Essex Golf Union

Boys Under 14 Team

Keith Bass Trophy
Royal Norwich GC
20th August 2025

We travelled to the venue the day before for a practice round. There was a slight delay in leaving Essex due to late arrivals at the pick-up point. On arrival we had time for some food that had been pre-ordered on route. David March (County Coach) was able to give the players a quick prep talk before the practice round. It was agreed that we would play from the purple tees as we had not been informed of the tees to be used in the competition. The players were given notebooks if they did not have one.

David walked between the two groups giving them advice and tuition as and when required. There was a debrief with all the players and David, where the players raised questions regarding certain holes of concerns to them. The conditions were overcast with a light wind. We stayed locally overnight. 

On the morning of the competition, after breakfast, Nigel Thorne (Assistant Team Manager) gathered the players round the table with their notes and went through each hole, using the notes that had been made by David, raising any issues/concerns and discussing them as a team. When we got to the venue the players were given their start times and tokens for the driving range. They were instructed to warm up at least 20 to 30 minutes prior to their tee time.  They were being observed throughout the day by Lee Laughlin (County Coach). The weather was colder and windier the previous day and the competition was being played from the back tees (7209 yds). The matches were played in very good spirits.

Kaspian Sansom won the best individual gross score (78), we also had Ralph Barnett (79) and Thomas Peet (80) in the top four gross scores. Unfortunately, we came 2nd to Bedfordshire (474) by 2 shots, Norfolk (479) 3rd, and Suffolk (489) 4th. 

Lindsay Rungasamy, Essex U14 Team Manager

U14s vs Kent & Hertfordshire
Knebworth GC
17th August 2025

The day started off well as the players arrived at the pick-up points promptly and we made our way to the venue and after a brief warm up. Lunch was served and due to Hertfordshire wanting to leave straight after the match, speeches were made prior to the start of the match.

The players were given their starting tee times and advised to warming up just before their tee time. The players were reminded to hydrate as often as possible. The management team had plenty of provisions, which the players took advantage. The match was played in a very competitive and friendly manner.

We made a few early errors, in club selection and not accounting for wind conditions. Kent have been very strong this season and Hertfordshire had local knowledge as most of their players are coached by the county coaches at the location.

We lost heavily to both Hertfordshire and Kent but were very unlucky not to have halved a few games.
Essex 2 v Herts 6,   Essex 2 v Kent 6

Lindsay Rungasamy, U14 Team Manager

U14s vs Suffolk
Colchester GC
13th August 2025

The day started on a bad note as I had misread a couple of emails from parents and made an administrative error, leaving the team short of two players. It was agreed with the Suffolk team manager that the top two Essex players would player against two Suffolk players. The match was played with some games being fifty percent handicapped due to the difference in handicaps. All the games were played in a very friendly and competitive manner. The weather was not as hot as forecasted, it was still very warm and humid. This meant the players had to take on plenty of liquids.

Matthew Whitaker played against two Suffolk players, winning one and losing the other.
Kaspian Sansom played against two Suffolk players, winning one and halving the other.
Ewan Coleman won his game giving away two shots.
Dominic Tansley had a battle of a game, just losing, having given two shots.
Rikhil Kowlessur made his debut for the U14 and played a very steady game winning his game on the 18th hole.
Alister Lamey had a very hard-fought game and earned an honourable halve.

Essex retained the Anglian Shield with a score of 5 – 3

Lindsay Rungasamy, Essex U14 Team Manager

VIEW THE FULL RESULTS HERE

U14s vs Kent & Hertfordshire
Darenth Valley GC
27th July 2025

The day started off well as the players arrived at the venue and after a brief warm up. Lunch was served and the players were given their starting tee times and advised to warming up just before their tee time. The players were reminded to hydrate as often as possible. The management team had plenty of provisions, which the players took advantage. 

The match was played in a very competitive and friendly manner. There were a few early errors made by all three counties due to very firm ground conditions, with the ball take unexpected bounces.
We lost with Hertfordshire and were unlucky not to have halved a few games. The Kent players were very strong on the day.

Essex 2 v Herts 6

Essex 1 v Kent 7

Lindsay Rungasamy, U14 Team Manager

Kent Results                                               Hertfordshire Results
U14s vs Kent & Hertfordshire
Langdon Hills GC
29th June 2025

The day started off well as the players arrived at the venue and after a brief warm up, they were all asked to come inside in the shade as the temperature was getting close to low 30 degrees. Lunch was served and the players were given their starting tee times and advised to stay in the shade as much as possible in between warming up and teeing off. The players were reminded to hydrate as often as possible. The management team had plenty of fluids, chocolate, and fruit.

The match was played in a very competitive and friendly manner. There were a few errors made by all three counties due to the weather and very firm ground conditions, with the ball take unexpected bounces.

We drew with Hertfordshire and were unlucky in two games not to have halved them. The match against Kent was again close and we were unlucky not have halved one of the games.

Essex 4 v Herts 4, Essex 3 v Kent 5

Lindsay Rungasamy - Essex U14 Team Manager

U14s Friendly vs Middlesex
Stanmore Golf Club
9th April 2025

The team arrived early at Stanmore GC for a 1300hrs tee time. The players were able to warm up and prepare for their match. The start was played in reverse order as Middlesex were waiting for their top player who was caught in traffic. All the games were played in a friendly but competitive manner. The Essex players were made to fight for every hole ending up 6-2 winners in the this annual friendly event.  

U14s League Match vs Kent & Herts

Knebworth Golf Club
2nd July 2023

We arrived early at the venue only to be informed that the Tee times had been pushed back by an hour. We were met by Lee LAUGHLIN who gave the players some advice about the course and the conditions.

Despite the earlier set back, the players took full advantage of the extra time to practice and warm up. Those who had not played the course before were taken to one side by Lee, to make notes, using  his knowledge of the course. This proved invaluable during the matches. The players that had taken advantage of the practice round, made detailed notes, which they used on the course. The new players to the team adapted well to the format and were pleased to receive their county caps, which were worn with tremendous  pride.

After a full meal of roast chicken and trimmings, the matches were played in a competi tive spirit with all the teams, reluctant to concede a hole.

Kent put up a strong fight against the Essex players, losing 5 to 3. Herts struggled to compete with both Essex and Kent losing 6 to 2 in both matches.

This result places Essex in a strong position in the league. We have eight points and require a further half a point to earn a place in the September final.

 Junior Development Team vs Hertfordshire
Woodford Golf Club
31st May 2023

This was the first match of the season and for some their first match playing for the County. Having never been to Woodford Golf Club before, it was a delight to visit a club in the heart of London so full of history which retains its old-world charm. We were given a warm welcome with the members very interested as to what was being played. We were short of 2 boys on the day due to illness and not being able to get there so Hertfordshire put their top 2 boys out on their own to play against each other and the rest went out in handicap order receiving between 1 & 4 shots. The course was in good condition with holes that required thought as to what club they used and there were some interesting and challenging greens.

Half of Herts were under 14 boys, 2 under 13s, 1 under 12 and 1 under 11. The Essex boys were 1 under 14. 5 under 13 and the rest under 12s. The matches were played in good spirit and with the help of a few dads spotting balls, thank you to them and I’m pleased to say that Essex came out on top 5.5 to 3.5 – well done boys.

Many thanks to Woodford GC for the use of the course and catering, they said they would be happy to host the event every year and were very complimentary about all the boys. Many thanks to Bill Dunbar for his help and also to Sudip Roy the manager of Hertfordshire. 

Keith Bass Trophy
18th August 2022
Seckford Golf Club

Our County Under 14 Team managed to Win the  East Region Championship Team Shield with Charlie Rusbridge winning the Gross event overall meaning he wins the Keith Bass Trophy. Congratulations Team! 

The Anglian Shield
Newton Green Golf Club
10th August 2022

Essex Under 14s Won the Anglian Shield at Newton Green Golf Club,
beating Suffolk 5 1/2 to 3 1/2 in a well fought victory which saw some great sportsmanship and mutual respect between teams.

The day started well with all the players arriving on time at the venue, all were met by Marcus Radmore (County Coach). He briefed the team on the condition of the course and how it was likely to played and advised them accordingly. This was a challenging competition for the team as they were having to give shots away, between 5 and 11. Cards were prepared, with the shot holes indicated, and handed to the players. They were given plenty of liquids before going out to play. After warming up before their respective tee times they all had very good drives off the first, putting their opponents under pressure straight away. Most of the games were fairly close to start with, a couple of our players were actually down. The players showed their resilience and fought back. the matches we lost could have easily been halved but for some good golf by the opposition.

A deserved victory by the team, Full Match Details Here  

Essex Boys Under 14 Team winners of 
The Keith Bass Trophy at Eaton Golf Club, Norwich
20th Septemeber 2021

(Left to Right) Oliver George (Rochford Hundred), Alfie Dorrington (Bentley), Baillee Taylor (Colne Valley), Henry Linley (Romford), William Bailey (Warley Park), Charlie Croker (Thorndon Park), Charlie Rusbridge (Colne Valley), William Wright (Chelmsford), Oliver Brightman (Romford).