Each month, our three Captains share with us their news from the previous few weeks and take a quick look ahead to the upcoming month. This time, Matt Tunstall, Jill Pottle and Kevin Price give us their first thoughts as we head into the New Year.

Men’s Captain, Matt Tunstall

Well, that year certainly flew past!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know I’ve certainly made the most of the “treat yourself, it’s Christmas” excuse and hope you all have too.

Congratulations to the Boxing Day scramble winners Paul Ketley, Ben Wharton, Jamie Baxter and Jason Sweeney. They are the team to beat on New Year’s Day.

Although this time of year is a little quiet on the golf course with regards to “big” events, the green staff continue to do an amazing job keeping the courses in what I think we can all agree, is the best condition they have ever been this late on in the year.

That being said, just a gentle reminder for everyone to please check the course status on ClubV1 before going out to play. Protecting the fairways from trolleys might seem like an inconvenience now, but come spring/summer, we will all be thankful.

Many thanks and a very happy new year to you all.

Ladies Captain, Jill Pottle

I hope that you have all had a great time celebrating Christmas and welcoming the New Year.

Let’s hope that this unseasonable weather we are currently experiencing continues for the next few weeks to allow us all to enjoy some decent winter golf without sloshing around in the mud.

As a section, the Ladies now revert to 9-hole competitions during the winter months, and we have a few coming up in January to look forward to. We adopt a fun format for as many competitions as possible which also enables us to play some team events so we can blame someone else for our bad scores rather than just ourselves!

It is disappointing to see so many people totally ignoring the requests issued by the Club each day regarding the use of trolleys around the course. As those of us that play winter golf regularly should be aware, it is usually a course requirement that trolleys are not permitted on fairways at all. This ruling is currently in force at Stoke.

The club issues notifications via ClubV1 each morning advising members where buggies and trolleys are allowed to be used. Please would you all ensure that you read these messages and follow the instructions given to protect the course so that it is in prime condition for us all to enjoy during the summer months. Thank you for your co-operation.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible around the clubhouse in the next few weeks.

Seniors Captain, Kevin Price

It’s been a quiet month within the senior’s section, the only competition of note being the Yuletide scramble. As is normal for this event, the Senior’s took the opportunity to raise money for the Sudbury Storehouse Foodbank and I’m pleased to report that more than £1,300 was raised.
It’s always interesting to spot the Christmas gifts on the fairways in January. Shiny shoes, unblemished bags, new clubs, some still sporting the cellophane and sticky labels on the shafts and lots of players in pristine tops and waterproofs, all designed to improve our golf no doubt!
Alas, nothing stays looking new for long, particularly in the mucky winter weather! I’m one of the people who have their birthdays in December, so what may look like spangly Christmas gifts are actually birthday presents. This year, I was lucky enough to receive a new Motocaddy trolley, having made the decision to switch my allegiances from Powakaddy.
This trolley however, will not see the light of day until March. I’m lucky enough to still be able to carry my clubs and mindful of the need to keep trolleys off the fairway to protect the course for spring and summer, I’m happy to wait until the better weather comes along to start using it.
January is another quiet month for the seniors with only one competition of note being held, so I will take this opportunity to wish the Seniors section, and all members of the club, a very happy and healthy new year and a successful golfing calendar in 2025.