John Philp Senior Pennant – Round 7
Published on 20th November 2025 in Guests News, Latest News, Public Latest NewsOur Philp Senior Pennant team played the final round of the home-and-away season last Friday against bottom-of-the-table Ranfurlie GC.
The equation was simple: win and we make the final; lose and we rely on other results. I’m pleased to say the boys delivered—a strong 5.5–1.5 victory, securing our place in this week’s final against Woodlands GC, to be played on our home turf at Spring Valley.
It wasn’t the smoothest start to the season—halving our first match and losing our second—but we’ve finished with a wet sail, winning our remaining five matches to finish on top of the table.
If anyone would like to come down and support the team, our first match tees off at 12:12 pm this Friday, 21 November, at Spring Valley. As defending champions of the John Philp Trophy, we’re hungry to go back-to-back. A full match report will follow after Friday, so stay tuned.
It’s been an enjoyable and rewarding season, with contributions from all 14 squad members. Selecting only seven players for the final has been the toughest job of all—each of them could make a strong case for inclusion—but unfortunately, only seven can play. Our representatives for this week’s final are:
7 – John Kelly
6 – Dave Gooden
5 – Steve Foulds
4 – Phillip Elliott
3 – Harry Vu
2 – Michael Hill
1 – Glenn Cowden
With the support of the full squad behind them, we’re confident these seven can get the job done.
It would be remiss not to mention the extra motivation driving us this year. In seasons 2022–23 we were privileged to have Gerald March represent Spring Valley in the Philp Trophy. Gerald had an outstanding record—his “worst” result, from memory, was a halved match—but for those who knew him, winning was never what defined him. It was the joy he brought to the team, the camaraderie he built, and the genuine warmth he carried with him.
Gerald was an absolute pleasure to play alongside, and simply to be around. Sadly, we lost our mate in December 2024. A few of us—myself, Sport (Keith Mico), and the Weapon (Larry Vun)—visited him in November 2024 and brought in the John Philp Trophy we had won a couple of weeks earlier. Ignore the fact that I accidentally grabbed the wrong trophy—Gerald wasn’t surprised. He was proud as punch all the same.
With the great man looking down on us, we’d love nothing more than to put that smile back on his dial once again.
Gerald March — GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Murray Billing