Stoke by Nayland

SENIORS NEWSLETTER June 2026

A very busy month so let’s get straight into it.

Vice Captain and VC Tour

I am delighted to announce that next year’s Vice Captain will be John Jardine. John is a familiar face to many of us and I know he will be an excellent VC and subsequently captain. Indeed, he has already arranged the 2027 VC Tour. Details were set out in my newsletter a couple of weeks ago and can also be found on the Seniors’ website – for ease of reference here is the link: COMP VC Tour 2027 - Dale Hill Golf & Country Club - Stoke Seniors. The response has been overwhelming and despite securing additional spaces, we currently have a waiting list. However, places often become available during the year, so please contact John, whose email address is john@janj.co.uk, if you would like to be added to it.

Competitions

The highlight of the month was, of course, the VC Tour, which took place between 12 and 14 May. Two rounds at Dunston Hall were punctuated by a visit to Royal Cromer, which I think it is fair to say was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Congratulations to this year’s winner John Crane, who triumphed with a score of 97. Daphne the parrot is fast achieving legendary status and for the next twelve months will be lovingly cared for by David Seymour. Many thanks to Kevin Walsh for arranging a superb tour, especially the weather, which despite dire forecasts, stayed largely fine throughout.

Earlier in May, we played in the 2nd round of the Essex Seniors Team Championship and secured a convincing 9-2 win against Burnham on Crouch GC. Well played all. Our next match is away at Chigwell on 11th June and at the time of writing, we still need three more players, so if you are available and would like to play, please get in touch. Contact details at the end of this newsletter.

The Seniors were very well represented in the Dick Chalmers trophy, fielding two teams of 8, one of which finished a very creditable third, with Graham Vandevord returning the highest individual score of 40 and Trevor Waterhouse securing the Nearest the Pin prize. This was a great SbN day, with around 200 players taking part. Many thanks to all for your support.

May’s monthly stableford also featured the Captain’s prize. Congratulations to Richard Middleton who took the honours with 42 points. Well played also to Adrian Ault, who won Division 1 with an impressive40 points. Adrian is currently in a rich vein of form, as he also triumphed in the Veterans’ Cup some 9 days later with 37, the only player to shoot better than handicap.

Next week (3rd June) sees the first round of the Seniors Club Championship, our flagship event. If you haven’t already signed up, please do so on Howdidido.

Interclub Matches

Five matches (including Gosfield on 30 April) in May and another five in June is an indication that the Interclub calendar is in full swing (pun intended!). We had the standard 5-3 away loss against Gosfieldbefore reversing the scores with a home win against Hintlesham. Our first home defeat of the year saw us go down - you guessed it – 5-3 to Brett Vale, the sequence only being broken by a 5 ½ - 2 ½ reverse at Haverhill. Happily, though, we managed that rare beast, an away win, 4 ½ - 3 ½ at Braintree to close out the month. Our record to date is played 12, won 5 and lost 7. However, we have only played 4 home matches so far (and our next three are away), therefore I’m hoping we can improve our record as we get further into the season.

Honorary Members

In response to comments raised about Honorary Members (HMs) having to pay to enter competitions, we have looked at this again and I am pleased to say that at the most recent board meeting, the following was agreed:

HMs can enter competitions free of charge but won’t be eligible for any share of the prize fund. Alternatively, they may pay the appropriate entry fee and be eligible for prize money.

Pairs/Team and boarded competitions must be paid for.

I believe that this broadly mirrors the situation laid out in the 2021 constitution, and I hope you will agree that this policy acknowledges the support that HMs have given to the section while being fair to those who pay to enter competitions.

Range Machine

As many of you will have noticed, the new range machine is now up and running. However, based on my own experience and from what has been reported to me by others, it seems that the thorny issue of transferred balances does not appear to have been entirely resolved, although I have been assured that the club have details of all the credit balances from the old machine. I am continuing to pursue this matter with the club and will update you on progress. I would hope that the end is in sight, but I don’t want to make any rash promises!

Finally, it looks as though we might get a bit of rain this week. While not denying that we need it, let’s hope it occurs at a time when we’re not playing! Enjoy your golf and I hope to see you in the clubhouse soon.

Graham Cork
Seniors Captain

Tel: ​07773 395620
Email:​grahamcork@outlook.com