HMS GANGES GOLF SOCIETY

THE HISTORY

Following a charity golf day  at Gaudet Luce Golf Club, that Dick Binch put together with Shep Woolley, Andrew Errington and Paul Robinson in 2008, the four of them thought it would be a good idea to form a Ganges Golf Society.
Previous to this, some of us  took our clubs to reunions when they were held at holiday camps and we used to go on the pitch and putt course. In the bar in the evening we discovered a lot of us were keen golfers, so when Dick suggested it, we jumped at the opportunity.
The first real meeting was at Cams Hall in Fareham and in those days you needed a minimum of 16 players for a golf day. Dudley Grimwood  brought some of his mates from Drayton Park to make up the numbers and Paul Robinson won the first “Shotley Shield”.
At that meeting, were a couple of St. Vincent boys and their mates so we thought about getting teams together to play a Ryder Cup style event, but nothing ever came of it.
The next meeting was at Drayton Park in return for them supporting us. They continued to support us and bring friends along, so we decided to make them Associate members. From the start we agreed that only people who had served at HMS Ganges could win the “Shotley Shield", so we then got a trophy for guests.
As time went on, more trophies were donated and we had to decide what to award them for?
At its inception, we had the website “Masterscoreboard” so we had a programme to put in our handicaps and adjust them accordingly, hence why some of the trophies reflect that.
It was decided to give glasses to winners, runner-ups, third place, nearest the pin and straightest drive(this was to give everyone a chance to win and not just the big hitters) If a member won 6 first place glasses they were awarded a decanter to accompany the glasses.
it was also decided democratically, to have meetings in the North, South, East and West, but later the East was dropped as we had no golfers from there coming to our meetings.
We tried to get golf clubs near to some good accommodation where most of us could stay and socialise before and after the golf, so there was not much driving involved.

Gary Faulkner

TROPHIES
Shotley Shield
Ganges boys only (best three scores out of 4 meetings)

Society Shield
Associate or guest highest position in the league

Faith, Hope and Charity Bowl
Ganges boys only (most birdies in a season)

Des Price Memorial Trophy     
Best par 3’s throughout the season.

Laundry Hill Cup
Most improved player of the season

Secretary’s Salver
Winner of a designated match any meeting you choose

Guests Secretary’s Salver
As above.

The Golden Nail Trophy
The member who has gone the ‘extra mile' for the society.

Founder members with a Commodore "Sun dodger"
How young we were!