in June at Knowle Golf Club and Leo Powell (Ross on Wye) won the competition on level par, 6 shots ahead of his nearest rival. This took Leo through to the Champion of Champions competition at Woodhall Spa.
The Seniors Championship at Stinchcombe Hill GC was played on 1 August and Ken Madden (Lansdown) won the event on +1, one shot ahead of Nick Brown (Cirencester). This win took Ken through to the Seniors Champion of Champions event at Woodhall Spa in September where I had the pleasure to follow our three Champions, Nick Day, Ken Madden and Leo Powell around the Hotchkin course. It was very interesting to see how they tackled the course in comparison with my attempts earlier in the year!! We were very well treated by England Golf but I’m sad to report that we didn’t come home with any silverware.
The next event of the following week in September was the England Golf Champion Club competition held at Stanton on the Wolds GC near Nottington.
The Henbury Team of Nick Day, Mike Day and Callum Mortimer who won their ticket to play by winning the Winterbotham Cup at the County Championships at Broadway in May. The event was 36 holes over two days, all three gross scores to count. They were lying 7th after the first round and looking to score well on day two to move up the leader board. That evening there was torrential rain and the forecast for the following day was not good so the organisers decided to reduce day two’s event to just 9 holes. This made it difficult for the team to post a score to frighten the leaders. In the end they finished on +6 and in sixth place.
Later in September the much anticipated County Finals were held at Whittington Heath GC near Tamworth. The course has lost five holes to HS2 but has been recompensed by the purchase of land and building replacement holes plus a very impressive new clubhouse. The team were playing against Cumbria, Essex and Lincolnshire, they played their hearts out but were not quite able to close their games and narrowly lost several matches on the last hole. Essex won the event with Lincolnshire a close second. Although we didn’t win it was a great achievement to get through to the finals yet again. The support from the County was exceptional and on one day there were no fewer than 37 members of the green army following the team.
And now onto the teams ...
1st Team
Apart from their trips out to South West Week and the County Finals they also play in the Channel League, they won the event for the second successive year by beating Dorset at Stinchcombe Hill GC in the final match of the year. The fixture had been postponed a couple of times and was eventually played on 3 November so weather and light were an issue. It was a nail biting finish and we needed Mike Day in the final game to come in with at least half a point to seal the win. He stood on the final tee one down but managed an exceptional eagle on the hole to get his half and win the Channel League. A superb and well deserved result.
2nd Team
The team always plays with great passion, and are superbly Captained by Neil Tocknell (Stinchcombe) along with Alan Robinson (Lydney) their Team Manager. They play in the Wessex League and were narrowly beaten by Glamorgan, however their revenge was achieved by winning the Wessex Salver for the second consecutive year at Builth Wells GC in August. Another great year for the team ... long may it continue.
Seniors Team
The Seniors have an excellent Captain in Nick Morris (Lilley Brook) and play in their Channel League winning three out of their eight matches finishing sixth in the league. They played very well in their Southern Counties Foursomes qualifying game at Lilley Brook GC against Devon and Somerset to win the event for the second successive year and reach the finals, which were held at Weston Super Mare GC in September, a relatively local venue for the team, where they were up against Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Sussex. After some tough games on a very blustery day Hertfordshire emerged the eventual winners.
Nick has decided to pass the Captaincy on to someone new, we must say a big thank you to him for his hard work over the last five years and wish his successor good fortune.
U18's
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The team has played some exceptional golf this year, superbly Captained by Ash Millington (Players), managed by Mark Powell and Ian James with team coach Tom Motley they have been a force to reckon with. They won the Channel League by winning three out of their four matches, just losing to Gwent by one game.
In July they played in the Boys South West Counties Championship at Broadstone GC and after some excellent scoring won the event, this took them through to the County Finals. Brandon Skidmore won the event on -2 with Leo Powell +2 in second and Ash Millington +3 in fourth place.
The final at Teignmouth GC was against Cambridgeshire, Kent and Yorkshire in August. The team played some exceptional golf but were beaten by Yorkshire on the first day, winning their games against Cambridgeshire and Kent to come in a creditable second place to Yorkshire who won all their matches.
Earlier in August the team travelled to Wharton Park GC near Kidderminster to play the Severnside Tournament against Glamorgan, Gwent and Worcestershire. It is a tricky and very hilly golf course but the team played it very well beating the other three counties to win the event.
The Midland Four Counties tournament which had been postponed from April was the team’s final event late in October. This was played at Trentham GC, Stoke on Trent, and the course was in good condition considering the time of year. Again they played some stunning golf over the two days and beat both Staffordshire and Warwickshire, with a half against Worcestershire to secure the win. A great result after an excellent year ... well done everyone.
Under 16s
The team came 4th in their Channel League losing to Somerset and Wiltshire but posting a halved match against Glamorgan. They were Captained by Ambrose Eaves (Broadway) and managed by Donard Duffy with coach James Tuck. This is a well run team thanks to the dedication of Donard and James, an important breeding ground for the U18s and the men’s teams.
Under 14s
The team, with Captain Alex Hawes-Nunn (Minchinhampton), has had a great year beating Glamorgan, Somerset and Worcestershire and drawing in their second game against Somerset. Another great starting point for the future of golf in the County, with excellent management and coaching from Tom Gillespie (Kendleshire) and Jamie McCormick (Cotswold Hills).
I have thoroughly enjoyed the year and value greatly the companionship and friendships built up with everyone I have met whilst following the teams, this extends to the parents I have got to know who regularly give up their time to ferry the juniors to their games. Thank you all for the time you give up for this great game.
My sincere thanks to Dereck Buttler (Immediate Past President) and Richard Salter (Vice President) for all the help they have given and I wish Richard all the very best for his year in office as President 2025.
Ian Hughes
President 2024-2025
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