Suffolk Golf Union
The final of the Suffolk Junior Golf Sixes League has been held at Kingfishers Golf Club, Cretingham.
Junior Golf Sixes is for both boys and girls aged under 18, who are new to golf and either have a handicap higher than 36 or no handicap at all. Each participating club has a team of six players who play Texas Scramble in pairs. If they complete a hole in 10 shots they earn 1 point for their team, for 9 shots they earn 2 points and so on. They play six holes of approximately 150 yards and the team score is the combined total of points achieved by the three pairs. Adults accompany each group and record the scores.
Following a successful 'pilot' league last year, organised by the Golf Foundation with five clubs taking part, the league has been formalised and extended to include eight clubs. It is supported by Suffolk Golf Union which benefited from a substantial donation from former members of Waldringfield Golf Club who were bequeathed the money by the late Roger Wright, a Waldringfield member who took a particular interest in junior golf. The Golf Union, in collaboration with the Golf Foundation, decided to put the money towards the Junior Golf Sixes League to encourage new junior golfers to experience competitive golf in a short, enjoyable, format. All players are given a 'Golf Sixes' shirt and a 'golf goodie-bag'. Competing clubs receive a donation for hosting matches and a contribution towards coaching the players and the Roger Wright Trophy has been purchased for the winning team. It is expected that the donation will allow the league to be funded for three or four more years and that it will then become self-supporting by the clubs involved.
There have been two divisions of the league with Bury St Edmunds, The Suffolk, Haverhill and Stonham Barns competing in the West Suffolk Division and an Ipswich Division comprising Bramford, Ipswich, Felixstowe Ferry and Ufford Park. Each club hosted two matches where all four clubs competed and the top two clubs in each division took part in the final, which was between Bury St Edmunds, The Suffolk, Ipswich and Felixstowe Ferry.
The outcome of the final could hardly have been closer, with just three points separating the four teams. The Suffolk were winners with 121 points, Ipswich and Felixstowe Ferry were joint runners-up with 120 points and Bury St Edmunds scored 118 points. Mike Western, a past captain of Waldringfield Golf Club and a friend of Roger Wright, presented the trophy to the winning team and all the players received a sleeve of balls.
Katie Moggan of the Golf Foundation said, "The league has been a great success and we are intending to increase the number of clubs taking part next year, hopefully with a division in the north of Suffolk". Trevor Mason, Chairman of Suffolk Golf Union Junior Committee said, "The success of the league has been made possible by the generous donation from former Waldringfield members and we hope that some of these players will be representing county boys and girls teams in the next few years".