John O'Gaunt Golf Club Seniors Section: Senior Captain's Day Aug 4 2026

Ready for the off: Paul Hitchcock, Paul Fletcher, Terry Domagala and David Barlow

The sun shone, we had a full house and everyone had a great day. Yes, this is Senior Captain's Day when 100 players gather at 9am for a shotgun start on the JOG course and dream of a winning card.

For those of us whose dreams ended early, there was always a free pint from Captain David, wraps and chips and some fun skills competitions to look forward to - as well as the spectacle of the Captain's Drive! More on that later.

One player had an outstanding day - and he only signed up on Sunday when a late withdrawal left an empty space. That was David Price, who romped home with 41 points.

In second place, on 39 points, was Michael Newstead and in third, also with 39 points, was Chris Dennis.

Commiserations to Barry Donovan who also scored 39 but narrowly missed out on a podium place.

Nearest the pin on the 4th was Ian Simpson, on the 10th Michael Greenstein, on the 16th David Holme, in 2 on the 12th David Barlow and in 2 on the 14th Rob Ebsworth.

The Captains vs Vice Captains Trophy was won this year by the Captains. Congratulations David Barlow and Paul Fletcher.

In the putting competition, only one person managed to cosy a ball up to a bottle of champagne inside a driver cover. That was Paul Dobson who won the champagne.

The Virtual Nearest the Pin prize in the swing studio - 96 yards over water - was won by Paul Jones, just 3ft away from the pin. Paul won half of the stake money.

The Guess the Captain's 100 yard pitch shot competition - new for this year - was won by Steve Collins who correctly stuck his flag roughly in the centre of the green: 110 yards.

The raffle raised a whopping £720. Thanks to everyone for their generosity and to Helena Domagala for helping to run it.

And thanks, as ever, to Nigel Underwood and his wife Sabrina for making the competition run like clockwork.

Thanks to Warren Churms for running the putting competition and to Dave Gauge and Tom Simm for the Virtual Nearest the Pin competition.

Oh yes, one more thing - the Captain's Drive.

Algy Grimes took a buggy down the centre of the fairway with his rangefinder confidently expecting to measure Captain David's drive.

Unfortunately the ball was sliced onto the 16th never to be seen again.

Time for a Mulligan! This time David's drive reached 187 yards in the right rough. Phil Gow was only a yard out and won a fourball voucher for Dunstable Downs.