The Baltic Exchange Golf Society Sandwich Challenge took place on 4 & 5 February at the iconic Princes golf club venue, which incidentally hosted the Open in 1932 and it was Gene Sarazen’s sole Open victory. This was being held for the third time and each year the number of players has increased, suggesting it is becoming quite popular. This year we had 24 players taking part, competing either for the North or the South in better ball match-play, as well as an overall individual winner with the highest total stableford points score. As with previous years, despite some mizzle on the journey down, it remained dry for the round.

You can check out the full gallery of photos from the entire weekend here.

The match got underway at 10:20, playing the Shore & Dunes combination with a gentle zephyr of wind, which increased in speed as the day wore on. Both team skippers played in the first match with Mark Ravenscroft playing with Bob Childs (North) versus Trevor Marsh partnering the rookie Stuart Wheeler (South). They had a tight match and the North managed to win it on the final hole. Second off was Nigel Whaler & Jim Stewart (North) versus Simon Cox & another rookie Mark Hempleman (South), which was won by the North to make the overall score 2-0. The third match pitched the Hon Sec and Peter Hirons (North) against Phil McDonnell & Ben Dudman. The South team played very well and were in the lead at the turn, sadly Peter Hirons had a very sore back from carrying the Hon Sec for most of the round, and was unable to fend off the big hitting single figure handicappers and the North lost 4&3, so the overall match was now 2-1. Up steps David Knights & President Robert Gemmell for the North with Jeremy Penn & Jonathan Bird representing the South, which the North won and the next game of Neil Harper & John Simister v Tony McDonnell & Graeme Mattocks was halved, so overall score was 3 1/2 to 1 1/2. Match manager Chris Cox was in the final group partnering Graham Baldey, despite Chris scoring the best stableford of the group, the South team (Les Hayes & James Greenly) prevailed and took the last point. Match score at the end of the first day was 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 in favour of the North.

After some refreshments in the clubhouse, everyone retired to the on-site lodge accommodation to get changed for a casual dinner. The festivities did not go too late into the night and everyone made it safely to their rooms for a well deserved sleep, as playing in the wind had certainly tired a number of us out.

The Monday tee-off started at 09:00, so everyone had to check out and pack their belongings prior to teeing off. The wind was stronger than the day before, which even created a problem for one player when exiting the lodge as he nearly beached his car! Maybe the going in that spot was heavy and not soft?

Chris led the way (with Peter Hirons), this time playing Dunes + Himalayas combination against his brother Simon & Tony McDonnell. Peter was no doubt exhausted from singlehandedly trying to beat the South on Sunday and did not have his best golf, so the South won the opener. Second off was South team (and BEGS) captain Trevor Marsh playing with Les Hayes against Hon Sec & David Knights. It was a back n forth match, with a highlight from David who so nearly holed a long putt for an eagle 3 on 6th hole.  Whilst the wind was certainly playing havoc blowing bags and trollies around, this did not concern Trevor at all, as he impressed us with a couple of highly skilful low flighted (Sally Gunnell) shots on 2 of the Par 3 holes, ending within 15 feet of the pin, with no pictures on the card he took the points for the Pars accordingly. Thanks to the solid play of Knightsie the North won that match. North skipper Mark Ravs played next with President Gemmell versus Phil McDonnell & Mark Hempleman and a very close match ensued, with the South winning the match on the final hole, which meant the match score was 2-1 to them and tied overall. Bob Childs was playing next with Jim against Jeremy Penn & Stuart Wheeler. Rather like the Scotland v Wales match last week, the South were 4 up at the turn, when Jim decided to start playing some proper golf and the North won a few holes and eventually the match, so the North were now 1 point ahead. Neil Harper & Nigel Whaler played Jonathan Bird & James Greenly, winning the match to put the North in an unassailable position with 6 1/2 points. The South’s pair of Graeme Mattocks & Ben Dudman won the final match versus John Simister & Graham Baldey, so the final score was a victory for the North by 6 1/2 to 5 1/2.

The overall stableford points winner was Phil McDonnell who scored 34 on each day for an excellent 68. Ben Dudman was second on 63 and Nigel Whaler came third with 1 point less.

David Knights hit some drives into a different post code and took home the longest drive for both rounds. Mark Ravenscroft won nearest the pin on Sunday and Simon Cox won it on Monday.

Only five players scored more points on Monday than Sunday, with four players scoring the same for both rounds, demonstrating either the stronger wind affected the scoring or perhaps too much dinner lubrication?

Thanks to everyone for playing in this event, congratulations to all the worthy winners. Well done Chris Cox for arranging another cracking time @ Princes golf club.

The same weekend has been booked for next year (2/3 February 2025) at a cost of £210. A lot of this year’s group have confirmed they want to play, so any new players should e-mail Hon Sec or Chris Cox. Once you have paid a deposit of £50, you will be added to the group (BEGS has already paid a group deposit).