We had 42 individuals (40 in 2022 join us this year at our monthly meetings – a good number, including some keen new members who can all play a bit, which is great for our society. However, we could always do with a few more joining the ranks so please do not hesitate to encourage any golfers you know to have a look at the website and get involved. Our lowest attendance was in June with a pretty decent 17 at Nizels with our highest being 27 in August and September at Cooden then Chartham Park.  Our average was 21.7 individuals attending each meeting (19.4 in 2022) which is great with some hardy golfers 20 in January and 22 in February probably putting to bed the old debate of is it worth playing in those winter months – clearly it is for many! 

The highest average scoring event during the year was a surprise, in that it was not Seaford Head, but was Chartham Park 34.22 (2022: 34.30 at Seaford Head).  The lowest scoring event was at Dale Hill with an average score of 27.21 (2022 28.11 at Lewes).  The overall average stableford points score for the season was 31.83 (2022 29.79; 2021 30.59). 

It was again pleasing to see that the silverware for the year was distributed evenly across the membership, this again probably suggest the handicap system is about right. That system being bribes and beer gets you any handicap you like!

The highest points score this year was by Mr Kelvin Paterson 45points at Sweetwoods (2022 John Collingwood 49 points at Cooden) with the next best being Rob Weavers 44 points at the same venue followed by Chris Buck with 43 points at Seaford Head. The best gross score was by Alan Bigley with a 3 over par 74 at Chartham Park.  

Again, worthy of note was the speed of the rounds this year which were generally conducted at a very good pace – so thank you.

A big thank you as always to Hon Sec David, Captain Biggers Bigley, Treasurer James for helping and supporting me throughout the year.  As always worthy of a special mention again is our excellent website orchestrated by Mr. Watkiss which keeps members abreast of events and gives advance notice of tee times and publishes the very latest results.

MGS Silverware winners 2023

Trophy	Winner(s)
Golfer of the Year	Stuart Bourne
Mad March Jugs	Chris Buck & John Miller
Spring Tour (Belgium)	Andy Williams
Anniversary Trophy	Graham Smith
Society Strokeplay Championship	Stuart Bourne
Society Stableford Competition	David Howroyd
Captain’s Day Trophy	Kelvin Paterson
Mayfield Cup	Joe Carroll
GBH Trophy	Kelvin Paterson & Stuart Bourne
Last Chance Trophy	Chris Buck

Society tour 2023

We had a fabulous trip to Belgium basing ourselves at the St Martyns Hotel in Bruges excellently positioned just off the main square.  

The overall tour outcome was very close as follows: –

Pos	Player	Points
1st	Andy Williams	81
2nd	Alan Bigley	79
3rd	Andrew Jenner	78
4th	Micky Mann	77
=5th	Richard Hannam	75
=5th	Peter Cudmore	75
7th	Tom Bennett *	73
8th	Jerry Watkiss	72
9th	David Howroyd	71
10th	Mark Hughes	69
11th	Rob Weaver	69
12th	James Gallifant	60

• Estimated as left before submitting card.

Well done to Andy Williams for his tour win – consistency being key across the three days.

A huge thank you to Mark Hughes for organising the whole shooting match and the drivers for getting us to and from Belgium safely. 

Individual monthly winners 2023

Month	Comp	Course	Individual Winner	Score	Runner Up	Score
Jan-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Eastbourne Down	Mark Hughes	39	David Howroyd	39
Feb-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	East Brighton	James Gallifant	40	Alan Bigley	36
Mar-23	Mad March Jugs	Pyecombe	John Miller	39	Richard Hannam	39
Apr-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Dale Hill	Alan Bigley	35	John Collingwood	33
May-23	Anniversary Trophy	Nevill	Graham Smith	37	Phil Taylor	36
Jun-23	Strokeplay Shield	Nizels	Stuart Bourne	G81 N67	Phil Taylor	G85 N68
	Stableford Shield		David Howroyd	38	Joe Caroll	35
Jul-23	MGS Foundation Trophy	Sweetwoods	Kelvin Paterson	45	Rob Weavers	44
Aug-23	Mayfield Cup	Cooden	Joe Carroll	41	Stuart Bourne	41
Sep-23	GBH Trophy	Chartham Park	Kelvin Paterson	42	James Harding	42
Oct-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Kings Hill	Andrew Burnett	41	Jerry Watkiss	39
Nov-23	Last Chance Trophy	Seaford Head	Chris Buck	43	Kevin Leftley	39

At our monthly meets we have seen eleven different winners across the twelve individual competitions. Kelvin Paterson being the only one who was able to double up during the season.

Team winners 2023

Month	Comp	Course	Team Winners	Score	Team Runners Up	Score
Jan-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Eastbourne Down	Graham Smith, Graham Meadows, John Miller & Rob Montague	121	Alan Bigley, David Howroyd, Martin Erxleben, Micky Mann	121
Feb-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	East Brighton	Andrew Burnett, Rob Montagu & James Gallifant	86	David Howroyd, Andy Williams & Graham Meadows	79
Mar-23	Mad March Jugs	Pyecombe	Chris Buck & John Miller	104	Rod Lunn & Andrew Jenner	93
Apr-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Dale Hill	Chis Buck, Kevin Leftley, Allan Bigley & Joe Caroll	106	Fred Ablitt, Micky Mann, Peter Cudmore & Andrew Burnett	99
May-23	Anniversary Trophy	Nevill	Chris Buck, Phil Taylor &	85	Stuart Bourne, Rob Weavers & Alan Bigley	82
Jun-23	Strokeplay & Stableford Shields	Nizels	No Team Comp
Jul-23	MGS Foundation Trophy	Sweetwoods	Kelvin Paterson, David Howroyd & Graham Smith	89	Micky Mann, Rod Lunn & Rob Weavers	82
Aug-23	Mayfield Cup	Cooden	Rod Lunn, David Howroyd, John Collingwood & Stuart Bourne	125	Frank Goulding, Joe Carroll, Tony Willmott & Phil Taylor	124
Sep-23	GBH Trophy	Chartham Park	Kelvin Paterson & Stuart Bourne	55	Jerry Watkiss & David Howroyd   Plus Chis Buck & Will Lunn	52
Oct-23	Monthly Individual Stableford	Kings Hill	Andrew Burnett, Rob Montagu, Kevin Leftley & Stuart Bourne	93	Peter Smith, Tony Willmott, Alan Bigley & Jerry Watkiss	88
Nov-23	Last Chance Trophy	Seaford Head	Simon Luck, Peter Cudmore & Micky Mann	87	Graham Medows. James Gallifant & Alan Bigley	83

19 different members were on a winning team this year which is good to see.  However, the real team players this year were Rob Montagu, Stuart Bourne & Chris Buck all of whom were on the winning team three times.  

MGS 2023 Appearances 

Overall attendance has been very good with the average monthly meeting attendance being 21.7 (2022: 19.4). The highest was 27 at Cooden & Chartham Park with the lowest being 17 at Nizels in June. Well done to Stuart Bourne who attended every event this season.

MGS Member	App		MGS Member	App
BOURNE, Stuart	11		BOND, Alan	4
BIGLEY, Alan	10		HARDING, James	4
LUNN, Rod	10		SMITH, Peter (guest)	4
WILLMOTT, Tony	10		GOULDING, Frank	3
BURNETT, Andrew	9		SMITH, Steve	3
HOWROYD, David	9		UNDERWOOD, Adrian	3
SMITH, Graham	9		TOWNSEND, Keith	2
TAYLOR, Phil	9		ERXLEBEN, Martin	1
WATKISS, Jerry	9		McCOY, Nigel	1
BUCK, Chris	8		YARWOOD, Roger	1
COLLINGWOOD, John	8		JONES, Simon (guest)	1
GALLIFANT, James	8		LONGWORTH, Richard (guest)	1
HUGHES, Mark	8		ABLITT, Fred (guest)	1
LUCK, Simon	8		CAULFIELD-BROWN, Nigel (guest)	1
CARROLL, Joe	7		OMSTON, Derrick (guest)	1
MANN, Michael	7
MILLER, John	7
MONTAGU, Rob	7
WEAVERS, Rob	7
WILLIAMS, Andy	7
CUDMORE, Peter	6
HANNAM, Richard	6
JENNER, Andrew	6
LEFTLEY, Kevin	6
LUNN, Will	6
MEADOWS, Graham	5
PATERSON, Kelvin	5

MGS Player of the Year 2023 (best four rounds)

30 members managed to get in at least four qualifying rounds for the overall player of the year trophy during the season – the results are shown below: –

Individual	Appearances	Av of best 4 rounds	Total t 4 rounds	Qualifying scores
BOURNE, Stuart	11	38.25	153.00	41,41,36,35
HOWROYD, David	9	37.75	151.00	39,38,38,36
TAYLOR, Phil	9	37.75	151.00	41,37,37,36
WATKISS, Jerry	9	37.50	150.00	39,39,37,35
HUGHES, Mark	8	37.50	150.00	40,39,37,34
WILLIAMS, Andy	7	37.50	150.00	39,38,38,35
WILLMOTT, Tony	10	37.25	149.00	39,37,37,36
BIGLEY, Alan	10	37.00	148.00	38,38,36,36
BURNETT, Andrew	9	36.75	147.00	41,36,35,35
PATERSON, Kelvin	5	36.75	147.00	45,42,31,29
BUCK, Chris	8	36.00	144.00
MILLER, John	7	36.00	144.00
SMITH, Graham	9	35.75	143.00
WEAVERS, Rob	7	35.75	143.00
LUNN, Rod	10	35.50	142.00
HANNAM, Richard	6	35.25	141.00
COLLINGWOOD, John	8	35.00	140.00
LUCK, Simon	8	35.00	140.00
CARROLL, Joe	7	34.75	139.00
BOND, Alan	4	34.50	138.00
GALLIFANT, James	8	34.25	137.00
CUDMORE, Peter	6	34.25	137.00
MANN, Michael	7	34.00	136.00
MONTAGU, Rob	7	34.00	136.00
JENNER, Andrew	6	33.75	135.00
LEFTLEY, Kevin	6	33.25	133.00
SMITH, Peter (guest)	4	32.50	130.00
MEADOWS, Graham	5	31.75	127.00
HARDING, James	4	31.25	125.00
LUNN, Will	6	29.00	116.00

Congratulations go to Stuart Bourne for a great set of numbers posted. A very tight competition this year with just the odd made or missed putt making all the difference.

MGS overall averages (total scores for the season divided by total appearances) NB: Three or more rounds

Individual	App	Average
PATERSON, Kelvin	5	35.20
TAYLOR, Phil	9	34.89
BOND, Alan	4	34.50
BIGLEY, Alan	10	34.20
WILLMOTT, Tony	10	34.20
SMITH, Graham	9	33.89
HOWROYD, David	9	33.67
HANNAM, Richard	6	33.33
BUCK, Chris	8	33.25
BURNETT, Andrew	9	33.22
BOURNE, Stuart	11	33.09
HUGHES, Mark	8	33.00
WILLIAMS, Andy	7	33.00
LUNN, Rod	10	32.80
WATKISS, Jerry	9	32.78
COLLINGWOOD, John	8	32.50
SMITH, Peter	4	32.50
MILLER, John	7	32.14
CUDMORE, Peter	6	32.00
LUCK, Simon	8	32.00
WEAVERS, Rob	7	32.00
JENNER, Andrew	6	31.67
GALLIFANT, James	8	31.63
LEFTLEY, Kevin	6	31.50
HARDING, James	4	31.25
MONTAGU, Rob	7	31.14
MANN, Michael	7	30.86
CARROLL, Joe	7	30.71
MEADOWS, Graham	5	30.00
GOULDING, Frank	3	28.00
SMITH, Steve	3	27.00
LUNN, Will	6	25.83

Well done to Kelvin Paterson.

40 points plus club 2023

Name	Score	Course
PATERSON, Kelvin	45	Sweetwoods
WEAVERS, Rob	44	Sweetwoods
BUCK, Chris	43	Seaford Head
HARDING, James	42	Chartham Park
PATERSON, Kelvin	42	Chartham Park
TAYLOR, Phil	41	Nizels
BOURNE, Stuart	41	Nizels
BOURNE, Stuart	41	Cooden
CARROLL, Joe	41	Cooden
BURNETT, Andrew	41	Kings Hill
BOND, Alan	40	Cooden
GALLIFANT, James	40	East Brighton
HUGHES, Mark	40	Sweetwoods

Congratulations to Kelvin Paterson and all the above for ensuring my handicap scissors were regularly sharpened.

Specialist events 2023

We always try to make these interesting with the nearest the line and nearest the pin in two or three as our specialist holes – hopefully giving everyone a good chance of being in the running for a small prize.

Nearest the pin & nearest the pin in two 2023

Month	Course	Nearest the Pin	Nearest the Pin in Two
Jan-23	Eastbourne Down	Mark Hughes	No winner
Feb-23	East Brighton	No winner	Kevin Leftley
Mar-23	Pyecombe	No winner	Jerry Watkiss
Apr-23	Dale Hill	Micky Mann 5thAlan Bigley 16th	No competition
May-23	Nevill	Graham Smith	Andrew Jenner
Jun-23	Nizels	Tony Willmott	Jerry Watkiss
Jul-23	Sweetwoods	Rod Lunn 5thJerry Watkiss 7thAlan Bigley 17th	Tony Willmott
Aug-23	Cooden	No Winner	Andrew Burnett
Sep-23	Chartham Park	John Miller	Peter Smith
Oct-23	Kings Hill	Phil Taylor	David Howroyd
Nov-23	Seaford Head	Simon Luck	Phil Taylor

Ten different winners which is great to see – No individual dominating this event this year.

MGS birdies and two’s

The table below sets out those who have made Eagles. Birdies & a Two in the season.  

Player	Eagles
HOWROYD, David	1
PATERSON, Kelvin	1
Total	2

Player	Two’s
WILLIAMS, Andy	2
PATERSON, Kelvin	2
COLLINGWOOD, John	2
BIGLEY, Alan	2
LUNN, Rod	1
BOURNE, Stuart	1
BURNETT, Andrew	1
WILLMOTT, Tony	1
HOWROYD, David	1
BOND, Alan	1
MANN, Michael	1
BUCK, Chris	1
LUCK, Simon	1
HARDING, James	1
TAYLOR, Phil	1
WEAVERS, Rob	1
Total	20

Player			Birdies
BIGLEY, Alan			12
LUNN, Rod			6
BOURNE, Stuart			5
HANNAM, Richard			5
WILLIAMS, Andy			5
BURNETT, Andrew			4
MILLER, John			4
WILLMOTT, Tony			4
HOWROYD, David			3
BOND, Alan			3
JENNER, Andrew			3
MANN, Michael			3
SMITH, Peter (guest)			3
PATERSON, Kelvin			2
BUCK, Chris			2
COLLINGWOOD, John			2
LUCK, Simon			2
CARROLL, Joe			1
GALLIFANT, James			1
GOULDING, Frank			1
HARDING, James			1
HUGHES, Mark			1
LEFTLEY, Kevin			1
MEADOWS, Graham			1
SMITH, Graham			1
SMITH, Steve			1
TAYLOR, Phil
WATKISS, Jerry		1
WEAVERS, Rob		1
OMSTON, Derrick		1
Total		81

Good to see a couple of Eagles on the books this year.  We must be due a hole in one in 2024 – the last one I believe was achieved in 2008!! Well done to Biggers for having twice as many birdies in the year as anyone else!

MGS Society member handicaps @ December 2023 

Really nice to see the quality of golf played by the membership during 2023 with a good mix and spread of handicaps.  

Individual	HCP	Individual	HCP
BIGLEY, Alan	4	BENNETT, Tom	26
HANNAM, Richard	9	HOOLAHAN, Sandy	26
SMITH, Graham	10	CUDMORE, Peter	26
BOURNE, Stuart	10	COGGILL, Tony	26
VALENTINE, Carl	11	BRIGGS, Simon	27
HARDING, James	14	MEADOWS, Graham	27
BOND, Alan	14	COLLINGWOOD, John	27
TAYLOR, Phil	14	CHRISTIAN, Des	28
WATKISS, Jerry	15	TOWNSEND, Keith	28
BURNETT, Andrew	15	GALLIFANT, James	29
MILLER, John	16	UNDERWOOD, Adrian	30
WILLMOTT, Tony	16	BURNETT, Nigel	30
WILLIAMS, Andy	16	GOULDING, Frank	30
BUCK, Chris	17	CARROLL, Joe	31
JENNER, Andrew	17	LUNN, Will	36
HUGHES, Mark	18	MONTAGU, Rob	36
MANN, Michael	19
LUNN, Rod	20
LUCK, Simon	20
SMITH, Peter	20
YARWOOD, Roger	20
HOWROYD, David	20
PATERSON, Kelvin	21
SMITH, Steve	22
LEFTLEY, Kevin	22
TIPPETT, Andy	23
ERXLEBEN, Martin	24
McCOY, Nigel	24
COOK, Brian	24
WEAVERS, Rob	25
WAKEFIELD, Will	25