Bearsted - Wed 15th Jul 2026

Report

It had been 7 years since BGS had played at Bearsted, our resident statto informed us that he had won with 36 pts, & now he's taken what feels like another 7 years before writing the report... Are you sitting comfortably?

The day started off with a surprisingly clear run to Bearsted, but only the early risers managed to get a spot in the members' car park... one of those was Lee 'Big Ball' Bulford who was spotted getting some early putting practice in before it was time for Breakfast.

We enjoyed a reasonable breakfast, a fairly unremarkable 4 ball draw, and an introduction to our debutantes and our new youth policy, where Joe & Blake brought the average age down considerably.  There was much surprise when Rhod announced that Gerry & the Pacemakers (Bob & Pete) had all been given an extra shot today following three rounds without reaching 30pts... most had a bit of a smirk when hearing that lowest handicapper Lee was cut from 3 to 2 following April's victory in Canterbury, but real joy came when everyone learnt that Rhod was cut two shots after last month's victory at Nizels. 

The early clouds had lifted, the sun was out & Rhod was rocked following the shock realisation that he'd forgotten to bring his socks. However, he was soon full of faith as his playing partner pulled a pair of socks from his car which had only been gifted to Smoggie just a couple of days earlier... apparently "the Lord provides in mysterious ways".  

Bearsted has the unusual layout of beginning and ending with a Par 3... so, with a gentle breeze, rock hard fairways and quick greens, today had the potential for both high and low scores... With Lee's name on the 1st nearest-the-pin, most were expecting our lowest handicapper to post a great score today... all were surprised when he "won" the 'most golf' title, although he was long gone by then... which was a good idea as he would have only been upset to hear that the final golfer to tee off had managed to get closer to the 1st pin... although there was controversy when Rhod admitted that Bearsted's starter had told him the exact line to take, but most were surprised that Rhod had managed to follow such simple instructions. Apparently, the ball bumped over the edge of the hole, saving Rhod from a sizeable bill at the bar later...

The next two 'Nearest the Pins' were both won by Carl 'Hotshot' Bolton, a particularly impressive feat considering he was sharing a buggy with Ricky, although Carl won't be too excited by his prize of two sleeves of Callaway Supersofts.  The final 'nearest the pin', on the final hole, was won by one of our debutantes: we always like to give a warm welcome... & hope you'll be back soon Dave Monckton.

With just 8 of our 20 golfers scoring 30 or more, it was a surprise that Arthur's creditable 34pts only brought him 3rd place... the most amusing part of the day was imagining Carl's face when he found out that his 36pts only achieved 2nd place & won him another two sleeves of Callaway Supersofts, which again I'm sure he'll be chuffed by.  Carl's mood wasn't improved when he had a call on his way home to hear that he'd been beaten into second place by an impressive 39pts from the Rhodfather (yes, we've checked that Smoggie hadn't supplied him with performance enhancing foot coverings).  The only thing that cheered Carl up was learning that next month Rhod will be cut 3 shots... The beautiful Wrotham Heath may be a bit trickier when you're off single figures...

The 15th of July '26 turned out to be a momentous day (& no, this isn't a cheeky swipe at England losing to the Argie Bargies in the evening)... only 6 times in the past 16 years with the Broadstairs Golf Society has anyone come 1st on two consecutive months...  before today, only on one of those occasions did the winner go on to a hat-trick of victories... but today our very own Rhodfather joined Nick Mannering with this rare hat-trick... The question is: Who is going to knock the Welshman off his perch?

Post Script: The team comp was won by the old guys in the Buggies. However, in an unexpected turn of events, those who had stayed for the results voted to enact an old Society rule: "no show, no dough".  None of the winning team had stayed, so their share of the winnings found its way to this year's charity pot... hopefully that can help raise a record amount for our 'Wear Blue for Ethan' day next June...