Triangular Match Report

North Hants GC hosted the annual Triangular match between Wessex/Hampshire/Sussex and the course was in superb condition given the dry weather experienced lately.

After meeting and greeting, the teams were briefed and playing orders agreed with a two tee start. The players set off in their normal 3 balls, one player from each region. There were some monster drives with plenty of run in the dry conditions but plenty of bunkers to trap the wayward balls. The well manicured greens then proved a great challenge with not only pace but also subtle slopes. Everyone had to keep their scores to themselves.

Returning to the clubhouse, everyone freshened up and sat down for the meal, initially the captains nominated 4 of their team to share their scores. The main course arrived and conversations and stories were shared. Then another 4 scores were shared and the current order calculated. In 3rd place were Hampshire, 2nd were Sussex and some consistent scores put Wessex well in the lead but as anyone who has played in this format knows, it can all change very quickly as the lowest scores drop off!

Into the desert course and another set of scores were disclosed meaning the lowest would drop off as it was the best 8 to count – after 9 Wessex and Sussex were unchanged but Hampshire rose to be closer to Sussex.

Another set of results shared and Hampshire gained more points again but so did Sussexx and Wessex so the overall positions stayed the same.

With the 10th set of results shared Hampshire continued their revival with a big jump but there were small rises for both Sussex and Wessex. With one set let to disclose what would happen?

With the final totals calculated, Sussex remained the same on 244 points, Hampshire had another big jump and leapfrogged into 2nd place with 250 points but the strength and consistent scores of the Wessex team left them comfortably in top slot with 261 points – congratulations to everyone a well deserved result which leaves Alastair Baldwin’s Wessex team unbeaten in all fixtures in 2026.

Overall Winners – Wessex
Best Overall Individual Score – Gary Salt (Sussex – 37 pts)
Best Wessex Individual Score – Mike Allen 36 pts

Thanks go to the team at North Hants for a superb day – Wessex will be the host in 2027.