Brenda King Foursomes 2025 Bristol and Clifton
The venue at Bristol and Clifton is a beautifully mature and undulating parkland course. Regularly hosting England Golf events and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to stage our seniors Brenda King Foursomes here in 2025. This is our 6th year of running the tournament and with 70 pairs playing from 76 clubs from around the Uk, we were expecting a great tournament. The clubhouse although built in 1899 felt modern and spacious and during our stay was full of joy and laughter.
The practice day started with rain but soon brightened up and players came in with nothing but praise about the course and the layout. We were hoping for some great scores and the players didn’t disappoint. Lisa Cullinan and Sarah Cranton were back to defend their title which they won for the first time at Belton Park in 2024. They went into the lead on Day 1 by 1 shot on 75 from Aileen Greenfield and Karen Sykes 76 closely followed by Welsh senior internationals Deborah Howard and Julie Thomas on 77.
The Nett competition saw newcomers Julie Matthews and Hilary Tarleton to Brenda King take a 1 shot lead on 70 from Jayne Crooks and Ann Lyon on 71. Julie and Hilary only decided to play at the last minute. Having been to the Northern Foursomes earlier in the season and committee member Debbie Finch told them about our event. They hadn’t played competitive golf for quite some time so this was going to prove a test for them both. They proved that it was still there and were looking forward to Day 2. The dinner proved a great success with Bootleg Barlow taking to the stage after Bingo and dinner. Everyone commented on the standard of food and how delicious and beautifully presented it was. What can I say about Gary, it was brilliant and within minutes we were all up dancing and thank you to Leanne Disney (Abba Party girl) for being our very own Lulu. We danced and sang the night away and comments were “we’ve never had a night like that before at the club”.
Day 2 and we were all ready for the final round. A few with sore heads, but this didn’t seem to deter anyones enthusiasm to get back out on the course and improve their scores. The weather was kind again and the sun shone. It was going to be a close battle for the the top places in both the Gross and Nett. With trophies to be won we all looked forward to some scores being returned. The greens ran true and the course looked spectacular and it all came down to a few putts and steady play from the overall winners.
Huge congratulations go to Lisa and Sarah defending their title to take the Brenda King Salvers for the 2nd year in succession with a total gross score of 154. Runners up with a score of 155 were Karen Sykes and Aileen Greenfield. The Nett was also close with Claire Smith and Ronnie Thorogood pipping our Day 1 leaders into top spot by 1 shot with a total Nett score of 143 from Julie Matthews and Hilary Tarleton.
What a great tournament this year and a massive thank you to Bristol and Clifton for giving up your course for 3 days. To all the volunteers who did a great job ball spotting and starting. To the green staff for presenting the course in such a wonderful condition To the catering and bar staff for keeping us fed and watered. The Lady Captain Karen Smith for being there all the time with a smile. Finally it would be remiss of me not to mention Alex Saunders, your wonderful Golf Operations Manager. You did an amazing job. Nothing was ever too much trouble and everything was so professional. What ever we asked for it was already done.
Thank you Bristol and Clifton Thank you so much. Andrea Stockdale ( on behalf of the committee) Bernie Barton, Debbie Finch, Fran Campbell, Terri Linskey, Karen White.