Somone asked me a tough question a couple of months ago: what have you achieved in your captain's year? I couldn't think of anything but on reflection I'm not sure it's the job of a captain at Bamburgh TO achieve anything. I saw it as more a role of continuity, to encourage and support what works and to try to encourage adaptation where necessary. I think most things work well here and I tried to support them. I've tried to push a couple of things: with Keith I've tried to make the friendly matches more popular by making many of them half day affairs; Nicky and I have tried to increase interest in mixed golf events and lastly the club is going to prepare a policy document for the golf course which will help members understand how the course is managed.
A much easier question was, have you enjoyed it?; or alternatively, will you miss it? Yes, I have enjoyed it: it has been good fun - but although I will miss the parking space I won't miss the role. One year is enough. I saw a quote from a Jeremy Clarkson car review just after I'd started being captain. I thought it was appropriate:
"You don't join a club because it's convenient or because it will save you money. You join so that you can be a member. So that you can be part of a gang. And that, of course, means you are weak.
We see evidence of this among those who play golf. The captain of your local club, I can pretty much guarantee, is almost completely useless at his job and has very few friends. In the real world he is a halfwit, a nobody, a tragic soul with a chip on his shoulder and a family that hates him on a molecular level.
But by being diligent at the golf club, and organising events, he has become a somebody, a person with standing and power and respect. Let me put it this way. Captain Mainwaring would be the captain of the golf club. Wilson would just play golf."
I'm looking forward to being Wilson again.
A final comment. Some things worry me: slow play; walkers across the golf course; they are a sign of selfishness that is probably an inevitable consequence of modern life. But most things don't; the club's mix of membership and its low key approach - and its location - mean we are well placed for a challenging future for golf clubs. So a final thanks to the members for their support of me and more importantly the club over the past year.
There were some things we did well: we all caught the bus up there. We all remembered our golf clubs and our jacket and tie. After dinner we produced (thanks to Derek and Ken) the best quantity (if not quality) of jokes, with Luigi making a characteristic appearance. And after we said farewell, the bus rocked. (The suspension wasn't great).
Unfortunately, the match was a golf match and there we didn't do so well. Keith and I set off well - we were level after 2. But however much it's meant to be OK to lose to a birdie it isn't really. The half way house was after the 12th hole, and our game was wrapped up by then, but not by us. Interestingly, after a drink of 
But I had had a game the evening before, the last of the summer mixed greensomes which took place on a calm sunny Friday evening of the type we'd imagined when we suggested the idea. Eleven people turned up so to keep a relatively simple structure, we had three groups of two teams each; I was a greensome team all on my own. After a bit of negotiation, it was agreed I could have two drives with the loss of one off my handicap. I liked the idea of having two drives and choosing the best one; it's a lot better than that three off the tee stuff. But in the end 34 points wasn't enough to trouble the scorers. There were, however, only two points between the other five teams, with a clear winner with 39 points - Nicky Rose and Malcolm Cresswell and second place decided on the back six -Alison Reed and Will Rose. As before all those who took part enjoyed the game and I hope they continue next year. Malcolm was kind enough to give Nicky and I a 
As always a decent group of our supporters turned up but unusually a bunch of people came from Foxton as well: their captain had commented to me the 
They all went to the 17th or 18th, and walking down the 17th with the final game we were all square; we then lost one match and Johnny Moffet needed a good putt to halve his match and leave us with a 5 - 7 loss and a technical chance of still winning the league (rather than a 4 - 8 result which would have meant Foxton would win). And the last putt of our season duly went in for a birdie and a 5 - 7 loss. I got a lift to Alnmouth station afterwards with some of the Foxton team; they had enjoyed the close match and would have settled for a 5 - 7 loss themselves.
It wasn’t all a bad weekend for Nicky – on Saturday, she equalled the ladies course record with a 70. And also on Saturday Peter Sanderson equalled the men’s record of 63 in the Challenge cup, although this wasn’t enough to win as there was a net 57.. But 63 is a pretty impressive result.
It was a lovely seaside course –almost at sea level – and by starting at 3.00 we had a reasonable deal and some enjoyable golf. There were 8 groups of 4: unusually no-one cancelled: the 32 who came were the 32 who’d spotted the notice about the trip and put their names on the list. Despite that, not everyone read the notice on the first tee to see which were the nearest the pin/longest drive holes. There was some comment that there was a ball or two nearer the pin on the 3rd than John Shaw, who won: but there could be no doubt that Scott Priestley’s was the longest drive. 
Most things went well – except that just as I was about to get on the bus I realised I’d left the prizes at home. Fortunately Dunbar sells little bottles of Dunbar-labelled whisky which did duty as a token. And after all, as I’ve often said when I’ve lost, it’s the taking part that counts.
After a drink or two Travelsure then got us home more or less in a decent state.
I don't know what it's like to play week in week out in those sorts of matches, but I know it's both exciting and tense to watch. We finished the night 4 points above Foxton who have a game in hand: next weeks match against them at home should be interesting. Interesting word, interesting.
And the front 9 was positive: we were 3 up at the turn. Unfortunately the rub of the green didn't quite go with us and although we won two games quite quickly (one with a chipped in eagle at the long 16th), and could have won two more, things didn't quite work out that way. A large group watched things at the 13th; a very limited number walked up the hill to see the concluding losses. 
The good news is that Foxton were beatable; the bad news is we didn't beat them. Maybe next week.
We did think we were watching the winners: Nicky and Will are a good combination and they put on a good exhibition until a flirtation with the practice ground at the end meant they were in second place. Despite the wind, there were a good number of entries; as I've noted earlier I hope mixed golf continues to develop at the club. Not to take over, but it's a nice complement to the usual stuff.
We didn't win: Steve and Mike played well but Keith and I were more like our form at the Northumberland friendly than the Texas Scramble. But we did come 8th and got a bottle of wine at a packed presentation at the clubhouse. The day raised £4,500.
The Magdalene Fields match has always been tough; in the last two away matches we've lost 7 - 5 and 11 - 1. My theory is (putting aside relative skills of the teams) that it resembles Bamburgh (slopes, green, by the sea except there aren't any islands offshore) but plays differently: the greens are a bit slower (though still true) and the rough off the fairway is a lot thicker. But what do I know? I do know the rough is thicker: my first job on arriving was to help find Phil Holmes' first (and provisional ball) on the third, followed by his partner's.
Despite the distance to travel, a good crowd from Bamburgh watched a close match: two games finished quickly but the other four all went to the 18th; the lead game was particularly tight with Peter Sanderson needing to be 4 under par to get a half. The Moffets and Angus Smith all won, giving us a 7 - 5 win leading up to a crucial last two matches. 
Foxton were apparently beaten 9 - 3 by Goswick; that puts us 6 points ahead although they have a game in hand. Our last match, on 3 August, is against Foxton at home.
A couple of other interesting items from the day:
I'd like to say Keith Whitfield and I in the lead match set a good example and played well; unfortunately I can't as four down after four (despite good opening drives) isn't a good start. We held our own after that but had obviously put too much of ourselves into Bamburgh's second-most prestigous competition on Saturday (the Texas Scramble which we had won thanks to my handicap, firm direction from Keith, strategic targeting by Alan Patterson and good play from Peter Harrington) to recover.
At least we played quickly, and could sit on the terrace in the sun watching the other groups come in and trying to guess (accurately) their results from their body language. Mike Robinson and Steve Clements retained their unbeaten record, but we also had a couple of draws and a couple of losses. I briefly held the salver we last won in 2007 before handing it back to Giles Smallwood.
I briefly wondered whether the crowds had come to watch us -no, in a weekend of sporting drama (British Grand Prix, Scottish Open) the Park also gave us the final of their Ladies Championship. As we stood on the terrace as the prizegiving took place, one of our members was heard to ask "But who's getting the Sunday lunches in?" I won't say which one.
But on the course all was well: the old part of the course dappled by the slowly setting sun, no wind, midges not yet stirring, most of our players leading with John Moffett having already won.
Other memories were a major come back by Mark Dawson to halve the match having been 4 down, having to wait until the 18th to finally see John Cairns' opponent play a less than perfect short game so John could win and listening to Dick Little explain to one of the few Goswick supporters how the course used to look years ago.
There were two important prizes at stake: the best score for the two rounds, won by Peter Sanderson, and 8th place, giving the responsibility to organise next year's trip, won by Robert Renner (8th, not 1st, to make sure there was no malpractice).
Helpfully, it remained dry virtually all day despite a forecast of rain all day, proving that I can attend a golf event without bad weather.
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