Words by Tony Smith , Pic by Nic Brook

Dear friends,

Thank you to all of you who made it to the Captain’s Dinner at Brasserie Blanc at the Southbank. The fantastic turnout of 51 members and guests created a wonderful atmosphere for the prize giving and our two fabulous guest speakers.

Former captain and trailblazing member, Liz Kahn, gave a compelling account of how life was for her as a journalist and would-be member of our society. It was uplifting to hear how her dogged determination had got her through so many difficult situations. And we also heard a very funny speech from Royal Liverpool captain and PGS member Alastair Machray.

The warm and friendly evening was a fitting end to my year as custodian of the chain of office. I was pleased to be able to thank so many people for the important part they played in helping me through 12 months littered with highlights.

If I could pick out two events which really helped make it such a joy they would be my Captain’s Day and, of course, the Wryter Cup.

We were fortunate enough to have a warm and sunny day on the South Downs as we battled a hilly and tricky set up at Mannings Heath. I was proud to share with so many friends the place I call my golfing home.

The Wryter Cup at Granville, in Normandy, was a most remarkable few days. The French were excellent hosts, the food, drink and camaraderie were all excellent and so was the course. The weather, not so, with 40mph winds and horizontal driving rain on the Monday. 

The record books will show that we didn’t quite get enough points to bring the trophy home but we did return with our pride in tact after giving them a very close run. I am exceptionally proud of everyone in our team, which was a mixture of experience and three rookies. Well done to Ben Todd, Mike Waker and Neil White for embracing the occasion so well.

As I said in my farewell speech, the PGS isn’t just about winning pots of silver. I hope that, more than that, everyone likes to mingle with men and women from the same profession, who love golf and to tell the inane, sometimes serious, often preposterous but always entertaining stories that attracted us all to this profession. 

I am delighted to pass the baton of captaincy to Jamie Weir. 

I know Jamie will have a wonderful year at the helm and I have the upmost confidence in him and his team to regain the Wryter Cup at Royal Dornoch next autumn.

Thank you all once again,

Tony 

Pics by Nic Brook and selfie from a freezing Taunton Railway station by Jamie Weir.

Words Tim Allan, Pic Nick Toksvig

In a field flooded with single figure players, a team of three 20-plus handicappers took the honours at our Christmas Scramble.

With three teams recording net scores of 59 (yes…59!!), the winners on countback were James Bartholomew and his guests Charles Pender and Tom Dean.

James said: “I can hardly believe it! We were planning to leave early, never thinking we’d have a chance in such an illustrious field, but when word filtered out that we were in with a chance we were very happy to stay. What a lovely day!”

The Scramble was played at Worplesdon for the first time, because our usual venue, The Berkshire, was having work done on the clubhouse and could not provide food – always an essential part of our Scramble day!

Worplesdon proved a superb venue for us, with the course in excellent condition for mid-November. The food was excellent and the bonhomie as convivial as always!

James and his team, playing off 15 per cent of their combined handicaps and receiving 11 shots, pipped the two other teams who scored 59 – Evan Samuel with guests Rob Wall, Tom Wood and Maurice Brett, who played off 10 per cent of combined handicap and received five shots; and James Nursey, with guests James Smith, Chatree Selahom and Nick De Villiers, who played off scratch.

Nev Appleton, Tony Smith, Mike ‘Harry Potter’ Waker and Colin Hancock, playing off seven, were fourth with a net score of 60.

After lunch, Ian McIlgorm stepped up to the auctioneer’s rostrum (well, a large table covered with tat) and led us to raise more than £3,000 for the Journalists’ Charity – a magnificent effort by all concerned.

It’s looking highly likely we’ll be back at Worplesdon for the Scramble next year, because The Berkshire have just told us that they won’t allow four-person team Scrambles any more!

The full, confirmed fixture list will be published on the website (pressgs.co.uk) as soon as it’s nailed down, as well as in the newsletter.

The planning for next year’s Nation’s Cup is already well underway, and Nick Buckley is going to captain our team to The Netherlands for the October golf on the amazing Isle of Texel.

To read the brochure giving dates and details for the trip, click on this link: Brochure_Nations_Cup_2025.

Anyone interested, contact Nick at nickbuckley2012@hotmail.com or Jonny Bramley at jonathanbramley63@gmail.com. An amazing time is guaranteed!