Woodhouse Trophy 2021

Strangely, this post has been the hardest blog for me to write so far. Even though I was doing well in this year’s Woodhouse Trophy, until now I’ve not won anything this year and it’s been quite easy to comment on my progress and performance throughout the summer without worry of how it has come across to you, but this time I’ve actually won something … so I really don’t want this to appear as a smug post!

In fact, because of that it’s taken me nearly three weeks now to actually put this in writing …

I won the Flixton Golf Club Woodhouse Trophy 2021!

It still feels very surreal to have finally won something after 45 competitive events since I joined Flixton GC in 2019. 

Okay, so there’s already a caveat. I didn’t win it alone; I came joint first with a lovely chap, Eddie Wrigley.

Here’s Eddie and I being presented with the Woodhouse Trophy by our Club Captain, Ian Stringer, a week last Saturday.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the season-long Woodhouse Trophy on my post about the Club Trophy. At the time, I was sitting in second place, one shot behind Eddie, with a few rounds left. In those last few rounds, I managed to improve my score by 1 shot and equal Eddie’s score of 414. The score is made up of best six nett scores from qualifying comps. The qualifying comps are all the major comps and most of the other handicap-counting medal competitions that we’ve played this year.

Woodhouse Trophy Scores

My six counting nett scores in the end were 3 x 68 and 3 x 70. I was absolutely delighted to have all six scores under par, especially since my handicap has come down 9 shots during this time period, too. Eddie’s scores were an incredible 65 (to win the 7th round medal), a 67 (to win the Founders Cup), a 68, 2 x 71, and a 72. Everything Eddie touched in the middle of the season turned to gold, so he thoroughly deserved this trophy.

There were a number of players who came really close to pipping us in the final couple of weeks. Nine people were within just six shots:

(1) Eddie Wrigley & Rob Davies 414

(3) Steve Berry 415

(4) Callum Fortune 417

(5) John Dowd & Michael Fetherstone 418

(7) Rob Pimblott 419

(8) Tony Ranicar, Chris Mulhearn, Andrew Barnes & Geoff Higginbottom 420

The Woodhouse Trophy is a “board comp,” which means that each year the winner’s name is recorded on one of the honours boards displayed in the clubhouse (I’ll add a photo when they’ve been updated). It’s a great feeling to know that my name will now be on there for evermore. A story to bore the grandkids with in years to come!

Woodhouse Trophy 2021 Final Standings

You can see the complete final breakdown of entered scores for all Flixton Golf Club members here:

I actually don’t know a lot about the origins of the Woodhouse Trophy. As you can see below, there’s a lot of names engraved going back to 1955, including plenty of names that seem familiar to me. I’m interested in the background behind the name and trophy, how our scores compared with previous years, and finally how many other players have scored six “red” rounds under par over the years. I’m going to have a look into the history of it, and I’ll write another post when I know a little more!

The end of the golf season

For now though, this comp pretty much marks the end of our summer golf season. On reflection, it’s been one hell of a summer of golf for me personally, and this prize has really been the icing on the cake. It is a lovely reward for the hard work I’ve put in on the practice area, in the garden, and at the driving range since January.

I started the year playing off a handicap of 26, but now I’m playing off 17. My exact handicap moved from 22.4 to 15.7. Yes, the dream was single figures, but in reality I would need to have been single and unemployed to have made those kind of gains this year! I’m really looking forward to a hard winter of work and seeing what improvements I can make next year. Finally, I’m starting to feel more like a golfer than the hacker of previous years!

Bye for now!

Last Updated on 28/02/2023 by Rob Davies