Prince's and Chart Hills Report and Results May 18th and 19th 2026
The opening meeting of the 2026 season took us to Prince’s and Chart Hills in Kent where 54 members competed for our Scratch Cups as well as the usual handicap prizes.
We were greeted with a mixture of sunshine and showers on the first day, playing the Shore/Dunes course at Prince’s, the spiritual home of GSGB where the society was originally founded in 1955.
Recently announced as host of the 53rd Walker Cup in 2030, Prince’s is a delightful links course which famously hosted the Open Championship in 1932, won by Gene Sarazen.
The present-day 27-hole routing is the result of re-design following war-time damage to the original layout. Australian entrepreneur and GSGB founder Sir Aynsley Bridgland intervened, engaging Sir Guy Campbell and John Morrison to restore the course. Further improvements have been made in recent years by leading architects McKenzie and Ebert. A composite course which uses holes from all three loops of nine has recently been announced as the likely routing for the Walker Cup match.
There are two boards in the clubhouse at Prince’s.
The one on the left is dedicated to Sir Aynsley Bridgland who founded the GSGB at Prince’s in 1955.
On the right is the board recounting the story of Laddie Lucas, a golfing phenomenon from the age of 5, who later, during the War, landed his plane on the course to avoid hitting local houses.
The prize for the junior tournament at the club each year, sponsored by the GSGB, is named after him.
Following an excellent dinner we were greeted with grey skies and persistent rain the next morning as we travelled to Chart Hills Golf Club.
Chart Hills is an attractive and undulating 1993 Nick Faldo design which has been massively upgraded since being taken over by the McGuirk family in 2019. Unfortunately the rain hung around for a couple of hours before brightening up in the early afternoon which slightly favoured the later starters.
The Men’s Scratch Cup was won by Glen Cottrell from Hunstanton with 50 points and the Ladies Scratch Cup was won by Gillian Curley from Stratford on Avon who scored 42 points.
The Men’s Handicap winner was Robin Colbourne from Moor Park with a winning total of 66 points. The Ladies Handicap winner was Dipti Patel, also from Moor Park and also coming in with 66 points!
Lawrence Kingsnorth (Romford) and Delyse Wadkin (Sand Moor) were the Day 1 winners and Bobby Kendall (Moor Park) and Alison Evans (Chelmsford) were successful on Day 2. A full list of all prize winners can be seen below.
Our next meeting takes place in Cheshire on June 16th/17th where we play two of the finest courses in the County at Sandiway GC and Delamere Forest GC.
There are still a few places left at our June, July and August meetings. Contact the Secretary if you wish to add your name. Guests are also welcome.
Brian
Scroll left and right on the table below to see all details:
| Trophy/Competition | Winner | Club | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch Cups | Glenn Cottrell | Hunstanton | 50 |
| Gillian Curley | Stratford-0n-Avon | 42 | |
| Handicap Prizes | Robin Colbourne | Moor Park | 66 |
| Dipti Patel | Moor Park | 66 | |
| Day 1 Prizes | Lawrence Kingsnorth | Romford | 34 |
| Geoff Clayden | West Byfleet | 33 | |
| Delyse Wadkin | Sand Moor | 34 | |
| Pat Bennett | The Caversham | 32 | |
| Day 2 Prizes | Bobby Kendall | Moor Park | 33 |
| Ken Warwick | West Byfleet | 31 | |
| Alison Evans | Chelmsford | 30 | |
| Pam Thornton | Chelmsford | 27 |
Gallery
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