What a fantastic achievement, Cheshire Boys had qualified for the County Finals for the first time since the year 2000. But an even stiffer test faced them as we all gathered at Elsham Golf Club in North Lincolnshire to take on the three other regional qualifiers, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire to see who would be crowned English Boys County Champions 2025.
Tuesday 26 August – Morning Foursomes
The boys and coaches had gathered on Sunday and played a practice round on Monday, and now it was for real. I had met up with the squad on Monday afternoon as they came to the end of their practice round. After a pep-talk from John Heggarty, we all made our way to the hotel in Scunthorpe, and with the hotel restaurant being out of commission, then to the nearby Ashby Lodge for a meal and to watch the Liverpool vs Newcastle match, or at least for those who wanted to watch.
This morning we made our way to the golf club for our breakfast, in preparation for a relatively early start. Our opponents were to be Cambridgeshire, and we were to play three foursomes in the morning and six singles in the afternoon. James Clark, who had only been able to join the squad late on Monday evening, was given the morning to recover and to practice on the course, which is allowed in matchplay of course.
First off were Cole Self and Spencer Davies who had a close match but managed to close it out by 2 & 1. Last out were Ellis Courtnell and Josh Hockenhull-Wood who had a relatively straight forward win by 5 & 3. The excitement however was the middle match where Maxi Moore and Matty Griffiths were in a ding-dong battle with their opponents. Most of the Cheshire contingent had resigned themselves to a 2 – 1 result in the foursomes as they stood 1 down on the 17th. tee. A great putt by Maxi on the 17th. green won the hole and so it was all square playing the 18th. They won the final hole under great emotional stress and so at lunch we were 3 – 0 up.
Tuesday 26 August – Afternoon Singles
Josh was given the afternoon off as James stepped in for his first match. Buoyed by the morning’s result, four of the afternoon singles were relatively straightforward with wins for Cole Self (6 & 5), Maxi Moore (5 & 4), James Clark (6 & 5) and Ellis Courtnell (4 & 3). Matty Griffiths had a close encounter that finished all square and Spencer Davies lost a hard-fought match 2 down. The goal in any of the matches was 5 points and that was achieved relatively early with only 2 points required in the afternoon, and so it was a stress-free win by 7½ to 1½.
A very contented squad ate in the club house that evening before returning to our hotel for a well-earned sleep, although I think the Boys had other ideas and perhaps some football was played. I contented myself with watching Manchester Originals beat the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred cricket competition.
Wednesday 27 August – Morning Singles
My 78th. birthday started at the club house with congratulations from everyone involved and a piece of cake and candle, accompanied by Happy Birthday to you, during our breakfast. The cake was bagged up to be consumed later and we prepared ourselves to play Wiltshire.
England Golf, following a weather report that suggested thundery activity in the afternoon, had made the decision to switch the singles to the morning. It proved to be a tough morning with some very competitive matches, and one or two fiery incidents, that resulted in a 3 – 3 scoreline at lunchtime. Cole, Matty and James had good wins, Spencer suffered a heavy defeat and Ellis finally lost 2 down after a close match. The most compelling match was that of Maxi who was 5 down before mounting an amazing comeback that brought him all square on the 17th. green. Sadly it wasn’t to be, and his opponent won the final hole and the match 1 up. There was a little apprehension as we ate our lunch.
Wednesday 27 August – Afternoon Foursomes
Cole and Spencer and Matty and Maxi had relatively straightforward victories, but James and Josh had a gripping battle with their opponents which resulted in their being 1 up on the 18th. tee. After a great drive up the last by Josh, with the prospect that their opponents could grab a half, the Wiltshire boy put his drive in a fairway bunker and Cheshire won the match 2 up. I was touched by the number of players who said that their victory was my birthday present.
Cheshire were therefore 6 – 3 winners and had completed a whitewash in both of their Foursomes matches against Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire. England Golf’s decision to stage the singles matches in the morning (the forecasted bad weather did not materialise), meant that Hertfordshire had already won their match against Cambridgeshire by lunchtime, as they won the morning Singles 5 – 1. They therefore had a stress-free afternoon and completed an 8 – 1 victory over their opponents, following a 6 – 3 victory over Wiltshire on Day 1. This had implications for Cheshire as it meant that a Half with Hertfordshire on the final day would not be good enough. In this event, a countback of points gained would clearly be in Hertfordshire’s favour as they stood at 14 against Cheshire’s 13½. To lose by ½ a point would be so cruel.
We enjoyed a very acceptable dinner at the Sutton Arms in Scawby that evening, but we knew that victory against Hertfordshire was the only result for Cheshire, and in a way, that concentrated the mind. Peter made it clear that there was a job to do on the final day, and he didn’t expect anyone to be playing football that evening, with the risk of possible injury.
Back in my hotel room, I spoke to my daughter in the South of France, and my sister in the Ribble Valley, to thank them for their birthday wishes, and after I had explained the day that awaited us tomorrow, they wished me all the best.
Thursday 28 August – Morning Foursomes
England Golf having reverted back to the intended format, the morning saw the Foursomes matches versus Hertfordshire, and as Cheshire had won all of their Foursomes matches, there was a level of confidence, but also some apprehension, and I think it was fair to say that most people regarded Hertfordshire as favourites. We knew we were in for an epic battle but dare we hope that it was going to be a historic day.
Cole and Spencer went off first and when their opponents chipped in for an eagle 2 on the 1st., the omens were not good. After a hard-fought match, they would eventually succumb to a 2 and 1 loss. James and Josh never really threatened their opponents and went down 4 and 3. To lose all three foursomes would have put us in a very difficult situation for the afternoon, and so the third match became critical. Maxi & Matty (the M & Ms as Ian called them), completed a 3 and 2 win which had massive implications for the final outcome, and proved to be their major contribution to the final day.
Thursday 28 August – Afternoon Singles
So now we knew. If we wanted to become English Boys County Champions 2025, we would have to win 4 of the 6 Singles matches. Josh had shown signs of fatigue in the morning, and so Ellis was called in to bring up the rear in the afternoon. It was to prove to be a pivotal decision.
Peter and John had noticed that Hertfordshire played around with the order of their players, putting out their better players in the centre of the field. They decided not to try and second guess what our opponents would do, but they did decide to swap around Cole and Spencer, and so it was Cole who went off first in what was to be a memorable afternoon.
I followed this match, and it was clear from the outset that Cole had a determination about him to go with his undoubted skill. Quickly 2 up, he held his opponent at bay until now only 1 up, we reached the par 3 14th. hole. Cole hit a superb tee-shot to about 8 feet. His opponent put his tee-shot in the left-hand bunker. It looked odds on 2 up until his opponent holed his bunker shot. Amongst much whooping and hollering from the Hertfordshire contingent, Cole stepped up and holed his 8-foot putt for a half in 2. It was a pivotal moment in the match that completely demoralised his opponent, and two holes later Cole had won 3 and 2. I will remember that moment on the 14th. for a long time; it said an awful lot about this young man.
Spencer was playing his best golf of the week and closed out his match 5 and 4. It was an important win because we had said at lunchtime that the first two matches would be crucial, and we had won them both.
Hertfordshire’s decision to put their strongest players out in the centre of the field, meant that Maxi and Matty were each up against very good players. The heroes of the morning eventually went down 4 and 3 and 5 and 3 respectively, but their job had been done earlier, and they were a vital part of the eventual outcome.
At the back of the field, James was in total control of his match, including a remarkable 3-hole run of eagle, birdie, birdie, and closed it out 6 and 5 on the 13th. green. The match score now stood at 4 – 4 and so everything depended on Ellis in the final match. Could we dare to dream?
Ellis had been 4 up but had lost the 12th. and so was now 3 up. Crucially he managed to halve the 13th. because another loss would have put tremendous pressure on him. With all of the other matches now completed, a huge crowd surrounded the par3 14th. Ellis put his tee-shot on the green, though some way from the flag, and his opponent put his tee-shot in the right-hand bunker. Thinking back to what had happened in Cole’s match, I held my breath as the Hertfordshire player played out of the bunker but left his ball short of the flag. Ellis took his putt and hit it passed the hole to about 3 feet. After James’s dad had said to me “I don’t wish anyone ill, but I hope he doesn’t hole this putt”, it was a great relief when the Hertfordshire ball stayed above ground as it rolled past the hole. Ellis coolly holed his 3-footer to huge acclaim from the Cheshire contingent and was now dormy 4 up.
It amazes me how someone so young can be so focussed under tremendous pressure, and Ellis hit a perfect drive on the 15th., as did his opponent. Ellis was first to go and played a nice approach to the edge of the green. His opponent hit a good shot into the heart of the green, but with so much backspin that it backed up passed Ellis’s ball. The Hertfordshire player decided to use his putter and hit a great putt to a few inches, which Ellis immediately conceded. We knew that Ellis only had to halve the hole, and he had decided to chip his ball. The shot he played was magnificent under such immense pressure and his opponent removed his cap and shook Ellis’s hand. We had won !!
The Conclusion
The elation was incredible and wonderful scenes followed as the players engulfed Ellis with their congratulations. The official photographer took a picture on the 15th. green of the victorious team, and we made our way back to the clubhouse. I was driving the buggy with the water and snacks, but so high was my euphoria, I think I could have floated back.
There were various England Golf interviews to be conducted with Peter and Cole, and following the prize presentation, Peter gave a comprehensive and perfect address in which he paid tribute to Andrew Henshall, who was unable to be with us due to ill health. There were more photographs with the trophy and the championship flag, and John and Peter gathered the boys together to impress on them the enormity of what they had achieved by superb teamwork. I think we could have stayed there all evening but home beckoned.
It was one of the best experiences of my life, and that includes my daughter being born on the day England won the World Cup, and one that I will never forget. The entire team comprising John Heggarty and Peter Barber, Steve Doughty who organised all of our food, Jerry Dixon who was with us from the Tuesday morning, Marjorie Griffiths and Christina Hornsby from the Wednesday morning, Cleveland and Vicky McCurdy who joined us on Wednesday afternoon, and of course all of the fathers, Ian, Allan, Dave and Andrew, who must have gone through turmoil watching their sons perform.
Finally, we mustn’t forget that Elsham was a wonderful venue and everyone we met from the club was only too ready to help. England Golf did a great job running the tournament, and made it feel very special to be a part of such a prestigious event.
Cheshire are the English Boys County Champions for the first time since 1998, and that is the “Elation of Elsham”.
Text: David Durling
Images: Jerry Dixon
