Junior News Updates

JUNIOR PRIZE PRESENTATION (24th November 2023)

The Prize Presentation to the Juniors was held on Friday the 24th November and was attended by over 50 Juniors and their parents. The Captain and Lady Captain presented all the prizes to our worthy winners. 
The Prize winners were:

Longhurst Trophy - Harry Staines
Runner Up - Cameron Taylor
9 Hole Blue - Jack Thompson
9 Hole Red - William Lewis
Centenary Trophy - Cameron Taylor
Runner Up - Heather Maw
9 Hole Blue - Rory Mace
9 Hole Red - Daniel Dexter
Jean Hunton
Boy - Arthur Weights
Girl - Heather Maw
9 Hole Blue - Grace Caunce
9 Hole Red - William Atwell
9 Hole Aggregate
Runner Up Boy - Bobby Mace
Runner Up Girl - Isla Kingsley
Medrington Trophy - Jack Thompson (Winner Boy)
Pilling Cup - Ellie Lattimer (Winner Girl)
18 Hole Aggregate
Hittite Trophy - Cameron Taylor (Overall Winner)
Runner Up Boy - Fraser Kingsley
Runner Up Girl - Heather Maw
Most Improved Golfer
Ian Campion Trophy - Fraser Kingsley (18 Hole)
9 Hole - Ellie Lattimer
Best Attitude/Progress
Golf Foundation Skills
For Life - Bobby Mace

A buffet of curry and chilli was enjoyed afterwards.

LADY PRESIDENTS PRIZE TO THE JUNIORS (2nd OCTOBER 2023)

The Lady Presidents Prize to the Juniors was held on Sunday the 2nd October. We had 22 competitors and it was a beautiful afternoon. The overall winner was Adam James with a fantastic 42 pts. The runner-up was Angus Irvine on a count back from Daisy Newton. The 9 hole red competition was won by Bobby Mace with Jack Thompson as runner-up. The 9 hole blue competition winner was Isabella Caunce with Sophie Thompson the runner-up. There were some great scores and RBGC will have some great players in the future. After the competition Lady President provided a meal of spaghetti bolognaise which was enjoyed by all.

GOODHALL TROPHY - WEST LANCS GC (24th SEPTEMBER 2023)

Our Juniors played in the Goodhall Trophy on Sunday 24th September at West Lancs GC. This is a team competition and we entered one team in the 18 hole and two teams in the 9 hole. The competition is designed to encourage mixed boy and girl groups and also 9 hole competitions for younger players with higher handicaps. The Juniors enjoyed the format and West Lancs were excellent hosts. This is the first year we have entered teams but it will be part of the fixture list going forward. We had successes with Bobby Mace, Millie Cruickshank, Oliver Cox and Isla Kingsley being runners up in the 9 hole on a card play off. Jessica and William Lewis/Ellie and George Lattimer were runners up in the putting competition. Luke Golding won the nearest the line for his tee shot on the 18th.

PRESIDENT’S PRIZE TO THE JUNIORS (3rd SEPTEMBER 2023)

The President’s prize to the Juniors was held on Sunday 3rd September. We were blessed with the weather and had a very good turnout. There was a good range of ages and abilities. The President was joined by the Lady Captain and the Lady President and everyone enjoyed a meal of sausage and mash afterwards.

The winner of the President’s prize was Peter Thompson with Daisy Newton being runner-up. The 9 hole Red winner was Ollie Cox with Bobby Mace the runner-up on a card play off. Max Halsall was the winner of the 9 hole blue competition also on a card play off from Rory Mace.

Sofia Cruickshank made a thank you speech to The President which was much appreciated.   

SWEDISH EXCHANGE TRIP (2nd to 9th August 2023)

This year the Swedish Juniors came to England to battle it out for the Pinnington Pot. This competition was started 20 years ago by Joe Pinnington, a Royal Liverpool member. The format is based on The Ryder Cup and this year the English were victorious. The three clubs involved are Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Caldy. 4 Juniors from each club took part along with 4 Juniors each from Falsterbo, Flommen and Ljunghusens. Our Juniors - Euan Thomas, Ethan Howard, Sofia Cruickshank and Beatrice Jeffrey played host to the Juniors from Flommen GC along with their Organisers, Christoffer and Henrik.

They arrived on Wednesday 2nd August and battle commenced on Thursday 3rd starting with Royal Birkdale and a 4BBB. England took the lead 3 ½ - 2 ½ . There was a cocktail party and a formal welcome dinner in the dining room. Sofia Cruickshank our Junior Captain welcomed the Visiting Swedish Juniors on behalf of the Club. Brian and Helen then left for Canada and the hosting was handed over to the Junior parents and their helpers.

Friday’s golf was at Royal Liverpool again followed by a formal dinner. Rob Jeffrey & Phil Burford accompanied our team. Another 4BBB and another win 5-1. The Royal Liverpool Captain had previously worked in Sweden and impressed our guests with an impressive speech in Swedish. Saturday was a day off golf but our 2 Swedish Organisers managed 18 holes of hickory golf at Birkdale, thanks to Tristram Lesser for taking them round in the rain. On Sunday they were back at Royal Liverpool and played Foursomes. England again were the winners 4-2 with both Sofia and Beatrice’s matches going to the 18th hole. Neil Cruickshank and Mark Howard accompanied the team with Neil having a hole in one on the 7th (Championship 9th). Great celebrations at the BBQ afterwards.

Back to Royal Birkdale on Monday, another 4BBB and another victory 5-1. Hosted by Rob Jeffrey and Nick Martin. By now the score was 17 ½ to England and 6 ½ to Sweden but the last day at Caldy was the singles matches so there was everything to play for. Kevin Thomas and Mark Howard accompanied our players. The end result was 7-5 to England with most of the matches going to the end. A victory to England 24 ½ - 11 ½ . Joe Pinnington attended the formal farewell dinner and presented the trophy to the English Juniors. The score now stands at 10-10 over the past 20 years. The 12 English and 12 Swedish Juniors were the same players as when we visited Sweden last year. It started out as 6 small groups of 4 Juniors, becoming 2 or 3 larger groups but after this year's competition it has definitely become 1 single group of 24. Friendships have been formed forever. Our first International member, Frederik Thiis, is in fact a Swede who is from Flommens GC and has been involved in this exchange over the years.