Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street DH3 3PW
News from the club
Durham Cuthbert, our team in the CN GC League Division 3, played their final match of the season away to Alnmouth, where they prevailed by 10½ games to 7½ to complete a full set of 5 wins for the 2025 season
Many thanks to team captain Kathleen and the players who contributed to this excellent result.
We welcomed Bishop Monkton on Wednesday 21 May for our annual home friendly against a team from a village just south of Harrogate.
It was teams of 8 playing 7 rounds of 4 doubles matches strictly timed at 35 minutes each, with victory decided on the total number of hoops scored by each side. The play arrangements ensured that each played partnered each of their teammates just once and opposed each opponent at most twice.
Using two greens meant two matches starting at opposite corners of each green, so inevitably the two matches on same green bumped into each other, which often meant one of them diverting to another hoop out of the normal sequence to ensure continuous play.
So very much a fun day. Durham used our home advantage well to maintain a generally increasing lead, and at the end of the day Durham prevailed 132 – 100.
A continuous supply of tea, coffee and biscuits were available throughout the day, followed, as tradition will have it, by cake at the end.
Many thanks to all who took part in a very enjoyable day.
The return fixture is due to take place on 9 July.
Our Division 1 squad had mixed fortunes in the first two CN League matches of the season.
The first match was away to Alnmouth Blues which we lost 7-11. The hospitality was great as usual, but it did not make up for the challenging non-flatness of the lawns, which some of us struggled with throughout. Many thanks to Arthur, Nigel, Peter, and Roger for showing the flag.
The next match was at home to Bamburgh on lawns that were dry and very fast (and level). The team of Andrew, Peter, Roger, and William took home advantage to heart and came a way with a 16½ – 1½ win.
Many thanks to all members of the squad.
Con gratulations to our team of Arthur, Kathleen, Natalie, and Richard on winning their final Division 3 League match against Tyneside 13½ – 4½.
In the final league table, every team, bar Tyneside, won 3 matches and lost 2, so that the ranking was decided on games won. On this basis Durham came second behind Alnmouth.
Congratulations all round.
We had a very enjoyable John Cotes Trophy day today (29 August)., with arm sunshine for most of the afternoon. After some very competitive matches the eventual winner was Peter Tymms, who beat Kathleen Penrose in the final. The Plate competition was won by George Cansino in a novel extremely tight 3-way 1-ball competition.
Congratulations to everyone who took part and especially those who provided the tasty morsels that kept us all going.
We have our final home league match on Saturday 31 August when the second team will be hosting Alnmouth. Consequently there will be no roll-up play, although spectators and cheerleaders will, of course, be welcome.
Our first team played its final Division 1 match in the Croquet North GC League away against Bamburgh on Friday 23 August.
Fortunately the wet weather had disappeared by the time we arrived, but the strong winds continued (with lots of sun) for the rest of the day,
Unfortunately, it took our team of Andrew, Dave, Nigel, and William a good while to get used to the lawns at Bamburgh, so that we comprehensively lost the first two sessions (although all the games were very close). Thereafter we had the better of the the results, but not enough to overcome the deficit, so that we lost the match 10½ – 7½.
Many thanks to Bamburgh for their hospitality, especially the excellent home-made scones topped with home-made Scottish(!) raspberry jam.
The 2024 tournament for the John Cotes Trophy (knock-out handicap) will, take place on Thursday 29 August starting promptly at 1.30 pm.
Please note that this is a member-only competition.
Firstly, we are at home to Belsay in Division 1 on Saturday 27 July, so there will be no club play that day.
We have had two matches scheduled in the last week,. The first was on Wednesday 17 July also in Division 1 away to Alnmouth, where, our team of Arthur, Dave, Malcolm, and Peter narrowly lost 11-7.
The second was due to be played away to Tyneside in Division 3 on Saturday 20 July, but had to be postponed due to a break-in at their pavilion on the Friday night. The match is due to be re-arranged later in the season.
Our quarter-final match in the 2024 Murphy Shield competition took place against Chester on Thursday 18 July on their lawns at Westminster Park, Chester.
The morning session ended all square with each side winning one of the singles and the double being tied at one game each with the3 deciding game being deferred to later if necessary.
The afternoon matches also finished even 2-2, so with the match tied at 3-3 it was necessary to play the deciding game in the doubles. This turned out to be a tense affair with both sides ganging and losing advantage, but Chester eventually prevailed 7-5 and so go on to meet Watford in the semi-final.
Many thanks to Chester for their warm hospitality (and for providing very warm weather too), and to Andrew, Nigel, Roger and William for making up the team.