The 2018 Gerald Micklem Trophy

22 March 2018

Gerald Micklem was one of the most remarkable amateur golfers in the history of the game of golf.  Throughout his long and distinguished career, he served with great distinction as player, captain, selector and administrator.  Gerald reached his prime as a golfer in the post-war years of the late 1940s and 1950s during which he played four times in the Walker Cup and for ten years as a key member of the England team in the Home Internationals.  He won the English Amateur Championship in 1947 and 1953 and altogether some sixty scratch medals,match play titles and competitions in both singles and foursomes.
Gerald Micklem was an outstanding member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and served on many of its principal committees from 1946 to 1971, was captain in 1968 and was made an Honorary Member in 1982. He played a pivotal role in the administration of golf and was a true visionary of what was best for the game, most notably in the promotion of the Open Championship.  Internationally he was a highly respected figure, particularly in the United States.
The Gerald Micklem Trophy was inaugurated in 1954 and is a traditional and extremely prestigious invitational golf tournament played at Woking Golf Club every year between eight of the top Public Schools. Each year we compete against Eton, Harrow, Wellington, Charterhouse, Rugby, Bradfield and Winchester with Stowe still holding the record of winning the Micklem more times than any other school. 
This year our team of five was led by Captain, Pierse Odell (Upper Sixth Grenville) and consisted of Lochie Shillington (Lower Sixth, Grafton), James Watkins (Lower Sixth, Grafton), Max Smith (Fifth Form, Cobham) and Stowe’s inaugural Golf Scholar Max Faulkner (Third Form, Temple). Following a solid and well earned 4-1 victory against the Old Stoic Golf Society, we entered the first round of the championship in good spirits and capitalised with a magnificent 5-0 win over Rugby. We then progressed to the semi final and faced an experienced Charterhouse – superb wins by Max Faulkner, Pierse Odell and Max Smith paved our journey to the final.  We then came up against Wellington – currently ranked number one golfing school in the UK – and took them to the wire eventually losing 2-3.  Special mention must go to Max Faulkner, who beat Wellington’s No.1 player 3-2, along with Max Smith, who recorded a superb 2-1 victory against Wellington’s captain who played off a handicap of +1.
Although we didn’t quite manage victory, I was extremely proud of the Stoics throughout a very intense tournament at Woking – they were all a real credit to both themselves and Stowe.  This fine performance caps off a superb run of Lent Term results – our Senior 1st team secured wins against Radley, Rugby and Harrow.