Golf 2008-9

2008-9 brought a new kind of pressure for the golf squads at Wellington.  Millfield had been the undisputed no. 1 school in the UK for many years, and recent advances by Loretto had placed the Edinburgh school as their closest apparent challenger.  Both Millfield and Loretto built their success partly on large numbers of specialist golf scholars, and considerable investment in coaching: 20+ scholars and 1 or 2 full time professionals at both schools being far beyond our figures of 4 golf and academic scholars, and part-time help from Jason Brant and David Rennie.  Yet Wellington had begun, in 2007-8, to demonstrate that we could compete very strongly at a national level, and in 2008-9 the expectation was that we would have to win some of these events to prove ourselves.

The second Saturday of the Michaelmas term gave us an early opportunity to measure performance, with a match against Millfield at The Berkshire.  Despite missing 3 of our best 6 players at national tournaments, we won 6-2, prompting Max Smith, England U18 and their best player, to enquire of Jason Brant what our secret was!

At the West Sussex GC Schools Invitational Tournament, a foursomes stableford, we beat 17 other schools from the south to secure the scratch trophy, donated by Peter Benka, the Old Carthusian and Walker Cup golfer, who died tragically earlier in the year.

In early October, at the Independent Schools Strokeplay Cup, Ed Peters, Alex Peters and Jordan Mann laid down a further early marker, winning by 10 shots and beginning to make the school golfing world realise that Wellington is genuinely one of the leaders.

The Gerald Micklem Cup, at Woking, has traditionally been the pinnacle of the school golfing year, and despite the introduction of more nationally representative and competitive events, it remains a highly prestigious tournament.   By agreement with the other schools, and out of deference to the history of the event, Wellington does not field any scholars who join after the third form.  Nonetheless, the team ranged in handicap from 1 to 4, and were favourites to retain the Cup and make it 6 wins in 9 years.  Drawn against Bradfield, last year’s beaten finalists and a strong side, in the 1^st round, we won 3½ - 1½. The semi-final and final were against Charterhouse and Eton respectively, and both were won by margins of 5-0, which was more to do with our excellent golf than any lack of opposition.  Jordan Mann, for instance, won against the no. 1 players of both schools, both heading off on the Swifts Tour a week or so later, and both off a handicap of 1.  From the 9^th hole of the morning to the end of his match in the afternoon, he was 10 under par!  The team were superb ambassadors for Wellington, and Freddie Edmunds spoke impressively after collecting the trophy.

The Independent Schools Matchplay Cup finishes, oddly, with a strokeplay final.  Wellington A beat Wellington B in the regional final, and so Jordan Mann, Ed and Alex Peters made the trip up to the St Andrews Bay resort in late April.  In windy and occasionally wet weather on the clifftop Kittocks course, their control of the ball was considerably better than that of any other competitors, and only the very crusty and bumpy greens equalised that difference to any extent.  One shot ahead overnight, they extended their lead to 5 by the end of the second round, and deservedly picked up their second national title of the year.  In doing so, they qualified automatically for the finals in 2009-10, and Wellington will now represent England in the Schools Home Internationals in February 2010.

In the final event of the year, the HMC Foursomes, we won through to the national finals from what is universally considered the strongest group.  King’s School Canterbury, in particular, were very difficult opponents, and we managed to beat them 2-1 at Rye in the regional final.  The national finals were in the summer holidays at Royal Ashdown Forest and Tonbridge School, and this unfortunately meant that several players were busy with major events.  The great bonus of this was that it gave a brilliant opportunity to others in our strong squad.  We beat Bedford and Bradfield comfortably with some intelligent and composed golf, before coming up against Millfield.  Murray Rose and Sam Williams were our normal third pair, but were playing top, and won at the 21^st against two boys in national squads.  Archie Presley and Sam Dovey fought well at no. 3 but ultimately lost at the 16^th.  This left Oliver Fowler and Robby Wibbels needing to win at no. 2.  A very tight and fluctuating match was finished by a Millfield birdie at the 19^th, and subsequently Millfield went on to win the overall final easily against Epsom.  Despite this loss, Wellington can comfortably claim to be the no. 1 school in the UK in 2008-9.

We have maintained and even expanded our extensive fixture list against other schools, and we try to match our team to the standard of the opposition as far as is possible.  This means that there is a competitive opportunity for many players, and a chance to prove themselves.  We have also played, and beaten, Oxford University, and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire U18 (twice).  The only match that a full strength team lost this year, was to a very strong adult side from The Berkshire, and we are looking to add fixtures against North Hants GC, Wentworth, Sunningdale, Hamsphire U18, and Surrey U18 next year.

In external competitions and representative golf, there were many successes, and I can list only a few here:

• Freddie Edmunds was selected for the Swifts Tour – the biennial British Independent Schools Tour to the USA at Easter.
• Sam Williams became Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire U16 champion by 5 shots. 
• Alex Peters retained the Fairhaven Trophy by 7 shots with a 12 under par score over 4 rounds. She also came second in the Daily Telegraph International final in Abu Dhabi, among other tournament successes, and was promoted to the full England Womens’ Squad at the age of 15.
• Ed Peters became the first person ever to have won the Nottinghamshire County Championship at U14, U16, U18, U21 and senior level.
• Jordan Mann was selected for the BB&O elite squad and played his first senior county matches.
• Freddie Edmunds (Suffolk), Murray Rose (Essex), Chris Thomas (Surrey), Cameron Farmer (Hampshire and IOW), Archie Presley (Surrey) all played county golf, in addition to those above.

It would be impossible for us to attempt what we are doing here without the help of some crucial people.  Jason Brant has forged a reputation, deservedly, as one of the very best teachers in the whole of the UK.  His ability to help players to develop, and to have a real understanding and ownership of what they are doing, is unmatched in my experience, and the progress shown by those whom he teaches is exceptional.  David Rennie has been a marvellous addition to the golf here: his enthusiasm and easy manner combine well with his knowledge both of golf and of Wellington.  He leads our vision of “Golf for all” – that every pupil or staff member should have the chance to learn to play, should they wish to.  Tim Head has been a great help too, and he looks forward to developing further his knowledge of the game in the coming years.  Rob Collins and his team of greenkeeping staff have done an especially marvellous job this year.  The condition of the course is excellent, and this has been true throughout the year.  Martin Brandom, our Estates Bursar, leaves Wellington with our very best wishes for his new post down on the Kent coast: his dedication and willingness to help have been remarkable.

Team:

F. J. EDMUNDS (L- captain), E.A. PETERS (Bn), A.E. PETERS (Hn), J. N.MANN (Bl), S. L. Williams (Hl), M. Rose (M), O.B. Fowler (Bn), R. Wibbels (M), T. Foster (Hg), T. Oh (L), C. Farmer (Bn), C. Thomas (A), S. Dovey (L), A Presley (L), D. Cooke (A), J. Tuckwell (Bl), W. Leith (S);  D. Dougall (Bl), O. Ralph (Bd), J. Bamsey (A), T. Ryan (M), A. Dallamore (Bl), G. Bodvarsson (Bn), C. Sedgwick-Dwane (O), H. Jones (Hn), A. Coleman (Hn)

Golf Major Colours in BOLD CAPITALS,  Minor Colours in bold.