CRAFT Club competitions are open to pairs made up of both men and women in any combination.

The CRAFT Club Golf Days 2025

Please CONTACT us if you are interested in participating in any of these events or have any queries.

CRAFT Club products with the elephant logo are available to buy at these events.

Go to PRODUCTS to view.

2024 December Newsletter

2024 has been another excellent year and, thanks to the continued help of our members, we raised just short of £19,000 for the three charities. Once again, congratulations and thanks to all those new members that joined the Club, participated in the events and of course, those who helped to organise the events. The Club has now collected over £315,000 since our Club’s inauguration in 1991.

2025 Golf Days

• Rye GC: Tuesday, May 6th with 5 clubs
• Thorndon Park GC : Monday, July 7th with a full set of clubs
• Wildernesse GC: Monday, August 11th, with 5 clubs
• Piltdown GC: Friday, August 22nd, with a full set of clubs – TBC
• Littlestone GC Monday, September 8th, with 5 clubs

All details above

Events

Many thanks to Brigadier Hugh Willing, who gave an inspirational talk on the 80th Anniversary of D Day, raising over £3200, which was donated to SAFFA Sussex and SAFFA Kent. This was the 6th talk that Hugh has given in favour of the CRAFT CLUB and we are extremely grateful for his generosity and expertise on a wide range of subjects.

Merchandise

 As a result of having to order in minimum batches, we are holding stocks of all items. Some goods have been reduced, for example the bridge cards are now priced at £8 per set and the silk ties at £30.00. Further details under ‘Products’.

Membership

We continue to attract 65 + new members per year, mainly as a result of the golf days. Your help is needed to ensure that the Club continues to flourish and please note that the Rules of the Club ask you to sign up a minimum of four new members.

Future Events

 We will again be holding a draw for the winner of the 2025 Augusta Masters Tournament. This year we will be adding the Par 3 Competition to the Draw. Tickets will be £10.00 each.

Valete

Christopher Rowe will be retiring from the Committee this year and we are extremely grateful for both his support and expertise in selecting the wines for both our events and the Rye Golf Day. Christopher has been our link with Littlestone Golf Club and I am sure that everyone would like to thank him for his unstinted support over a number of years.

I am retiring after 17 years as Secretary and Chairman and would like to thank the Committee and members for their help, good humour and support, which has been very much appreciated. Jeremy Carey, a retired Circuit Court Judge, Trustee of Rye Golf Club and Chairman of Greens has agreed to take over as Chairman and this will be effective from December 9. Many thanks to Jeremy and I am sure that he will receive the full support of all our members.

Finally, many thanks for all your support, Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all CRAFT CLUB members.

Simon Compton

Chairman

Rye Golf Day: 7th May 2024

Rye CRAFT CLUB Golf Day was held on Tuesday 7th May. The day dawned with summer sunshine which made the day. There were 84 playing golfers who took to the golf course having had a wonderful lunch in the dining room. With 4 clubs and a putter, battle commenced at 2 pm, with everyone holding mulligans and bunker bazoocker to get them out of trouble. The day was won by Giles Wooley (Rye) and Ian Poysden (Rye) with a super score of 42 points. Second place was Peter Keith-Lucas (Thorndon Park) and Charles Furnival (Rye) with 36 points on count back from Jonathan Colvile (Rochester and Cobham Park) and Mary Ann Colvile  (Rochester and Cobham) who took third place. Ten new members joined The CRAFT CLUB on the day.  The total sum raised was just short of £7,000.00. The home of The CRAFT CLUB is at Rye Golf Club and without the Club’s support, an amount like this would not be achievable, our thanks go to Rye Golf Club for all their support in hosting this event.

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Thorndon Park Golf Day: 1st July 2024

We were treated to a wonderful day at Thorndon Park Golf Club. Once everyone had booked in and collected their score cards, we were treated to a super summer lunch which set everyone up for their round of golf. Raffle tickets and Closest to The Pin were sold, which raised a substantial £870. There were 26 members and 14 guests taking part with 13 new members for The CRAFT CLUB. Whilst the weather was cool for summer, the Golf Course was in great condition and very challenging. The day was won by David Madan and Simon East – both Thorndon Park members – who scored an outstanding 42 points. Congratulations to them both. The day was a huge success and the total sum raised was just over £1700.00. We would like to thank everyone who supported the day.

Wildernesse Golf Day: 12th August 2024

Having worried that the day would be a washout, we ended up worrying that people would pass out from the heat!  August 12th saw 72 players enjoy the day at Wildernesse with teams and individuals from 8 different clubs making up half the field of 36 pairs with the rest being home members. After a delicious buffet lunch, prizes were presented by Mrs Felicity Boyden, a long standing member of the CRAFT Club, alongside her husband, Alan. The winners were a home team (for a change!), Paul Meredith and Hilary Thomas with 46 points and runners up, David Kneeshaw & Gary Withers (Rye Golf Club/Tenterden Golf Club) with 43 points. 7 new members were enrolled and, along with merchandise sales, £2511 was raised for the CRAFT CLub.

Piltdown Golf Day: 23rd August 2024

This day certainly had a dramatic start as when the 68 players arrived in steady rain, the prospects did not look good. Nonetheless the forecast said it would clear at about 9am and it was 100% correct.

We play greensomes team foursomes which is quite a quick format with a full set of clubs.

We also allowed mulligans to be used anywhere on the course but they were mainly used when people went into the heather, which at this time in the year is lethal.

We were delighted to welcome teams from Littlestone, Thorndon Park, West Kent and the great support team of the three ladies from Rye.

Nearly everyone commented the course was in fabulous condition and, with four starting places, we got round in under four hours. The result was:

1st 92 points Rich Crawley, Jay Scull, Stephen Thomas and Adam Arnold.

2^nd 81 points Neil Hart, Paul Beveridge, David Maxwell and David Shepherd.

3rd 74 points Peter Merrett, John Turjinski, Paul Fairbairn and Martin Davenport.

Closest to the pin was won by Mark Stephenson and Martin Davenport.

The prizes were presented by Piltdown Club Chairman, Paul Sellars.

We raised just over £2,000.

Littlestone Golf Day: 9th September 2024

“The early morning rain and wind lashed Littlestone and there were fears of a very damp and soggy afternoon round of golf. However, those fears were not realised as the wind blew the rain out to sea and the stiff wind abated by mid morning. The event was attended by 40 golfers from Littlestone GC (8), Rye GC (16), Thorndon Park GC (8), Piltdown (4), and a new entrant, Dale Hill GC (4). The buffet lunch was of a high standard, with a seaside theme because of the shells and napkins on each table, that was enjoyed by all who attended, including the CRAFT Club Chair, Simon Compton. In the benign afternoon conditions Littlestone’s course defences were down, as evidenced by 10 scores of 36 points or more. The winners were Stephen Stowell and Simon Sanderson from Littlestone with an impressive 43 points. In second place on count back with 42 points were Rye’s Kate and Jonathan Gale with Vicky and David Dodds, also from Rye, in 3rd place. Candida Machin (Rye) won nearest the pin for ladies on the 14th and Richard Fry (Littlestone and Rye) won the men’s nearest the pin on the 17th.

Most importantly, and thanks to some very generous Craft Club members, the day raised £2137!”