An excellent BUDA, despite being cut short.
Many thanks to Tony. Thanks also to Richard Latham, who gave a really interesting talk on Saturday evening.
I warmed a bit to the Hotchkin but remain entirely unconvinced by the Bracken.
Congratulations to Captain Lou Duran and his team.
Thanks Mark. As always, Tony did a great job of putting everything together and emceeing the event. In the midst of a historic 10 or so days surrounding the Queen's passing, the Buda was conducted respectfully without compromising the competitive spirit of match play. Capt. Gamble's comments preceding the group dinner on Saturday regarding the Queen's unprecedented longevity as a British monarch and calming worldwide influence struck a perfect note. Thanks Conrad.
I was also impressed with Richard's passion, candor, and apparent willingness to entertain ideas and constructive suggestions. In an industry where thin skin is too often encountered, his presentation and follow-up Q & A were a breath of fresh air.
Re: the two Woodhall Spa courses, Hotchkin is more than my game can handle. I did find the Bracken to be an interesting contrast and an enjoyable relief course. I mentioned to Richard that if someone had told me beforehand that one of the two courses had been renovated by Tom Doak and I did not know which one, I'd bet the farm that it was Bracken. It was not the first time he had heard that.
My role as Captain was rather simple with the concurrence and cooperation of my counterpart: vary the partners and opponents as much as the tee sheet and time constraints allowed. Congratulations to all. Hopefully, most enjoyed their matches.
Lastly, I hope that future events will draw more Newbies. Of the 22 players who participated, Enno was my only new acquaintance. A few of us are getting on in years, making travel more difficult. Meeting people face-to-face is a much better way of enjoying the many benefits offered by golfclubatlas.com. It certainly fosters better understanding of comments made in the DG segment, not to say anything about the many warn relationships also developed. Important gatherings such as the King Putter and the Dixie Cup have lost their momentum and might be hard to resurrect. Let's not allow this to happen to the Buda.
Thanks again to all!