6/12/18 Christmas Lunch was held at The Refectory, Milford.
18/11/18 Association Knockout Result The long-awaited final has just been played with the trophy being won by Iain Gaman.
27/10/18 Pat’s Plate Congratulations to John Gosden who beat Iain Gaman in the final. After a year off, John has had a successful club season winning both this association croquet competition and the golf singles event.
19/10/18 JAWS winners Congratulations to Julie Tremble and Charles Martin who have won the 2018 JAWS competition after what they describe as ‘a gargantuan struggle’ in the final against Jan Honeysett and Anthony Tutt. The scores were: 6-7,7-6,7-5.
10/10/18 SECF League results 2018:
AC U League – G&G =10th of 14 teams
GC Level Play League – G&G 5th of 9 teams
GC Handicap League (West) – G&G Team A – 3rd and G&G Team B – 12th of 17 teams
05/10/18 EARS winner Congratulations to John Gosden on winning EARS, the Golf Handicap Singles Knockout Competition.
20/09/18 Mike Huxley Awarded CA Diploma Congratulations to our chairman, Mike Huxley, on being awarded a CA diploma. Amongst his many contributions, Mike has coached and mentored more people than he cares to remember and has organised umpteen tournaments and events. He’s won many tournaments in both GC and AC and has represented both Surrey and Middlesex in inter county championships.
30/09/18 GC Summer League Winners Congratulations to Sarah Patton and George Rowland on winning the GC Summer Handicap League and the Summer Level Play League respectively. Both players won all but one of their matches. This was Sarah’s first season, and her enthusiasm and achievement are impressive.
24/09/18 Joan West “I am deeply sorry to report that Joan died on Friday. She passed on peacefully in a nursing home in Farnham, where she had been for a few weeks. As an ex-golfer, Joan had a very keen eye for line on the croquet court and often surprised players with much lower handicaps than the 6(GC) that she maintained into her nineties. But, of course, croquet was only a small part of her life as she had an extended family about whom she spoke frequently with love and pride. I guess all of us will remember her for different things. I will remember her for being a determined croquet adversary and an all-round lovely person.” Mike Huxley.
10/09/18 Treasurer’s Tankard G&G hosted the 2018 Treasurer’s Tankard, an AC tournament run by the Croquet Association. There were eight players, this competition being a part of ‘Eights Week’, each entrant playing each other twice. So, the intended schedule was that 56 separate games of Advanced Association Croquet would be played over a 5-day period. As the event progressed, it became apparent that the players were having difficulty with G&G’s hard, fast lawns and very firm hoops. Games were over-running and had to be ‘pegged down’ to be completed, when possible, later in the day. Play continued until deep twilight every night and even later on the last night. By the last day, the number of potential winners was reduced to two – John Davis (Nottingham) and Nigel Polhill (Ealing/Surbiton). By lunchtime, John had won 10 games out of 12 played, Nigel had won 8 out of 10. John was unbeatable, but Nigel could tie at the top if John lost his final two games and he, Nigel, won his last two. One round later, Nigel had crept up to 9 wins and John had lost a game to stay on 10 wins. So, to the final round. John lost again in the failing light. Could Nigel, in the very last game, catch him up? By 8.00pm play was still going on. Martin Murray, the tournament manager, was giving Nigel a hard game and it was getting darker and darker. Eventually, torches were employed to give the players some chance of seeing what was going on and in the most difficult of conditions, Nigel finally broke clear and pegged out for a win at 8.28pm. So, the result was a tie between John and Nigel, each winning 10 games out of 14. Manager and players thanked the club’s members for all the hard work they had put into the lawns, the catering and generally looking after them. (MH)
04/09/18 SECF Leagues results 2018
AC U league – won 1, lost 3
GC Handicap League Team A: won 3, lost 1
GC Handicap League Team B: won 1, drew 1, lost 2
GC Level Play league – won 2, lost 2
03/09/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team A v Hassocks The team finished the season on a high note with a decisive win in a home match against Hassocks. The match was contested in very good spirit on a beautiful sunny day. G&G started off well with two convincing wins of 7-4 and 7-2 in the doubles matches. Still all to play for the four singles matches brought no relief to our visitors as G&G won all 4. In the last round Mike and Julie both won their singles even though they were giving away 6 extra turns apiece. The final match was another doubles and despite some excellent play by our team they were narrowly beaten 6-7 – a consolation for Hassocks. A big thank you to Anne Young for providing the teams with a splendid buffet lunch. The team comprised Mike Huxley, Julie Tremble. Audrey Porter and Ron Piper. Match result: G&G A 8: Hassocks 1
02/09/18 GC A/B-Level Tournament – the CARA Cup The event took place in beautiful sunshine. The 12 players participated in two all-play-all groups of six with the winners of each to contest the final, the runners-up to play for 3rd and 4th places, and so on. After 5 rounds were complete, defending champion Richard Carline (2, Sussex) won the blue group with 4 wins from 5. In the red group, there was a dramatic turn-round. Morgan Case (2, Sussex) had won his first 4 matches comfortably and seemed a nailed-on winner of the group. But Robert Cook (3, Cheam) had other ideas and, by beating Morgan 7-3 in the last game, tied with Morgan on 4 wins and pipped him to the final by having net points of +12 against Morgan’s +11. So, it was Richard v Robert in the final. Richard prevailed in a thrilling final and the trophy returned whence it came. If this happens again next year, we may have to consider renaming it as the CARAline Cup.
20/08/18 SECF GC Level Play League v Woking G&G played its final league match at home against a strong team from Woking. Match result: G&G 3: Woking 4
19/08/18 Woking Summer AC Handicap Tournament Congratulations to Arthur Lindley on winning the two-day association handicap tournament at Woking this weekend.
15/08/18 SECF GC Ladies Day Twelve teams of four players from across the Federation entered this year’s competition. Our team of Julie Tremble, Anne Buckingham, Jan Honeysett and Alison Cole, entering for the first time, managed a very respectable fifth place. Photographs and a report of the event by Bill Arliss are available on the SECF website.
15/08/18 Mid-Surrey Federation of Townswomen’s Guild’s This year we had pleasure in hosting thirteen teams from across the region and for the first time fielded a club team playing hors concours. The weather was a little cloudy and breezy, but the conditions were fine for a day when 52 games were played. The ‘Jolly Girls’ team won the competition.
13/08/18 SECF GC Level Play League v Merton This was definitely a contest of two halves between two teams equally matched on paper. G&G won the two morning singles matches, each by 2 games to 0. The morning doubles was a tense affair, with G&G winning 2 games to 1 (7-6 in the final game). After lunch, a determined Merton team won the first 2 singles, each by 2 games to 1. So, the score was G&G 3 Merton 2, with two matches still on court. Next to finish was Mike Huxley who won his singles 2-1 (7-6 in the final game). That put G&G in an unassailable 4-2 lead, with one singles evenly balanced at 1 game all. It was agreed that the final singles would be halved, so the final result was: G&G 4.5: Merton 2.5
05/08/18 SCEF Team Doubles and Singles Congratulations to the GGCC team which came 2nd in the team doubles competition at Southwick which attracted 22 teams. In the singles competition the team was placed 10th again out of 22. Report of the event on SECF website.
04/08/18 B-Level Golf Croquet Open Tournament was won by John Mariner (Chelmsford) and the runner up was Henry Hobbs (Enfield). John was presented with the MARE Cup by Mike Huxley, Tournament Manager.
08/08/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team B v Woking. In spite of recent rain, the lawns were still fast and the hoops hard resulting in yet another interesting outcome. Match result: G&G B 4.5: Woking 4.5
02/08/18 GC C-Level Tournament, Southwick Congratulations to Hilary Bird who won this tournament.
18/07/18 SECF AC U League v Hampstead Heath The lawns were marginally slower after the recent rain but the teams faced the added complication of very strong blustery winds. Matches were closely contested but Hampstead managed to clinch the match by one game. Match result: G&G 3: Hampstead Heath 4
27/07/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team A v Littlehampton Travelling to the match and playing in what proved to be the hottest day of the heatwave it is not surprising that they did not manage to maintain their previous form. Match result: G&G A 2: Littlehampton 7
18/07/18 SECF AC U League v Sussex County In contrast to the superfast G&G lawns those at Southwick were green with only the occasional dry patch. The Sussex team played consistently well to take the match. Match result: G&G 0: Sussex County 7
16/07/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team A v Dogmersfield G&G A successfully met the challenges of unremitting hot weather, hard fast lawns and firm hoops to achieve its second win of the season. The opening round of two doubles were both narrowly won by G&G 7-6. Three wins out of the four next round singles also went to G&G. With the outcome of the match already decided before the final round, G&G managed two more wins out of the three remaining matches. We were pleased to host the opposition to a very welcome lunch in the shade washed down by a glass of chilled wine brought by the Dogmersfield team. Many thanks to Anne Young for preparing lunch. The team: Andrea Huxley, Charles Martin, Audrey Porter and Ron Piper. Match result: G&G A 7: Dogmersfield 2
16/07/18 SECF GC Level Play League v Compton With huge thanks to Robert Bateson and George Rowland who stood in at the eleventh hour, on paper the two teams were fairly evenly matched and so it proved in practice, with George’s close win in the deciding game of his match meaning a win for G&G. Also, thanks to Compton for their generous hospitality. Team: Robert, George, Mike Huxley and Chris Heath. Match result: G&G 4: Compton 3
15/07/18 AC B-level Advanced Open Weekend Tournament Under challenging conditions Martin Burger was the clear winner being the only competitor to win all five of his matches. He was presented with the Frank Rendall trophy by Mark Godfrey-James.
11/07/18 SECF AC U League v Rother Valley Following a delayed start resulting from an intractable car boot lock, the teams agreed to play slightly shortened games. The croquet was enjoyable and the hosts, Rother Valley, provided an excellent lunch to fortify the teams for the afternoon. Rother Valley just had the edge and won the match by a single game. Match result: G&G 3: Rother Valley 4
09/07/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team A v West Wittering Team A made an excellent start to its season with a decisive win. (Team: Mike Huxley, Andrea Huxley, Jan Honeysett and Ron Piper) Match result: G&G A 8: West Wittering 1
06/07/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team B v Lodsworth. Match result: G&G B 3.5: Lodsworth 5.5
04/07/18 SECF U League v Tunbridge Wells Congratulations to the team on winning its match decisively. The visiting team of low handicap players, though short of one member, were nevertheless highly complementary about the quality and trueness of the lawns. Match result: G&G 6: Tunbridge Wells 1
30/06/18 All England AC Handicap Qualifier After three challenging games on superfast lawns Stephen Stuart-Matthews was the clear winner with three wins, followed by Audrey Porter and Ian Fugeman each with two wins.
27/06/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team B v Preston B. Match result: G&G B 4: Preston B 5
24/06/18 GC B-Level 2-day tournament, Hamptworth Congratulations to Mike Huxley who won this tournament.
21/06/18 British Open GC Doubles Chris Heath, having rapidly reduced his handicap to 0, recently competed in the British Open GC doubles with partner Roger Sutton (handicap 0) against top international players. The partnership put in a very creditable performance even when facing opponents with handicaps of -5.
20/06/18 All England GC Handicap Qualifier The qualifying competition for the area finals was held on Wednesday 20 June. Ten members of the club gathered to play representing a wide range of handicaps from 5 through to 14. The initial rounds saw some fierce competition and extra turns enabled some with high handicaps to win through against more experienced opponents. At the end of five rounds Jay Bentley had won all her games to take her into the lead. Robert Bateson was a close second only having been beaten by our newest member Sarah Patton using all but two of her fistfuls of bisques. By the time the final was played all the competitors were feeling the heat – from both the tension of the games and the suddenly warm weather. The final match was between Jay and Robert with Robert prevailing as the winner. Third and fourth places went to Anne Buckingham and Hilary Bird. Two members from the club are eligible to play in the area final at Surbiton CC in August. Robert and Hilary have agreed to represent G & G. (AH)
16/06/18 Golf Croquet One-Day Handicap Tournament PJ’s Pot After 5 rounds, there were two players on a 5 wins out of 5 record: Michael Bye (Reigate Priory: Hcp 5) and John Gosden (G&G: Hcp 7). The final between them was a thrilling 7-6 affair. Halfway through the game, Michael was leading 4-3 and John had expended his 2 extra turns, so it was level play from there on. John put in a very useful burst of three consecutive hoops to lead 6-4. It seemed all over, but Michael had other thoughts and levelled at 6-6. A tussle developed at hoop 13, both players having chances. Then, with John in a reasonable hoop-running position, Michael took his chance with a long attempt. His ball slid past the hoop, leaving John to close out the game with a four-footer. Thanks to both players for keeping the audience absorbed.
15/06/18 Quiz Night The first quiz night for a very long time proved to be a popular, enjoyable and very successful evening. Attended by members and friends it raised over £1,000 for the club. Many thanks to Julie Tremble who not only organised the whole event, including a raffle, but also presented the quiz.
15/06/18 Ealing B-Level GC Tournament. Congratulations to Andrea Huxley who won the tournament, a qualifying event for the B-Level National Finals.
Surbiton One-day GC Tournament. Congratulations to Mike Huxley who won the first of the Surbiton series of GC one-day events on 14 June.
06/06/18 GC C-Level Open Tournament Congratulations to Duncan Catterall (Sydenham) on winning G&G’s C-level tournament part of the CA’s Golf Croquet C-Level Series, a qualifying event for the C-Level National Finals. G&G’s Jan Honeysett was the unlucky runner-up, beaten on the 13th golden hoop.
02/06/18 B-Level Croquet Tournament East Dorset Congratulations to Andrea Huxley who won this tournament and therefore qualifies for the National B-Series finals in the Autumn.
31/05/18 SECF GC Handicap League Team B v West Worthing Match result: G&G B 5: West Worthing 4
27.05.18 Zero Plus GC Weekend Tournament at Hamptworth Congratulations to Chris Heath on winning this tournament.
B-Level GC Tournament at East Dorset Congratulations to Andrea Huxley on winning the tournament and thereby qualifying for the National B-Level final.
21/05/18 GC Hamptworth Zero Plus Tournament 19-20 May 16 participants (mostly in the handicap range 0 to +2) were divided into ‘all play all’ blocks of 8. Chris Heath’s score of 5 wins out of 7 was matched by 3 others in his block but fortuitously the tie-break system used (net hoops) meant that he finished top and as such went through to the main semi-final where he played the runner up from the other block in a 3×13 point format. Having won the first game quite comfortably, he reports he lost horribly in the second but managed to scrape through the decider at the golden hoop, courtesy of the croquet gods! By contrast with what had gone before, the final, against the top seed and last year’s winner was (to his surprise but not disappointment!) a bit of an anti-climax where his opponent’s normally impeccable swing deserted him temporarily and Chris won in two straight games.
12/05/18 Longman Cup v Woking G&G played host to Woking in Round 1 of the Longman Cup. Facing last year’s opening Longman Cup opponents again the G&G faired only slightly better with the team struggling to overcome their bisque advantage in all but one match which was the only match we managed to win, well done Mike. The rest of the team was still not firing properly yet this early in the season. Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable day against friendly opponents. The weather started well but by the time of the excellent lunch provided by Jan, it had started raining and continued for the rest of the match. The lawns as usual were in excellent condition and many thanks to Tony Mrozinski for setting the hoops the previous evening. The team comprised: Iain Gaman, Barry Gould, John Gosden and Mike Thompson. (IG) Match result: G&G 1: Woking 6.
06/05/18 AC Open Challenge Cup Advanced was won by Jamie Burch of Reigate Priory Croquet Club for the second time having previously taken the trophy in 2012. The weather was superb, the lawns in excellent condition thanks to the efforts of Arthur Lindley and Tony Mrozinski, and the competitors demonstrated both their skill and stamina in the sun.
30/04/18 Winter GC Leagues Congratulations to Hilary Bird on winning the Handicap League for the 4th time and to Jan Honeysett, who came a close 2nd. In spite of the weather the Level Play League was well contested with a final flurry of play as the deadline drew near. Congratulations to Ian Fugeman who managed to cling onto the lead he established early in the season and to Mike Town and Andrea Huxley who came 2nd and 3rd respectively.
24/04/18 Murphy Shield v Hamptworth G&G were away at Hamptworth in Round 1 Match result: G&G 3: Hamptworth 4.
16/04/18 SECF GC Level Play League v Sussex County G&G had its first match of the year against a very strong Sussex County side comprising a -2 handicap, a -1 and two zero handicaps. Perhaps unsurprisingly we came off second best but did win two of the seven matches with a number of other close games. Despite the 2-5 score line, Sussex as always were very friendly hosts. G&G team was Mike Thompson, Mike Huxley, Andrea Huxley and Chris Heath. (CH)
15/04/18 One-ball Charity Handicap Qualifier Disappointingly, only five members competed for the club’s One-Ball trophy. The format was all-play-all, with provision for a play-off in the case of equality after four rounds. Audrey Porter and Anthony Tutt were tied on 3 wins, while four-time winner Stephen Stuart-Matthews and Fred Bell (our newest member) had 2 wins each. In the play-off, Anthony beat Audrey narrowly, using his half bisque to good effect late on in the game. Thank you to all the players for raising £60 for The Downs Syndrome Association. (MH)
07/04/18 Applewood Bowl As has become customary this was the first club competition of the year. Eight competitors played two games of One-Ball and two games of 14-point Advanced AC. By the close of play three of the contestants had each won 3 of their 4 games. Judging on net points and the quality of wins Stephen Stuart-Matthews was, once again, presented with the Applewood Bowl by Arthur Lindley who organised and managed the event. Runners up were Ian Fugeman and Audrey Porter.
