Winner Dean Leith (left) receiving his award from CGS vice-captain Lloyd Thomas
In its long and illustrious history the Belfry venue has hosted a string of top ranking events including the Ryder Cup. Good Friday saw the first visit of the CGS to this renowned setting and the day’s events were crowned with several outstanding performances. The un-seasonally cold weather meant that our familiar white T shirts were well concealed under numerous thermal layers to shield us from the harsh chill factor present throughout the day. While we were grateful the course was open, evidence of the recent heavy snow fall remained visibly scattered around the course.

The event attendance was encouraging with our numbers being bolstered by four guests; Owen Davidson, Sonny Jagpal, Charlie McCook and Delroy Hutchinson.

21 players took to the course shortly after 9am and play proceeded at a usually smart pace throughout the day with all groups completing their rounds in 4 hours 30 minutes. In spite of the very cold weather and some surface water on parts of the course, playing conditions were not too bad. This was borne out in the scoring.

Even though Emmanuel Sylva didn’t feel he played especially well, he turned in a respectable 87 playing off a handicap of 18 and earned himself a third place finish. Well done Manny for getting your season off to such a good start with a top three finish.

Barry Smith had recently secured his membership with the CGS and just as well. Barry produced an excellent gross score of 77 whilst playing off a handicap of 9. At one stage it was believed that Barry had won the Founders day event but after further review he was awarded second place. When considering that the competitions scratch score was 71 this performance was particularly outstanding. Well done Barry.

However, the top honor of the day went to big Dean who produced a very impressive gross score of 82 whilst playing off a handicap of 14. Dean achieved a net score of 68 and his victory was secured on count back when both he and Barry Smith achieved the same net score. 

What made Dean’s achievement all the more impressive was his pre-match request to the chairman that he be cut two shots. Dean asked to be cut on the basis of his recent form at his club (Hilltop). Dean’s sportsmanship is testimony to his character and his commitment to ensuring all CGS events are competitive and played in the right spirit. Furthermore, Dean’s gesture represents the things that are best in both the game and also in the CGS. We can only hope that Dean’s example of sportsmanship is followed by all CGS members throughout the season. Well done Deano.

These top three finishes were achieved on a day when the CGS discovered the meaning of the Belfry hustle and how to complete a round of golf in less than five hours.  Almost all participants left the course feeling that we had been treated poorly by the course marshals who were constantly reminding and even warning groups to speed up or face the consequence of walking holes or even being asked to leave the course. After bringing these concerns to the attention of the management, it was explained that the continuous hustling of our groups was due to the number of players on the course that day (160 in total). Marshals were concerned that if any time was lost by groups playing earlier in the day, those groups teeing off later in the day would not be able to complete their rounds.

In the final analysis we can only put this one down to experience and ensure that in the future we have a clearer understanding of the overall course situation. After all, business is business and time is money.

Full Result: