Hinton hoping for a Broom clean sweep at Thetford

Army member Jonathan Hinton admits he has mixed feeling about taking on the East qualifying round of the Lombard Trophy event at Thetford Golf Club.

Barnham Broom Golf Club amateur Hinton will team up with PGA professional Alan Hemsley for the event which is being held on June 28.

The Norfolk pairing will be aiming to book a trip to Portugal for the £41,450, Coca-Cola and Pestana Resorts supported, National Pro-Am grand final which will be played at the Vila Sol resort in the Algarve between September 20-21.

And for Hemsley, aged 59, it would be a return to the event after he reached the final two years ago.

But Hinton, who has been at Barnham Broom since 2015, believes the Thetford course will provide a tough test.

Hinton is based at Robertson Barracks in Swanton Morley and serves with the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards.

He says that not only does he look to play golf in his spare time, he also assists with Barnham Broom’s junior section.

“I played Thetford last summer and it was hard work, and I imagine it’ll be the same in the hot weather this time, I’ve got mixed feelings about it, I’m sure it’ll be a tough test,” said Hinton, who has been playing golf for around 20 years.

“I haven’t played alongside Alan going into the event but I know him well as I sometimes help Alan with the junior section at Barnham Broom.

“We’ve had a chat about it, but we’ll go there to enjoy it and have fun. I’ve been playing for a while now on and off.

“I’m new to the area and Barnham Broom is a fantastic club and course, they have a really good membership and two excellent PGA professionals there.

“My army work is flexible enough to let me play a couple of rounds a week and let me have some family life too,”

Hinton,who plays off a handicap of 14, is now coming up to his 16th year in the Army.

“I turned 40 recently so I’m getting a bit old now,” he joked.

Others teams taking part in the event at Thetford Golf Club include the host pairing of  Stuart Smith and Daryl Breen;  Darren Scholes and Wally Carson (The Cambridgeshire);  Andrew Robinson and James Smith (Southwold Golf Club);  Sam Teer and Paul Flower (Clacton Golf Club); Kevin Delaney and Edwin Neary (Theydon Bois) and Steven Vinnicombe and Neil Clarke (Bedford & County).

For more information on the event at Thetford Golf Club, click here.