CGS descended upon Maxstoke Park the home course of Chairman Junior Harris, this was our first visit to Maxstoke and thanks to Junior we were able to play the course on a Sunday which is usually reserved for members only with societies required to book midweek. So with the course pretty much to ourselves which was mainly down to the sweltering temperatures which we experienced on the hottest day of the year, I guest the members decided to stay indoors but we the Caribbean golf society originate from the warmer climbs were able to play 18 holes on what was a very dry golf course. In some places it felt like St Andrews where the Open Championship was being played as the ball was bouncing all over the place on the fairways and was running out longer than usual especially for a parkland course. With that said playing the course like a links would be a good strategy as the greens weren’t very receptive which meant the ball was running out and off the back.

There were some 40 members and guests in attendance and with a late tee time it was not only going to be a long day but a late one also.

Amongst those in attendance was CGS long-time member and CGS secretary for most of its existence Mr Denny Senior, Denny was in the first group out and fittingly hit the first tee shot of the day reminiscent of the Open Championship with the likes of Jack Nicholas and Lee Trevino hitting the first tee shot as honorary starters, Denny however would not only hit the first tee shot but he had 18 holes to contend since he was playing for the first time in several years. It was great to see Denny back in the field.

So with play underway the main focus would be trying to stay cool and hit those tricky greens. With the usual on course prizes up for grabs the winners were as follows:

Paul Ramsey who’s low tee shot on the 16th hole stopped close enough for a birdie and the nearest the pin prize. Harvey Lawrence hit a very good tee shot which looked like it would be very close but hit the flag and bounced off the green, it looked good all the way. The nearest the pin in two was held on the 6th hole and that was won by Noel Wright. The nearest in three was on the par 5 8th and that was won by the chairman himself Junior Harris on his home course. The longest drive hole was the 11th and the winning drive was made by Ansel Pottinger.

Scoring on the day wasn’t very high, it was very challenging especially with the dry conditions and the ball not stopping on the greens. The winning score was 35 points and out of the 40 players in attendance only 14 scored 30 points or more.

With the Secretaries Shield up for grabs, the scores between the top three spots was close with all three separated by just a point along with 1st and 2nd places having to be decided on count-back.

Taking the 3rd spot with 34 points was the chairman Junior Harris who took advantage of home course advantage. In 2nd spot loosing out on the top to count-back was Eldridge Cunningham who’s been very consistent the last two years and always starts the season a little slow but then picks up pace with some very good golf, however his efforts were just pipped by another consistent performer and past order of merit winner CGS Captain Eddie Wedderburn. Before the event started Eddie was leading the order of merit standings and with the win he’s added a few more fingers on that trophy. This season Eddie has finished 4th at every event and that consistency is what has extended is grip on this years Order of Merit. Its congratulation to Eddie for his win at Maxstoke and for taking home the Secretaries Shield.

It’s starting to look like the Order of Merit trophy could have Eddie’s name on it for the second time which would be a first in CGS history. With four events remaining anything is possible so still plenty to play for and plenty of points still up for grabs.

A big thanks goes out to Maxstoke Captain and CGS chairman Junior Harris for arranging this fixture and also to the green and bar staff, the CGS were very grateful for the hospitality shown to us. We hope to be able to play the course again next year.