Sidmouth juniors going from strength to strength

4 September 2026

It’s been quite a summer for Sidmouth Golf Club’s flourishing Junior Section.

The club’s junior coaching has been a huge success, numbers are growing and, judging by some of the golf being played, there are some very promising youngsters coming through.

That was demonstrated in some style when the Juniors took on the Seniors in the first-ever match between the two sections.

Captained by Archie Griffiths, the youngsters ran out 4–3 winners to become the inaugural holders of the Wilmington Trophy.

It was a cracking day, with some excellent golf, plenty of competitive spirit and the inevitable good-natured banter – together with, we suspect, one or two creative explanations from the losing side.

The Seniors now have a year to work out how to win their trophy back. Although, strictly speaking, they never had it in the first place!

To be fair to them, however, the Seniors have been tremendous supporters of the Junior Section and recently presented it with a hugely generous £1,000 gift.

Their support has helped provide sets of junior clubs and means we can also help youngsters with the cost of entering events elsewhere, giving them more opportunities to play competitive golf away from Sidmouth.

Behind all of this has been the tremendous success of the club’s junior coaching throughout the summer.

Huge credit must go to PGA Professional Duncan Arnold, Lester Wilmington, Neil Holland and Mick Crane, together with their merry band of volunteer helpers, who have put a huge amount of time and effort into making the sessions work.

And work they clearly have. We now have a thriving group of youngsters learning the game, improving their golf and, most importantly, enjoying themselves.

There’s plenty more to do, but junior golf at Sidmouth is in a very good place – and long may it continue.