MARTIN Anderson has made a winning start to his stint as captain of the England deaf golf team.

The Pocklington golfer, who plays off three, led his side to an inaugural Four Nations Cup win at the Castleknock Golf and Country Club in Ireland earlier this month.

Anderson, a member at Allerthorpe Park GC, skippered his team to 93 points – a ten-point victory over Scotland, with Ireland and Wales third and fourth respectively.

The competition was played with a twist to the matchplay format. Each hole was worth one point with all 18 holes played. Anderson was paired throughout the event with Michael Roberts, off six, and they won all three of their matches.

The team’s success also saw Anderson’s men take the England v Scotland Bi-Annual Cup and left the skipper delighted with the performance of the side.

“As this event was a handicapped event following the CONGU (Council of National Golf Unions) handicapping rules, I made the risk of selecting low handicapped players knowing that they may have difficulties in playing against handicapped players,” said Anderson. “However, this was a risk that proved successful as the England players consistently made pars and in betterball and greensomes, were regularly shooting par or better.

“I have been thoroughly proud of all my players and I just would not have been able to win the Four Nations Cup without their excellent playing skills throughout the whole three rounds.” The next Four Nations Cup will be held at Vale of Glamorgan GC in 2013. Next up for Anderson is to present three wild cards to players who will make up the rest of his team at the 2012 World Deaf Golf Championships at Tsu GC in Japan.

He added: “I hope to take eight men and four seniors across to Japan. I am still looking for sponsorships so if there is a company that would like to sponsor the team, please get in touch through manderson22@hotmail.co.uk.”

Anderson is also grateful to Pocklington-based company brandtivity, who embroidered the England team shirts worn by the players.