An OG putting quartet blending youthful debutants and gnarled and grizzly veterans graced the hallowed lawns of Royal Wimbledon this evening for the Public Schools Putting Plate.

This event has been described as ‘The Halford Hewitt’ of putting and Glenalmond have been something of a yo yo team for the last decade or so mixing the agony of just missing out on Cup finals with further agony of relegation. 

This year Royal Wimbledon initiated a Plate for teams on a relegation break from the main competition, and having disappointed in 2023, Glenalmond were delighted to have been invited to compete.  Think Europa League not Champions League but without fear of further relegation, an opportunity to have some fun and take some scalps.

A quick phone call between the aforementioned veterans John Bushell and Willie White agreed the order. Both making their debut on the Green, Cameron Grieve would go at #1 with Henry Gray at #2. The experience of Bushell and White would follow.

This is a curiously eccentric English evening, as a string of professional looking middle aged men travel through London from their work desks carrying a single putter and a ball to spend the summer evening battling for the honour of their old schools ….

The format is simple, each player has an 18 hole matchplay battle against their counterparty from each of the other schools (on this occasion 6 other schools) so the #1 plays all the other #1s, #2s all play each other and so on. With a few pints added to the mix, this is a mentally exhausting evening on a devilishly fast putting green with some gloriously subtle breaks.  Other than the competitive matchplay element, part of the battle is remembering on round 6 whether the 14th is left to right or right to left!  It may be fun, but ultimately we are all competitive beasts, schooled literally on the square of Big Cricket and buoyed by the crowd on Neishes we all like to win! 

Glenalmond got off to a strong start and as the results were recorded and added to the giant scoreboard in the clubhouse it was increasingly looking like a battle between Berkhamsted and Glenalmond for the honours.  White and Bushell rattled through the lower order with success, until only 2 matches remained on the Green.  Gray secured a tense half and a crucial point in his last game against Kings Canterbury, leaving only one match to complete and Berkhamsted holding a 1 point advantage at the top of the table. The last match was the Glenalmond and Kings Canterbury #1s and Grieve appeared to hold the honour as they reached the last hole.  Agonisingly he left his putt four feet short before his opponent knocked his to a few inches.  Though he didn’t know the seriousness of the situation Grieve stepped up and confidently knocked in his putt to a roar of support from his teammates and a groan from the Berkhamsted team. Everyone else was already in the bar but Glenalmond could finally celebrate putting success with victory by a point.

Our former OGGS captain and president, the late great Gordon Thorburn who was also a captain at Royal Wimbledon championed the Schools Putting for decades, so that today the Main Competition is named after him.  I hope that somewhere in the Elysian Fields, Gordon may have afforded himself a smile at some long overdue Glenalmond success.

He may also have laughed at our prize of a Mars Bar each ! 

Special congratulations to John Bushell who finished the evening as the unbeaten champion individual putter with 6 wins from his 6 matches – maybe going at #3 was a good idea ! 

Next year we hope to repeat this success with our return to the Main Competition, competing at the top table of Public Schools Putting, but for 2025 we will be sure to enjoy this modest success with a tasty curry and some red wine with the other competitors.