The provenance of the Tri-Service Golf Tournament goes back to the mid-1990s when the computer industry giant DEC (which was also known under the name of DIGITAL) sponsored a 4-way competition between the 3 Services and themselves. Sponsorship of the event has since changed hands, via Hewlett-Packard, and is currently under the joint custodianship of Steria and VMware. Targetting predominantly senior officer communications specialists in the MOD, the event brings together the J6 community in a highly competitive sporting arena. The tournament is not recognised by either the RAF Sports Board or the RAFGA.

After several years of successful captaincy at this event (see former winners), RAFGA Chairman Air Cdre Tim Bishop handed over the reins this year to Dep Chairman Gp Capt 'Q' Dixon. Possibly unsurprisingly, the Chairman retained his place in the 10-man team which was drawn from a variety of players working in HQ Air Cmd, DE&S, MOD HQ and DIO. The selected venue was an old favourite of the event, Old Thorns GC near Liphook in Hampshire, which specialises in catering for corporate golf by means of excellent hotel and meeting facilities. The Peter Alliss-designed golf course ain't bad either!

A morning 9-hole Texas Scramble was the warm-up for the afternoon's main event when all 10 team members' stableford scores contributed to the overall team score. Although individual scoring was relatively modest (but consistent across the team-sheet), the RAF was able win the Trophy by a narrow margin from the Navy. Notable for his performance was 'new-boy' Sqn Ldr Andy Wilson who was in overall individual 3rd place, on count-back, with 34 points on the difficult set-up course. Former member of the RAF and the voice of golf, Peter Alliss, was in the clubhouse afterwards to reminisce over military golfing memories.

In accepting the heaviest trophy in history, pictured below in pride-of-position in an HQ Air Cmd trophy cabinet, 'Q' Dixon noted the fierce yet amicable competition, threw down the gaunlet to the other Services for next year and thanked the continuing generosity of the sponsors, Steria and VMware. As a result of the RAF victory, a donation of £1200 was made to our chosen charity, the RAFBF.

Words: Neil Flather