GOLF: Haverhill Golf Club will be staging a Suffolk county match for the very first time this year.The west Suffolk club will host the second team match against Northamptonshire in July.

HAVERHILL Golf Club will be staging a Suffolk county match for the very first time this year.

The west Suffolk club will host the second team match against Northamptonshire in July.

Ron Kent, the Suffolk secretary, said: "We want to spread the load of staging county matches a bit wider. The idea is to give fixtures to more clubs."

The Suffolk first team, once again under the captaincy of Matt Fordham, will have three home matches in the Anglian League.

They will play Cambridgeshire at Stoke-by-Nayland in May, Norfolk at Gorleston in June and Leicestershire at Diss in August.

It is the first time for several years that Diss has staged a county match.

John Blackmore will lead the county second team again, and Suffolk will be looking to complete a double by winning both leagues like they did in 2000.

Last year the first team finished third and the second team were runners-up, although they both went into their final matches with a chance of finishing on top.

The annual general meeting of the Suffolk Golf Union will be held at Ipswich Golf Club, Purdis Heath on Friday, March 22 when Maurice Parks will take over as president.

Currently president at Ipswich, Maurice will hold both club and county presidencies at the same time for a short time.

Regarding other matches, the Suffolk president's team will play their annual match against the Suffolk Ladies at Flempton on March 9 and the Suffolk men will play the Suffolk ladies in what has become an annual match at Royal Worlington on March 24.

On April 6 at Hintlesham, the Suffolk men will play a Suffolk PGA team that rounds off the warm-up matches.

Other dates for the diary include the Suffolk Amateur Championship at Aldeburgh on June 16 with the Matchplay Championship at the same venue the following weekend.

The Suffolk Amateur Foursomes will be held at Bury St Edmunds in May, the county Open Foursomes at Hintlesham in August and the Suffolk Open Championship will be played at Ipswich on August 30 and 31.

John Marks will defend his Suffolk Seniors Championship title on his home course of Woodbridge on Tuesday, September 10.