News Archive

25 March 2025 - Huntercombe

v St John's Cantab

The Hall v St John’s (Cantab) at Huntercombe G C on 25th March was, as ever, the opening fixture of the AGS season. Due mainly to an outrageous Stableford score of 44 points by a member of the opposition, the Hall came second with a creditable aggregate score that would have won the match in previous years. The best 7 Hall scores out of 10 to count were : Nigel Banks 39, Chris Atkinson 36, Peter Jones 36, Peter Lever 35, Neil James 34, Andrew Beardmore 32, Tony Moore 31.

17 April 2025 - The Berkshire

Spring Meeting

The Red Course was in early-spring condition and more challenging than in some years. Nonetheless, Richard Grainger, in his debut appearance, clocked up an impressive 39 points to win the Atkinson Trophy. Adrian Haxby, our generous and ever genial host, was runner-up with 35 points and in equal third place with 34 were Chris Atkinson, Nigel Banks and Tony Moore.

18 June 2025 - The Richmond

Summer Meeting

The Summer Meeting was generously hosted once again by David Ashworth. From a somewhat diminished field, Clive Penwarden emerged the winner of the Richmond Trophy with 34 points on countback from Chris Atkinson, with Adrian Haxby and Simon Staite joint third just one point behind. TRGC’s renowned roast beef & Yorkshire pud, washed down with a generous quantity of ‘Chateau Dash’, completed another delightful Richmond event.

17th July 2025 - West Herts GC

The Hall v Fitzwilliam, Challenge Cup

The headline has to be : ‘For the first time in 15 years, a Victory for The Hall’. Although this annual contest has been halved on a number of occasions, allowing Fitzbilly to retain the FitzHall Cup and Winning Captain’s Red Jacket, The Hall has been unable to secure an outright victory since 2010! In this year’s match-play contest, we sneaked in with 2 wins, 1 loss and 4 halves.

22nd August 2025 - Studley Wood GC

AGM Meeting

The day was noted more for the quality of those attending than the quantity! However, and needless to say, a great day was enjoyed by all, especially Andrew Beardmore whose 37 points made him the clear winner of The Aularian Jigger, and Simon Staite and David West who were runners-up. One of the highlights of meeting was Adrian Haxby’s longest drive at the 18th hole measuring an extraordinary 290 yards!

At a brief AGM, Chris Atkinson announced that, after 20 years, he was handing over the reins of the AGS, at the end of the season, to Adrian Haxby. He expressed his delight that Adrian had agreed to succeed him and the future of the Society could not be in better hands. In typically generous fashion, Adrian thanked Chris for his devotion to the AGS over so many years and how he was looking forward next year with much anticipation.

It is to be hoped that, under new management, the attendance at the AGM will increase next year to at least the minimum required for dining in the Halll, particularly the prestigious Old Library.

3 October 2025 - Studley Wood GC

OU Inter-Collegiate Match

14 October 2025 - Beaconsfield GC

Season Finale & Collers Cup

OU Inter-Collegiate Match

This format has grown out of our traditional four-way match with St Catz, Pembroke and Worcester. This year Christ Church and Merton joined us and next year two others will be invited. Thereafter it is hoped to expand still further – watch this space.

So, this year’s six-way match involved some 45 players and a two-tee start. At the end of rather a long day, Christ Church were declared the victors and winners of the Hennessey Cup. The Hall finished in a mid-field position – enough said!

Season Finale

The Finale Meeting, as always, provided a grand end to the AGS season. Jerry Gray kindly took over the management of the event and was faultless – except for being absent on the day! Ian Durrans with 38 points was declared the winner on count-back from runner-up Simon Staite – with Nigel Banks, John Gove and David McCammon sharing 3rd place. Everyone agreed the course was in fine condition; the BGC ham/egg & chips were as much appreciated as ever, and, to cap it all, Adrian Haxby was presented with the Collers Cup, by Collers himself, for amassing he highest aggregate number of Stableford points throughout the season. What a fitting end to another highly enjoyable year of AGS golf and friendship.

14th October, 2024 - Season Finale of the Race to Beaconsfield

Beaconsfield GC

Seventeen AGS members gathered at Beaconsfield for the 2024 Finale Meeting. Such an uneven number had to be split into three 3 balls and two 4 balls thereby producing two team competitions as well as the individual contest, won by David West with a splendid score of 37 points. The Finale is also the occasion on which the Collers Cup is presented, by Collers himself, to the member who scored the most points in his best three rounds of the season - congratulations to Andrew Beardmore, this year's winner. We were fortunate to have chosen one of the very few dry days in October, at a great golf club, in fine condition for the time of year and offering their excellent, traditional ham, eggs & chips!

4th October, 2024 - Match Vs. ST CATZ, PEMBROKE AND WORCESTER

STUDLEY WOOD GC

The AGS team was hit on the eve of this quadrangular tournament by the absence of inspirational Skipper, Chris Atkinson, laid low by Covid. Nevertheless, Simon Staite screeched into the car park in time for us to set forth intact from the first tee in optimistic mood.

We found a different Studley Wood to the one presented in August, then firm, long-running and relatively benign. This one was a brute, the fairways absorbing balls with little bounce, the rough covetous, the ponds huge and avaricious, all overlaid with a spiteful crosswind.

Sadly, our desire to “do it for the Skip” was marginally overwhelmed by a collection of very low handicaps amongst the opposition. The cream of AGS remained resolutely at the bottom, whilst Worcester prevailed, one of its team also winning the individual prize with 36 points.

Ken Hinkley-Smith unfortunately retired hurt during the round, but there were creditable performances from Peter Lever and Clive Penwarden (both 29 points). We welcomed new boy Ian Taylor (1976) who easily slotted into the banter and vowed to return. David West and Jerry Gray completed the AGS team, which will seek to rise to the top next year.

23rd August 2024 - Aularian Golf Society Summer Meeting & AGM

Studley Wood Golf Club

For a change, we were blessed with fine weather, and the Studley Wood course was in excellent condition for our AGM on 23rd August.

The prizewinners in the individual contest were;

1st - John 'Collers' Collingwood 38 points

2nd - Chris Atkinson - 36

3rd - Jeremy Charles - 35

4th - Jerry Gray - 34

The winners of the team prizes were;

1st - Jerry Gray, Chris Atkinson, Jeremy Charles & Ken Hinkley-Smith

2nd - David Ashworth, John Dennis, Mike Simmie & John 'Collers'

3rd - Nick Harley, David West, Peter Jones & Chris Hockey

Following the golf, members retired to the Hall for a re-acquaintance with the Buttery, a fizz reception around The Well and a splendid dinner in the Old Library. The dinner venue was made possible through the support of a Fellow of the College, Jeremy Charles, whom we were delighted to welcome as a new member of the AGS. All present agreed that the whole day had been a highlight of the season.

11th July 2024 - Match vs Fitzwilliam, Cambridge

Stowe School

AGS - '24 - Fitz Hall - Pic 5_edited.jpg

This year’s annual match versus FitzBilly (Cantab) was held at Stowe School, near Buckingham on 11th July. The Hall suffered a couple of late withdrawals but one was replaced by a local ringer, Steve Whitby, so we went into battle one light. All players were impressed the layout and fine condition of the new Stowe golf course and some excellent competition took place on an untypical warm and dry summer’s day!

The four-ball-better-ball match was drawn 3 matches each :

Chris Atkinson beat Pete Bennett & Mike Hammett (Stableford scoring)
Neil James & Peter Jones lost to John Uwins & Jon Pritchard
Jerry Gray and Ken Hinkley-Smith beat Andrew Garden & Paul Fairweather
David Ashworth & David McCammon lost to Graham May & Stuart Lester
Peter Lever & Simon Staite lost to Colin Dunkerley & Brian Smith
Nigel Banks & Steve Whitby beat Robin Winckless & Nigel Smethers.

Following the match, a late lunch was served in the glorious State Music Room of Stowe House, the former home of the Dukes of Buckingham - an impressive way to end a very different golfing experience!

19th June 2024 - Summer Meeting

The Richmond Golf Club

The society celebrated the sudden appearance of summer on 19th June, with a gathering of 12 members at The Richmond G C for the Society's Summer Meeting. The course was in fine condition and the hospitality, so generously provided by David Ashworth, was as superb as ever, including as much roast beef as one could consume.

John 'Collers' Collingwood presented the prizes to :

1. Chris Atkinson 36 points - Winner of The Richmond Trophy

2. Peter Smith 35 points - Runner-up on his debut appearance

3. Andrew Beardmore 34 points - AGS's answer to DeChambeau!

The Team Prize went to : Chris Atkinson, Andrew Beardmore, John Collers and Chris Hockey.

'The Longest Drive' at the 18th hole went to Peter Lever 'Nearest the Pin' on the 8th was not awarded - no one found the green!

Everyone expressed thanks to David 'Dash' Ashworth for setting up the meeting and paying for all drinks, including a fine Burgundy to go with the beef. Altogether, a most enjoyable and memorable Aularian occasion.

10th April 2024 - Spring Meeting

The Berkshire Golf Club

The eagerly awaited season-opener at The Berkshire took place on 10th April but was sadly deserted by the usual glorious weather, which affected numbers. It rained all afternoon through a bitter wind and the hot showers afterwards proved so popular that David “Dash” Ashworth was fished out by the RNLI.

Nevertheless, eleven men and true set forth on the long and difficult Red course; sadly, only ten returned, with Mike “Cymbals” Simmie throwing in his soaking-wet towel halfway round after one-too-many “blobs”! They had been joined in the clubhouse earlier for coffee and breakfast rolls by the venerable Richard McCullogh and Gerald Barber and new member Keith Spicer was warmly welcomed.

Nick Harley hosted the day admirably. Sandwiches and prizes were presented afterwards, with Ian Durrans winning the coveted Atkinson Claret Jug for the first time with an unrivalled 32 points in the gruelling conditions. Second and third places were filled by Clive Penwarden and Andrew Beardmore respectively and the team prize went to Clive Penwarden, Nick Harley and Jerry Gray.

21st March 2024 - Match vs St John's, Cambridge

Huntercombe Golf Club

The society's season opener, the annual match versus St John's, took place at the fantastic Huntercombe Golf Club, resulting in a narrow(ish) defeat for the Hall.

Despite a couple of strong scores on the Hall team (David West and Peter Lever both contributing 38 points), we couldn't compete with St John's strength in depth on the day and they triumphed with 238 points to the Hall's 226.

The next meeting of the Society coincides with the week of the Masters at Augusta, and a great day's golf is expected at the Berkshire on 10th April.

25th October 2023 FINALE MEETING - Beaconsfield Golf Club

Fifteen Aularians signed up for the 2023 Finale Meeting at Beaconsfield G.C. on Wednesday 25th October. Murky weather on arrival soon gave way to a bright autumnal day and a golf course in excellent condition.

As the AGM in August was rained off, the Finale featured competition for the Aularian Jigger as well as the traditional award of the Collers Cup. The latter being presented to the AGS member who had scored the highest aggregate number of points in 3 out of the 5 qualifying fixtures.