Captains’ Update
From Kaz Donald, Club Captain: I have excellent news: Steve Vyse has agreed to be my Vice-Captain!
So, you can all now relax and not run away when you see me approaching! I’m thrilled that Steve has stepped up. He has a wealth of experience — having been Captain at Elstree — and I know that you will support him.
The Q&A meeting with Ed Richardson was well attended, and some good questions were asked. It will be interesting moving forwards to see how things pan out for Arkley. Ed is very positive about our club, which bodes well for us.
The golf has been good, and some great scores have been posted. Matt Holland was crowned Top Dog with a round of nett 67 — married life is obviously good for him! Neil Bradley was chasing Matt’s tail with a score of nett 68. Our young padawans took charge at The Wilmot Lunt Trophy! Conor Thompson, who appears to be in great form currently, scored 39 points, with Mike Fernandes taking second place with a very respectable 37. Congratulations to all for some wonderful golf.
It was great to be able to host the Arkley Salver, after missing it last year due to Covid. Ten teams took part, with nine clubs represented. The golf started well but the weather was always threatening. We finally succumbed to thunder and lightning, and Kevin had to call us all in. There was much discussion regarding how to calculate the winner as we had started on two tees — my suggestion that we be allowed to use my best nine holes was thrown out and we went with scores on the front nine. Our spirits certainly weren’t dampened, and a very lively clubhouse listened as Enfield were announced the winners, with Davide Minoli taking the individual prize with 23 points.
The Hendon/Arkley Challenge took place in glorious sunshine, at Hendon. Arkley put on a good show and won 4/2.
Our club teams have been at it again…
Congrats to the Foxes, who won at Mill Green, which sees them win their league and now go through to the quarterfinals. They will face Knebworth and we have home advantage!
Sadly, the Rabbits lost for the first time this season as Enfield took full advantage of playing at home — it was very close, with a result of 3.5/2.5.
The Stags played Chorleywood at Arkley and won convincingly by 5.5/0.5. The return match saw a turnaround, with Chorleywood coming in 5/1. Team Manager, President David, is happy as this is an overall win for Arkley! There was a return to winning form with a 5/1 home victory over The Shire.
Tanya and Chloe were sad to report a loss at Chartridge Park. Again, another very close result of 3.5/2.5.
As always, many thanks to all who have represented Arkley. Giving up your time for matches and your concerted efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks must also go to the team organisers for all that you do to herd the players.
I can’t thank you enough for the support that you gave me for my Captain’s Day events. Some 76 of you played golf, which really is brilliant. Many congrats to all who won prizes but especially to Paddy Duggan, Lorraine Robertson and Simon Cooper who won their categories. It was such a shame that we could not present the prizes on the day but that will happen later in the year. I shall be sorting a date for the dinner asap. Paddy, Lorraine, and Simon, and those placed, will be my guests.
My Captain’s Away Day at West Essex was a great day despite the “biblical” weather. Again, I’m humbled by the support you gave me. A total of 71 golfers went out to play and Joe O’Neill beat us all!
Another thing that you may, or may not, have already heard is that on Tuesday, July 6th, at the SOHGC Vice Captain’s Day, I won a trophy, which is something that I am very proud of and not just because a little bit of history was made. In fact, Arkley, as a club, did well as Tim Corbett was runner-up — sorry Tim! There were 44 players and for us to take the spoils was outstanding! At the President’s Day at South Herts, Tim was among the prizes again and so was Bob Howell.
With all the results that I have listed above, it really does prove that Arkley should never be underestimated – something of which our opponents are often guilty. We don’t always win but we can never be accused of not putting up a great fight. Keep it up – be proud – and enjoy your golf!
Ladies
From Mary Vyse, Lady Captain: This month has been a quite a month golf-wise. Wendy Margaret and Janet won the Taylor Texas Scramble and Wendy won the August medal. My Captain’s away day was held at Rickmansworth, I don’t know how it got the name Tricky Ricky as the ladies all scored extremely well.
- Margaret 41 points
- Pam 40 points
- Tanya 35 points
Congratulations to all.
Events coming up in September include the Ladies Autumn Meeting and the Ladies Open, please encourage all your fellow lady members to enter.