The 2026 heatwave tour in mid July started for some at Seaford GC, the now home club of Steve Lang. A lovely reasonably open hilly course with views over the channel.
We were greeted by what some described as a brutal wind from the northeast which kept the temperature down a bit and did seem to affect quite a few of the 13 players in our ‘warm up’ round before the upcoming matches.
The winners of the day were Dave Francis (35), Ray Smith (30) & Steve Kane (29). All have spent many years playing at Barkway in the wind so were not as affected as the rest of the field.
After a night in Eastbourne we headed to Willingdon GC for the match against Sussex. Again the weather was warm with a lot less wind. We were also following the competition for Ladies Captain’s Day so course conditions were as expected for Captain’s week events.
As can be seen from the photos the course was dry with some lovely views, mainly due to the amount of hills. Maybe the exertions of the previous day left a few players under par as Sussex managed to win the trophy for the first time since 2021 but most matches were quite close.
The staff managed to do a fantastic job looking after us along with their duties for Ladies Captain’s Day. A big thanks to them.
Captain Alan presented the trophy to the Sussex Captain Andy before we all retired back to the hotel to recuperate and watch Spain beat France.
The next day we headed to Kent to play at Gillingham GC. Unfortunately SCAGC couldn’t field a full team, but this was made up by some other players from Kent.
Again the weather was warm but today the course was flat, which was a welcome relief.
Due to a football match in the evening and the need to finish as early as possible we had a 2 tee start on the not long but sometimes tricky course.
Conditions favoured the hosts as they managed to retain the trophy, but the margin of defeat was not as embarrassing.
Captain Alan again presented the trophy to the opposition Captain Gary.
The Treasurer was the happiest as engraving costs have been reduced.
We look forward to welcoming Sussex & Kent to Cambridgeshire next year and to the tour again in 2 years time.
