BUSHWACKERS GOLF SOCIETY

Bushwackers Golf Society

(Southampton, England)

Bushwackers formed in early 2002, the original four members being Paul Crook (Captain) Arnie Crook, Keith Wassel and Ray Cook. By 2003 Paul Kenway and Kev Wallis had become a regular part of the group playing every two weeks, or when they could all get in some secret practice.

The Bushwackers name came about just prior to the first overseas trip in 2003 when the original four went on tour in Normandy France.

The society as it was then started to attract others for the regular two weekly event, Rick Wallis, and Kev Vickers became members in 2004, and the now French eight took to the Normandy courses for a superb golfing weekend at outstanding courses such as Omaha, St Julien and Houlgate.

Now 2005 included another member, Rik Flide who replaced Ray after he had decided to call it a day. Again the society took to France with the slightly revised eight. Playing three more outstanding courses, Deauville, Champ de Bataille and L Amiraute.

The society again increased with Graham Ethridge, Martin Vingoe, Dave Hereford, Dave Rowe, and Tony Stevens better known as Rolo. The society had now expanded to thirteen although Paul Kenway with other commitments bowed out. The Bushwackers annual French tour had expanded to twelve this time, playing Champ de Bataille, Nantilly and Vaudreuil. 2006 will be remembered without doubt for the marathon round at Nantilly, nearly six hours for one round of golf..... but what a course.

Paul Speight joined in late 2006 securing his place for the 2007 French tour. At this point due to health reasons Arnie decided to take things a little easier giving up his space for new members. However we all hope to see him back out on the course in the near future, even it is only for a chat and a drink at the nineteenth hole.

Mid 2006 gained another two players, Paul Gale and Paul Keylock increasing the society to fourteen regulars.

The 2007 trip had to include Nantilly, again we weren't disappointed what a superb course. However the other two weren't going to be out done, L Amiraute and Omaha still remain in our list of top courses especially with Omaha's course expansion.

Its 2008, this year only a slight change to the French twelve, with Paul Keylock replacing Martin Vingoe. The first course Etretat proved to be both demanding and picturesque, with the backdrop of white cliffs and rolling hills. The second Saint Saen a beautiful course a clear favorite of the weekend, however it will be undoubtedly be remembered for the thunderstorm, hail and flash floods that seemed to come out of nowhere. This course is a must, for a return visit hopefully in the near future. The final course Saint Gatien played exceptionally well, a great course with some cracking views of the French country side.

French open 2009 based at our favorite hotel in Deauville 'Du Golf Barriere' located on top of Mount Canisy. With Rik Flide giving it a miss this time we welcomed a newcomer 'Tiger' great to have him along. The first round of the weekend played at Houlgate, still as tough as ever, great course though. Second day Du Golf Barriere, texas scramble in the morning sets us up nicely for the 18 hole Parkland in the afternoon. Final day at St Julien, great to be back here as this is a lovely part of the French countryside. The course in superb condition with great staff made for a very enjoyable end to the weekend.

A new course this year 2010 'Caen de Golf', friendly staff and a great course definitely worth a return visit. Managed to complete the round at Saint Saen this year this included a 9 hole warm up in the morning. A very pretty course with a fabulous 19th century club house, really pleased we came back. The final day took us to an old favorite L'Ameraute, the wind certainly kept the scores down, but the course and surroundings are absolutely superb, a great conclusion to the weekend.

This year 2011 we decided on a Ryder Cup style competition which has been rightly named the ''Wacker Cup', We welcomed the return of Rik Flide, and Rolo and two new members, Mick Conway and Martin Simmons. What a superb venue, 'Dartmouth Golf & Country Club with its two courses and great staff. The Championship course certainly tested even the best players amongst us.The weather on the Friday was a little unkind making twice round the 9 hole a bit of trudge, however after the first day the 'Pinseekers' Captained by Paul Crook took the advantage and ended up 3 1/2 to 1/2. Martin Vingoe captain for the 'Budgie Smugglers' now had to rally his team for the championship course on the Saturday & Sunday. Again the Pinseekers increased their lead leaving Sunday almost a foregone conclusion, however the 'Budgie Smugglers didn't give up and gained a couple of matches through Rik Flide & Dave Hurford. But the weekend belonged to the 'Pinseekers' "Well done guys, well played" Captain Crook now has the honor of holding the Wacker Cup until next year.

It's now 2012 and the 'Wacker Cup' has it's second year at a superb venue 'The Vale Resort' home to the Welsh National - a European Tour Tournament Course. Well what a great place, the hotel and staff made for an absolutely fantastic weekend, and the two courses are fine examples of Uk golf. This year Mick Conway, Martin Simmons, Graham Ethridge and Kev Vickers unfortunately couldn't make it so we welcomed Lloyd Holes, Chris Wallis, Andy Ashley and Matty Preston. We decided to start the weekend on the Par 72 Lake course, and the 'Red Hot Chilli Chippers' captained by Kev Wallis took advantage of a great course and surged into the lead on the first day with a 3 - 1 lead against 'The Blues Brothers'. However on the Saturday it was the turn of 'The Blues Brothers' captained by Rik Flide to play some great golf, on what can only be described as one of the best courses we have played 'The Welsh National', a 3 - 1 win mean 't all square for Sunday. This would lead to a great final day to this years competition, playing once again on the National course, this final day based on the singles match play event couldn't have been any closer, everything came down to the final two matches, two lost matches for a single team in the final group would have handed victory to the opposing team. But the weekend ended all square, in hindsight probably a fair reflection on both teams, well played another great competition.

The 2013 'Wacker Cup' at St Mellion International Resort, home to the famous Jack Nicklaus Signature course, turns out to be an absolute gem. Any serious golfer just has to visit this place and play one of the best UK courses around, a true test of anyone's golfing abilities. The resort staff are superb and becomes quite clear why this place is held in high regard by so many. Well this year we introduce Brendan Carr and welcome back Kev Vickers and Graham Ethridge, unfortunately we lose Lloyd Holes, Matty Preston and Martin Vingoe, but hope to see them again in the future. The team selection changed this year, we decided to draw the captains first Paul Keylock (Black team) and Keith Wassell (White team), the captains then choose their team members with Keith choosing first. The teams looked to be evenly matched, so off we go with the first round on the Old course, now known as the 'Kernow', very nice course with a great blend of holes and Cornish scenery to match. The first two holes get the big hitters going with two par 5's, although keeping the ball on the fairway is clearly a must throughout the weekend. This year the White Wassell's soon take a commanding lead, and it's clear early on this team captained by Keith Wassell will be going all out to win the 3rd year of the Wacker Cup. By the end of day one the Whites are up by 3 1/2 to 1/2, and are quietly confident. The Black Keylock's though are not put off and make ready for day two on the famous Jack Nicklaus Signature course. Well this course turns out to be an absolute stunner, and not one to stray your shots, get off the fairway and you quickly learn to re-load. Each hole has bags of character, there's a 180 yrd carry over water on the 5th and that's just to get to the fairway, a par 3 through a tiny woodland gap, such as the 4th, which is beautiful hole. Every hole without exception is a joy to play, if a little frustrating for those of us not quite on their game. Well luckily the weather looks good, the fourball matches are off, but again the White team are relentless, pulling off an incredible 3 to 1 win. This now puts the white team in for 6 1/2 to 1 1/2. Now the final day starts to look a tall order for the Black team, captain Paul Keylock plays himself in the last team to watch over the scores, but once again on the Kernow course the White team push for victory and win the 2013 Wacker Cup by 12 to 4, " Well done the Whites" you played some outstanding golf and captain Keith Wassell is now the proud holder of the Wacker Cup for another year. " What a fantastic weekend "

This year 2014 with the annual competition now in its twelfth year, the 'Bushwackers' decided to visit another of the UK's finest golf resorts, 'The Belfry'. Well renowned for the four Ryder Cups and countless PGA and European tour events, this superb venue had a good deal to live up to, and it certainly didn't disappoint. With the recent multi million pound facelift this is a place where any true golfer must stay at the superb hotel and play the three outstanding courses. This year the Wacker Cup and the Bushwacker singles trophy 'The Claret Jug' would set an interesting mix of team and individual competition for the weekend. The scoring for both trophies would be based on stableford points using full handicaps. This year we welcomed a new guest Erkun who really fitted in well, great company and a good golfer at that. We unfortunately didn't have Rik, Graham or Tiger this year, so we hope to see them in 2015. The captains for the teams would be selected on the Friday evening, and would be drawn out of the hat, the first captain drawn, and about time, would be Tony Stevens aka 'Rolo' a real favorite amongst the society, and the second captain would be yours truly Kev Wallis. At this point we still didn't know who our team members would be, this wouldn't be drawn until Saturday! The event started off on the Derby, a great parkland course to start the weekend, Kev Wallis soon took a commanding 5 point lead which looked like a solid start for the Claret Jug and the Wacker Cup. On the Saturday the outstanding PGA course would test the best players amongst the society, and Kev Wallis still found himself leading by 3 points at the end of the round, with Kev Vickers, Andy Ashley and Dave Rowe closing in. By this time the teams had now been drawn, Rolo, Kev Vickers, Paul Crook, Andy Ashley, Rick Wallis and Erkun Zekai are now playing against Kev Wallis, Paul Keylock, Dave Rowe, Keith Wassell, Paul Speight and Dave Hurford. Both captains are now discussing tactics with their teams hoping to come away with the Wacker Cup, and also all the time doing their best to compete for the Claret Jug. The final day had to be on the 'Brabazon' a fantastic 18 hole course with great views, water, woodland and some very challenging holes, especially the famous Seve hole the 10th, not many tried the green in one and those that did unfortunately failed. The final score for the weekend would put Andy Ashley the winner of this years Bushwacker trophy, and for the team event Kev Wallis's boys would win by 20 points overall. " A great weekend, superb staff and faultless venue made this one of the best Bushwackers on Tour events yet "

The venue for 2015 Bushwackers on tour was 'Celtic Manor'. Three fantastic courses, with the Ryder Cup winning venue 'The Twenty Ten' course living up to its superb reputation. The competition this year had two new faces, Tom Roberts and Brian McGowan aka 'Scouse', great guys superb company and pretty handy with the bats as well. This year the Wacker Cup captains drawn on the Thursday are Paul Keylock and Tiger Goodall. Team Keylock included Erkun, Tom, Rolo, Dave R, Brendan,Keith and Andy. Team Goodall included Paul S, Dave H, Kev W, Paul C, Scouse, Rick and Graham. Day 1 and team Keylock took a commanding lead on the superb Par 70 Roman Road course taking an overall lead of 26 points. Day 2 team Goodall struggled to reduce the deficit and ended 32 points down on the Par 69 Montgomerie course, what a fantastic course this is, with the spectacular par 5 3rd hole, the views as we walked down the fairway are just outstanding. The final day on The Twenty Ten course proved to be a real tester for all of us, the wind and rain making conditions extremely difficult and only one player managed a score above 30 points. Despite the low scores team Keylock romped home with a victory scoring 548 points compared to team Goodall with 503, well done Paul well deserved Wacker Cup winner for 2015. This year the Bushwacker trophy awarded to Dave Rowe with a total individual score of 92 beating his closest rival Andy Ashley by 15 points, well done Dave superb play on three very challenging courses. Longest drive went to Andy Ashley and nearest the pin to Dave Rowe on the Monty course. The Twenty Ten longest drive went to Paul Keylock and the nearest the pin won by Rolo, "well done lads". Another great weekend on one of the UK's finest venues, if a little tough a t times proved by the 145 balls lost over the three rounds.

Before we move onto the 2016 Bushwackers On Tour, we would first like to pay our respects and offer our deepest sympathy for the loss of one of our founder members 'Arnie Crook' who sadly passed away at the end of 2015. Arnie, a true Bushwacker loved his golf and will be deeply missed by us all.

The 2016 Bushwackers on tour was held once again at Dartmouth Golf & Country Club. One of our favorite venues and still in great condition, this year though made even more special by the cracking three days of unbroken sunshine. The Captains for the team event this year are Rick Wallis and Dave Hurford, team Rick includes Dave Rowe, Kev Wallis and Keith. Team Dave are Andy, Tom and Paul Speight. Team Rick romped home with a great score of 335 with team Dave not far behind with 304. The Bushwacker Cup this year went to Kev Wallis with an overall score of 99 points, closely followed by Dave Rowe on 94 and Dave Hurford on 86. The continuous sunshine must have been a factor in Kev's game with three rounds in the 30's and temperatures to match, Kev also managed to take nearsest the pin on the Saturday which just made for a fantastic weekend. The hotel and course staff where superb as always, thanks Dartmouth for another great weekend, a venue we will always want to have a return visit.

The 2017 event now back overseas at a beautiful venue 'Golf De Pierpont' in Belgium, a 700 mile round trip this time but absolutely worth it. This year started with a warm up Texas scramble on the 9 hole course 'Le Petit Pierpont', what a lovely course to set us up for the next 3 days. Captain's this year Graham Ethridge and Paul Speight, great to see two worthy Bushwackers take to the Captians role for the first time. The team selection strategy this year looked somewhat interesting. Graham decided to go for the high handicap approach choosing Dave Hurford, Tiger, Erkun, Keith and a secret weapon, low handicapper 'Charlie'. Paul's team however included Dave Rowe, Andy, Kev Wallis, Rick and Paul Keylock. Team Paul having to give some 27 points each day to Team Graham, would the high handicap gamble be a winner ? The first day on the 'Le Grand Pierpont course' which we all agreed is just amazing there's not much between the teams Paul with 186 points and Graham 172. Day 2 on the nearby sister course 'La Tournette L'Americain' turned out to be a tough day with temperatures up in the mid 30's combined with a course that really is an oustanding example of why we love coming back to Europe to play golf. Paul's team again came away with another increase in the points tally, 147 points with Team Graham on 133. The final day back to 'Le Grand Pierpont' gave Paul's team to stretch the lead and win the Wacker Cup with a total score of 513 points against 469. Well Done Team Speight.. The overall winner this year for the Bushwacker Cup is Andy Ashley with a total score of 94 closely followed by Dave Hurford on 91 and Captain Speight on 89. Well done Andy a great final round of 37 points clinched it, and the addition of longest drive which was never in question. This year for the first time ever, we have a hole in one to celebrate, Charlie managed to strike the perfect shot on the front 9 par 3 on the final day. 'Well done Charlie' nice shot. Finally we would all like to say a special thanks to Gary Nisbet the clubs General Manager and all his team, a big thankyou to the catering staff and really heart felt thanks to all the club members who made us feel so welcome. We all look forward to making a return visit many thanks.