The annual finals took place at Staverton Park Golf Course over the weekend of 02 September. A total of 9 competitions were decided in some very close matches over the course of the 3 days.

Saturday saw the culmination of the Hawtree Mixed Final, the Siemens Bowl and the Ballantyne. The Staverton course was in great condition with very lush rough which proved challenging for a wayward shot.

The mixed Hawtree Trophy was a very close affair with one point separating the Champions and Runners Up. The three regional finalists fought for the championship, Rose Hill, Wexham Park and Wycombe Heights. The title was taken by Wexham Park with Rose Hill coming a very close second.

The Siemans Bowl 4BBB Stableford Competition was competed for by the four regional finalists, Rickmansworth, Belhus Park, Rose Hill and Wycombe Heights. 32 players battled out the competition, in which some very high scores were recorded. Most notably one pair with 51 points! Ultimately Rose Hill triumphed, with Wycombe Heights as runners up.

The Ballantyne Trophy was competed for by the two national semi-finalists Haste Hill and Huntswood. These two teams have battled their way through the regional finals to reach Staverton. Four pairs from each team playing better ball match play battled for the trophy. The game was incredibly competitive with all matches needing to go down 18 before being decided. Haste Hill finally won out, with Huntswood coming gallant runners up.

With the course bathed in late Summer sunshine, two competitions were decided on Sunday, the Clapham Platinum Shield and the White Webbs Bowl

The Clapham final comprised the four regional finalists, 6 pairs from each team playing stableford greensomes from the back tees. The combined scores from each team deciding the eventual champions. In keeping with the previous day, the final was very close with Panshanger emerging as champions and Royal Epping Forest as runners up. Panshanger received the Clapham Platinum Shield and Royal Epping, the Ellis Cup.

The White Webbs Bowl, involved 2 pairs of ladies from each of the four area finalists playing 4BBB stableford. Teams from Rose Hill, Royal Epping Forest and two from Huntswood competed in beautiful weather and on a great course. In keeping with the other finals, this one was also a very close affair with only 2 points separating the first two. Huntswood A managing to just pip the Huntswood B team by two points to secure the trophy.

Monday, the final day, was host to a further four finals. The Men’s TopRock Salver, Women’s TopRock Bowl, Women’s Match Play and the Senior Men’s Mitchell-Thomson.

The Men’s TopRock Salver was competed for by The South Buckinghamshire and Wycombe Heights. Each side comprises one pair from the respective club playing better ball match play through a number of rounds. On the day the South Buckinghamshire pair of Peter Lomax and Phil Mundy proved too good for their
opponents running out 6&5 winners.

The Women’s TopRock Bowl, greensomes match play, saw Easthampstead Ladies take on Wishaw. This single pair event proved to be the closest of the day going to the 18 th hole where Wishaw, represented by Jayne Proud and Sue Franklin, managed to seal the match by a with a 1up win.

The Women’s Match Play is also a single pair event, competed for on a better ball basis. Huntswood and Easthampstead Ladies were the finalists this year and the match was closely fought. The match was decided on the 17 th green with Easthampstead Ladies, represented by Alison Cannon and Hazel Rogers, winning
3&1.

The Mitchell-Thomson final saw four clubs, Belhus Park, Hainault Forest, Haste Hill and Farnham Park, who had won their regional events competing against each other. 4 pairs from each team aged 55+ playing stableford greensomes from the yellow tees with the combined scores from each team deciding the eventual champions.

Farnham Park led going into the final round of matches and extended their lead to land the trophy with Hainault Forest taking the runner up spot.

Reaching the finals itself is a great achievement so many congratulations to all finalists. In total 176 players played across the weekend, with some lucky enough to be playing in more than one event. From an organisational perspective it’s a significant task booking in, checking handicaps, starting groups and processing cards but all went well, and the weather was kind to us.

In closing, thanks go out to all clubs, players and organisers who played in, supported and managed events and matches over the course of the year. If you reached the final hopefully you will want to be back for another crack and if you  didn’t hopefully you will strive to get there next year.