George Eve presenting the Robinson Silver Salver to David Dunn & Chris Walker

Spring in Norfolk

You don’t have to be hardy to play Spring golf at Royal West Norfolk, Brancaster in April – but it helps. On the one hand, we found that if you lean backwards into a fifty miles per hour wind, it will support your weight and be comfortingly relaxing until the gust drops and you recoil backwards.

On the other hand, a driver may not be enough club to reach four of the par threes. Yet, with barely a drop of rain, the sun shining occasionally, and the magnificent terrain encouraging you to play a greater variety of golf shots than most of us have in our bag, Royal West Norfolk is a course that should be on every golfer’s bucket list.

We were hosted as always with great charm by George and Belinda Eve who also generously invited everyone to their house for champagne after the Saturday warm-up round(s) and before the evening meal. There, before the champagne had a chance to kick in, we openly drew the pairings for the next day’s foursomes: one high handicap player partnering a low handicapper.

OEGS members relaxing in the Brancaster clubhouse before ‘tackling’ the outstanding Norfolk links course

On Sunday, we played for the Peter Robinson silver salver: David Stewart with David Burt, Andrew Sherwood with Colin Farrant, Peter Henley with his brother Ian, and Chris Walker with David Dunn, the latter pair winning the trophy with 29 points.

This event is amazingly sociable. Wives and partners are welcome, golf is arranged (if you wish to play) on Friday afternoon at another championship course (Hunstanton), and there is a proposal henceforth to make the date of the Spring meeting later in the year, thereby ensuring longer, lighter evenings if not guaranteeing windless, rainless, balmy days.