Sure to be playing will be Chris Evans and newly returned to Amateur status, Anthony Gascoigne, both from Maxstoke. Chris is no longer a Junior but his club will be represented by his brother Andrew, 2003 JoM Champion Job Browning, 2003 Boys Matchplay and 2002 Midland Boys Champion Ben Stafford and Runner Up in the England Schools Championship Sam Foster, who now splits his golf between Maxstoke and Coventry Hearsall. Our 2004 Junior Squad is very strong and any one of them, including Jak Hamblett (Handsworth) could easily be good enough to take this most prestigious title.

Ladbrook will have its own top representation, trying to follow James Hamphill (from 2002) by winning on their home course (in James s case at Walmley. James has left our County to work in Cambridge and will not be able to represent Walmley any more. There will be two Andys trying to repeat his success for Ladbrook, Messrs Coley and Jones, as well as Darren Murphy, and there may be a Junior to look out for, last year s U15s Champion Jack Sant. It could be a year for a more senior golfer and that could be Graham Hargreaves, again from Ladbrook.

Moor Hall has two spectacular golfers in long hitting Dean Lake and last year s Boys Champion Chris Hazeldine. Coventry will have more than just Matt Cryer playing as will Kenilworth who will be strong contenders for the Team Trophy, along with Walmley who will have a refreshed Ian Watkins after his three years as 1st team Captain to lead players from his club. If his back is strong once again, our new 1st Team skipper Andy Kearns will be a contender.

Once the field starts to fill up, we will have a second preview and feature those players in the field not mentioned here. Entry details will be available approximately once month before the Championship and you may well be able to enter directly via this site. We will be introducing a new feature very shortly, to this site, so that any member can gain a unique access code to enter competitions and report results. You will need to register through this site, then confirm your registration through your club but once this is done, you need never search for entry forms again and with this code, those playing in the 2004 Championships will be the first Senior County players to have Live Scoring (just like the Tour web sites) throughout the day. As players complete their first then second rounds, the scoreboard will update automatically and at the close of play, Clubs can be e-mailed a full set of results there and then. Its spectacular (but very simple to use) technology which will be available first to Warwickshire Golfers.

On the course itself, the finish is very tough with the 16th requiring length and accuracy, the 17th lots of thought and the 18th will ruin many a round as it has done for so many years. On the frnt nine, the 4th is very tight and the stream that meanders across the 7th can turn a bridie four into a seven with some regularity.

The Warwickshire Matchplay Championship, which can only be entered by qualification from the Amateur itself, will be held at Ladbrook in mid June, on the 11th and the 13th of June.