HALFORD HEWITT 2023
25 April 2023
1st Round v Stonyhurst at Royal Cinque Ports, DealThis year, we were drawn against Stonyhurst. Arran Kanth (M2014-19) had hoped to join the playing squad but the logistics of flying to the UK proved too complex due to his golf commitments at his US University. We were also sorry that Joel Bloomfield (SH&L1987-92) was unable to play. However, we were delighted to see Rob Alter (B1988-91) back in the team to resume the solid Alter/Rawlinson partnership.As always, the fine weather enjoyed inland never quite stretches to the Kent coast and so it was a very blustery scene that greeted us on Thursday morning.Stonyhurst are not one of the top Hewitt teams but their recent form has been better than ours and we struggled to keep up during the opening holes. Even our most successful pair, Robert Alter and David Rawlinson (B1988-93), could only halve their match but Will Kirby (L2006-11) and Dan Andrews (B2000-07) played well and won on the 16th green. Michael Beavis (SHO1980-83) and James Surridge (L1993-98) could not find their form and the Thrussell brothers, Team Captain Adam (B1992-97) and OAGS Vice-Captain Ben (B1989-94), suffered from a slow start. Our fifth pair, Nick Corbett (M1989-94) and Jamie Wells (M1990-95), also met some tough opposition and fought really hard. Their sterling efforts looked as if they might be rewarded but Stonyhurst were resilient and settled the match with a good putt on the 17th green.It was a disappointing result for everyone but the standard of golf in the Hewitt has improved significantly over the last 15 years. Loretto, who won the Cup in 2022 and again in 2023, had a combined handicap (across all 10 players) of +20 and +25 respectively. Awesome or what?Halford Hewitt PlateThe weather on Friday morning at Prince’s can only be described as unpleasant and we were facing not only high winds and squally showers but also a 6-man Wellington team whose combined handicaps were +10! After 5 holes, our 3 pairs could not match them and an early bath seemed inevitable. Aldenhamians never give up, of course, and it is to their eternal credit that they kept the matches alive until the 14th and 15th holes. Peter Kenyon BowlMany of the stalwarts who support the Hewitt team arrive in Deal on Tuesday in the late afternoon. Most will have spent the day at Rye playing golf and, more importantly, preparing for the next few days with a good Rye lunch. On the next day, whilst the “squad” are playing a practice round at Deal, the supporters can play at Prince’s in the Peter Kenyon Bowl competition. We entered 3 pairs but it is sad to report that none of the scores featured on the leaderboard.A full report from OAGS Spring 2023 meetings can be downloaded below