Captain’s Away Weekend – The Belfry 2026
Report by Justin Powlesland: What a weekend!
Forty of us made the trip to The Belfry for this year’s Captain’s Away Weekend, and I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to spend it with.
There was some great golf, plenty of laughs, lots of questionable golf, even more questionable excuses and, most importantly, brilliant company throughout the weekend.
The weekend is all about the Ryder Cup rivalry, with Neil Whittaker captaining Team USA and me taking charge of Team Europe.
Day One saw us take on the PGA National Course, and after 10 closely fought matches, Team USA took a narrow lead into the clubhouse, 5½–4½.
However, despite the overall score, I did at least have some personal bragging rights over Neil!
Myself and Darren Everett had the honour of leading Team Europe out in the opening match against USA captain Neil and Dave Cockayne. There had been plenty of banter beforehand, so I’m delighted to report that Darren and I let our golf do the talking and came away with a 3&2 victory.
Europe may have been behind after Day One, but as far as the captains were concerned, it was Europe 1 – USA 0. And I’m sure Neil won’t mind me mentioning that whenever possible for the foreseeable future!
That left everything to play for on Sunday as we headed onto the famous Brabazon Course.
Team Europe needed a comeback and, as captain, I was quietly confident that the boys would rise to the occasion…
They didn’t. 😂
Despite a valiant European effort, Team USA once again won the day 5½–4½, giving them an overall 11–9 victory and the honour of becoming our Captain’s Ryder Cup champions.
Congratulations to Neil and Team USA – a thoroughly deserved victory. Although obviously I’ll be reviewing the team selection process, handicaps, course conditions and several other potential excuses before officially accepting the result!
Thankfully, the weather mainly stayed dry for us, and playing two fantastic courses at The Belfry made the weekend even more special.
But as always with these trips, the golf is only part of it.
The banter, laughs and company over the whole weekend were absolutely brilliant, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to every single one of the 40 people who came along. Trips like this are only as good as the people on them, and you all helped make it a weekend that I’ll remember for a very long time.
It has been a privilege to be Captain this year, and weekends like this are a big part of what makes the role so enjoyable.
Thank you all.
And finally… congratulations again to Team USA – Captain’s Ryder Cup Champions 2026.
Enjoy it, Whitts. You might have won the Ryder Cup, but 3&2 is 3&2. 😂
