I always suspected the Curtis Cup week at Sunningdale would be memorable – and indeed, it was.  It opened with a roar as I was chatting to one of the security guards at the gate of the club, getting the directions to our parking for the week.

“Don’t drive off!  Don’t move!  My chihuahua’s under your car!”  Not words I’ve had shouted at me before, I must confess.

Patricia calmly slid the back window down and said,  “Oh, hello Queenie!  Patricia Davies, Mary McKenna and Maureen Madill.  How are you?!”

Michael King, former Ryder Cup player and longstanding member of Sunningdale, couldn’t have been more surprised if you’d landed him on the moon.  His expression was priceless as the thirty years, or however long it had been since we last saw him, disappeared into the ether.  Also priceless was the sight of this Sunningdale legend down on all fours coaxing the recalcitrant canine out from under my wheels.

Welcome to Curtis Cup week.

What a fabulous show put on by all involved.  From the governing bodies of the game, the R&A and the USGA, to the first class welcome afforded to us by all connected with Sunningdale golf club, it was a never-to-be-forgotten week.

For those of us who have been fortunate enough to play in the Curtis Cup there are two distinct and separate strands to the week, which, nevertheless, run alongside each other very comfortably indeed.  Front and centre, of course, are the two current teams, one from Great Britain and Ireland and one from the United States, and the biennial contest to win the Curtis Cup.

The other strand (equally important to us) is the reunion with pals from both sides of the pond and detailed catch-ups and exchanging of news.  New friendships are forged and it’s golf that cements them all even though some of us no longer play.  In the past players’ match I was on caddying duty for Gill Stewart as she partnered fellow Scot Mo Richmond against the lovely Mary Hafeman whom I first met when we were on opposing sides in the match 44 years ago.  Mary was playing with Noreen Mohler, a past player and captain whom I met for the first time.  It was lovely to see Noreen had her 2010 team bag with her from her year of captaincy at Essex Country Club.  And what a beautiful player she still is……a veritable joy to watch.

That same day our group was behind Carol Semple Thompson, twelve times a player in the Curtis Cup and twice a captain.  Once a competitor always a competitor, which Carol demonstrated by tutting at herself when she had a slightly wayward drive off the 10th tee.  Down went the club on the turf to check her alignment –  she absolutely was NOT going to make the same error again!

The years, of course, do change most of us – perhaps not in essence, but mostly in appearance.  Not everyone, however.

Fiona Champness, nee Brown, originally from Cheshire, must have a portrait in the attic.  She’s become a serious athlete, knocking off marathons for fun and looks as youthful now as she did a few decades ago.  Having celebrated a significant birthday this year she told me she’d decided “to do something for myself”.  Well, that “something” is the Haute Trail Hike Challenge, a 60-kilometre trek through the Alps with daily ascents and descents ranging from 2,500 to almost 8000 feet.  She sets off next week and is raising money for a project in Morocco:   “Rural Schools Rise From The Ground.”  If you’d like to know more and perhaps help by donating a few bob, please copy the link below and paste it into your browser.  I know Fi would appreciate it.

https://www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/51912/

Meanwhile, at the sharp end of things on the golf course the two teams were producing scintillating figures and mesmerising golf for the record crowds to enjoy.  It was the first time since 2010 that every player contributed to her team’s points tally.  The stars, points-wise, were Sara Byrne for GB&I and Rachel Kuehn for the USA – both unbeaten and now launched on professional careers.

All of Ireland’s representatives, whom I met for the first time this week, contributed hugely.  Sara played every session, winning two matches and halving three.  Her pal Beth Coulter has a Portstewart connection in that she is coached by Neil Graham, the pro at my childhood club and Aine Donegan of Lahinch so impressed her captain Catriona Matthew she was slotted into the anchor role for the singles.

The Rhodes girls, Mimi and Patience, are coached by my great friend Lawrence Farmer and it was Mimi’s fifteen footer for a half on the 17th that won our gang’s award for the “shot de la semaine”.  It assured us of the half point we suspected we needed as Lorna McClymont was in the process of winning the final point on the 16 th.  There was something quite nice about our only GB&I player NOT at college in the US getting the clincher.

Catriona Matthew, another Stirling Uni graduate like McClymont, is making a habit of being a winning captain and leader of women.  That’s two winning Solheims she’s captained and now a Curtis Cup team.  She certainly has the Midas touch and each time has been ably assisted by her close friend and ally Kathryn Imrie.  Karen Stupples, who won the Women’s Open at Sunningdale in 2004, was a further inspired choice to add to her backroom team and between them this trio had it all covered.

I  always had a sneaking feeling that this particular event would be the highlight of my golfing year, regardless of the fact that I am fortunate enough to attend majors pretty much as and when I wish.  Well, I was right.  We topped it all off with an evening meal that Sunday for our own little travelling group when we chewed the fat and made plans to go our separate ways the following morning.

But……some of us had one further surprise in store.  Two of our number left for the airport just after 8.00am.  The rest of us were startled out of sleep by an ear-piercing and persistent noise.  The fire alarm was flexing its muscles and out we all had to go in an assortment of clothing and nightwear until, much later, we were informed it was only a test!

The week was full of surprises from beginning to end.

 

It’s ridiculous, the number of years I’ve being going to golf events in the Surrey/Berkshire area, you’d think I’d know it like the back of my hand.  Trouble is, I hardly ever look at the back of my hand, so that’s my excuse for always getting lost in a neck of the woods I should know without recourse to satnavs or waves or google.  Sunningdale, Wentworth, The Berkshire, even Swinley Forest, these are courses that are imprinted in my memory.

I love the East Course at Wentworth, human-sized, playable, so much more enjoyable (for short hitters like me) than the West, the increasingly brutal Burma Road.  And I love The Berkshire, with its memories of the late lamented Avia Foursomes, especially the Blue and the wonderful lunches.  But there’s something very special about Sunningdale.

It’s changed over the years, of course it has, it must have, everywhere has but it doesn’t really seem to have changed much.  The clubhouse is still the same, the pro’s shop is in the same place, the 18th green (of the Old), the oak tree, the 1st tee….everything is familiar except for the swanky coffee machine that is more user friendly than it at first appears.  There are ghosts everywhere.  But they’re happy ghosts.

I come here and I start smiling.  It’s hard not to.  It’s an oasis of calm, immaculately kept.  There’s a railway station nearby, so you don’t need a car to get here but there are plenty of very busy roads if you need them, not that you can hear them when you’ve taken the hill up to the golf course and entered another world.

There’s no denying that it’s a very wealthy area and you need more than a bob or two to live here but golfers, posh or not, are always welcome.  It helps if you can hit the ball and I must confess that I thought that what used to be the Sunningdale Ladies course, now renamed Sunningdale Heath, where the Curtis Cup car parking was, looked perfectly suited to my game.  The club also used to be renowned for its chocolate cake.

I walked round the Old course and wondered how on earth I’d ever negotiated it intact; probably not at all if the truth be told.  The Curtis Cup players hit the ball like the professionals most of them aspire to be with only the odd visit to the heather and we were all in awe of how well and how far they hit it.  They weren’t perfect but they were as near as dammit.

There were plenty of American supporters cutting a dash and making a splash as they made themselves seen and heard, outnumbered but not to be ignored.  They certainly know how to rock the red, white and blue.

The match itself could scarcely have been tighter and GB and I squeezed home at the last gasp, breaking a losing streak that went back to 2016 and sparking wild celebrations.  The Americans will not forget the hurt of losing and the Brits and Irish will always remember the joy of winning.  It’s so much more fun.

Now, here’s a test for the historians out there.  One of the delights of Sunningdale is looking at the honours boards, the trophies and the photos of championships past.  The photo below is in the pro’s shop and celebrates Gary Player’s victory in the Dunlop Tournament, a 90-hole marathon over the Old and New courses in 1956.  He was just 21 and it was his first win in Europe.  Gary’s in the middle but can you name the other two players?  (I know the one on the left.  Dad was the scorer when he played at Portstewart in qualifying for the Open at Portrush in 1951.)

It’s lovely to see that David Llewellyn, affectionately known as Lulu, is to be the next captain of the PGA, number 86.  The Welshman is currently executive head professional at Carden Park in Cheshire and was gobsmacked when he was asked to take on the role.  “I’m absolutely bowled over.  I was knocked sideways when I was asked….it’s a huge honour.”

Alan White, the chairman of the PGA, summed up the qualities that make Lulu a perfect choice:  “He’s excelled as a coach, played and won at the game’s highest level, managed golf clubs and been an inspiration to injured servicemen in helping them overcome their disabilities and get into the game.  There is no doubt he will be a credit to the Association…”

Lulu is now best known as a coach but he could play a bit and in 1987 he and Ian Woosnam won the World Cup of Golf for Wales at Kapalua, Hawaii.  They beat Scotland, represented by Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance, in a sudden death play-off.  Woosie won the individual title, five shots ahead of Lyle.

Another Llewellyn highlight was when he nearly became the first player on the European Tour to break 60.  It was in Biarritz and he came to the last needing two putts for a 59.  Into Zen at the time, he only knew that he was going well and was vaguely aware that there seemed to be an awful lot of people around the 18th green.  When he missed his second putt, they all melted away.  Still, he won the tournament with a record low score of 258.