Sadly, we say farewell to our 2010 Captain who has now played his last match for the team and is currently on holiday for a month, sunning himself with his family in the USA. He can look back with pride on a successful season in which he and his team qualified for the EGU English Junior Counties Finals by winning the Northern Counties Championships at Furness in July for the first time in Cumbria junior golf's 50 year history. The team eventually came 3rd in the Finals at Goswick but acquitted themselves well by beating Derbyshire and giving the eventual winners, Hertfordshire, a fright by winning the foursomes and running the singles close. All the boys in the squad wish him well in his future career which he hopes to pursue in the USA next autumn. Now we welcome our new Captain, Oli Carr, who will take over for the remaining matches and the 2011 season. Oli has been a regular in the team for the last two years and has developed into a very strong and accomplished player with a handicap of scratch. A more detailed profile will appear later when he writes his own contribution to this column
On the left the 2010 Captain, Dan Park, and Oliver Carr, the 2011 Captain pictured on the first tee at Goswick in the final match against Hertfordshire in the EGU English Counties Finals. |
 |
CUMBRIA JUNIORS WIN LITTLE 6 FOR FIRST TIME
Report from Cumbria CUGC President, Tom Stout
Congratulations to the Counties Little Six team who yesterday confronted and beat the best young golfers the other Northern Counties could put up against them!
The team was:
Dan Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Captain
76-70-146
Oliver Carr, Ulverston
76-75-151
Chris Thursby , Carlisle
72-65-137
Kieran Waters, Carlisle
74-76-150
Carl Johnstone. Carlisle
73-80-153
Seb Crookall-Nixon, Workington
78-70-148
The highest score is discarded in each round
The scores overall were:-
Cumbria 371-356-727
Yorkshire 375-354-729
Lancashire 364-367-731
Cheshire 377-362-739
Durham 370-371-741
Northumberland 381-369-750
Isle of Man 392-379-771
Best 36 hole score - Chris Thursby 137
As you can see the result was very close.
In the morning round , Lancashire led by 6 strokes from Durham with Cumbria and Yorkshire 7 and 11 shots adrift. Chris Thursby had played steady golf in the tricky conditions to record a 72 which was the third best round after Paul Lockwood (Yorks) and James Simpson ( Durham). Carl Johnstone carded a 74. As the CSS was 72 in the round, all our players were logging in with tidy scores.
As the afternoon round progressed, tales were being relayed of Cumbrian golfers doing well, but the Furness course was not to be taken lightly and shots were dropped by many just through lapses in concentration or maybe poor choice of club. Captain Dan was first in with a great score of 70, 1 under par. Oliver Carr scored 75 and then news trickled in of Chris Thursby's stream of birdies on the way home to hit the high spots with a 6 under par 65, equalling the course record.
Cumbrian hearts and minds began to think the unthinkable- the Little 6 was there for the taking as the other counties were struggling to land good scores. It all rested on the last three. Kieran Waters came home in a creditable 76 but Carl Johnstone was suffering a bit on the greens and finished on 80.
It was now up to Seb Crookall-Nixon. Calculators were out. Lancashire said if Seb had a 74 , Cumbria would win, however Yorkshire in the shape of Paul Lockwood were still in contention. Lockwood dropped a shot as Seb birdied 16 to be 1 over. He birdied another and the excitement grew as this pair came down the last. Seb sank his putt for par and the unthinkable had happened. For the first time since the Cumbria Junior Golf Society was founded 50 years ago this year, Cumbria had won the Little 6, by a clear 2 shots from Yorkshire.
Team Manager John Smith said he had told the lads to believe in themselves and their ability and his words were amply reflected in this huge boost for Cumbria Junior Golf. Every member of the team had contributed to this success.
So it is congratulations to the Manager , the team and not to forget Henry Thompson, who does so much good work behind the scenes as Treasurer and General Factotum.
Well done to everyone and to all those Cumbria fans who turned up to support the
team
Finally congratulations to Furness who did just about everything right in staging this event. Our thanks to the Greenkeeper and his staff for the presentation of the course and the caterers who were kept on their toes for much of the day. Our grateful thanks go also to the Committee and members of Furness Golf Club for having us and we hope thay enjoyed "their time in the sun".
Cumbria now go the English Boys County Championships Finals at Goswick, near Berwick on Tweed in August, where the format changes to round robin matchplay against their counterparts from the Midlands, South-East and South-West.
Tom Stout
President
Cumbria Union.
_______________________________________
The game of golf is a work in progress for the ambitious player. You never reach the point at which you have completely mastered the game because the knowledge and skills it demands are virtually limitless. However, when a golfer has honed a swing based solidly on the fundamentals of the game and has developed an understanding of course management the challenge that remains is to learn how to win.
Obviously there are certain innate traits which contribute to the ability to win: desire, self-confidence, self discipline, being hungry for victory and being unafraid of failure (or success). However, these qualities alone do not guarantee a winner and it is possible to have these traits as well as a fundamentally superb golf game and still not know how to get into the winner’s circle. I believe there are four vital keys needed to become a winner:
- You must learn to think clearly under pressure so that you can focus on the tasks and challenges of playing the game under competitive demands. I think this ability alone should have the greatest influence on your success.
- You must train yourself to remain patient so that you don’t succumb to errors of judgement and hasty decisions that can undermine your skill and derail your competitive ability.
- You must be self-focused so that you devote all your energies entirely to optimising your own performance rather than be distracted by the opposition or other outside influences.
- You must constantly re-dedicate yourself to mastering these skills – not just when you are playing well but even more so when you are playing poorly.
Play well boys and we can still do it!
John Smith - Team Manager
 |
 |
Sunday 26th Cumbria U17/U16/U15/U14 v Northumberland at Eden Golf Club |
Cumbria's Golf Clubs Click name for club web site |