When you think of a golf trophy, you probably picture something bought off a shelf. This year, the Sheet Metal Industries Golf Challenge trophies are anything but. Instead, they have been designed and fabricated in-house by White Cross Ring Ltd, in collaboration with Sheet Metal Industries and Yorgrip Ltd — turning the event’s silverware into a genuine showcase of sheet metal skills, creating pieces of engineering art.
The brief was simple to say and hard to deliver: create trophies that looked the part, while also demonstrating the everyday capabilities of a working fabricator. As Tom Horner (MD) at White Cross Ring put it, “Our creation for the Sheet Metal Industries 2026 Golf Challenge trophies have been an engineering challenge in itself. Whilst trying to create trophies that fit the bill but at the same time trying to incorporate our services here at White Cross Ring and Yorgrip Ltd was at times difficult, but I must admit I have enjoyed how they have developed.”
Winner’s Trophy: Rolled Angle Flanges, with a Yorgrip Twist
For the winner’s trophy, White Cross Ring turned to what they know best — rolling angle flanges with holes, described as their “bread and butter type of work.” But the team wanted the trophy to say something bigger than just their own capability, so they brought a partner into the design. The central space of the trophy is formed from White Cross Ring’s own aluminium walkway product, supplied by Yorgrip — a neat way of folding a second business, and a second material story, into a single piece.
Overall Winning Team: Bent Tube on the BLM Elect
The headline prize, awarded to the overall winning team, was built around bent tubes produced on White Cross Ring’s BLM Elect machine. The result is a striking, sculptural piece that leans into the precision the machine is capable of — proof that tube bending can produce something as visually arresting as it is technically demanding.
Longest Drive: A Tube in Motion
For the longest drive award, the team rolled, curved and twisted tube to emulate the flight of a golf ball travelling down the fairway — a literal piece of fabrication storytelling, translating a moment on the course into metal.
Closest to the Pin: Precision on a New Machine
The closest-to-the-pin trophy shows off manipulation on a smaller scale, using 6mm stainless round bar. Much of the shaping was achieved on White Cross Ring’s brand-new tiny ring rolling machine, the CBC-Mini-Calandra-Ring-Roller from Tubela — a first outing for the new kit, and a demonstration of what fine-scale ring rolling can achieve.
Wooden Spoon: Coiled with a Sense of Humour
Every trophy is designed to be coveted – including the The wooden spoon — awarded to the tournament’s worst player, and traditionally hotly contested— gave the team pause. “Seems daft creating something for the worst player, which could quite possibly be me,” Tom admitted. Daft or not, the result is a beautifully coiled piece that forms the shaft of a spoon-shaped trophy, proving that even the joke prize deserves proper craftsmanship.
An Engineering Team Effort
The design direction throughout came from White Cross Ring’s own team, exploring what could be achieved at small scale. The fabrication work itself was carried out by Grace Williams, the company’s apprentice welder — giving the trophies an added layer of significance as a showcase of new talent coming through the trade.
The result is a set of trophies that do double duty: golf prizes on the day, and a working portfolio of what sheet metal fabrication can produce when three businesses put their heads together.
Sheet Metal Industries MD – Jas Rai added “Allowing our industry to produce our prizes has been hugely popular and creates a fantastic way to celebrate the engineering skills of companies who serve our industry. It gives opportunities for people to shine and companies to flex creative juices. As I said in the years past, these trophies are in their own right works of art. I am hugely looking forward to seeing the final pieces and celebrating their designs with Tom and all the guests and players”
