2026 Spring Bowl - Captains Report
Well, what a day that was. April is usually known for showers, but clearly no one told the weather gods at Sweetwoods Park Golf Club — we were treated to wall-to-wall sunshine and near-perfect golfing conditions. Not a waterproof in sight, which for this time of year is borderline suspicious.
The course itself went down a treat with the members. Set against the stunning Kent countryside, Sweetwoods delivered some cracking holes, a few well-placed bits of water to keep things interesting, but nothing too terrifying (unless you’re Darrell, but more on that later).
A massive highlight — 20 golfers turned out, our biggest attendance in a long time. Let’s not make that a one-off lads… momentum is building, and long may it continue.
Special mention to Darrell, who turned up mob-handed with what can only be described as his “core social circle” — 5 mates plus himself, and 6 guests in total. Great to see, and hopefully we can convert a few of those into full-time Nomads over the season.
Now, onto the golf…
Judging by the scores, Sweetwoods proved a tricky customer for first-timers, with only three players breaking the 30-point barrier.
At the top of the leaderboard:
🥇 Deno stormed to victory with a very tidy 35 points, also casually picking up nearest the pin for good measure — greedy.
🥈 Luigi followed in second with 32 points, a strong showing on a course that clearly wasn’t giving much away.
💪 Longest Drive went to Phill Cobb, who clearly found a fairway (at least once).
We also had a couple of head-to-head grudge matches running alongside:
# Richard got the better of Phil
# Mike came out on top against Graham
Now, onto possibly the most important performance metric of the day — stamina.
Having both flown back from the US that very morning, Deno and Darrell decided to test the “jet lag performance theory.”
# For Deno, it clearly works — maybe we should all try long-haul flights pre-round.
# For Darrell… less so. Reports suggest he spent part of the round communing with local wildlife, including what looked like a meaningful exchange with a group of squirrels deep in the bushes.
And finally, the much-coveted (and hotly contested) Longest Walk Award goes to Derek, who managed to compile 20 points the hard way. Commitment to the step count, if nothing else.
All in all, a fantastic day — great course, great weather, and even better turnout.
👉 Let’s keep the numbers up and aim for another big showing next month.
Until then, keep swinging (and maybe avoid early morning transatlantic flights… unless you’re Deno)
2026 Potholers Cup - Captains Report
We were back to Hoebridge for the first Nomads event of 2026. A good turnout with Suresh bringing his son Brijesh as a possible future Nomads member and even Jack was back after being AWOL for a couple of years !! This course is always reliable in the spring as it drains well so the fairways were in good nick. However, the greens were being maintained so the sand made putting a nightmare. Lots of reports of 3-putts and even 4-putts and very bobbly greens which just killed the speed.
Nevertheless, we soldiered on and played in gusty winds, lovely sunshine, rain and even hail. A test for even the most hardened golfer. Unlike last year, we weren’t rained off after 9 holes.
Martin Wingrove was the eventual winner but due to a managerial oversight, there were no prizes and the Potholer’s Trophy was still on holiday with its previous owner in Spain. Grant came out of winter hibernation to come in 2nd and win the longest drive and Phil was a creditable 3rd as well as winning his singles match. Terry managed to get nearest to the pin despite having a dodgy elbow. Prizes will be awarded next month after a visit to shops.
A good start to the year and let’s hope we keep up the momentum.
Deno (vice captain)
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