The Richmond Park B team played their 3rd round match against Portsmouth on a very windy and occasionally wet day on the Duke’s course. All the games were close against determined opponents, however Richmond Park won 2:1 and move to the Area Finals next.

Our first pair of Richard Back & Peter Harrison were looking good at 2up with 3 holes to play but Portsmouth birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th to win 1up. Our second pair of captain Richard Owen & Angus Robertson went 1 down on the first and couldn’t get back to evens until the 8th hole, courtesy of a Par by Angus. Richard then won the 10th, 11th and 12th, and Angus won the 13th, so 4 up with 5 to play. Richard then halved the 14th and 15th holes to give the team a 4&3 win. Our final pair of Iker Lanzagorta & Aiden Hurley also went 1 down on the first and stayed 1 or 2 shots down until Aiden won the 14th to make it All Square. The team then won the 16th and 17th holes to give a 2&1 win.

Following a concession by Addington Court in Round 1 (couldn’t raise a team !) the Richmond Park B team played Tilgate Forest B at Richmond Park (Duke’s) on a hot Saturday afternoon and won 2:1, to move to Round 3 (for the 3rd year in a row). The match was played in a friendly, but very competitive atmosphere, and was anyone’s match till the 17th hole of the final group’s game.

Richard Back and Peter Harrison were Richmond’s first pair out and took complete control early on, finally winning out 7&6 with 3 birdies on the front 9 and a level par score for the 12 holes played. Our second pair (Richard Owen and Gerard Ouattara) went 2 down after 3 but were back level after 5 holes. However, the Tilgate captain, playing off 13, only dropped 3 shots to par on the front 9 and so they were back to 2 up after 9 holes and the match was closed out on the 16th green as a 4&2 loss. Our third pair out (Iker Lanzagorta and Nick Rogers) had a close match all the way, level after 14 holes but securing a 2&1 win on the 17th green.

Richmond Park entered two teams in the 2026 competition and the “A” team played their first (Round 2) match away at Bird Hills golf club. This is a 4 ball better ball matchplay format competition with 6 players (3 pairs from each team).  

Our team captain Russell Stewart reported on the match, as follows:

“It has to be said that the course was in excellent condition and has undergone significant investment recently.  The course benefits from improved drainage and tree surgery to open up airflow across the course and present a much dryer course in winter and during wet spells.  A number of the greens are two tier and generally the course was interesting and enjoyable to play.  

The RPGC A team players made up the following pairings – John Perkins & Russell Stewart (captain) , Alan Treacy & Craig Johnstone, with the last pair being Alan Boyd and Simon Russett.  

Our first team out dominated their game losing the honour on only 1 of the 18 holes and eventually winning 5&3.  

The second team were not so fortunate and the home advantage was exploited. Some long putts and taking advantage of handicap advantage, the Bird Hills team won 3&2. 

Unfortunately it was a similar result for the last pairing who lost 4&3.  The home pairing also clicked with one of them confessing to have played his best round since last year. 

Our hosts were very friendly and the games were played in good humour, on a beautiful day for golf.”  

The final of the Ballantyne Trophy was played as part of ‘Finals Day Weekend’ at Winter Hill golf course in Buckinghamshire. 34 teams had entered the competition, from Portsmouth in the South, to Rose Hill in the Midlands, to Basildon in the East and Richmond Park were up against a strong team from Rose Hill in the final. The competition teed off on a fine and sunny day at around 1:30pm (after the Hawtree and Siemens Bowl finals). The pace of play was slow, due to games in front, but after five and half hours Richmond Park secured the win (2&1) to claim the trophy for the first time in our club’s history.

Things were not looking good early on for our first pair of Richard Owen and Gerard Ouattara, 2 down after 2 holes and 3 down after 5 holes, however they gradually forced their way back into the match and were all square after the 10th hole. The next 4 holes were all halved and then Richard won the elevated (table top) 15th with a par 3, giving us the lead for the first time in the match. The final 3 holes were played in a very tense atmosphere, all halved in pars.

Our second pair, Russell Stewart and Iker Lanzagorta, had a more comfortable time taking the lead early on and keeping 1 or 2 holes ahead through the middle of their round, until going further ahead for a 4&2 win. Our third pair, Adrian Wells and Aiden Hurley, had a tight game throughout, 1 down after the first hole, 2 up after the 4th, all square by the 7th and still all square after the 14th. However, they lost the table top par 3 15th and also the par 5 16th and finished 2 down (but were glad as they walked off the 18th to find out the team had won overall !).

Special mention also to Paul Green, Mel Dunn and Julian James who played a big part in earlier rounds getting the club to Final Day.

Richmond Park played their National Semi-Final pairs matchplay against Royal Epping Forest golf club at Haste Hill golf course (neutral venue) and won 3:0. The team now play at the NAPGC National Finals Day at Winter Hill golf club on Saturday September 6th.

Most of the team had a practice round at Haste Hill on the eve of the semi-final, which helped significantly, particularly with the difficult front 9 holes.

Our first pair (Paul Green & Mel Dunn) had a comfortable 6&5 win against their low-single-figure-handicap opponents. Game 2 was a lot closer but was closed out “1up” on the 18th hole by Adrian Wells & Julian James. Our 3rd pair (Gerard Ouattara & Richard Owen) went ahead on the 2nd hole, again against low handicap opponents, steadily built up a 4-up lead over the front 9, and finished on the 16th hole with a 4&2 win.

On the final day of a heatwave, the Richmond Park team played Wycombe Heights B (last year’s Ballantyne Trophy winners) on Stockley Park golf course – a ‘neutral’ course, as this was the Regional Final. The result was a slow and hard-fought 2:1 win for Richmond Park.  The next round is the National Semi-Final, to decide who plays at NAPGC Finals Day.

Our first pair (Paul Green and Mel Dunn) were soon trailing against stiff opposition and the match closed out with a 5&4 win for Wycombe.  Our second pair (Adrian Wells and Julian James) were also soon trailing 3 down but gradually reeled their opponents in and finished 2 up.  Our third pairing (Richard Owen and Gerard Ouattara) got off to an explosive start with 4 birdies on the first 3 holes and were 4 up after 4 holes.  However, by the 10^th hole the match was all square and over the back 9 the score alternated between all square and 1up to Richmond Park.  Gerard’s par on the 17^th took us to 1up (and the ‘half’ secured), and Richard’s long 2 putt par on the final hole secured the win.

The Richmond Park team entertained a very strong Tilgate Forest B team on the Prince’s course, on what was at times a breezy but very warm day.  The result was a 2.5 to 0.5 win for Richmond Park, who will now play Wycombe Heights B in Round 4 (the Area Final).  

Our first pair (Mark Bean and Brendan Sullivan) went 2 down after 9 and were still 2 down after 13. They then won holes 14, 15, 16, and 17 to finish 2&1 winners.  Club captain Brendan had a very strong all round performance and was the player of the day.  

Our second pair (Ray Esin and Mel Dunn) were also up against stiff opposition.  After trailing for long periods of time, they had to dig deep to finally draw their match demonstrating a never give up approach to their game against a strong pairing.

Our third pair was made up of Justin Wildman and Russell Stewart. They found themselves 2 down after 2 holes and despite one of the opposing players losing the head of his club on the second, his tee shot still ran to the back of the green from where he managed to win the hole.  Hanging on until the 7th Justin, got one back, then Russell got another back at the 8th.  From that point it was tight and the low handicap player from Tilgate had 4 birdies. However taking advantage of the shots given the Richmond park pair closed it out on the 18th, winning by 2 holes. 

The games were played in a very competitive but convivial atmosphere and the teams enjoyed drinks and pizza together on the veranda after play.

Following a bye in Round 1, the Richmond Park team played South Bucks (The South Buckinghamshire) on the Prince’s course, on a breezy and occasionally showery Bank Holiday Monday.  The result was a 2:1 win for Richmond Park, who will now play Tilgate Forest B in Round 3.

Our first pair (Paul Green and Richard Owen) started with a birdie win on the first hole but then exchanged holes and it was all square after the 10^th.  Richard then birdied the 11^th and won the 12, making it 2up and the match was closed out by Paul on the 16^th, for a 3&2 win.

Our second pair (Justin Wildman and Mel Dunn) were up against stiff opposition playing well (and had to give shots), losing on the 14^th hole, 5&4.

Our third pair (Russell Stewart  and Adrian Wells) gradually piled the pressure on their opponents during the front 9, being 5up at the turn.  They then went on to be 6up after 11 holes and closed their match out 5&4 on the 14^th.  Our star player was Russell, who had a fantastic day on the greens.

The games were played in a competitive but convivial atmosphere and the teams enjoyed drinks and pizza together on the veranda after play.

Richmond Park won their National Semi-Final match by 2 to1 points against Wycombe Heights B at Thorney Park (neutral course) on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. The team will now play at the NAPGC National Finals at Thornbury Park golf course, near Bristol, on Saturday September 28th. The wins at Thorney Park in this round of the pairs matchplay competition came from Uli Katte & Adrian Wells (4&3) and Paul Green & Tamas Ladacs (1 up); Mark Bean & Richard Owen narrowly lost their game 2&1. A photo of the winning team at the 18th green after the match is pictured below.

Richmond Park won their Area Final match 2.5points : 0.5 points against Addington Court at The Oaks Golf Centre (neutral course) on a warm, cloudy then turning sunny day. The team will now play a National Semi-Final against Wycombe Heights B at another neutral course, with the winner going to the National Finals at Thornbury, near Bristol, towards the end of September. The wins at The Oaks in this pairs matchplay competition came from Paul Green & Tamas Ladacs (2&1) and Mark Bean & Richard Owen (4&3), with Richard Back & Adrian Wells claiming a half, after fighting back from 4 down.

In the previous round, on June 23rd, the team played at Portsmouth Golf Club and secured a 2:1 win, with Paul Green & Tamas Ladacs winning 6&5 and Mark Bean & Richard Owen winning 3&2. Richard Back & Uli Katte were our 3rd pair, going down 3&2.

In our first round, on May 26th, the team played at Tilgate Forest and secured a 2:1 win. Richard Back & Uli Katte won their match 4&3 and Paul Green & Adrian Wells finished 1up. Pete Goodall & Tamas Ladacs were our 3rd pair, going down 3&2.