Stoke by Nayland

SENIORS NEWSLETTER
April 2026

The clocks have gone forward and the weather is improving (although still a bit chilly and windy): do I dare say that the worst of the weather is behind us?

Firstly, many thanks to John Williams for organising, and to everyone who contributed to, Dry Februaryin aid of the Captain’s Charity. You raised over £1,000 for Bowel Cancer UK – a magnificent effort, once again showing the generosity of the Seniors.

March saw what has become something of a rarity this year – a Seniors competition that actually tookplace! This was the Mike Moore Florida scramble, for the iconic Lightbulb Trophy, won by the team of Mark Clark, Dave Drew, Alan Finlayson and Glen Jackson, with a net score of 61. Their gross score was 64, so very deserving winners. The competition saw a very respectable turnout in memory of a much-loved member for the Seniors. Sadly, the Stableford scheduled for 4th March became the third successive stableford to fall victim of the weather – this time fog rather than rain thwarting us. Let’s hope that we can break our duck on 8th April!

March saw the recommencement of the Interclub matches. We started with two away matches, against Stowmarket and Newton Green, in both of which we performed creditably, but going down 5-3 on each occasion, before recording a resounding 6-2 victory against Colchester at home last week. Here’s hoping we can carry this good form into the match against The Warren on 1st April.

On the subject of matches, as mentioned in my last newsletter, the Team Manager site on Club V1 has still not reappeared, although I understand this is being developed. Therefore everything still needs to be conducted via Whatsapp. We have a site set up, but I suspect that not everyone who wants to play is in the group. Therefore, if you want to take part in the interclub matches, please email or whatsapp me(grahamcork@outlook.com or whatsapp on 07773 395620) and I will add you. Unfortunately, only members in the whatsapp group can be considered for selection. I apologise for the inconvenience, but until resolution of the problem, this is the best we can do.

A couple of important notices to finish with.

Ray Firth Cup (Summer Pairs Knockout). The competition manual states that each pair must consist of one player from Division 1 (the limit for which was raised to WHS Index 18.4 from 1 January 2026) and one from Division 2. Looking at the entries, it appears that there are a few of you who will not meet this requirement: therefore, please arrange new pairings. We have moved the closing date for entries back to 7th April to give everyone more time to do this.

The manual contains details of all of our competitions and can be accessed by clicking on this link: Seniors-Competition-Manual-2026-2.pdf

At the time of writing, there are still a few Seniors who have not paid their Seniors subs for 2026. I will be emailing the people concerned but if you are a member of this group, please pay (a mere £10) as soon as possible. I realise that the invoices were a little late going out, but we are at the end of March and these should have been paid by now.  Therefore, anyone who has not paid prior to the start of the Stableford on 8th April (there is at least one who has entered), will be disqualified. You have been warned!!

A happy Easter to all.

Graham Cork
Seniors Captain