by Julie Latimer-Jones
Nationwide knock-out golf competition A five-strong team of ladies from Aldeburgh Golf Club returned from south-western Spain in late November clutching a very large photograph and a stylish silvertopped claret jug, the runners-up trophy for the national 2011 knockout competition run by the Mail On Sunday. The team, captained by Lotti Edmunds, played their way through nine rounds to reach the quarter finals at Worsley Park, Manchester, where they beat Droitwich Ladies, earning a fourday trip to the wonderfully named El Rompido, the 5-star resort selected to host the semi-finals and final with luxury living included. There was an uproarious send-off from the golf club car park on a misty Sunday morning, accompanied by a capering, castanet-clicking, moustachioed figure dressed in poncho and Mexican hat. ‘Viva Espana’ has never sounded better and Sandra Ball might be a candidate for next year’s ‘Strictly’! Happily, the ladies left at home were lunching after a sociable morning’s golf when news of the semi-final against Northamptonshire County Golf Club hit the air waves on the Tuesday. First came the information that Blaize Esmond was about to win, Susie Manson-Bahr had won and Bunty Hunt was 3 up, had three holes to go and would receive a shot at each one. The next thing was a phone call, mid-
The Aldeburgh team (left to right): Philippa Collett, Brenda Burtenshaw, Carrie Spence (Ladies’ Captain), Blaize Esmond, Susie Manson-Bahr, Bunty Hunt.
Spanish Chicken because everyone, house staff and all, had swung into the mood: Bunty had put the winning point on the board and the team would meet Ganton in the final. The cheer probably echoed somewhere around The Dogger Bank. After a fantastic effort the next morning Aldeburgh’s team lost by a narrow 3-2 margin to take the runnersup spot. Back home their enthusiastic supporters were thrilled with their team’s performance. As Roger Kelly presented them with their prizes, he said Rudyard Kipling would have been proud of them for their smiles whether winning or losing. How nice! It was a great buzz for everyone.
EWGA & EGU merger - a view from here Quite a time was necessarily taken for EWGA and the EGU to agree on a merger. A chat with Suffolk’s Judi Walker who finds herself in the prestigious and exciting position of a Board Member of the Governing Body of England Golf, enables me to pass on the following information for those who have not been industriously checking on progress since 2009 when negotiations began. The most recent news was posted on the EWGA website on 8th January, following the first Board Meeting at Woodhall Spa during the previous week. Because the two merged organisations are now to be managed as one, EWGA’s CEO, Jim Robinson, left the Association on 31st December 2011. He departed with grateful thanks, expressed by Sylvia Perrins, the outgoing Acting Chairman of the Association, for his huge contribution of commitment, hard work and loyalty to EWGA during his tenure. So, perhaps more than anything, that move signals the real change in the organisation of golf in England and particularly from our point of view, ladies golf. The golfing calendar in 2012 will not be affected, however. The winter coaching programme and the Championships will take place as planned whilst the mechanics of the merger proceed behind the scenes. There are many business decisions to be made and exciting discussions to be had about branding. Currently the EWGA rose features as a strong possibility. We can look forward to the new logo launch in mid-February when County Voting members will be invited to Woodhall Spa to an open discussion forum, dinner, an overnight stay and attendance at the AGM on the fifteenth. Judi Walker says she has been delighted at the natural and easy way the men and women of the Board are working together for the game. Her lasting impression has been the size of the EGU and its influence in the golfing world. Its standing is enhanced still further by the addition of EWGA and EWGA can only benefit from its merger with such a major voice in the future of the game. 16