On Wednesday 1^st June we revisited a South Coast Golf Tour favourite – The 5 Rings Telecom company golf day at Gatton Manor Golf Club. Yes, they loved the last five years as a fixture on the Tour so much that they came back again, and the sixth year was just a successful as the first five.

The Mystery Ball

Additional games are an anticipated feature of the 5 Rings Telecom company golf days, and this year was no different with all teams taking part in ‘The Mystery Ball’. Players take it turns, hole by hole, to use the coloured ball. The aim of the game is to score the most points using this ball – before you lose it of course! And some teams went to great lengths to avoid the embarrassment of losing their mystery ball, see Ian MacKendrick from Frenkel Topping wading through the weeds to find his. Despite his best efforts his team still fell behind, leaving it to Peter Raynsford (5 Rings Telecom), Harvey Osler (ODT Solicitors), Chris Sewell (Active Information Systems Ltd) and Trevor Weare (Active Information Systems Ltd) to take the prize.

The winners

Congratulations to Adam Westwood (Titan Scaffolding) who was two points clear of second place Abee Hameed (Ashtead Stores) and third place Nick Dumbleton (ETI.) Not only did he impress in the individual competition but he helped his teammates Jason Harfield (Orion Lightning Protection) and Ian MacKendrick (Frenkel Topping) rise to the top of the team competition. Being home to the longest hole in the South East of England, a back-breaking 645 yard, Gatton Manor provides the opportunity for a unique competition, ‘The Longest Drive’. As players lined up to hit the ball as far as they could down the fairway, this year it was Tony Harvey (Dynamic Cloud Services) who was able to beat last year’s winner, our very own Tour Director, David Fluke. See all of the results from the day here.

Next time…

Round four of the 2016 South Coast Golf Tour will take place on Tuesday 21^st June at Piltdown Golf Club for the UHY Hacker Young and uPhotogifts joint company golf day. Secure your place for Tuesday 21st June at Piltdown Golf Club today or contact David on 07881 810847 or via david@sc-golf.co.uk to find more about how becoming part of the South Coast Golf Tour could benefit your business.

Their philosophy is ‘It’s all about the service…’ and that is why if you had phoned 5 Rings Telecom on Friday 19^th June your call would have still been answered within five rings, despite some key members of the team being out on the fairways at Gatton Manor Golf Course in Surrey. Yes, Round Three of the 2015 South Coast Golf Tour played host to the 5 Rings Telecom Company Golf Day and with it came some valuable business building opportunities, some sporting competition and some interesting golfing attire – we really must sort out that best dressed award!

The Longest Drive

With Gatton Manor home to the longest hole in South East England at 645 yards, it was the perfect opportunity to set up a longest drive competition – and boy was it long. It was all in the swing as players lined up to whack the ball as hard and as far as they could down the fairway, but in the end it was our very own Tour Director, Dave Fluke, who was able to go the distance. Better luck next time folks.

The Magic Ball

The aim of the game here is to take turns within each team to use the magic ball so that someone is playing it on every hole and, crucially, to make sure you still have it at the end of the round. The dedication to the cause was remarkable, with teams searching high and low, desperate to bring their magic ball home. Stephen Hollamby from Bennett Griffin even waded barefoot into what can only be described as a swamp to retrieve his team’s ball, only to discover afterwards that it wasn’t theirs at all. At the end of the day only five out of 13 magic balls survived the course and the one with the winning score belonged to Ian Ward from Symonds and Reading, Sarah Jewell from ALC Health, Henry Osler from ODT Solicitors, and Tony Harvey from Dynamic Cloud Services.

5 Rings on the 18^th Hole

Along with many great traditions from their five years on the South Coast Golf Tour, this year saw the return of the 5 Rings 18^th Hole Challenge. Yes, this literally involves trying to hit your ball so that it lands inside or touching one of five plastic rings placed out on the 18^th hole. But after much concentration and some agonisingly close calls, no-one was up to the challenge – do you have the skill to take on the rings next year? The 1^st place tour member for Round Three was Keir McCarthy from HRS Recruitment winning Golf for Four at Gatton Manor Golf Club, a bottle of Lanson Champagne and Port. It’s not too late to get involved in the 2015 South Cast Golf Tour with the next stop being Wildwood Golf Club for the Orion Lightning Protection Client Hospitality Day – secure your place for the 10^th July now. For more information on how the Tour could benefit your business call Claire on 07801 295681 or email claire@sc-golf.co.uk