The 2024 Autumn Meeting was held at The New Zealand Club on Tuesday 24th September. The course was in remarkably good condition after the heavy storms which had doused it in the preceding days and although weather conditions were rather grey over the day, both winds and temperatures were benign. After several late withdrawals due to various medical emergencies, two unsuccessful altercations with step ladders and a mystery guest who never was, a field of 46 including 8 guests teed off for the morning foursomes stableford competing for the Seagar Tumblers. One of the medical emergency withdrawals was our Vice Captain Mike Johnson-Hill who was much missed at the Meeting, and we were relieved to hear was back home.
Lunch was the usual New Zealand feast and several players decided it was better to give it the fullest justice and not play in the afternoon, reducing the field to 40 for the afternoon foursomes stableford competing for the Hobbs and Sutcliffe Bowls, and for the prize for the best two round score, the Stollery Salvers. Having regard to the exertions of lunch the afternoon rounds were amazingly completed by most in just over three hours.
The winners and runners-up of the three competitions were awarded on the basis that a pair could win only one prize, and were as follows:
| Winners | Score | Runners Up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seager Tumblers | Julian Buck | 36 points | Peter Edwards | 35 points (CB) |
| Stephen Baker | Johnno Gordon (G) | |||
| Hobbs-Sutcliffe Bowls | Peter Pennekett | 34 points | Ian Edwards | 33 points (CB) |
| Paul Shepherd | Brian Morris (G) | |||
| Roles-Stollery Salvers | Finbarr O'Connor | 73 points | Jim Steven | 68 points (CB) |
| Martin Cook (G) | Peter Newman |
The 73 points of Finbarr and Martin for the two rounds included a magnificent 39 points in the afternoon. Unfortunately the Stollery Salvers were not available for presentation, a casualty of one of the late withdrawals, so the winners were photographed as the proud recipients of a stand-in trophy, a NZGC wine bucket!
Alan Ewart, MM on the day on behalf of Seamus Meyer
