Aero Tour to the New Forest 10-12 Sep 24
Captain's Report
This year’s tour was based on the South Coast staying in Holes Bay, Poole Harbour. We started by meeting at Ferndown for a tasty plate of fish and chips before teeing off at 13.00. The early starters got around in dry conditions but those of us bringing up the rear came home in the rain. The course was playing long and true with their usual immaculate greens, in fact this could be said of all three courses that we played during the tour.
A short drive to the hotel in Holes Bay was followed by a Thai Banquet in the Nusara restaurant in our own private dungeon. It turned out to be a great success as there was little decision making and a lot of delicious food.
Wednesday dawned warm and sunny for the round at Parkstone, which has long been one of my favourites, it did not disappoint. The whole club and course were well presented, not a blade of grass out of place and wonderful tees and greens. I was pleased by the number of tourists who considered this the best course that they had played in England. There were some good scores on this challenging course and the overall winner would come from the best two days out of the three leaving it all to play for on day three.
We rounded off the day with a convivial meal at Da Vinci’s restaurant on the quay.
Brokenhurst Manor was delightful on the last day, the weather was kind to us again and all was set up for the final round decider for the Claret Jug with several contenders needing a good round on day three to carry off the prize. The scores were not to the high standard of the previous days but Tom Lyons prevailed to become the worthy winner.
I must thank Tom and Nigel for all the hard work that they put in behind the scenes checking the cards and getting the results out in quick time. This was the first time that the two nights and three rounds of golf format has been adopted and I am unsure as to the tourist’s preference, next year Anthony has planned four rounds of golf.
RESULTS
| Player | Points (best 2 rounds) | |
| Tom Lyons | 70 (wins on c/b at Brokenhurst) |  Tom Lyons - Winner of the Tour Claret Jug |
| Anthony King | 70 | |
| Peter Cherry | 69 | |
| Stu Butler | 68 | |
| Tom Cox | 64 |  Ray Corstin - winner at Ferndown on Day 1 |
| Mike Nixon | 64 | |
| Tony Gunby | 61 | |
| David Backhouse | 61 | |
| Ray Corstin | 59 |  Peter Cherry - winner at Parkstone on Day 2 |
| Barry Thornton | 58 | |
| Mike Dickman | 57 | |
| Roger Palin | 55 | |
| Richard Burman | 55 |  Stu Butler - winner on Day 3 at Brokenhurst Manor |
| Nigel Dowdall | 54 | |
| Roger Whitefield | 53 | |
| Ian Senior | 53 | |
| David Hobart | 52 |  Anthony King - 2nd place overall |
| George McCaffery | 50 | |
| Alastair Beedie | 46 |
Eddie Axten wins the Brabazon Trophy at Huntercombe
CAPTAIN'S REPORT
It gave me great pleasure to have the society play my home course for the late summer meeting on 22 August. The weather could have been kinder but it did not interfere with play and some good scores were posted despite it. The morning round for the Brabazon trophy was strongly contested with Eddie Axten prevailing with a fine 40 points.
The course itself was in great condition and had a benign appearance. To the first time visitor it looks short and easy, but then you have to factor in the greens which seem to have a mind of their own, low scores are rare. A glance at the Scratch Medal winner’s board shows that it has only been won four times since 1904 with a sub 70 score (twice by Tim Henman).
Lunch was a treat and the staff looked after us in their usual friendly and efficient way, wine was kindly provided by Ron Elder with a contribution from me. The club kindly slipped the afternoon start time so that we could all sit down to lunch together. The Greensomes, played over 11 holes in the afternoon was won by Barry Thornton and Anthony King.
Next up is the tour starting on September 10th. Rain dances are cancelled until the 14th.
RESULTS
| AM Stableford for the Brabazon Trophy | ||
| Player | Points | |
| Eddie Axten | 40 |  Eddie Axten, winner of the Brabazon Trophy |
| Steve Nicholl | 39 | |
| Stuart Butler | 37 | |
| Nigel Dowdall | 36 | |
| Ron Elder | 36 | |
| Stephen Riley | 33 | |
| Anthony King | 33 | |
| Barry Thornton | 33 | |
| Tom Lyons | 31 | |
| Chris Squire | 31 | |
| Mike Pegram | 30 | |
| Ian Thomas | 30 | |
| Stephen Fitz-Gerald | 28 | |
| Phillip Whittingham | 28 | |
| Gordon Edwards | 28 | |
| Roger Whitefield | 28 | |
| Russ Allchorne | 26 | |
| George McCaffery | 26 | |
| Brian Whittingham | 26 | |
| Mike Greaves | 24 | |
| Roger Bennett | 23 | |
| PM Greensomes | ||
| Players | Points | |
| Stu Butler & Patrick Spencer | 24 |  Stu Butler and Patrick Spencer |
| Barry Thornton & Anthony King | 24 | |
| Nigel Dowdall & Eddie Axten | 22 | |
| Roger Whitefield & Stephen Riley | 21 | |
| Russ Allchorne & Mike Greaves | 20 | |
| Ian Thomas & Gordon Edwards | 20 | |
West Country Meeting - 23 & 24 July 24
The Society's West Country meeting was held at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club on 23rd and 24th July. On Day 1, George Wallace took the honours to win the Perth Quaich with a commendable 36 points in tricky conditions. Mike Nixon retained the Jack Bryan Trophy for the Over 70s and Hazel Corstin similarly retained the Ladies Challenge Trophy. The wind eased for Day 2 and, in the easier conditions, scoring was much improved. Roger Bennett won the Ronnie Pew Trophy with an outstanding 40 points, while Naomi Bedford was the leading lady, receiving a bottle of wine.
Results Day 1
| Player | Points | |
| George Wallace | 36 |  Winner of the Perth Quaich |
| Ian Wood | 31 | |
| Mike Nixon | 30 |  Winner of the Jack Bryan Over 70 Trophy |
| Tom Lyons | 29 | |
| Hazel Corstin | 28 |  Winner of the Ladies Challenge Trophy |
| Elaine Killick | 28 | |
| David Backhouse | 27 | |
| Patrick Watts | 26 | |
| Naomi Bedford | 26 | |
| Peter Bedford | 25 | |
| Roger Bennett | 25 | |
| Nigel Dowdall | 23 | |
| Tony Killick | 23 | |
| Ray Corstin | 22 | |
| Tom Cox | 20 | |
| Alastair Beedie | 18 | |
| George McCaffery | 14 | |
| Brian Whittingham | 12 |
Results Day 2
| Player | Points | |
| Roger Bennett | 40 |  Winner of the Ronnie Pew Trophy |
| Ian Wood | 36 | |
| David Backhouse | 34 | |
| Alastair Beedie | 31 | |
| Peter Bedford | 30 |  Tony Killick, Ray Corstin and Peter Bedford, winners of the team prize |
| Mike Nixon | 30 | |
| Ray Corstin | 29 | |
| Nigel Dowdall | 28 | |
| George Wallace | 28 | |
| Naomi Bedford | 26 |  Winner of the ladies prize |
| Elaine Killick | 26 | |
| Tom Cox | 26 | |
| Patrick Watts | 26 | |
| Hazel Corstin | 24 | |
| Tony Killick | 24 | |
| Tom Lyons | 24 |
Invitation Event - Castle Royle GC 11 July 24
The invitational day at Castle Royle Golf Club on 11 July was a spectacular and memorable event. The course was demanding and played in excellent condition, with slick greens and too much beach for some. Eleven Aero members, including our Captain and Secretary, joined seven members from Castle Royle (including two ladies), all of whom have some connection to aviation, and we were made superbly welcome in beautiful surroundings.
Managed by the Members Secretary Charlie Stewart, we were organised into teams of three and played a Stableford Cha-Cha-Cha format competition (explanation below for the unfamiliar). By a narrow margin and with a total score of 72 points, the winners were Tom Lyons, Tom Cox and Castle Royle member Sean Sullivan. Our hosts very generously provided quality champagne prizes, and at least one Aero member looked very smart in his Society tie! 
The event was organised as a development activity by Nick Butler and Phill O’Dell, to test the opportunity to play at some alternative inexpensive venues, explore a different competition format and opportunistically conduct some recruiting for new members. It was unanimously declared a spectacular success, meeting our Society aims of playing enjoyable golf in excellent company, and costing each member the modest sum of £40 for the day (including a simple breakfast and sandwich lunch). Our hosts were excellent company, and we have since learned that all seven who participated wish to join the Aero, including the two ladies - a 100% recruiting success. The Committee will discuss at the forthcoming committee meeting on 30 July how we benefit from this experience in the future.
Cha-Cha-Cha competition format (also known as 1-2-3 Best Ball)
The Cha Cha Cha is played as a team Stableford competition and involves a three-hole rotation, with each player playing every hole as normal. On the first hole, the highest points score in the team is counted as the team score; on the second hole, the two highest points scores are combined as the team score, and on the third hole, all three points scores combined make up the team score; the process starts over on the fourth hole, and subsequently on 7th, 10th, 13th and 16th holes. The competition is won by the team with the highest total Stableford score after 18 holes.
Aero GS v Royal Navy GS - 2 July 24
The longstanding 12 a-side fixture against the RNGS was, for the second year in succession, held at Hayling Golf Club, where we were hosted extremely well by the clubhouse, catering and professional staff. The Aero were in the fortunate position of having sufficient volunteers to help the RNGS who, unusually, were struggling for numbers, and Tom Cox (an ex Fleet Air Arm pilot) kindly agreed to play for them.
We were blessed with a gentle breeze which freshened during the round, but as always at Hayling, it was the rough, semi-blind drives and approach shots and the speed of the greens that were there to catch the unwary. With several members of the Aero never having played the course before, it was both a delight and challenge.
In spite of some close fought matches it was the RNGS who eventually came out victorious retaining the Perfect Green Trophy by a margin of four to two.
Given the popularity of the venue we agreed to hold the match at Hayling again in 2025 - we look forward to seeing you there and wrestling back the trophy.