The Stavros Batley Trophy

Day Four - Golf at Portumna Co Galway!

As expected - it went to the wire with both trophies being decided on the final hole and the bog seat going to the final putt.

Portumna will be remembered as ‘the battle of the bachiochi boys’ - with Steve and Dave fighting it out in the wet and windy conditions to avoid the dreaded toilet seat. Their co- players the two Neil’s were enjoying every minute of it - so much so that Neil H even stopped complaining about the weather.

With Steve and Dave tied on the same overall score on the 18th tee - it all went to the final hole with Dave making the putt he needed to and Steve narrowly missing a long putt which would have tied the score and given him victory on count back. The end result being that Steve despite his valiant efforts and improvement over the last two days will be returning to Connecticut with the legendary Stavros Batley Trophy. Dave can spend the next 12 months retaining the bragging rights in the Bachiochi household.

At the top of the leaderboard - Adam Graham and Gareth were the leaders going into the day.

In conditions that only the local ducks enjoyed Adam and Graham both scored an impressive 31 points with Graham taking victory on the day with a better back nine.

With Gareth a few points back - the end result was that Graham took first place overall on 119 points over the four days with Adam and Gareth tied on 117 - Adam taking second based on his better last round!!

Over 4 tough courses and challenging weather conditions every day - these guys deserve great credit for their aggregate scores.

In other results - Adam having had the only 2 over the four days picked up the full £40 in the twos pot.

In addition to the traditional Larry’s hat and holding Little Larry for the next year - Graham was also the first winner on the Steve W Frost Trophy - a trophy we initiated this year in memory of our dear friend and SBT founder member who sadly passed away since our 2024 tour! It was great to remember Steve during this years event and our new trophy will ensure he joins us on every tour in the future.

In terms of the day and putting aside the weather, we were in beautiful surroundings with wonderful wildlife and landscape. Cal and Mark even got to chat up a few ducks along the way.

In the clubhouse afterwards there was another SBT first when Mark was summoned to a disciplinary by Mel and Derek for the state of his scorecard - was told to sharpen his pencil and was let off with a verbal warning.

Neil H - allegedly an accountant of sorts also had a scorecard issue on failing to correctly add up Steve B’s scorecard and passing on duff information at a crucial time. Thankfully he rectified the problem in time and avoided the need for sanction.

Portumna again delivered a great golfing experience which was equalled by another wonderful meal.

After the meal we went through this weeks sweep on predictions where each member of the party having been asked day one to secretly nominate their choice for bog seat winner and overall winner.

Surprisingly there were only two correct predictions with Neil H having selected Graham to win and Cal having nominated Steve for the bog seat. Both Neil H and Cal picked up £30 for their efforts.

Unfortunately for Graham, having had an otherwise perfect week - he had inadvertently picked both selections correctly but had filled in his prediction slip in the wrong order - having accidentally named himself for bog seat and Steve as overall winner.

Needless to say - Calvin and Neil H were quite sympathetic. 🎻

After the journey back to athlone - we had a quick turnaround before heading for Sean’s bar to draw the celebrations to a close.

It was then a leisurely breakfast on Friday before boarding the tour bus for the return to the airport sbf onward ferry to Liverpool.

As we write - thankfully no repeat of last years complications. 🤞🤞

Another tour concludes - another host of new experiences, new courses and the usual great banter and laughs.

A huge thank you to Concra Wood Golf Club, Slieve Russell Hotel and golf club, Esker Hills golf club, Portumna golf club and indeed the Hudson Bay Hotel that again provided a perfect HQ for this years tour.

As always - a big thank you also to all our wives, partners and families for supporting us on tour and taking such an interest in our fun.

A year of firsts draws to a close on the Sbt - it’s been as good as ever and let’s hope we can all do it again next year - wherever that may be.

Thank uou for your interest and support and see you all next year.

SBT - Day Three Update!

After our rest day on Tuesday it was back to the serious matter of toilet seats and golf yesterday - Wednesday for round three of this years tournament.

After a full Irish breakfast - most of the crew were feeling a lot better after the previous days libations, and we set off to Esker Hills in Co Offaly.

Unfortunately the weather was quite unsettled with strong gusty winds and plenty of rain.

However, with the course in wonderful condition, we still had a very enjoyable day and many thanks to Georgia and Caroline for the warm welcome and hospitality.

With a number of the field struggling in the conditions, it was Gareth and Mel who fared best with Mel on 32 points just pipping Gareth to first place on the day.

Adam and Neil H pipped Mel and Neil J to the team prize on the day with only a back nine count back separating them.

Adam knocked in an impressive two on the tough 13th hole and is sitting pretty with one hand on the twos pot - the other hand required to keep those fingers crossed!!

In terms of incident - the day had its fair share of events -

Controversy started early when Neil H was spotted in his night attire practicing his putting on the hotel carpet - which Mark claimed was a vision he struggled to un-see for the rest of the day!

Mark took the chance to use the hotel spa but afterwards was heard complaining that the steam room was a bit too steamy! We assume he was referring to the environment inside rather than the clientele he was sharing it with.

On the golf course it was a tough day for Derek - with him losing control of his trolley on a few occasions and with his bag falling over twice which in one instance lead to golf bag emptying its contents on the ground.

There were a number of health and safety incidents that were also recorded yesterday with Neil H taking a tumble on the first tee steps - thankfully not seriously injured and whereas feeling slightly sore - it wasn’t something that a number of glasses of good red wine didn’t put right later in the day.

Neil J followed that incident with two of his own when he thought he could hurdle a chain fence to take a short cut but with his hind leg catching the fence on the way over - there was only one result! 🙈

A short while later - the same gent - who has a history of misdemeanours with his aggressive driving of golf buggies was reprimanded by Cal for the manner in which Neil and his accomplice Mark abandoned their buggy in an irresponsible fashion - the matter remains under review!

Lastly - again on the first tee, Calvin needed two shots to get past the ladies tee - only just doing so with the second. Whereas it would be acknowledged that this was not necessarily a health and safety breach - we just wanted to let everyone know about it.🤣.

After leaving Esker Hills it was a speedy run back to hotel base and a quick turnaround for our evening meal at Bacchus in Athlone where we enjoyed a lovely meal before sneaking into Sean’s bar just before closing time for an appropriate night cap.

Whilst at Bacchus we also took the opportunity to wish Calvin a slightly early happy 60th birthday - the only issue being that he struggled to blow out the candle from 12 inches away - a bit like his putting earlier in the day.

So ended day three of our golf with the final round set for portumna today and with our fingers crossed for good weather.

At the top of the leaderboard - Gareth holds the lead with Graham and Adam pushing hard behind and Derek a few points behind - these four will fight it out today.

At the bottom - Steves improving form yesterday closed the gap on the field and it will go to the wire with Dave, Neil J and Neil H to see who picks up the dreaded bog seat this year.

Mel’s win yesterday lifted him out of bog seat territory and he can look forward along with Mark, Phil and Cal to a less pressurised round at portumna today.

It’s all set up nicely - in a few hours time we will know the outcome of the 2025 SBT - who will be picking up the inaugural SW Frost Trophy and who will be packing that toilet seat for the flight home!!

Morning all!

Apologies for the late update on day three - a planned rest day and a new feature of the SBT to accommodate our ageing bodies.

A day out in Galway, a trip to the races and a tour of Galway’s best live music venues proved to deliver in every way - and a rather late night for all concerned.

With Mel at the wheel to allow Derek to update Splitwise, we had a slightly extended trip to Galway city taking the scenic detour to take in Salthill and the claddagh area before abandoning our tour coach and embarking on a walking tour of the city which ended up in OConnells bar on eyre square from where we struggled to move on.

After a few hours depleting the local stocks of Guinness and apple juice, we once again returned to the bus for the short trip to ballybrit racecourse.

On a glorious sunny evening, and with some folks on their maiden trip to the races, it proved to be an eventful and somewhat entertaining.

Some people needed a quick guide on equine anatomy and others were amazed to have a close up view of horses having a poo in the parade ring! Mark Firth was truly amazed at the size of the shovel used to clear up a genuine horse s**t - just goes to show that every day is indeed a learning day.

Mark was also probably the first man in history to compare a racehorse with red blinkers to the 1970’s wrestler Kenzo Nagasaki! 🤷🏼‍♂️- apologies to anyone under 50 who won’t have a clue what that means or who kenzo nagasaki was!

Anyway, on to the racing - Derek and Neil got off to a flying start with iowa city - the winner of the second race. Neil now owes half his winnings to Shellie for selecting his bets.

Over the next few hours it was great to see most of the group having a few winners and the highlight of the day was at the end when the aptly named late replacement ‘on a session’ romped home in the Galway handicap bringing some chunky wins to the group and setting us up nicely for a night out in Galway.

We headed first to MCSwiggans restaurant at Woodquay who accommodated 12 hungry men at short notice and delivered a splendid meal. We would really recommend McSwiggan’s to anyone visiting Galway.

After that it was off the Skeff bar on the square for some light refreshment and to enjoy a very talented solo singer/ guitar player.

After that it was down to one of Galway’s oldest pub - the kings head - a wonderful live Irish music venue that has been there since 1651! A real immersion into quality Irish music in a crammed venue was again a new experience for much of the group with cal and Neil H picking up tee shirts to commemorate their visit.

After a brief visit to the quays bar, we finished things off at busker browns - another fabulous live music venue with an excellent band playing a range of popular classics.

After everyone being reminded to use the toilet- we set off back to base on the hour long journey - turning in just before 1am.

Looking back - we can’t be sure if the planned rest day proved be restful.

However - looking back there were a few learning points from the day -

1. If you drink enough Guinness - a horse in blinkers can actually look like a 1970’s Japanese wrestler!

2. It is not unusual for a horse to have a s**t before it runs.

3. Yes - you do need a big shovel to clean it up!

4. Cincinnati is not Conneticut!! - not even close!

5. Ageing men do need the toilet more often and next year Derek needs to sort a proper bus with a toilet!

6. Galway is a wonderful city and if you haven’t been there yet - you need to sort out a trip.

7. When you are betting on horses - forget the bloodlines, the form, the jockeys and the trainers - pick one that best describes your day - and you won’t go wrong!!

That’s it for now - it’s back to boring golf today at esker hills - setting off shortly.

Sorry for the late update - will be back online later today with a day four update!!

Evening folks!! - it’s been a long day!!

After yesterday’s uneventful happenings, in typical Sbt fashion today was simply overflowing with incidents, controversy, meteorological volatility, mycology ( a first for the Sbt) and even a bit of a Monty python moment and confrontational moments with the course Marshall (another Sbt first)

It’s hard to know where to start so please bear with us whilst we take you through the day!!

It was such a bright sunny morning that some of the group who had a late night last night waking up thinking that they were back in Portugal - it was a really beautiful start to the day - needless to say it didn’t last!!

There were some quite large ful Irish breakfasts sighted and Derek finally got the soda bread he was looking for.

After checking out of our rooms, we enjoyed a warm up coffee in the clubhouse before setting out for round two.

Round two turned out to be somewhat of a repeat of yesterday with form continuing on the previous days performances.

Adam , Graham Derek and Gareth all played well and have established a significant gap ahead of the field. On today’s comp - Gareth and Adam tied on 32 points with Gareth pipping Adam on count back.

Adam and Neil took the team prize by beating Derek and Gareth by a single point.

At the other end of the board, Steve and Mel are still in bog seat jeopardy but the gap has narrowed with Mark, Dave and Neil J and Phil all now nearer to the lowest scores than they are to the highest. It certainly looks to me shaping up into two distinct races for each of the two prizes at either end of the leader board.

It was a tough day on the course with the glorious sunshine giving way to heavy showers and strong winds leading to plenty more golf balls failing to safely cross the various lakes and water features on the course.

In terms of controversy - it was the first time that Sbt players were reprimanded by a course Marshall with Derek Mark, Dave and Adam being taken to task for their slow play.

From the various explanations received it appears that Mark Firth was largely to blame having been asked to please leave some sand in the bunkers for everyone else. Allegedly Mark saw more sand today than most Moroccan camels see in a lifetime.

Thankfully the offenders got their act together and picked up the pace.

At the other end of the field, Cal, Neil H, Graham and Steve were also taken to task by the same course Marshall for falling behind the field.

On this occasion, if turned out that Calvin was largely to blame when his trip into the trees looking for his wayward drive turned into a mushroom foraging trip during which he discovered a ‘phallus impudicus’ and was so impressed that he felt obligated to record it for posterity!

In true monthly python fashion phallus impudicus which over stretched Calvin’s powers of Latin pronunciation was subsequently re-titled as ‘biccus diccus’ which is much easier to remember.

In addition to his mycological endeavours, Calvin also turned on the style on a par 170 yd three over water where for entertainment purposes and rather than playing a high floating shot, he chose to hit a classical ‘barnes Wallace - dambusters shot that bounced its way across the pond rolled up onto the green.

Unfortunately that’s where the show ended with Cal having a classical 3- stabs in putts to finish with an unremarkable 4!

We really enjoyed our brief stay at the Slieve Russell - a beautiful hotel with wonderful staff and a fabulous golf course.

A big thank you also to restaurant manager Jennifer for fitting in a very late booking for 12 hungry men late on Sunday evening.

It was then into our happy coach to head on the 70 mile trip to last years base at the Hudson Bay hotel. For various reasons as the photos show it was a long journey for some and a few courtesy stops were required along the way.

Another late restaurant booking and another lovely meal was peppered with enlightening stories and discussions on undertakers, funerals and dwarfism - all in a respectful fashion but perhaps representative of the fact that it was late and people may have had too much to drink!!

Tomorrow is a rest day and we are off to Galway to the races and to visit some of Galway’s wonderful hostelries!

It will then be back to day three on Wednesday when we return to esker hills to continue the bog seat battle.

Before closing - just want to give a big shout to Sbt number one fan - Susan Dexter in Sheffield and to add apologise for keeping you up whilst waiting for tonight’s update!!

More updates tomorrow on our cultural pilgrimage to Galway.

In true SbT fashion - anything could happen!!

Good night!!

Today was day one of this years SBT! An overnight flight from Boston got Dave and Steve (and the bog seat) into Dublin ahead of everyone else.

The Leeds flight was slightly delayed which gave Derek and Mel time to have a leisurely breakfast before heading on the airport pick up run.

After all the reunion hugging and handshakes were over - it was all on the tour bus for the hour long spin to our first venue - the stunning Concra Wood Golf course in co Monaghan - a truly superb venue for our first round.

Hats off to the kitchen crew there who served up a dozen lunches in quick time.

After a bit of whinging about the damp weather - from a few moaning Yorkshire folk - we set off on our first round.

Raining on and off for an hour turned into a glorious sunny afternoon and early evening.

Not an overly eventful day on the course as a few got off to a stuttering start on a very testing golf course.

Unfortunately for some - golf balls don’t float and with the amount of water around the course - it was an expensive round for them.

We did learn that Neil H needs a trip to specsavers after being spotted using his range finder to line up a putt.

We also saw Derek giving his pitching wedge a flying lesson and thankfully, it finally fell out of the tree.

At the end of a long but most enjoyable round - Graham proved to be winner on the day with a very respectable 31 points.

Derek who was clearly keen to prove Tiger wrong - finished strongly to take second beating Gareth on a count back.

At the other end of the table - Mel, Dave and Steve never got going properly and all three now find themselves in bog seat territory after day one.

After some enjoyable liquid refreshment in the clubhouse, we had the added plus of a free white knuckle ride to the Slieve Russell Hotel as Derek done his best to get us there before the dining room shut. Thankfully we arrived in the nick of time but with a few speed bumps along the way causing some controversy for those sat in the back!! - Neil H claiming to have been airborne on more than one occasion.

We were so well looked after by Jennifer and her team - a wonderful meal followed before a few tired souls hit the hay whilst a few of the hardened campaigners relived the highlights of the day in the hotel bar.

A somewhat uneventful day by SBT standards - even Calvin has kept out of the headlines - which makes a change!!

Tomorrow brings day two of our northern swing before we head south to athlone. We will be playing the PGA National at the Slieve Russell which is in the top ten parkland courses in Ireland and has even more water than today.

The pressure mounts both ends of the table tomorrow - even after only one round - that bog seat is looming large in rhe mind of a few whilst everyone will also be doing their best to not let Graham Derek and Gareth get any further ahead of the pack.

It’s already bubbling up nicely!!

Tune in tomorrow!!

https://youtu.be/_8XWW0xZ3S4?si=0sdyUC0yGh3hHn56
The 2025 Stavros Batley Trophy is here!
Please take a look at our preview show as we head off on this years toilet seat travels! Stay with us for the next week - it’s going to be fun!

5 September 2025