The fifth and final meeting of the 2024 GSGB season was held at Frinton GC in Essex and Ipswich (Purdis Heath) GC in Suffolk.

The courses are certainly very different in character; Frinton designed by Willie Park Jnr and later improved by Harry Colt is a flat, almost treeless layout sitting behind a sea wall. Ipswich is one of James Braid’s best designs and a fine example of high quality heathland golf. Ranking amongst the Top 50 golf courses in England, Ipswich is regarded as a strong contender for a place in the Great Britain & Ireland Top 100.

September often provides some late summer sunshine and we were fortunate enough to have dry weather on both days. While Day One scoring at Frinton was quite difficult in the wind, Day Two at Ipswich delivered perfect playing conditions with a cloudless sky and warm sunshine throughout both morning and afternoon.

In the evening we were joined by the Frinton Club Captains, Mr Neil Hawkes and Mrs Sarah Taylor. Sarah spoke about the history and recent success of the club juniors. Following an excellent dinner GSGB Chairman Robert Hill presented the £600 junior donation cheque to both Captains.

41 members travelled east which was fewer than our usual turnout, but those who made the journey were rewarded with a very enjoyable couple of days. It was also good to see Terry and Vanessa Adams who are GSGB and Ipswich members. Both have had a busy year at their club, Vanessa as Ladies Captain and Terry as Seniors Skipper.

The Knight Super Senior Salvers, kindly donated by GSGB and Moor Park member Peter Knight, were won by Dudley Carvell from Alwoodley with 68 points and Pat Bennett from Reading who scored 61 points. 

The Ladies’ Barlow Seniors Trophy was won by Ruth Lindley from Seaton Carew with 72 points which included a superb 44 points on Day two. The Men’s Trophy was collected by Ian Chamberlain from Frinton with 70 points,  despite his receiving a two shot deduction for competing at his home course.

A full list of prize winners can be seen below.

The next planned GSGB events are the Autumn Tour to Lake Como later in September and two separate Spring Tours to Gran Canaria in 2025. We begin next year’s summer programme at Broadstone / Isle of Purbeck on May 20/21st.

The full list of fixtures for 2025 can be found on the home page of the website or in the News section.