Mon 17th May
The school team has had a very successful year. An article to appear in The Harrovian is reported below and 2009 school results can be found attached to this message.
2009/2010 Golf Team Report
Without doubt this has been the most successful season that the school golf team has had for a decade. Twelve official matches have been played, with nine won and only three lost. Two of these losses were against Wellington, a school that has a golf academy with substantial sponsorship, a situation against which Harrow will always struggle to complete. The other loss was in the very first game of the season when the final team was not settled upon. We also competed in the West Sussex Open, with one pair 6th out of 32 teams. But the highlight has been the winning of the London Regional HMC Foursomes competition, which has allowed us to progress to the National Final in Scotland where we will compete against the other seven winners. We also reached the final of the Micklem Trophy which is held annually at Woking Golf Club.
The team, for the most part, has consisted of Mark Speelman (PDH) as Captain, partnered in the top pair by Alex Wallace (PDH), George Olesen (KMW) and Humphrey Dettmer (KMW) in the second pair, and Will Sanderson (PJB) and Henry Howard-Jenkins (PJE) in the third pair. This is, on paper, perhaps not the strongest team of the last few years, so why the success? In general it can be put down to a more professional attitude. In the past members of the team have often approached their golf very much as a hobby, and have taken this attitude into matches. If a contest was still close over the final few holes, Harrovians have tended to fade away, showing very little mental resilience. Fortunately this has changed. In part this has been because of early momentum in the season, but other factors came into play. Firstly an outside professional (Adrian Cafaro) was used more extensively, and although he may not have impacted on players’ swings too much in the limited time available, it just gave the belief that the team was able to take itself more seriously. Secondly a ‘pro’ (David Ginn) has been available on the school course with some regularity, allowing the team to brush up on their short game skills and learn from a player who has won international amateur competitions. Finally we have again been extended junior membership by Denham Golf Club which allowed players a greater chance to hone their skills on a full size course (and one that always makes the top 100 courses in the UK list).
First Pair – Speelman and Wallace. In recent memory the Harrow first pair has acted like a sacrificial lamb sent out against tough opponents with no great expectations of victory. In fact it has been a long time since a top pair recorded a win. This year Mark and Alex had a fifty-fifty record, despite the fact that in every match they faced technically better players (when judged purely on handicap). This has given confidence to the other two pairs, allowing them more freedom to play shots in the knowledge that there was a good chance that the top game could be won. The highlight of the season was a victory against St. George’s Weybridge in the HMC Semi Final. Despite Alex missing a seemingly unmissable putt on the 17th they just about held their nerve to win on the final hole. On an individual level Mark must be congratulated for captaining the team to such levels of success, and Alex should be praised for the way that he has improved. Last season he was guilty more than anyone of losing matches that he should have won. This year’s season was summed up by his drive on the 18th against Eton in the Semi Final of the Micklem. Standing on the tee he was one up, but his opponent was driving first and hit a superb shot straight down the middle. In the past this would have mentally crushed Alex but he stood up, ignored heather to the right and trees to the left, and bisected the fairway and went on to win his game and therefore the tie.
Second Pair – Olesen and Dettmer. These players were nicknamed Goldman and Sachs owing to the fact that they were so bankable (perhaps a name that needs updating in the light of recent financial scandals!). Throughout the entire season they did not lose a match when paired together. Playing against George is probably like playing a against a friendly-looking labrador. He is the perfect gentleman for the first fifteen holes, chatting away and conceding everything. But then it all changes and the labrador starts to turn nasty. Heaven help any opponent who has the temerity to still be in the match with a few holes remaining. George starts to stalk the fairways and prowl the greens (sorry for the mixed metaphors!), and nothing is given. The conversation grinds to a halt and he does everything in his power to win (something he did on all but two occasions). Humphrey is an altogether different character. From his style of dress to his style of play he looks more like a retired member than a young golfer, and this has led to many a player underestimating him, that is until he booms his first drive into the far distance.
Third Pair – Sanderson and Howard-Jenkins. It took a while for this pairing to emerge, but when they did they became a formidable force. Will takes a very old-fashioned view of golf, seeing it very much as a gentleman’s game. Any opponent turning up with a new-fangled gadget such as a laser range finder, or dressed in modern fabrics and bright colours will be met with perfect courtesy, but you can see it in Will’s eyes that he is not impressed. Henry is perhaps the first example of our new youth scheme, being discovered by David Ginn one afternoon on the school course. He has a sublime short game which has allowed Will the ability to attack with greater force, knowing that missing greens is not too big a problem.
So all that is left now is for the team to finish the season by putting in a good showing at the National Finals on 3rd – 6th July, and for us to thanks the Old Harrovians Golf Society for helping to fund the coaching.
