The Men's Club Championship at Aquarius Golf Club in Honor Oak brought the 2026 Major season to a close last weekend. Congratulations to Matt Davies, who won the Stringer Trophy for the most top six finishes across the season.
All trophy winners, men's and ladies', will be celebrated at Presentation Day on Saturday 28 November, running through the afternoon and early evening with a good old Aquarius party. Please save the date.
Below, Sunny Sharma, our Competitions and Handicaps Secretary, looks back on a summer full of great golf and even better stories.
The Stories Behind the Scorecards
Every season leaves its names on trophies, but the Majors make familiar golf feel different. The 1st tee carries more consequence, the back nine seems longer and one good round can become part of club memory.
This year brought debuts, sudden death finishes, a late eagle and a Club Championship that mattered well beyond the scorecards.
Finley Maplestone came home from university with the golf bug and promptly recruited his father, Gary. Both joined Aquarius, but Finley struck first, winning the Terry Greenwood with 38 Stableford points on his competitive debut.
Next came the Fred Private Shield, where former captain Pat Green found 41 Stableford points on a high scoring day. It was a reminder that experience can still tell when the field is strong.
The Maplestone story then gained a second chapter. Gary Maplestone tied with Bob Howlett in the Overhill Cup on nett 66, leaving sudden death to decide the winner. Gary held his nerve and, like his son, claimed a Major on his competitive debut.
Eric Richardson's Gordon Miller Putter victory told a story of rapid improvement. His handicap tumbled through the summer as his game became more consistent. Eric returned nett 61 to win convincingly.
The Bogey Cup produced another sudden death play off, with Paul Philip Atkinson, Roger Hughes and Sy Bekir refusing to be separated. Paul held his nerve to take the cup.
Then came the Ritchie Cup. Three players (Sunny Sharma, Jeremy Bloor and Steve Beard) sat on nett 62, waiting to begin a play off, while the final group made its way up the 18th. From around 70 yards, Eddie Ashworth pitched in for eagle to large cheers from an onlooking crowd. In a stroke, the expected play off disappeared and Eddie finished on nett 55.
Young talent coming through
The winners tell only part of the story. Just as important are the younger competitors making Aquarius their own. Competitive golf can seem closed from the outside: a handicap to obtain, cards to submit, rules to learn and the pressure of posting a score that counts. A healthy club makes that first step possible.
Charlie Harms, another recent university graduate back in south London, has played for fewer than two years. His first handicap card earned an initial World Handicap Index of 5.8. I played with him that day and watched his drive from the 5th tee pitch and roll down the bank into the bunker beside the 5th green, well over 300 yards and enough to rearrange one's idea of a decent tee shot. Charlie posted strikingly low nett scores in his first competitions and reached the final three of the Club Championship.
Junior member Harry Buckmaster's progress reflects an equally important part of the club's future. Many members will have seen him practising and playing around the course, steadily turning commitment into experience. Bob Howlett and Ray Morton encouraged him to gain a handicap and supported the cards that opened the door to competition. Harry then entered the Club Championship and returned an outstanding 39 points on day one.
That score reflected steady work and patient encouragement. Aquarius will support Harry with a complimentary weekly studio hour, helping him keep improving when shorter days make outdoor practice harder through the winter.
The Championship that meant more
The Club Championship is the season's longest test. This year, 46 players competed over two days in concurrent competitions: the Hutchings for scratch honours and the Mashie Stableford. Both were won decisively by Nigel Underwood.
Rounds of 70 and 69 gave Nigel a 139 total, seven over par across 36 holes. Aquarius had not seen such Championship scoring since club professional Richard Costello was collecting trophies through the 1990s and 2000s. In the Mashie, he followed 40 points with 41 for a total of 81. Imran Khakwani produced an outstanding 44 points on day two, but his opening 31 left him short.
In the Hutchings, Nigel overcame Grant Watson, a former professional who played on the Sunshine Tour and had won the Championship in each of the previous two years. Grant put in the hours on the chipping green in the days running up to the competition, which showed how much he wanted a third, but Nigel stayed in control.
For more than a decade, Nigel had been a familiar contender, close enough to imagine the trophy but often left wondering whether the moment had passed. The old line that he was always the bridesmaid and never the bride had become part of club folklore. This time, as the scoreboard updated in the bar as he made his way round, the teasing gave way to genuine goodwill. Perhaps this really was his year.
In his speech, Nigel said he could feel the positive energy radiating from around the course, including from Grant and Charlie, his closest competitors. Grant wanted to win but was gracious in defeat and generous towards Nigel. That matters: competition is about trying wholeheartedly to win, but sport is richer when we can also recognise what victory means to the other person.
As Nigel embraced his family and playing partners, the response went beyond ordinary applause. I'm sure I saw more than a few people cutting onions in the spectator gallery. The record will show a Hutchings and Mashie double, won with rare control and exceptional scoring. The fuller story is of perseverance rewarded and an individual achievement becoming a shared moment for the club.
There must be something in the water at Aquarius. The 2026 Majors gave us new competitors, a father and son double, sudden death drama, a 70 yard eagle and a champion whose moment had been a long time coming. The scorecards will be filed away. The stories will last longer.
Major season returns in 2027. It has a great deal to live up to.
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