Club News

We are delighted to share with you this year’s R&A Sustainable Agronomy Report that was produced by Alistair Beggs who’s the Head of Sustainable Agronomy for the R&A.

The report is very detailed and identifies the huge progression that has been made by our wonderful Links Team over the past year, by reading the report you’ll see that it gives us some insights on how we can continue to move forward and further improve the playing surfaces.

A huge congratulations to Rhys and the whole Links Team for the immense work that has gone into producing a wonderful golf course for both members and visitors to play this year.

Ladies Summer Meeting

The Ladies summer meeting of 2024 was played in relatively good weather with some rain on the Saturday morning and rain during late morning and early afternoon of the Tuesday competition.

The first day of the meeting saw the ladies playing in a team of 4 competition with 2 scores to count on each hole. The winners of this competition were Rebecca Gray, Connie Barnard, Patricia Booth and Susan Lloyd. They won by a margin of 2 points with a score of 86 points.

The 2nd competition of the week was the Florida Scramble, 22 teams entered this competition with some excellent results. The winners with an excellent score of nett 59 were Ladies’ Captain Elaine Calvert, Rebecca Gray, Susan Lloyd and Pip Settle of Porthmadog Golf Club.

Monday’s competition saw 72 ladies compete for the Penrhyn Trophy. An individual stableford competition played from the red tees. Again, there were some excellent scores with only 1 member of Royal St. David’s featuring in the prizes. Denise Burchell was that member who scored 37 points to receive 2nd prize. But winning the Penrhyn Trophy with 38 points was Kathryn Gulam of Northenden Golf Club.

The Ruth Ferguson Trophy in memory of the late Mrs Ruth Ferguson is an individual medal competition. The weather although not favourable did not deter the 27 brave ladies. Second place for this competition was awarded to Suzanna Bunting with a nett 79, but the winner with a nett 78 was Denise Burchell.

Denise Burchell, Susan Lloyd and Rebecca Gray with 2 victories each for the week, could any of them turn it into a hattrick of wins with a victory in the Tlws Cambrian Greensomes? This competition was played on the last day of the meeting. Second place was awarded to Debbie Naylor and Heather Partridge of Harborne golf club with 41 points, but the winners with 42 points were Claire Dowley and Kitty Wallace.

Men’s Summer Meeting

The Men’s summer meeting started off with the 1st round of the Harlech Town Bowl. A total of 31 entries with last year’s winner Michael Calvert amongst those in the field.

The More Memorial Trophy is also played on the same day. This is an individual medal competition to be played from the white tees. 81 entries, and in very testing conditions saw Jamie Warman in 3rd place with a nett 73, Josh Booth in 2nd place with a nett 72. But the winner with an excellent score of nett 68 was Ian Palterman.

Day 2 of the week was the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the Harlech Town Bowl with also the 1st round of the Edward VII Bowl.

The other individual competition on this day was The John Barnett Trophy. Another excellent number of entries with 80 men competition in the stableford competition. 3rd place would be awarded to Daniel Fletcher with 36 points. 38 points would see Mark Reidford claim the 2nd spot, but the winner would be Alan Westwood with a fantastic score of 41 points.

Day 3 of the men’s summer meeting and with the semi-finals of the Harlech Town Bowl and Edward VII in action the true Royal St. David’s gusts would show its teeth.

The Harold Finch-Hatton was the final individual medal round of the week. Testing conditions would not stop the 82 strong field from battling the elements. 3rd place was awarded to the Men’s Vice Captain David Barr with a score of nett 70. Narrowly beating David to 2nd place on the back 9 also with a score of nett 70 was Alan Howard. But the winner with a nett 67 was Conor Sherlock.

Day 4 began with the Einion Pierce competition. The format of the competition was a Canadian Greensomes medal to be played from the white tees. With some sun finally in the weather forecast 44 pairs played in the competition. With a nett 63, 3rd place was awarded to Neal Parry and Martin Perch. 2nd place was awarded to Anthony Booth and Thomas booth with a nett 61. However, the winner with an excellent score of nett 60 was Ben Reidford and Jimmy Ratcliffe.

The 4th day would conclude with the finals of the Harlech Town Bowl and Edward VII Bowl. The final of the Edward VII was played between Phil E Lamkin and Ian Palterman. A closely contested match would result in Phil Lamkin winning the match on the 19th hole.

The final of the Harlech Town Bowl was contested for by Mark Millhouse and Edward Watson. Both players past winner of this competition knew what was needed to win. Again, a close match with some excellent golf on show would result in Mark Millhouse winning the match on the 16th hole.

The final day of the men’s summer meeting and the men’s captain’s day. Trefor Davies, the men’s captain ready to invite all the players to enjoy his day. Unfortunately, with unfavourable weather 103 players went out to play. 3rd place was awarded to Vaughan Payne with 34 points. Also, on 34 points claiming 2nd place was David Gerallt Jones, but the winner with 35 points was Merfyn Jones.

Congratulations to all prize winner for both the Ladies’ and Men’s Summer Meetings and let’s hope for better weather next year.

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Royal St David’s Golf Club has been recognised at number 76 in the Golf Digest list of the Worlds 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2024.

This is an incredible achievement for the Club and one that showcases our Championship links globally.

It makes me very aware of how lucky we are to be either associated with, or Members of, this magnificent club and I am sure that you would want me to pass on a huge well done to all involved at the Club who work tirelessly on our behalf.

Your sincerely

Peter Rees
Club Manager

Congratulations to member Connie Foskett Barnard on winning The Cater Cup at Pwllheli Golf Club.

Congratulations to Ladies Vice-Captain Elaine Calvert on winning this year’s Caernarvonshire Cup with an outstanding 39 points. This year’s event was played at Royal St. David’s Golf Club, scoring was extremely strong. Elaine needed a countback to secure the top spot!In runners up position was Jane Murphy again, with 39 points, and taking third place with 38 points was 38 points.

Congratulations Elaine!!

The 88^th St. David’s Gold Cross certainly decided to be a testing 2 days of Golf. Weather conditions on Saturday resulted with round two being abandoned. There were some excellent scores of 70 and 71 posted by Sean David and Iestyn McAvoy during the wet and blustery condition of round 1, with locals Geraint Jones and Iwan posting a very respectable score of 78.

Due to the abandonment of round 2 it was decided that no cut would be made and that everybody who had completed the first round would be offered to play on the Sunday. With much improved weather conditions play was underway with Dylan Green of Royal St. David’s hitting the first shot at 7:30am. Although dry the players faced tough windy conditions that resulted in some high scores.

The lowest score for the new 2^nd round was carded by Huw Bearcroft with a very good level par 69. Our over night leader Sean David fell back somewhat during the second round following his round of 82. Iestyn McAvoy however followed his good 1^st round of 71 with a 72 to take the lead after round 2.

The 3^rd round played in sunnier conditions brought some very respectable scores. 5^th place was awarded to Oliver Caton with a total score of 224. With a better last 18 holes of 73 Alex Jaap of Conwy Golf Club was awarded 4^th place. Also with a total of 224 but with a last 18 of 71, 3^rd place went to Harry Watkins of Royal Porthcawl. Iestyn McAvoy, clubhouse leader following round 2 finished runner up with a score of 222. But the winner for 2023 with rounds of 75, 75 and 68 for a total score of 218 was Theo Baker of Celtic Manor. Congratulations to Theo and the other prize winner.

This year’s Club Championship saw a full weekend of golf with competitions for both scratch and nett prizes.

The Men’s Silver Bowl is the nett competition played over 18 holes from the white tees. There was a good number of entries playing in this competition with 3^rd place being awarded to Mr David Barr with a nett 68. In second place we had Mr Ellis Wyn Lloyd who carded a nett 67. But the winner of the Men’s Silver Bowl for 2023 with a 3 under nett 66 was Mr Edwin Morris Jones.

The Club Championship for the men is played as a 36 holes medal competition from the Black tees played on 1 day. We had 29 entries in total with 3^rd place going to Mr Joe Soar with a total of 151. Second place was awarded to Mr Ben Adam with o total score of 150. But the winner with 2 very steady rounds of 72 and 77 for a total of 149 was Mr Andrew Johnson.

2023 saw the inaugural Ladies Club Championship competition. Similarly, to the men they had 2 competitions, 1 for a the best nett stableford and 1 for the best gross stableford. The nett stableford competition was played over 1 round on the Sunday. Third place in this competition was won by Mrs Angie Shaw Davidson with 30 points. It came to a card play to find the winner of this competition. Just missing out on the back with 31 points we had Carol Magee. But winning with 17 points on the back 9 was our Ladies Vice Captain Dr Elaine Calvert also with 31 points.

The Ladies Club Champion was played as a gross stableford 36 holes over 2 consecutive days. Third place in this competition was awarded to Mrs Lesley Fox with a total score of 50 points. Mrs Jeanette Williams was in second place with a total score of 53 points. But the Ladies Club Champion for 2023 with a total score of 66 points was Mrs Ann Lewis (picture below).

Thank you to all competitors and congratulation to all the prize winners.

Royal St. David’s were delighted to welcome the Caernarfonshire and Anglesey County County Golf team to play a fixture against Denbighshire and Flintshire on Sunday 4th June.

Impressively eight of the ten players representing C&A were members of Royal St. David’s Golf Club, which includes Dot Hambley who is the President of C&A and Mair Eluned Jones who is this year’s Captain!

The Match ended in a 5.5 to 3.5 victory for C&A. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Glorious sunshine was to be the weather for the weekend with some fantastic scores in both the Men’s and Ladies competitions.

The Ladies’ competitions began with The Coronation Cup. The competition was an individual Par competition that was won by Mrs Sue Lloyd with a fantastic score of 4up. Miss Morgan Gray came in second with a good score of 2up just beating Ms Eleanor Evans on a card playoff also on a score of 2up.

Sunday was the Ladies’ Captain’s Day, and our Ladies Captain Miss Ann-Marie Magee could not have ordered nor wished for better weather. Best visitors prize went to Miss Ruth Parry with 34 points. Best front 9 prize was won by Ms Penelope Elsmore with 20 points with the best back 9 prize going to Ms Denise Burchell also with 20 points. Best gross prize went to Mrs Ann Lewis with 34 points. 3^rd prize was won by Mrs Chris John with 37 points with Mrs Sue Mills taking the 2^nd prize also with 37 beating Chris on the back 9. However, taking poll position and winning the Ladies’ Captain’s Prize was Mrs Patricia Booth with a great score of 38 points.

The Ladies Castle Bowl was Monday’s competition and once again the sun was shining. There were some good scores again with Mrs Rebecca Gray narrowly missing out of winning a prize with a nett 75. Yet again a count back was required to determine the winner. In second place with a nett 74 was Ms Eleanor Evans but with a better back 9 the winner for the second time over the weekend was Mrs Sue Lloyd also with a nett 74.

The Men’s competitions started with the J L Black Trophy an individual stableford which is also a qualifier for The St. David’s Gold Cup. The 3^rd prize was won by Mr Christopher Kerin with a score of 36 points with Mr Mark Lawrence just pipping him to 2^nd place also with 36 points. The competition was won by Mr Mike Booth who carded an excellent score of 37 points.

Sunday was the first of two medal competition for the men to be played from the white tees. The competition of day was The Staff College Challenge Owl. Taking the 3^rd prize was Mr Graeme Shaw with a nett 71 with Mr Norman Fletcher taking 2^nd prize with Mr Norman Fletcher with a nett 69. But, the winner of The Staff College Challenge Owl was Mr Christopher Traill with a nett 68.

Monday saw the men play for the Leigh Taylor Challenge Cup. With the sun shining the scores were indeed good. 3^rd prize was won by Mr Andrew Gray with a nett 72. 2^nd prize was won by Mr Matthew Ives with a nett 71 but winning the Leigh Taylor Challenge Cup with a gross 68 nett 68 was Mr Ben Adams.

During the Spring Meeting the men also play for the Narwhals Trophy. The winner of this trophy goes to player who cards the best two gross scores from the Staff College Challenge Owl and the Leigh Taylor Challenge Cup. The winner of this trophy for 2023 was Mr Ben Adams who carded a score of 144 (76 + 68).

The St. David’s Gold Cup is a competition that is played on the Sunday and Monday of the Spring Meeting with the 8 players needing to qualify from the J L Black Trophy played on the Saturday. A fiercely contested competition which saw the winner of 2022 return to the final once again. The final was played between Mr Josh Booth and Mr James Anderson. A close match with some excellent golf, but, clinching the win with a 1up victory was Mr James Anderson.

The St. David’s Mixed Open Salvers, foursomes medal, a difficult format although the scores would suggest otherwise. This competition was played on the Tuesday with a very respectable number of entries. There were 3 prizes to be won, and in 3^rd place losing on the back 9 was Mr Edwin M Jones and our Ladies Captain Miss Ann-Marie Magee with a nett 68. Taking the second prize we had our very own head professional Mr Stephen Doran and Mrs Ann Price also with a nett 68. But, the winners beating both on the back 9 also with a nett 68 were a visiting pair Mr Kevin Rogerson and Ms Bernadette Howarth.

Congratulations to all the prize winners.

The Easter meeting took place from Thursday 6^th April through to Monday 10^th April.

Thursday 6th April

Thursday was a day that started with some rain but finished in glorious sunshine. There were 116 competitors playing for the men’s S V Beer Trophy. The trophy was won with an excellent score of 39 points by Mr Ross Birch of Stockport Golf Club, with Mr Lee Austin of Royal St. David’s/ Oswestry Golf Club coming in a close second with 37 points.

The ladies began there Easter competition by competing for the Countess of Winchilsea Cup. A betterball event that was sure to have some good scores. The winners where Mrs Mair Jones and Mrs Ann Lewis who carded a superb score of 42 points, narrowly beating Ms Ann-Marie Magee and Ms Carol Magee who scored an excellent score of 41 points.

Friday 7th April

Friday was another fine day of sunshine which saw the First and Second rounds of the Winchilsea Foursomes matchplay competition. Some fiercely fought out matches where had with many matches being won on the 18^th.

Saturday 8th April

The 3^rd round of the Winchilsea Foursomes started Saturday off which was followed by the ladies Miss J D McKay stableford. Mrs Philippa Gowen come out on top in this competition scoring an excellent score of 39 with Mrs Carol Wolstenholme in second place with 37 points.

Sunday 9th April

Sunday began with the Semi-final of the Winchilsea closely followed by the men’s Easter Cup Medal played from the white tees. The course although playing long yielded some great scores. Second place was awarded to Mr Ashley Andrews of Brocton Hall Golf Club with a nett 67 who also carded a hole in 1 on the 9^th. Victorious was Mr Rory Long a member of RSD who beat Mr Andrew on the back 9 also on nett 67.

The ladies followed the men’s medal with The Easter Bowl medal competition. Our Ladies’ Captain Ms Ann-Marie Magee scored a very respectable nett 75 in testing conditions came in second place. However, this was to be out down by Mrs Sue Lloyd who carded an excellent 2 under nett 72.

Monday 10th April

Monday, a turn for the worse for the weather. Conditions were grim and a true test of grit and determination. The first competition of the day was a Any combination of Male or Female Greensomes Stableford. 23 pairs ventured out in horrendous weather conditions with Mr Declan Craddock of Beau Desert Golf Club and Mr Ben Yates of Brocton Hall Golf Club coming out on top with 38 points.

Monday was also Winchilsea Final’s Day. The final was won by Mr Stuart Heathcock and Mr Lee Austin both members of Royal St. David’s and Oswestry Golf Club beating Mr Phil and Mrs Anna Major by 4&3.

Congratulations to all of Easter Meeting prize winners.