There was an air of confidence about the team this year, given the recent victory at the Stenhouse Quaich and last year’s strong showing. There was only one change to the team from last year, with David Primrose, unable to travel from Australia, dropping out in favour of Mike Thomson. Society Captain Brian Richmond joined the team again for his second stint as non-playing captain. However, a last minute replacement for the first round was required as Karl Frey was unable to get released from his university studies, and Niall Booker was called upon to play in his second Hewitt. It was also a year where two major milestones were achieved for two of our most senior golfers in the society, although somewhat unexpectedly for one!

Our first round match, played at Royal St Georges on Thursday at 12:10, was against Stowe, whom we last played (and lost to) in 2008. However, they last won a game back in 2013, so were perhaps a difference team to last time, and Glenalmond probably entered the match as slight favourites. At no 1, John Bushell and Matthew McEachran, set the tone with a solid 2/1 victory, followed quickly by Niall Booker and Mike Thomson with a straightforward 4/3 win. John Laird and Richard White proved to be in the toughest slot facing the best Stowe pair, and did themselves no discredit despite a 4/3 loss. At 4, Sandy Gray and Tom Simmonds strolled to a 5/4 win, while at 5, David Rennie and Niall Watson shook hands for an honorable half (although the game was all square on the 16th tee when the overall match was over), as the match concluded at 3.5-1.5 to Glenalmond. Conditions as they had been all week were rather damp and windy, although an improvement on the wind conditions from last year. 

The game was particularly important for Sandy Gray, as he reached his 75th cap for the society (in only the society's 98th game at the Halford Hewitt), taking the lead from John Gordon who was on 74 caps. We are particularly pleased for Sandy that he could make this momentous achievement with both a personal and a team win. 

On to round 2, again at Royal St Georges, we were to face St Pauls who had just dispatched Shrewsbury, so despite a lowly ranking on the Anderson scales, were not likely to be an easy ride. More selection disruption awaited, as Mike needed to get home for a family emergency, so John Gordon received the call and came out of retirement to serve the society once more. As you will gather from the paragraph above, this was to be John's 75th cap for the society, and also it would mark 50 years since his first appearance in 1973. Unfortunately, with strong winds and rain, and with his opponents both being 1/3 his age, the result was not one that we all hoped would mark the historic occasion for the society.

At 1 again, Matthew and John led from the front, but sadly lost by the same 2/1 margin that they had won with the day before. John and Richard, moved up to 2 didn't fare any better and having been 3up at one stage, ended up losing 2/1. John Gordon joined Niall Booker at 3 and despite a very tough draw, with their opponents being 1 under par at the turn (and with Glenalmond 6 down) managed to contain it to a 5/4 defeat. At 4, David and Niall lost another close game 3/1, while at 5 Sandy and Tom took the consolation point with an easy 5/4 victory. These results don't show how close this game was, and we were up in 3 of the games at the turn, and 3 of the 4 losses were on the 17th. The team were very disappointed with the result and if a little bit more luck went their way, the result could have been very different. 

So while this was not the result we were hoping for, there is much to celebrate and look forward to into next year. Both Sandy Gray and John Gordon achieved the 75 cap milestone and the school has now played 99 matches at the Halford Hewitt. Also, Sandy, along with his partner Tom Simmonds have now won 5 matches in a row together (and have 7 wins in 9 matches). I believe that they need two more wins to beat the 6 in a row set by Bull and Bushell in the late 90s. 

Next year, in the Hewitt's centenary year, we will get to play our 100th game at the Hewitt so there will be celebrations aplenty. 

For the tournament as a whole. congratulations go to Loretto, who have now won it 3 times in a row, the first time since 1984 that this feat has been achieved. They defeated Epsom in the final. It was an unusual draw, with many of the "top" schools drawn against each other in round 1. This included local rivals Watsons and Merchiston who faced off in round 1, with Watsons going on to lose to Uppingham in round 2. Accies were the only other Scottish school to get to the third round, losing to eventual semi finalists Eton. The plate was won by Bedford. Full results can be found at https://www.halfordhewitt.org/2023-halford-hewitt-draw/

The next "major" is the Senior Wayfarers at Western Gailes, with a strong Glenalmond side hoping to go 3 in a row at the venue, and we wish the team the best of luck. 

Team photo attached  - L-R: John Laird, Sandy Gray, Matthew McEachran, David Rennie, Niall Watson, Tom Simmonds, Mike Thomson, Niall Booker, Richard White and John Bushell. Brian Richmond included in a photo with Mike Thomson and Niall Booker.