Club News

On Sunday 19^th January, Truro’s Frank Wills Salver team faced the old enemy Falmouth Golf Club in the Quarter Finals of the competition at West Cornwall Golf Club.

A slight change to the team due to availability saw James Davies return to the starting line up to partner Andy Mortimore.  The five pairings were:

Simon Bray & Harry Salmon, Grant Champion & Jake Champion, Andy Watson & Rich Wild, Andy Mortimore & James Davies, Steve Paice & Dan Lord.

Falmouth were defending champions, having beaten Truro in the final last year, so we felt we had a score to settle!

Falmouth had retained four players of the winning 2024 team in this year’s line-up, having moved the others to their CTC team.   We knew that Falmouth’s lead pairings would be strong and with very few shots in any of the matches it was going to be a tight affair.

It was Grant and Jake who faced the first barrage from the Falmouth team, with their opponents carding three birdies in the early holes followed by an eagle.  This excellent play gave them an unassailable lead from which the Truro team could not recover and the first point went to Falmouth.

Meanwhile in the first match Simon and Harry were going blow for blow with the strong Falmouth pair, however another late surge of three birdies in the final six holes meant that they too would lose and Falmouth secured their second point.

All was not lost and some encouraging news for Truro came through as the final pairing of Steve & Dan found their own rich vein of form, getting up early and never looking back.  Steve and Dan would win 7 & 5, giving Truro their first point of the match.  It was now 2-1 to Falmouth with Truro needing to win both points from the remaining two matches on the course.

Both of those matches had been tight throughout. The captain and Rich went one down on eleven, only to get back to all square with a birdie on twelve.  An errant drive by Falmouth on the 14th hole gave the Truro pair the advantage going one up, but this was soon levelled on the fifteenth by a fine putt from Falmouth.  The Truro pair then won  the sixteenth followed by a half on seventeen to be dormy one up on the 18^th tee.

At the same time, Andy Mortimore and James Davies had gone three up through fourteen holes, but lost the fifteenth and after a half up sixteen, they were dormy two up.   The remaining Truro pairs only needed to each half a hole to secure Truro the two points needed.

The captain hit a solid drive down the final hole finding the fairway, which added pressure on Falmouth as they needed to win the hole. The Falmouth drive whilst long, turned left against the headwind, and went OOB in the practice area.  Falmouth were now three off the tee and with some smart match play by Rich and the captain, they won the eighteenth and subsequently the match two up.  All eyes turned to the seventeenth green in the distance.

Picture Below: Andy Watson chipping to the 7th Green

Both teams missed the long uphill par three, and then both chipped to about twelve feet.  It was Falmouth to putt first, making a safe two putt, so Truro had two putts to win the match.  A tricky downhill first putt ran about three feet past the hole and Falmouth were in no mood for concessions!  James Davies calmly stepped up and holed the putt, giving Truro the overall match victory 3-2 and a place in the semi-finals.

Once again a huge thanks to the herculean effort of the team, the caddies and all the supporters; another tight finish, but the tenacity of the Truro squad shone through in the end.  Revenge was exacted for the loss in last years final and the Truro Frank Wills Team join their CTC and Cornwall Bowl brethren at the semi-final stage.

The first of these is on February 2^nd– with the Cornwall Bowl Team playing at Trevose against St Mellion followed by the Frank Wills semi-final on February 9^th (venue TBC).

The CTC semi-final will take place on Sunday 23rd February at Perranporth where Truro play Carlyon Bay.  To get three teams through to the semi-final stage in these very tough county competitions is a great achievement, so if you are able to support we would love to see you at the upcoming events.

Andy Watson

Club Captain

On Sunday, the Cornwall Bowl team faced Whitsand Bay, last years Champions, in the quarter finals of the competition at Trevose Golf club. Due to some absences and unavailability, there were a couple of team changes from the resounding victory over Falmouth in November, with the inclusion of Craig Owens and Nick Pascoe from our comprehensive Cornwall Bowl squad of players.

Play was due to start at 8:30am, however after approximately 45mm of rainfall in the preceding 36 hours, even the wonderful greens of Trevose found it difficult to disperse the water. After a momentous effort by the Trevose Green Staff to ‘Squeegy’ the greens, play commenced at 9am.

Truro’s team was; Jeff Cowls and Tom Hadfield, Andy Beazley and Craig Owens, Matt Salmon and Lee Collett, James Paradise and Martin Watts, Daryll Burford and Nic Pascoe, with Andy Boekenstein as our traveling reserve. Shots were being given in all matches; 4 in the 1st, 3 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th and 4 in the final group.

The weather conditions were challenging, with drizzle and mist combining with winds gusting up to 45mph. Early exchanges were minimal, apart from Salmon and Collett who were three up after just four holes. This exceptional play from the seasoned pairing continued and they won their match at a canter, 7 and 5, giving Truro their first point of the three needed for victory.

The final pair of Burford and Pascoe also found a surge in form after the opening holes, going five up through eleven. Again, this excellent play continued to deliver another convincing win by the same 7 and 5 margin and a second point for Truro.

The remaining matches were a lot tighter, ebbing and flowing between the two teams as they all came through the 16th hole. After playing through earlier in the round, Beazley and Owens were two down through sixteen holes, Cowls and Hatfield were all square, and Paradise and Watts one up. It was going to be a tight finish, but Truro only needed one of the matches to come through.

It was Beazley and Owens to play the seventeenth hole first, which they duly won, reducing the deficit to just one down with one to play, unfortunately, a half on the eighteenth meant they narrowly lost their match one down. Next up was Cowls and Hatfield. An unlucky lie in the rough on seventeen from a tee shot right left Jeff no option but to play out short of the ditch. This put the Truro pair on the back foot, subsequently losing the hole and Truro were again one down playing the last. Unfortunately, the 18th hole was again unkind to the Truro pair and Whitsand Bay won the match two up. The scores were now level at 2-2.

With a wicked cross wind on the seventeenth both tee shots missed the fairway, Truro to the right and Whitsand Bay left. Two good recovery shots especially from Truro, meant both teams were short of the water hazard in front of the 17th green

Truro were first to play and Martin Watts hit a fine approach shot to about 25ft. Whitsand Bay were closer, requiring a more delicate approach which whilst clearing the hazard, was short of the green some 50ft from the hole. With a long uphill putt, Whitsand Bay ended up seven feet short of the hole in four which presented Truro with a good opportunity to win the match. After much discussion between Jimmy and Martin, assisted by their caddies Simon Bray and Rich Wild, they decided on a line and Jimbo Paradise stepped up to the putt with the 17th green surrounded by players from both teams. Would the caddies and spectators witness a ‘Grandstand Finish’? Of course, this is Truro after all! A superb, perfectly weighted putt found the bottom of the cup to cheers from the gallery, Paradise and Watts had won 2 and 1, giving Truro the win with the final score 3-2, and a place in the semi-final.

What a wonderful performance across the board. Overall, all played fantastically in difficult conditions, and the team spirit was tremendous; I truly believe this is what keeps getting us across the line in these tight matches. Our thanks to Trevose Golf Club for the hospitality and for their work in marginal conditions to enable play. Once again, a huge thanks to the support received from caddies and spectators, it makes all the difference and is noted and commented on by our opponents at every match.

The Semi-Final will be played on Sunday February 2nd against St Mellion Golf Club – venue TBC.

Andy Watson
Club Captain

Pictured below: Truro’s Cornwall Bowl Team & Caddies at Trevose Golf & Country Club

The final duty for Mark Dawes as Captain of Truro Golf Club for 2024 was the satisfying task of handing over a cheque for £3061.42 to his chosen charity St Petroc’s. Pictured are Mark Dawes (Captain 2024) and Millie Ewing from St. Petroc’s.  The money raised will be immediately deployed in their winter emergency accommodation service. Mark would like to thank the members of Truro Golf Club for their help in raising these funds for a very local and much needed charity.

Members will have seen the new Broken Tee Containers located on every tee block, and will have read in Dom’s report that the green keepers have recently half filled a black bin bag with broken tees since the containers were put out a few weeks ago. Where did all those tees go before we had the containers!

The Seniors section, comprising around 140 members, has donated these containers to the club with a desire to ensure the outstanding golf course we all enjoy is maintained to the best condition it can possibly be.

The club are very grateful to our Seniors for this investment in the course.

Pictured is Seniors Captain, Johnny Horner, with one of the containers.

On Saturday 22nd June the battle to find Truro’s Club Champion for 2024 took place which also included a new trophy for the nett champion which had been kindly presented by Club Chairman Mr Graham Cowls.

On a warm dry day 73 players prepared for the 36 hole contest which was played using a two tee start (1st & 11th) and with the lowest handicappers teeing off last. The morning round witnessed some low scoring in both the scratch and nett competitions with Billy Downing posting a fine 1 under par 66 to be leading at lunch by two shots over Jared Mortimore (68) with Tom Stephens four shots behind after carding a first round 70. Club manager Pete Simmons was in the mix with a first round 71 with Grant and George Champion both returning 72’s.

In the Nett championship Andy Mortimore got off to a very hot start and came in with a nett 61 to lead Grant Champion (65), James Bassett 66 and Graham Cowls a further shot behind who posted a level par 67.

Playing another 18 holes in the afternoon was daunting for some with stiff backs and aching bodies.. however the afternoon rounds would provide some exciting finishes in both competitions. Graham Cowls was returning to form and following a solid morning round he burst into action with a 70 gross / nett 64 to lead the field and win his own trophy by just one shot from Nathan Irons who shot rounds of 68&64! Well played Graham.

In the Club Championship (Treliske Cups) the leaders from the morning round were struggling a little with Billy shooting 76, Jared 74 and Tom a 71. Meanwhile Pete Simmons was battling to hold his round together and found bunkers on both the 9th and 10th holes (his 17th & 18th) but managed to make two good par saves to return and afternoon round of 69 gross and a total score of 140. This score, to his surprise was just good enough to sneak the title by one shot.

Other notable scores were Martin Mills 73&71 to finish 5th, and Martin Rowe who following a poor morning round bounced back with a good score of 69 to take the pm gross prize.

Scratch
1st Pete Simmons 71-69 = 140
2nd Tom Stephens 70-71 = 141
3rd Jared Mortimore 68-74 = 142
4th Billy Downing 66-76 = 142
5th Martin Mills 73-71 = 144

Nett
1st Graham Cowls 67-64 = 131
2nd Nathan Irons 68-64 = 132
3rd Paul Griffiths 67-68 = 135
4th Stuart Nicholas 68-68 = 136
5th James Bassett 66-70 = 136

Pete & Graham will go forward to represent Truro Golf Club in the CGU Depot & Petherick Cups later in the year.
Full scores available at https://www.howdidido.com/

At the prize giving the captain thanked all those involved for making the Treliske Cups a great competition especially Steve Paice and Nick Pascoe for collating all the scores, Dom and his Green Keeping team for producing a fantastic course and the bar & kitchen staff for keeping everyone fed and watered!.

Reports from the Cornwall Golf Union Presidents Trophy Final and the O’55 s Senior Team Championship.

Disappointment for Truro’s Presidents Trophy team

A Journey that started on the first week of October 2023 finally finished on the 15th June 2024. Our final game in the CGU Presidents Cup Winter Knockout was played on a ‘wintery’ feeling day at Bowood Golf and Country Club on Saturday 15th June. With Temperatures below 10c and a keen gust all afternoon, Bowood would play difficult at times. Our opponents in the final were Perranporth Golf Club who had won the trophy in the previous two years.

The team representing Truro were;

Jordan Mayne
Martin Cookman
Bradley Page
Rob Gurnett
Eric Owens
James Davies
Dean Harris
Simon Bray
Martin Rowe

Teeing off in reverse handicap order the matches were fairly close in the early exchanges. At the halfway point Perranporth started to stretch a lead in two of the games which would then result in Eric Owens losing 6&5 and Martin Rowe being beaten 7&5 against formidable opposition. Jordan Mayne had a close match and went down the 18th one down and after a good approach shot from his opponent and a conceded putt Jordan would also lose 2&1. Martin Cookman secured a half on the last hole but another loss would come from Bradley Page which put Perranporth firmly in charge.

When Rob Gurnett was defeated 4&3 that meant the end of the journey for the Truro team. Simon Bray softened the score line with a 3&2 win and Dean Harris took a half leaving the match score Truro 2.5 – Perranporth 6.5.

My thanks go to all the caddies and supporters, the CGU for organising and Bowood G&CC for hosting. Many congratulations to Perranporth GC on winning the trophy for the third consecutive time, quite an achievement. It has been an honour to be your captain and the teams are doing well with a Maxam Cup win last year and reaching the finals in two of the winter knockouts. I would like to wish Mark Dawes all the best for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Peter Brooks
Club Captain 2023

Success for Truro in the CGU O55’s Team Championship – 19th June

On a warm, sunny day at Truro the team selected for the O55’s team championship were first off the tee playing a golf course in immaculate condition and having previously won the trophy in 2020 at Truro the team were hungry for further success and energised by team captain Dave Ealing!

Representing Truro in the betterball format were;
Andy Beazley & Dave Kneebone
Pete Simmons & Steve Paice
Mark Stevenson & Graham Cowls

The leading and established pairing of Andy & Dave played excellent golf and although they missed a couple of opportunities they would post a fine score of 6 under (61). In the second group Steve & Pete forged a new pairing which proved to be a good one and with a strong back nine score would go on to register a score of -7 (60). With further experience playing at the rear, Graham & Mark would provide another solid score and with a birdie at the last from Mark the third pairing came in with a -5 (62) giving the Truro Team a combined score of -18. (183)

With a long wait ahead there were several teams threatening to upset the Truro team with both West Cornwall (184) & Cape Cornwall (184) coming very close – Tehidy were the last team on the course and having posted two good scores it all rested on their last pairing. Thankfully for Truro they could not quite reach the required number eventually finishing on -13. Truro were champions again for the second time.

Vice Captain Andy Watson thanked the CGU for selecting Truro GC to host this competition and for their excellent organisation. It is always an honour for the club to host county events and will always welcome the county back again in the future.
Truro GC

Truro Golf Club’s Captain’s Day

What a day – 180 golfers playing, 1 Captain, 1 Vice Captain and the Captain’s family and volunteers coming together to make a memorable, successful and enjoyable day for all. First tee off at 7.30am was an early start in overcast but still conditions and by 3.06pm the last tee time the sun was out and a breeze blowing.

The golfers were refreshed on the 11th by St. Austell Brewery and the Captain’s wife and family serving bacon butties fresh from the barbecue. Stories of woe and success on the course shared in a lively banter.

With the last golfers coming in off the 18th at 7.30pm a long day of excellent golf came to an end. But that was just the beginning of the entertainment. David Haines PGA Professional and trick shot specialist entertained us all for an hour with his amazing skills and humorous commentary. His skills need to be seen to be believed.

Mark Dawes (Captain) assisted by his Vice Captain Andy Watson then made the presentation and the winner Greg Mewton was presented with the Captain’s Cup for an outstanding score of 47 points. (Handicap cut on the way!)

Still Dizzy rounded off a great day by rocking the clubhouse till late.

The Captain would like to give his thanks to all the golfers, staff, volunteers, entertainers and especially his family and vice captain for their support on what will be a day he will remember for a very long time.

On Thursday 25th April Peter Brooks the immediate past captain of Truro Golf Club presented a cheque to the White Gold Foundations CEO Alan Miliner for £9700.

This money was raised by the members of Truro Golf club throughout the 2023 season through various events hosted by the club and charity boxes placed around the clubhouse.

I would like to sincerely thank all the members for their support in raising this fantastic amount which will be used to support abused and vulnerable children and young adults in Cornwall.

Peter Brooks
Past Captain

On Saturday 9th December the annual Captains Drive in took place ahead of the Men’s Turkey Trot. Many members turned out to support the new Captain, Mark Dawes and witnessed the outgoing captain, Peter Brooks perform his ‘putt out’ on the 11th green prior to Mark driving in on the 1st hole.

Using a hickory driver and an old Dunlop 65, 1.62 golf ball Mark hit a wonderful, straight tee shot measuring 156 yards! A sweep stake was held to raise funds on the day and was won by Darragh Dunleavy who guessed 152 yards and picked up a dozen balls and a £30 cash prize.

Mark’s chosen charity for his Captain’s year is St Petrocs, a local charity helping the homeless.

Truro Golf Club wish Mark and his vice-captain, Andy Watson all the very best for the year ahead and also thank Peter Brooks for doing a great job during his time at the helm and hope he can now enjoy some much deserved rest over christmas!