Driving rain puts paid to Highfield and Brookham Schools golf match

The prolonged cold and wet spell has finally taken its toll on the sports calendar at Highfield and Brookham Schools.

Battling youngsters have been braving squally rain, high winds and even occasional hail all last week on the cricket pitches, tennis courts and netball courts, but the latest deluge to hit the independent school in Liphook, Hampshire, saw Friday’s scheduled golf match against Aldro fall victim to the grim weather.

The latest bout of incessant rain left Highfield and Brookham’s nine-hole course with soggy tee boxes, fairways and greens despite the best efforts of the school’s diligent grounds crew who worked in all weathers to prepare the course for the Year 8 match with their rivals from Godalming.

Sporting fixtures at Highfield and Brookham have largely gone ahead as planned since the resumption of external school matches in the wake of Covid despite the unseasonal weather, although a series of Saturday fixtures had to be cancelled because of persistent heavy rain three weeks ago.

Dan Bather, Head of Sport at Highfield School, said: “We’ve been quite lucky to have had a lot of really competitive matches against other schools in recent weeks despite the cold and wet weather, but this week was a downpour too far for our Year 8s who were really looking forward to getting back out onto the golf course.

“But the young golfers need to make sure that they keep their clubs handy and their swings in good shape because I’m confident that we will be out on the golf course again very soon.”