The new captains at Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club include Little Canfield’s Stuart Henderson as men’s captain and Felsted School’s Rebecca Earl as junior captain.

Tha pair, along with new ladies captain Lorraine Courtman, completed the Captains’ Drive Ins to mark the beginning of their year in office, and a high-scoring stableford competition.

Junior captain and England international Earl struck her opening drive a massive 218 yards.

The 16-year-old is studying for A levels and aims to go to college in the USA to further her education and develop her golf on a wider stage.

Having achieved a 100 per cent record in her international playing career for England Schools and having won two ladies PGA professional tournaments as the only amateur, her future looks bright.

Club captain Henderson has a long association with Bishop’s Stortford.

He was store director of Pearsons department store for many years, the fourth generation of his family to work in the business.

Coincidentally the company bought their North Street premises on the day he was born.

Stuart, an 18 handicapper, hit his opening drive over 160 yards.

He’ll have plenty of opportunity for match practice as he leads Stortford’s men’s and mixed teams in their extensive programme of inter-club matches over the Spring and Summer months.

The sweepstake on the length of Henderson’s and Courtman’s drives raised £1460 for their chosen charities: The Willow Foundation and the Bishop’s Stortford branches of the Visually Impaired Peoples Club and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.