N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College

Golf
We are incredibly fortunate to have such
a wonderful facility as our nine-hole golf
course. Anyone who has seen the way
that the course has developed over the
last eight years or so will realise the debt
we owe to Adam King and his staff, who
do a tremendous job. Week in, week out,
the greens are among the best in our area
and as the holes develop more character
– with the planting of trees, placement of
bunkers and facilitating of different levels
of rough – so it continues to evolve. With
the help of generous support from the OR
Golfing Society we have recently started
a programme of regular coaching – using
professionals from Huntercombe GC -
and being able to use some of the course
for this has been a huge benefit, especially
in the visualisation of shots. All boys
can benefit from the coaching, which
generally takes place in pairs, roughly
matched on ability; the boys are e-mailed
the details about this a few weeks in
advance.
As with all sports at Radley we play on a
competitive circuit with regular fixtures
against Wellington, Eton, Marlborough,
Bradfield etc. The seniors play at least
sixteen matches per year and the juniors
(mainly Removes and Shells) about eight.
One of the highlights of the year is the
West of England trophy at Burnham-and-
Berrow which takes place at the end of
the Lent term. We spend two nights down
at Burnham in a quality tournament
involving 8 strong sides – traditionally we
have an impressive record, although we
haven’t won the trophy since 2004. Last
term the seniors, led by Maxi Hamilton
(Elstree, G Social), had one of their
best starts to a season, winning the first
six matches. The first pair, Maxi and
Henrik Boris-Möller (Svaneskolan, Lund,
Sweeden, G Social), recorded a notable
victory over the first pair from Wellington
- both scratch players. The juniors are
also developing into a fine squad with the
likes of Keith Seward (Hereward House,
B Social) and Alex Wright (Caldicott, C
Social) pushing for a place in the top-side.
The coaching has had a most positive
impact on the club as a whole and, in
order to gain selection for one of the
teams, it is advisable for boys to have a
few lessons and try to fix up a game with
one of the regulars in the teams, especially
Tom Beasley (Abingdon Prep, B Social)
who is the Captain of Golf in his 6.1 year.
We are always on the lookout for new
talent and anyone who feels that they may
have slipped through the net should give
me a nod.
Like other minor sports, golf has to
compete for boys’ time and, in the course
of a busy term, it is not always easy for
everything to be fitted in. However, some
of our most successful golfers have often
played a number of other sports as well,
such as Tom Atkinson (Elstree, G Social)
and Tom McPhail (Dragon, H Social), the
latter being selected for the Swift’s tour to
America in 2005. Having said that, it is
always useful to have a core of players for
whom golf is their prime sport and it is
amazing how the old adage that ‘the more
they play the better they get’ rings true.
There was no better example of this than
Duncan Montgomery (Cothill, H Social)
(no relation to Colin!) who virtually
lived on the course and his handicap
plummeted from over 20 to scratch. I
hope that many others will get the ‘bug’
and follow his lead – it is a wonderful
game to get to know.
Harry Hammond,
Master in Charge of Golf
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NEWSLETTER Website: www.radley.org.uk . Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 . admissions@radley.org.uk
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