A Special Day for St George's Day...

St George's Day Champions - Florian Fleck and Allard Bruijsten with sponsors Norbert Petersen and Graham Sparkes.

And verily it came to pass that on the 23rd day of April in the year of our Lord 2022, thirty four gallant pairs took to the HDA 'field' to compete for the coveted St George's Day trophy.

This was to be a very special day, in memory of our dear friend Brian Matthews... Lesley Matthews kindly donated beautiful personalised crystal prizes and gifts for the winners and 'helpers' on the day.

The day began with the heavens opening and, as the players opened their eyelids and shutters the rain was pounding down on HDA. Had the bad weather 'scourge' of recent Boarded competitions struck once again?

... thankfully not as 6.30am became 7.30am, the clouds, perhaps by some 'divine intervention', parted and the sun began to take hold.

Players descended upon the Club House to enjoy the pre competition breakfast... before heading out to do battle with an 8.30am shotgun start. Thank you to UGOLF for their help in organising the shotgun start - much appreciated by the Committee and our Members!

The rain may have departed... and the sun may have started to shine - but the wind began to howl from the north, east, south and west!

The gallant players stood steady in the face of the 'fresh' conditions - no doubt helped by the sustenance provided by Louise Haigh and Jan Forbes-McDowell at the halfway house. Once again, thank you ladies... and thank you to Lesley Matthews for the tipple of brandy to keep us warm!

Once 'battle' was done the players retired to the Club House to enjoy a fantastic serving of tapas and paella - thank you to Norbert Petersen and Graham Sparkes for sponsoring breakfast and the Après Golf - and to the Club House team for the quality of the food and service.

We were delighted that Brian Matthew's daughter Joanna and her husband Darron were with us for the presentation of the personalised crystal prizes by Lesley Matthews.

In the Mixed and Ladies Category, Steve and Sharon Lizzimore were third, just edged out (on lower handicap) by second placed Tommy Higgins and Christine Faulkner - both pairs with 35 point.

Mixed Pairs runners-up - Christine Faulkner and Tommy Higgins.

However, the clear winners in this category were Imelda Brady and Lee Roe... some six points ahead on 41 points... congratulations to you both.

Mixed Pairs winners - Imelda Brady and Lee Roe.

The result was just a 'tad' tighter in the Men’s Category... with three teams posting fantastic scores of 43 points - quite remarkable considering the conditions!

Third place went to David Wilson and Ronnie Hallam, with

Geoff Hill and Adrian Kernahan pipping them to the runners-up spot on lower handicap.

Men's runners-up - Geoff Hill and Adrian Kernahan.

The Men's winners and winners of the St George's Trophy (again on lower handicap) were Florian Fleck and Allard Bruijsten - good work fellas.

Lesley Matthews presenting the beautiful crystal glasses to Florian Fleck and Allard Bruijsten.

'Nearest the Pin' winners were, for the Ladies, Sharon Lizzimore on hole 5 (she also had a two!!!)... and for the Men, Angus McLanders on hole 12.

Ladies nearest to the pin - Sharon Lizzimore.

Men's nearest to the pin - Angus McLanders.

After the presentation Lesley gave a beautiful address in memory of Brian - a fitting tribute to a wonderful man.

The super photos were provided by Simon Parks... great images of a special day.