NEWS

Haig Cup 2025  19/10/25

Due to Bude Croquet Club’s league success, reaching two regional playoffs with consequent additional matches, the annual Haig Cup singles tournament was deferred to Sunday October 19^th which turned out to be a damp and miserable day.

The event started with four minileagues, with three games each for the sixteen competitors. The four group winners, all undefeated, were Martin French, Steve Thie, Val Langdown and Pete Cash, all coincidentally scoring eight more hoops than they conceded, indicating a tight contest would ensue.

As runners up, Helen North, Chris Ham, Keith Hansford and Shelley Collman also qualified for the quarter finals, with the remaining eight players going on to contest the subsidiary award.

With the sun now appearing spasmodically, conditions improved for the next stage which saw Martin French, Keith Hansford and Pete Cash secure narrow wins while Val Langdown made the most of her three point advantage handicap to skilfully and ruthlessly despatch her opponent7-2.

She fared less well in the semi final, despite an eight point advantage over Martin French who ultimately overhauled her for a hard fought 7-6 win. The other semi also went to 7-6, Pete Cash battling through on the thirteenth hoop to prevail against Keith Hansford.

The final was a fitting finale to the tournament. Martin French, with all his national and international experience, was unable to overcome Pete Cash’s five point advantage, and Pete, who only took up the sport a year ago and has had an incredibly successful debut season, crowned it all off with a stunning 7-3 win.

A superb season for the club culminated in Bude winning Croquet England’s prestigious Millennium Award for the most improved club in the country, a tremendous accolade for members’ outstanding commitment and achievement on and off the pitch. 

Bude Won the Croquet England Millennium Award for Clubs with 4+ Courts 11.10.25

Millennium Award is sponsored by Dennis Mowers

Bude Croquet Club has transformed disused tennis courts into four high-quality lawns, built a member-funded pavilion, and grown its playing membership from 21 to over 30 between 2022 and 2024. The club has strengthened coaching and refereeing, raised playing standards, and successfully entered two South West Federation League teams, with one topping its section. Alongside competitive progress, the club has fostered strong community links through U3A sessions, local group activities, youth engagement with the community college, and partnerships with neighbouring clubs. With dedicated volunteer effort, successful fundraising, improved facilities, and growing participation across ages, Bude Croquet Club demonstrates sustained development and community impact, making it a strong candidate for recognition.

Bude Croquet Club: Higher Handicap League final 28.9.25

Having topped the southwest section league, defeated Swanage in the quarter final and Taunton in the semifinal, Bude returned to Taunton last Sunday to face Broadwas CC from Worcester in the southwest federation final.

In perfect conditions, the match began in tentative style, the first round ending with two wins each, Keith Hansford starting his faultless day with a comfortable 7-3 win, and Pete Cash and Eddie Piper-Mayo narrowly edging their doubles.

Six singles games were played in the second round with Frances Hornblow, Vic Frampton and Geoff Lawrence winning tight encounters while Pete Cash gained his second win of the day with a solid 7-3 success.

In the third round, Bude held on to their two game lead, winning three of the six games but Pete Cash and Keith Hansford, emerging as Bude’s heroes on the day, put Broadwas under extra pressure with big 7-1 demolitions of two of their best players.

Going into the final round of two doubles and two singles, Bude needed two wins to lift the trophy while Broadwas needed to win all four. Captain Colette Ham’s player selection was now crucial and the team rose to the occasion. Keith Hansford secured his third win of the day, both doubles were won, and at 5-1 up it looked as if Pete Cash would secure a clean sweep in the final round. His opponent, however, had other ideas and fought back to win 7-6, too little too late to prevent Bude winning the Higher Handicap trophy 12-8.

This landmark achievement, bringing a regional trophy to Cornwall for the first time in very many years , comes in only Bude’s second year of league participation. If you would like to play a part in our ongoing success, please visit our website.

Bude Croquet Club: Southwest Federation Leagues Quarterfinals

Having both won the southwestern section league titles, Bude’s handicap and higher handicap teams were drawn away to Swanage, whose two teams had won the southeast section titles. Due to the distance involved, Bude were entitled to request a neutral venue and Sidmouth C.C. kindly agreed to host both matches.

The higher handicap team was first to play on August 19^th, and over the first 3 rounds stormed to a 10-3 lead, needing only one more win to qualify for the semi final away to Taunton. Val Langdown [7-1] and Steve Thie [7-0] had big wins but most games were more evenly contested, five of them going to a tie breaking thirteenth hoop.

The final round, however, saw Swanage fight back with a draw looking possible until Frances Hornblow exploited her experience and calmness for a 7-4 win with Eddie Piper-Mayo winning a 90 minute cliffhanger 7-6 to put the icing on the cake with a 12-8 final result.

A week later the handicap team travelled to Sidmouth. Amid torrential downpours, after an equal first round, they found themselves trailing at the half way point with only three narrow wins against nine losses, some of them heavy. Things were looking as bleak as the weather, but round 4 saw a revival and Swanage’s play was looking rather more nervous. Bobbo Peers and Helen North secured good wins, and a monumental final doubles game was heroically won by Pete Cash and Paul Knight to bring the scores ever closer. When Dave Langdown won the first game of the final round, an improbable comeback looked very possible, but the next two games were narrowly lost 7-6, Helen North and Keith Hansford battling to the end.

Bude Croquet Club, in only its second year of league participation, has done extremely well to reach three regional knockouts, but now it falls to the higher handicap team to try to get to the regional final in Taunton in September.

Bude’s Handicap team qualify for final stages 24.7.25 25.7.25

Bude’s handicap team went into their last two fixtures knowing that one win would guarantee them top place in the South West League section. First up was a trip to St Austell on July 24, who had previously lost 16-4 at Bude. History looked set to repeat itself as after the first two rounds, Bude had won all four doubles matches and five of the seven singles to storm into a 9-2 lead, needing only two more wins to take maximum points.

However, the home side responded and won seven consecutive singles games, five of them very narrowly (either 7-6 or 7-5) to level the scores at 9-9. 

Two singles games remained to play: the first was lost, leaving Bobbo Peers trying to avoid a first-ever Bude league defeat. 

With customary perseverance, he dug deep to gain a tense 7-6 victory, the overall draw being sufficient to ensure the Seasiders would finish top of the league.

The final game, away to Barnstaple on July 25, was therefore pressure free, and once again Bude won all four doubles to take an early lead.The second round was equal, with four single wins each, leaving the Cornish side 8-4 ahead. 

An element of nervousness after the previous day’s failure to capitalise on a winning position then crept into Bude’s play, but Chris Ham, Pete Cash and Bobbo Peers steadied the ship with big wins, and Frances Hornblow ended the day with a hard-fought 7-6 victory to give Bude an overall 12-8 success, underpinned by Peers and Cash being unbeaten all day.

Bude’s handicap team topped the league with five wins and a draw, and join the Higher Handicap team in the knockout phase, both having been drawn away to the winners of the South East section, a phenomenal achievement in only the club’s second season of league competition.

Bude Handicap team secure double home success 30.6.25 2.7.25

BUDE Croquet Club’s Handicap League team seized the opportunity to strengthen their position at the top of the Southwestern league with two home games on June 30 and July 2.

First up were Cornwall Croquet Club from St Austell who found themselves 5-2 down after the initial round of singles.They fared no better in the second round, after which Bude again won 5-2 to run up a comfortable 10-4 advantage. 

This was no walkover though as six of the games went to a 13th deciding hoop, but Bude’s generally superior finishing saw them emerge 7-6 winners in five of the games. 

The match was won by Keith Hansford’s comprehensive and rapid 7-2 victory in the third round, and with Bude winning all four doubles games, the final result was 14-4 to Bude.

Barnstaple were the visitors on the Wednesday (July 2) and their team, more familiar with the Bude courts, offered a serious threat. 

However, the Seasiders dominated the first round of singles with Andy Middleton, Helen North and Dave Langdown all maintaining their recent good form with big 7-2 wins, setting up a 6-2 lead.In the second round, apart from Middleton notching up another 7-2 victory, games were much more closely contested, with the overall score 10-6 in Bude’s favour.

With only four doubles games left to play, Barnstaple needed to win all four to secure a draw, but the home side needed just one victory to secure maximum points. 

Keith Hansford and Langdown won a very fast game 7-3 to maintain Bude’s winning ways. One game was lost, but Bobbo Peers and Vic Frampton took victory in a very tight game 7-6, leaving Middleton and North to end the match at 13-7 with a 7-3 win, the deciding shot a superb 25-yard hoop from North.

High Handicap league: Exeter v Bude 5.6.2025 

Last week Bude croquet club’s higher handicap team completed their southwest area league fixtures away to Exeter with their sixth successive victory to top the league with maximum points and a very impressive hoop score of 85 against 35 conceded. In August they will go into the knockout competition against the winners of the southeastern area league, likely to be either Swanage or Poole based East Dorset.

With the league title already guaranteed, Bude took the opportunity to give rapidly improving newer players Geoff Lawrence and Eddie Piper -Mayo an extended look at tournament croquet. Both gave outstanding performances on the day, winning all seven games in which they were involved, more than justifying their selection and confirming their potential.

Having beaten Exeter 17-3 in the home fixture, Bude went into the match confidently, but immediately hit trouble, finding it difficult to adapt to the home team’s smaller courts. In the first round Steve Thie and Geoff Lawrence quickly found themselves 4-1 down, but dug deep to level the game at 6-6, crowning a great comeback by winning the thirteenth deciding hoop. Pete Cash suffered a rare singles defeat, but Eddie Piper-Mayo and Vic Frampton had to battle hard for a narrow 7-6 win, as did Val and Dave Langdown to win 7-5 on the twelfth hoop. So 3-1 up after one round but the scene was set for the rest of the match, in which Exeter played much better then at Crooklets. Indeed, the final hoop tally of 118 to 108 shows just how closely the match was contested, with a narrow 10 hoop advantage to Bude over the 20 games.

However, the whole team battled to maintain their first round advantage with a final score of 12-8 in Bude’s favour. The squad can now relax for a month awaiting the outcome of the southeast league.

Southwest higher handicap league: Bude vs Exeter April 28th

Bude went into their penultimate league game against Exeter knowing that a win would make them winners of the southwest section. With half their team of eight on the lowest permissible handicap, Exeter looked a potential hurdle, but captain Colette Ham opted to start the match with eight singles games, thereby maximising home advantage.

This bold move proved very astute as Bude stormed into a 7-1 lead. Steve Thie and Vic Frampton, both currently on top form, lead the way with 7-1 wins, four more games were won by comfortable margins, and only Val Langdown was made to work hard for a narrow 7-6 win.

The format for the next round was one doubles and six singles games, Bude aiming to pile the pressure upon their visitors, and again it worked perfectly, Exeter barely able to regroup before finding themselves 13-2 down. Vic Frampton turned the screws with a 7-0 win, Bobbo Peers had a comfortable 7-3 margin and Pete Cash chalked up his seventh successive league win to assert Bude’s dominance of the match. Val and Dave Langdown were given more of a battle, but fought through to win on the 13th hoop.

So into the final round of three doubles and two singles with Exeter only having pride to play for, the match now beyond their grasp. They won one of the singles by a narrow 7-6, but Bude have excelled in doubles this year, forming some very strong partnerships. Vic Frampton and Steve Thie beat their opponents 7- 1, as did Bobbo Peers and Pete Cash. The last game to finish was level at 6-6 when Helen North unleashed a stunning long shot to fire partner Keith Hansford’s ball through the hoop, a perfect ending to a dominant team display, an overall 17-3 win, and an unassailable position at the top of the league.

Southwest Federation Higher Handicap league: St Agnes v Bude April 24th

After their first three matches of the season, Bude found themselves comfortably top of the south west league section, undefeated and with a hoop difference of plus 28, a very secure cushion. However, an away fixture to St Agnes on April 24th was always going to be a real challenge, with St Agnes having to win if they wished to retain any chance of topping the league.

The first round began with three doubles and one singles game, which was the first to finish with Helen North summarily dispatching her opponent 7-2. All three doubles games went to a thirteenth tie breaking hoop, Bobbo Peers and Keith Hansford emerging victorious from their game, but St Agnes winning the other two.

After first round parity, something had to give in the second round of six singles games. Young Bobbo Peers celebrated his first match of the season with a second win, 7-3, and Pete Cash continued his winning ways by the same score, but the round ended with Bude opening up a crucial gap for a 6-4 lead.

The third round saw Bude win the final doubles game, 7-6 to Helen North and Keith Hansford, but three of the four singles games also fell to the visitors, Bobbo Peers winning 7-3, Pete Cash 7-4, and Val Langdown with a big 7-1 win, leaving Bude with a 10-5 lead, and only one more win required for overall victory.

Bobbo Peers was first to finish, securing both points for Bude with a 7-2 win over the opposing captain. With Pete Cash also winning a hard fought game, the final result was 12-8 to Bude.

Bude now have a great opportunity to secure top spot and a place in the regional quarter finals if they beat Exeter in their next home fixture.

SWF Higher Handicap league: Bude v Budleigh Salterton 17.4.25

Having won their opening two matches, Bude hosted Budleigh Salterton on Thursday April 17th in a match crucial for the team to improve upon their runners up spot last year.

In the first round of five singles games, Steve Thie was first to finish with a thumping 7-0 win. Vic Frampton had a comfortable win, but Keith Hansford, Dave Langdown, and Pete Cash all had to work hard for narrow wins to give Bude an overall 5-0 lead.

This was a superb start against a very accomplished club, but things were destined to get even better. Pete Cash notched up a 7-1 win, Vic Frampton, Steve Thie and Dave Langdown all won comfortably to set up a 9-1 margin, overall victory now only two wins away.

Phil Dorren and Eddie Piper- Mayo then entered the fray both forcing narrow wins, while Dave Langdown added to the win tally and Steve Thie gained yet another comfortable victory.

With two league points now guaranteed, and the pressure off, Bude really went on the rampage. Steve Thie comfortably won his fourth game of the match gaining his 10th consecutive competitive win, a really inspired man of the match performance. Dave Langdown and Vic Frampton won the first of the four doubles games, but Budleigh, who had fought hard in every game to reduce the deficit, then pulled one back.

However, Bude won all three matches in the 5th and final round for a staggering 18-2 overall win. Keith Hansford won the ultimate singles 7-2, and Val and Dave Langdown won their doubles 7-5. Pete Cash, who is forming a good doubles partnership with Eddie Piper-Mayo, secured her third win of the day to continue his impressive start to the season.

In only their second season of league competition, Bude have well and truly established a reputation, but an away visit to Saint Agnes next week will provide a stern challenge.

Following their opening league win against Saint Agnes, Bude higher handicap team travelled on April 10th to Budleigh Salterton, a national and international venue for croquet with 13 immaculate courts.

Higher handicap league: Budleigh Salterton v Bude 10.4.25

Bude’s team of five faced a team of 6 with a much lower average handicap, but immediately rose to the challenge in the first round. Dave and Val Langdown saw off their opponents 7-4, in just over 30 minutes, whereas Colette Ham’s attritional game took over 25 minutes to run the first hoop and over 90 minutes in all before a 7-3 loss. Pete Cash suffered his first league loss of the season by a very close 6-7 to a player with a handicap 6 points lower but Steve Thie won to level the overall score.

In the second round, Pete Cash and Dave Langdown’s emphatic 7-2 win, Val Langdown’s 7-5 win and Steve Tye’s 7-3 demolition of the opposing captain opened up a 5-3 gap, with Bude captain Colette Ham involved in another 90 minute marathon which resulted in a narrow 7-6 loss.

Steve Thie and Pete Cash totally outmanoeuvred their opponents in the third round doubles for a 7-0 win, with further wins for Val and Dave Langdown strengthening the lead at 8-4. The team now needed only three more wins from eight games to secure victory. However, Budleigh won three games and could have drawn level but for another gritty performance from Colette Ham whose win preserved the lead at 9-7.

With victory possible for both teams, Bude dominated the final round, only a tiring Val Langdown narrowly losing 7-6. Pete Cash and Steve Thie secured big 7-3 wins against strong opponents, and Dave Langdown won 7-5, for an overall 12-8 win.

This hard fought, prestigious win puts Bude top of the league and in good heart for hosting Budleigh at Crooklets next week.