Lymm Golf Club Senior Section

Rules Quiz

On the putting green, a player marks their ball. They do not remove the marker before hitting their putt. What is the ruling? a) There is no penalty. b) The player gets one penalty stroke. c) The player loses the hole

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Shot of the Week

Played by Phil ‘ the Power’ Perry last Friday on the 9th hole. Phil unleashed a ground-shaking strike and saw half of his Titleist ProV1 (pictured) following the intended course whilst the other half sailed straight out of bounds. After some discussion with his playing partners the correct ruling was applied, and Phil replayed the shot with no penalty. (Editor’s note: my thanks to Steve Gosling for bringing this golfing incident to my attention. If anyone plays or witness any other “special” shots, can you please let me know and I will include them in the newsletter).

Congratulations Mervyn

Author: The Editor

I am sure that you will have read Keith Melia’s recent email concerning our very own Mervyn Roberts. Mervyn, who is now the Seniors’ Treasurer and Membership Secretary, has accepted his nomination to become President of Lymm Golf Club for 2026/27. This is a fitting reward for all the hard work that Mervyn has done at our club, particularly in his recent role as the club’s Honorary Treasurer. Well done Mervyn, all of the Lymm Seniors Section are proud of you and wish you well in your new role.

Find the Fact – Peter Willson

How well do you know your fellow seniors? Only one of the following statements about Peter is factual. Two are untrue.

1. Peter is a distant relative of the late motoring journalist Quentin Willson who sadly passed away last year
2. Peter represented the UK at archery in the 1980 Olympic games held in Moscow
3. In a restaurant in Tokyo Peter was once served a fish so fresh that it was still twitching when it was served

Answer at the end of this newsletter

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 15 January

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 18 January

Find the Fact answer

Statement 3 is correct. The fish was netted, prepared and served in under 2 minutes. At the moment that it was supposed to be eaten its nervous system was still operational!

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

A player’s ball lies just off the putting green. There is sand on the putting green between the ball and the hole that the player wishes to remove. What is the ruling? a) As the ball is not on the green the player must not remove the sand. b) Sand is not a loose impediment and cannot be removed. c) The sand on the green may be removed by any means.

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Exchange Day with Hazel Grove Golf Club – Friday 28 August 2026

Author: Ian Smith

Following several approaches in recent months from other local clubs we have decided to arrange an ‘exchange day’ on Friday 28th August 2026 with the Seniors’ Section at Hazel Grove Golf Club.

In short, this involves a group of seniors from Lymm Golf Club going to play a ‘free’ round of golf at Hazel Grove and a group of seniors from Hazel Grove playing on the same basis at Lymm on the same day.

The arrangements will provide for refreshments on arrival and lunch afterwards which will be paid for individually by each participant. At this stage the cost per head for food and drink is yet to be agreed, but every effort will be made to keep these at a reasonable level.

Hazel Grove already organise a couple of these events each year with other clubs, whereas for our seniors’ section this is a new venture. They expect to bring 40 or so golfers to Lymm and it would be good if we could generate enough support to match them.

Friday morning golf will still be available at Lymm for those seniors who choose not to participate in the exchange day, but obviously for planning purposes (particularly around tee booking) it would be helpful to have an indication from those who are interested in taking part in the exchange.

A competitive format will be agreed for the day nearer the time.

Please register your interest (no obligation) with me – Ian Smith – via email at ianpaulsmith@hotmail.com, message on IG or by text message to 07816 517062 giving your name so that I can start to get a feel for likely numbers. There will also be a sign-up sheet posted on the seniors’ noticeboard.

For anyone who wants a little more information about Hazel Grove Golf Club (which is located 20 miles from Lymm Golf Club) details can be found on their website which can be accessed from this link.

The Cheshire course has been described by golf journalists as one of Cheshire’s “hidden gems” and is recognised by members and visiting parties as a challenging but enjoyable place to play golf.”

Hopefully a good number of you will fancy the idea of ‘playing without paying’ at another Cheshire golf course and will lend your support by registering to take part.

Happy Mondays Report – Monday 5 January

Sole entrant and winner of Monday’s comp. Seen here after celebrating by getting legless in the clubhouse.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 8 January

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 11 January

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

In a match, a player’s ball is stuck in a bush. The bush itself is growing from an area of ground under repair, but the ball is hanging outside of the ground under repair. The player takes free relief using the spot on the ground directly under where the ball lies to measure out the relief area. The player drops the ball in the right way and plays their next stroke. What is the ruling? a) The player loses the hole for playing from the wrong place. b) There is no penalty. c) The player gets one penalty stroke for taking relief for an unplayable ball.

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 1 January

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 4 January

Seniors’ handicaps

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

In stroke play, a player bends some long grass out of the way to get a clear view of their ball in the rough. They then play their next stroke. What is the ruling? a) there is no penalty b) The player gets one penalty stroke c) the player gets two penalty strokes.

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow 25 December!

(Health and safety warning: Tee bookers should take extra care when using computer equipment whilst under the affluence of incohol imbibed on Christmas day.)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 28 December

With a very Merry Christmas to all the members of Lymm Golf Club Seniors Section and your families

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

Player B’s ball was lying badly in deep rough. Player A said to player B: “You have no shot at all. If I were you, I would declare the ball unplayable”. What is the ruling? a) A gets two penalty strokes for giving advice. If player B follows that advice they also get two penalty strokes. b) Player A gave player B information on the Rules, so no penalty. c) As player A’s advice could have influenced player B in determining his play, A gets two penalty strokes. Player B is not penalised

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Call forwarding / Redirection Scams

John Armstrong has asked that I put an item in this week’s newsletter about ‘call forwarding / redirection scams’. This are where a scammer manages to get a number into your phone settings and your inbound calls are then diverted to a number owned by the scammer. They then use this to obtain personal information about you. John says that a number of seniors have advised him that an unknown number has appeared in the call forwarding settings of their android phones. Your own voicemail has its own number, so don’t delete that from your mobile or your voicemail won’t work. If you want more information about how these scams operate and how to check your own mobile, please click on this link.

Autumn League winners

Author: Dave Craggs

Congratulations to all the winners from this year’s Autumn League:

DIVISION 1

DIVISION 2

The above amounts should be in your pro-shop accounts in the near future.

Unhappy Mondays for a change
There was no golf at all
Our glorious course was waterlogged
No chance to whack a ball

We had to stay inside at home
And do as we were bid
But looking on the bright side...
At least we saved a quid

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule Sunday 21 December

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

In stroke play, instead of recording his usual signature on his score card, a player records his initials. What is the ruling? a) The player is disqualified. b) The penalty is disqualification but this may be waived by the Committee. c) There is no penalty.

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 14 December

Golf – Boxing Day Friday 26 December and Friday 2 January 2026

For those of you who are keen to try out your Christmas golfing gifts (or just desperate to escape from your families), your fellow Seniors will be taking to the course on the above dates. Please note there will be no booking schedules issued for these dates, you will need to make arrangements between yourselves for a social game and book on IG as normal. Boxing Day may well be busy, so “book early”. The good news is that you are almost guaranteed to shoot your best score of the year so far on the second date above.

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

In stroke play, when playing out of a bad lie, a player accidentally hits the ball a second time on their follow through. What is the ruling? a) The double hit counts as only one stroke and there is no penalty. b) The double hit counts as two strokes but there is no additional penalty. c) The double hit counts as one stroke but the player gets an additional one penalty stroke.

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Abergele – Thursday 3 September 2026

Next year’s Abergele Seniors Open will take place on Thursday 3 September 2026. Six tee times have been booked from 10.30 a.m. Please let the ever-smiling organiser Pete Broady know if you are interested in playing at this outstanding course. Pete’s contact details are on IG. No firm commitment is needed at this stage and there’s no need to send Pete the money you’ve set aside for Christmas. Pete will collect the funds early next year once the 24 players are known.

Christmas drinkipoos

Author: Paul Foster

Following on from the success of last year’s gathering, all seniors are invited to a Christmas get-together. The venue is the Sadlers Arms pub in Lymm from 8pm on Wednesday 10th December. A great chance to gather at the fireside amongst friends, help each other to stay hydrated and reflect on your 2025 golfing highlights. See you there hopefully!

Happy Mondays Report – 1 December

Reporter: Steve Bird

Firstly, my apologies for not turning up today. When I had a message from Mr Willson before it got light to say that, after Friday’s deluge, he was still drying out the decision was made for me. The kind of day which my Scots ancestors would call dreich and only folk with strong fortitude would dream of playing golf.

When I looked at 8:30 there were only 5 of our merry band still on the booking sheet. So, if your name is Chisnall, Copeland, Craggs, Bramall or Bocquet I’m sure you have everyone’s utmost respect – or you just didn’t unbook yourselves.

If you DID play, congrats to the winners.!!

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 4 December

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 7 December

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Rules Quiz

When taking lateral relief for an unplayable ball, the two club-length relief area is measured from the nearest point of complete relief. True or False?

Answer is at the end of this newsletter

Seniors Trophies – Engraving

It has been agreed that the cost of engraving will be borne by the Seniors’ funds going forward. All trophy holders are advised to get their trophies engraved with their name and submit the invoice to our Treasurer Mervyn Roberts.

Recommended engraver: Warrington Trophy World, 31 Irwell Road, Warrington WA4 6BA.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 27 November

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 30 November

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Seniors Christmas Lunch – Friday 12 December

Author: Ian Goodman

A further reminder to get your name added to the list on the Seniors’ noticeboard for our Christmas lunch. As previously advised, the cost will be just £20 which includes subsidised entry to the free raffle. There’s no need to make any payment if you are joining in the festive revelry, the £20 will be debited from your bar account on Wednesday the 10th of December. That’s when the guest list will be finalised, so no refunds after that date.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 20 November

Author: Mike Kendal

With sunrise now getting later in the morning, there are limitations in being able to meet all the preferred playing times for the early risers that like to be out early doors. I will do my utmost to try and get those who have asked for an early tee time out in the first half of the field.

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 23 November

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Prostate Cancer Support raffle

Author: Ian Goodman

As you know Lymm Golf Club supports the Prostate Cancer Support Charity. Phil Ormesher has made us aware of the following raffle which he hopes will raise further funds for this fantastic cause. No excuse for the City fans in particular not to buy a ticket.

Vale of Llangollen Seniors Open – Thursday 4 June 2026

Author: Grahame Brickell

24 attendees this year who had an enjoyable day out despite the odd heavy shower. We have some reserved tee times from 11.10 already for 2026. Please message Grahame Brickell via IG to book your place. Those who went last year are already pencilled in. Cost for the golf is £35, an absolute bargain!

Hawkstone Park – 21 & 22 July 2026 – Last chance!

Author: Les Williams

It’s your last chance to get your name down for the above trip. Not to be missed! £225 per person and includes 2 rounds of golf, bed, breakfast and evening meal. £45 secures your place with the balance due by the end of June 2026. Please contact chairman Les by this Friday to sign up.

Padeswood & Buckley GC Senior Open – 7 July 2026

Author: John Hayes

Preliminary notice 😄 for next Summer – the Padeswood and Buckley GC Senior Open will be held on the above date. We now have tee times reserved from 10 30 a.m. every 10 minutes for a total of 6 slots, 24 golfers in all. Put the date in your calendar! I shall take bookings and payment next March. At this stage you could let me know your interest without firm commitment if you wish.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 13 November)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 16 November

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Out with the old and in with the old

Reporter: Ian Goodman

Your new committee: a much better-looking line-up this year, I’m sure we can all agree.

Firstly though, a massive thank you to our departing committee members: John Armstrong, Mark Pickles, Steve Gosling and Peter Willlllson for all their hard work, patience and creativity during their terms of office. A very hard act to follow!

Left to right in the photograph above:

• Grahame Brickell (old boy) – Inter Club Competitions Officer
• Dave Craggs (old boy) – Secretary
• Paul (the axeman) Foster (old boy) – Handicap Secretary
• Les Williams (new boy) – Chairman
• Mike Kendal (old boy) – Friday Booking Secretary
• Ian Goodman (new boy) – Communications Officer
• Mervyn Roberts (new boy) – Treasurer & Membership Secretary
• Ian Smith (new boy) – Competitions Secretary
• Steve Bird (old boy) – Monday Booking Secretary (Editor’s note: Steve was away on holiday when the photograph above was taken. See Happy Mondays report below for a mugshot))
• Maintenance Managers – Grahame Brickell (rockery) and Dave Craggs (memorial bench)

Please feel free to buttonhole any of the above with your suggestions on how we can make our Seniors Section even stronger and better than it already is. Contact details for all your committee are in the directory on the club website.

Hawkstone Park – 21 &22 July 2026

Reporter: Les Williams

For the past five years we have run a trip to Hawkstone park, consisting of one round of golf on the Hawkstone course, playing in pairs for the Hawkstone Trophy. Day two is a four man team event on the championship course. The cost is £225 per person and includes golf, bed, breakfast and evening meal. We have two vacancies for next year, anyone interested please contact Les Williams. £45 secures your place with the balance due by the end of June 2026

Seniors Christmas Lunch – Friday 12 December

A quick reminder that our Christmas lunch will be held on the above date. Further details to follow. The cost will be a scrooge-pleasing £20 which includes subsidised entry to the free raffle. A list will go up on the Seniors noticeboard shortly for all those who wish to attend. An occasion not to be missed!

Happy Mondays – 3 November

Reporter: Steve Bird

Severe overnight rain and continuing showers left the ground very heavy with standing water on some greens. Many players withdrew leaving a mere three teams starting and only two completing the full 15 holes. The winning team of Alan Copeland, Steve Bird and Dave Craggs (pictured) scored a commendable 94 points averaging 31.3 pp. Dave scored 34 points, but the top scorer of the day was Steve Bramall with 36 points. Full marks to Steve and the rest of his team, Messrs Broady, Hill and White for turning out and completing the full 15 on such a soggy day.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 November)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 9 November

Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Round 4 Autumn League

Reporter: Paul Foster

A day of ‘I can’t see a thing’, and where did my ball go…? Most of the round was played with the sun low on the horizon, which transformed that searing ball of gas into a laser, aimed directly into our eyes. We hit several…somewhere, couldn’t see a single one. We just listened for the faint thud and prayed it wasn’t a tree, or somebody else! Guessing distances became a new sport, only spotting the ball after we had walked 30 yards passed it. Sunglasses? Check, Cap? Check, Ability to see the ball? Absolutely not, next time I’m bringing my welding goggles or a periscope.

Competitors on the day – 41, 22 from the Division 1 and 19 from the Division 2.

One 2 scored today, that man again Mr Collins again, on the long and difficult 5th, only 7 out the 41 players managed to par it, so a 2 is exceptional. Russ Jones birdied 3 of the 4 par 5s and achieved the lowest gross of the day, at 2 over par gross, only Paul Foster managed to par the 16th

Four players put the wrong handicap on their scorecard!!

Sixteen handicaps have changed for round 5, so carefully check your handicap please.

Once again we must try and keep up with the group in front, and be sure to utilize ‘ready play’. Four hours for 15 holes is not what we seek.

“Ready play” a method for speeding up play where players hit their shots when they are ready, rather than strictly following the traditional rule of playing in order of distance from the hole. The goal is to maintain a good pace of play, by encouraging players to be prepared to hit when they can do so safely, without endangering or interfering with others. 

Results:

Division 1 winner: Russ Jones with 35pts
R/up: Arthur Nuttall with 34pts
3rd: Paul Foster with 32pts

Division 2 winner:  Paul Lennie with 32pts
R/up: John Higgins with 29pts on a CPO
3rd: Colin Chisnall with 29pts on a CPO

A dank and dreary start but for those later starters the showers stopped and the sun eventually came out if somewhat reluctantly.

Game: Team Stableford 

3 teams – 10 players 

Happy Mondays – 27 October

Reporter: Peter Willson

Winners: Mike Bennett and Richard Yates – 57 points or 28.5 ppp. The win was made even sweeter by Mike holing out a 5 wood on the 2nd hole for a Hole in One – the 2nd recorded by Seniors in two consecutive weeks.

Mike says he will put a bottle of whisky on the bar on Friday.  

Second: Pete Broady, Dave Craggs, Alan Copeland and Tony Lambert – 101 points or 25.3 PPP

Highest individual score – Mike Bennett with 33 points assisted by his “5 pointer” but closely followed by Dave Craggs with 32 points also carding a 5 point hole score 

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 30 October)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 2 November

Message from Les Williams – Charity Appeal

Hello fellow seniors. The homeless in Manchester, through Rotary, are looking for any old warm clothes, shoes and blankets you are not using. If you have any, could you please bag them up and let me have them.

I am leaving my car open on Fridays in order that you can put your bags on on the back seat or front passenger seat. I then drop them off at Manchester Cathedral where there is a help centre for people who have fallen on bad times.

My car reg: 2 LCW
Silver Range Rover.

Thank you,
Les.

Your new newsletter editor: Ian Goodman

Reporter: Mark Pickles

Having done a three-year stint on the seniors’ committee, I will be handing over the newsletter next week to Ian Goodman. Ian has not been with us long. You can see his profile here, in the newsletter for 11 June 2025.

In view of the fact that Ian is not yet acquainted with everyone in the senior section, please help him out by sending any articles for inclusion, or reporting anything newsworthy or amusing. You can use the ‘Report News’ tab.

On Monday this week, I gave Ian training for managing the website. I will be available to help out if he has any difficulties while getting used to the technology, although I’m sure he’ll some find his feet. Ian tells me he used to manage an intranet for Citizens Advice.

I won’t be disappearing entirely. I might contribute an article from time to time. And I will be Ian’s reserve, taking over the newsletter when he’s away on holiday, not least because Ian does not possess a laptop PC to work remotely.

I look forward to Ian’s newsletters!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Autumn League – Round 3 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A very peaceful, autumnal day. The kind where the air carries the scent of pine and the sugars of autumn leaves. The fairways stretch out before you in shades of deep green, framed by trees dressed in fiery orange, reds and yellows. No rush, no pressure, just us seniors, the course and the calm pulse of nature around you. All the while, thinking ahead to the sumptuous steak pie that awaits us back in the clubhouse.

Competitors on the day increased to 47.

Three 2s scored for the second week in a row, one each for Tony Dixon, Phil Lomas and Mike Kendal. Mike hit the flag on the 13th with his tee shot, as close to a hole in one as you will ever see.

Some tremendous scores from Mike Pigott (lowest gross of the day) and Martin Franks. Mike played holes 10 to 18 in two under par gross.

Three players this week put the wrong handicap on their scorecard.

Unfortunately the last group out could not complete the allotted 15 holes due to some alarmingly slow play in front of them. Please keep up with the group in front, and be sure to utilize ‘ready play’.

‘Ready play’ is a method for speeding up play where players hit their shots when they are ready, rather than strictly following the traditional rule of playing in order of distance from the hole. The goal is to maintain a good pace of play, by encouraging players to be prepared to hit when they can do so safely, without endangering or interfering with others.

Results:
1st Division winner – Mike Pigott with 33pts
R/up – Barry McGuigan with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Martin Franks with 32pts on a CPO

2nd Division winner – Alister Cook with 33pts on a CPO
R/up – Les Williams with 33pts
3rd – John Armstrong with 32pts on a CPO

Annual Business Meeting and Lunch, Friday 17 October

Reporter: Dave Craggs

A very enjoyable afternoon with fine dining and good company. 47 members attended the presentation. Andy Timms, club captain, and John Armstrong, retiring senior’s committee chairman, presented the trophies and prizes to the winners able to attend. Pictured above is Tony Dixon, this year’s senior champion, being presented with the ‘green jumper’.

For those not able to attend see attached files of Steve Gosling’s treasurer’s report, John Armstrong’s speech, and the presentation day prize winners.

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Peter Willson

A cloudy but reasonably mild start – marred only by a light shower after a few holes. Game: Team Stableford 

6 teams – 17 players 

Winners: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 85 points or  28.3 ppp
Second: Dave Craggs and Peter Willson – 52 points or 26 ppp

Highest Individual Score – Colin Crail – 31 points – it just goes to show what a new set of irons can do to raise your game even further.

Special Commendation – A Hole in One – scored by John White on the 17th. Well done John and it’s not the 1st time he’s managed to hole out in a single shot.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 23 October)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 26 October

History of the LGC Senior Section

Dave Craggs and Rob Taylor have created an up-to-date history of the senior section from the early 1970s to September 2025. I feel that the document deserves its own page, which I have created here with a permanently-visible link in the header menu.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Autumn League – Round 2 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A positively brief report this week after last week’s literary output.

A sizeable increment of players for round 2, up from 25 to 44, good to see. Oodles of 2nd division players joining the competition.

First the figures:
Three 2s scored on the day, one by Steve Gosling, and two by Mark Pickles, who also came in with the lowest gross score of the day.

Five 1st division players scored 31 points !! That dammed missed putt !!!

Five players put their wrong club handicap on their scorecard. Even more scrutiny of your handicap is required as there are 18 changes in handicap this week. We are now on the seniors winter hcap system, so your handicap may well be different to your existing club handicap. PLEASE CHECK on the Handicaps page here.

Results:
1st Division winner – Arthur Nuttall with 31pts on a CPO
R/up – Barry McGuigan with 31pts on a CPO
3rd – Mark Pickles with 31pts on a CPO

2nd Division winner – Alan Ranscombe with a super 36pts
R/up – Alan Copeland with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Les Williams with 32pts

Annual Business Meeting – Friday 17th October

Reporter: Dave Craggs

The Annual Business Meeting and Presentation will commence at 13:30 on Friday. We anticipate sitting down for lunch at around 14:15. We have 50 members attending the lunch, so come early for a ring-side table!

There are four Committee members stepping down this year from the Seniors’ Committee.  After three year’s service each, Steve Gosling as treasurer, Mark Pickles as communications officer and Peter Willson as Monday booker & Competitions organiser are stepping down. John Armstrong is also stepping down after his year as Chairman,

We thank all four for their invaluable contributions to the smooth running of the Seniors Section.

It is pleasing to note that four members have stepped forward to stand for election to the Seniors Committee at the ABM on Friday.

Happy Mondays Report – 13 October

A dank and grey start to the day which didn’t improve much. However no rain and wind 

Game: Team Stableford. 18 players in 6 teams   

Winners: Steve Barlow; Steve Bird and Ron Thornton – 79 points or 26.3 ppp

Second: Alan Copeland, Steve Gosling, Charlie Hill and Phil Lomas – 102 points or 25.5 PPP.

High score of the day : Ron Thornton – 33 points including 2 x 4 pointers.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 16 October)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 19 October

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Autumn League, Round 1

Reporter: Paul Foster

A wet and wild day. Who needs sunshine when you can have 15 holes of monsoon golf, especially for the late starters who played in heavy rain from the first putt to the final putt. This turned the course into a real test of resilience, patience and waterproof clothing. More than a few players discovered their waterproofs weren’t as “proof” as advertised. From soaked socks to slippery grips it was a day to get back as quickly as possible to the safe haven of the bar and join Art and Alan for a warming glass of red wine. Despite the soggy fairways, puddled greens and plenty of slippery grips, twenty five players showed great spirit and determination to see the competition through. Did that bother us? Of course not, spirits stayed high (and so did the umbrellas) and we saw Dave Craggs and Paul Foster navigating the soggy chaos to finish top of their respective divisions, clearly Paul and Dave are part duck, part golfer..!!

Results

1^st Division winner: Paul Foster with 29pts
R/up: Grahame Brickell with 28pts on a CPO
3^rd: Dave Meir with 28pts

2^nd Division winner: Dave Craggs with 32pts
R/up: Paul Lennie with 29pts
3^rd: Alan Ranscombe with 27pts

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Peter Willson

A cloudy start but it turned into a very pleasant late Autumn day which was surprisingly warm. Game: Team Stableford 4 Teams each with 4 players.

Winners: Steve Barlow, Kevin Bocquet, Alan Copeland and Tony Dixon – 108 points or 27 ppp.
Second: John Booth, Dave Craggs, Phil Lomas and Alan Thomas – 106 points.

Highest Individual score – Steve Bramall – 31 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 9 October)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 12 October

Subs overdue

Most members have now paid their subs, but there are stil a few stragglers that our Treasurer will approach to see if they want to remain in the Senior Section.

We know things are uncertain at the moment, but it’s still important that you pay your subs. If you don’t think you can pay the whole amount, please contact our Treasurer, who will consider a monthly payment of £2.50 for 12 months, which includes a very modest interest rate. Please note that if you do not make any payment by November 1st, your credit rating could be affected and you might find it difficult to buy things on tick in the future.

Pay £25 into:

Lymm Golf Over 60s
60-20-29
50244779

LGC Seniors at Prestatyn Golf Club Senior 4BBB Open

Twelve of us made our way to the Welsh border, from where we crawled at 20mph – past many traffic-enforcement cameras – along the coast road to Prestatyn.

Players included Mr Captain – Andy Timms, and Phil Young (last year’s captain). Apart from Jeff Acton, the rest of us were all members of the Senior Section, with tee times of 10:20, 10:30 and 10:40.

Naturally, I arrived first, and was out on the practice area, which I had to myself. There is a long driveway to the clubhouse, which runs along the practice area. Mike Pigott, who travelled with Grahame Brickell, told me later that he and Grahame were laughing out loud when, from a long distance, Grahame pointed out a lone figure and said, “I bet that’s Pickles”.

I think I can say that everyone enjoyed the day. The weather was good. Gentle breeze, fairly bright with lightly overcast skies, and no rain forecast until well after we were due to finish playing. The course was in superb condition, with true and fairly-fast greens.

A handwritten note on the first tee cautioned us that crows on the golf course have been stealing golf balls on the third hole. This didn’t stop Mike Pigott – who hardly ever loses golf balls – from miscalculating the odds and opening a box of Pro V1s, only to see a crow swoop down and fly off with his new ball on the third hole. Mike wasn’t the only one. My playing partner Paul Collins and I saw our balls being carried off the third fairway by a pair of crows seemingly acting in tandem, swooping down from on high as soon as the balls landed. I think that that most of the other Lymm players suffered similar losses.

PC and I played with Trevor Williamson and John White. Trevor and John had a great round, with 40 points. The highest score for the whole Prestatyn open was 41 points, and Trevor and John just missed out on the prizes on CPO.

For our internal comp, we all put a fiver in the pot, with prizes for the best and second best round, and a nearest-the-pin. Trevor and John took first of course, Paul and I took second with 35 points. All the remaining four teams posted 34 points. These Stableford scores might seem low, but, for some reason, North Wales golf courses have a notoriously low course handicap and slope rating which, for instance, meant that I had to play off 4, and Paul off 5. Mike had to play off 2! Fair to say, I think that all pairs played well, and well above average for the main comp.

Back to the crows. There are several theories about their thieving behaviour, such as that the crows think the balls are eggs, and are storing them in a winter larder, just as jays and squirrels hide away acorns. Another theory is that the crows simply like collecting and hoarding shiny objects (perhaps to impress a mating partner, like bower birds do). However, when we returned to the clubhouse, I was talking to a Prestatyn member who offered the most convincing explanation. He said there is a former member called Dafydd ‘Dai’ Waggitt who lives in a house overlooking the third green and is suspected of training the crows to collect golf balls, and then hoarding them to impress his wife. I asked, “Is his wife impressed?” He said, “No. She was overheard saying, ‘FFS, Dai; how am I supposed to get into the garage with all these golf balls in the way?'”

Bye bye Lindsay!

Lindsay Fox left Lymm Golf Club today, after 24 years of service, heading for pastures new. I’m sure that I can speak for all of us in the Senior Section in saying that we will miss Lindsay. The seniors’ committee agreed to present Lindsay with a £50 M&S Voucher. Of the few of us in the clubhouse at lunchtime today, Arthur Nuttall, who served for 7 years on the seniors’ committee, was ‘volunteered’ to present the voucher and a card signed by many of us to Lindsay.

We wish her well in her new venture.

Health and Safety News

An unhinged-looking senior, getting ready to start up a chainsaw, was photographed on Monday walking around Lymm Golf Club car park. If you see him again, report him to the office. Under no circumstances should you approach him.

Joking apart, Phil Omersher responded to Dave Craggs’ appeal in last week’s newsletter for a chainsaw. Phil kindly offered it for no payment, suggesting a donation be made to charity instead.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Subs are now overdue!

Our treasurer, Steve Gosling, is not a happy man. He tells me that out of a membership of 95, only 39 of us have paid to date.

I know that not everyone reads the newsletter, and so please tell your regular playing partners that they must pay up as soon as possible. One or two have stated they intend to leave the senior section due to other commitments. We will need to assume that those who have not paid up before the start of the Autumn League are also intending to leave us, and will not be competing in the Autumn League. We cannot function as a large club section without funds!

Steve also tells me that there are some who have put their name on the list for the ABM lunch, but have not paid the £10 for the two-course meal (part-subsidised by the senior section). Steve would like to confirm the catering numbers with Karen as soon as possible.

If you have not already done so, please pay immediately your £25 subs and – if you are attending – the £10 for the ABM lunch. Pay into our main bank account, not the interclub match account. The details are:

Lymm Golf Over 60s
60-20-29
50244779

Seniors’ Turkey Trot 2025

Reporter: Paul Foster

Another wonderful late summer’s day, for all our punters to win this year’s Turkey Trot Voucher. Only three players managed to beat par even with a number of shortened holes (but a few lengthened par 3s to make up) all from the 2nd division. Also good to see a full complement of the Friday wine club in the bar..

Results:

1st Division winner – Paul Foster with 30pts (wife is a vegan!!)
R/up – Trevor Williamson with 29pts
3rd – Steve Gosling with 28pts

2nd Division winner – Steve Bramall with 33pts
R/up – Ian Goodman with 32pts
3rd – Phil Lomas with 31pts

We start in earnest next Friday for the start of the Autumn League…First week we use the WHS club playing hcap as used in the turkey trot. (Note at least 2 players used the wrong hcap LAST Friday, and so please check.)

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Peter Willson

A murky misty start to the round and a bit on the chilly side, but after a few holes, the mists cleared and the sun came out, yielding a beautiful blue early-autumn day, with little to no wind.

Game: Team Stableford. 20 players in seven teams.

Winners: Steve Gosling, Charlie Hill and Ron Thornton – 81 points or 27 PPP
Second place: Paul Foster, John White and Peter Willson – 80 points or 26.7 PPP

Highest individual score: Alan Copeland and Steve Gosling – 30 points each.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 2 October)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 5 October

Prestatyn Tomorrow (Thursday 2 October)

Tomorrow Prestatyn Golf Club is hosting a mens’ senior open (4BBB).

I believe that there are going to be 12 of us from Lymm GC, with three adjacent tee times around 10:30.

I suggest that, for our internal competition, we all put £5 into the pot. We can then pay out £30 to the first pair, £20 to the second pair, and £10 for a nearest-the-pin on the short 17th. I’ll make sure everyone approves – or has any alternative ideas – before we tee off tomorrow. In any case, bring some cash!

The weather forecast for Prestatyn is good at the time of writing, and so it should be a very enjoyable day playing this superb championship links. I’ll report the results next week.

And finally…

Craggzy wants a chainsaw, for log cutting. If you have a working chainsaw for sale, please contact Dave Craggs on 07790 976916.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Autumn League

Reporter: Paul Foster

With autumn setting in, and the Autumn League approaching, we will see some necessary changes to our Friday competitions following the recent email from Keith Melia regarding holes being out of action.

For the Autumn League we will be operating the Senior Section’s manual handicap system from round 1. Amended handicaps using the manual system over the Autumn League will be available each week on the LGC seniors web site.

Pre-registering rounds will not be required for the Turkey Trot or for the duration of the Autumn League. The winner will be the best 5 rounds out of a possible 10 rounds.

A minimum of 7 Rounds should be played in the Autumn League. If 6 rounds or less are played, the League will be cancelled.

All Autumn league competitions are scored over 15 holes only. The designated course is the first 15 holes open on that day. (i.e. if hole 1&2 are closed but all others are open, the competition is played over 3-17 for that day).

If fewer than 15 holes are open. The scores achieved on these holes will be pro-rated up to 15 holes for the consistency of recording the players’ league positions in the League.

A sleeve of balls will be awarded to players who score a two on the designated course during the Autumn League. Apart from the overall league prizes and trophies, there will be a small weekly monetary prize (that goes onto your account in the Pro’s shop) for the winner of each division on the day.

We will continue to have 2 divisions. As last year, Division 1 players have a maximum playing handicap of 18. Although Division 2 has more players in it, experience over the past few years since we introduced divisions indicates that far fewer Division 2 players compete in the Autumn and Winter periods. For example, last year, although Division 2 had about 10 more players, only 21 played the necessary 5 rounds or more, compared to 26 in Division 1.

Interclub friendly, home to Warrington, Friday 19 September

Reporter: Andy Timms (Mr Captain and CoD)

And so the series of summer friendly matches drew to a close with our traditional climax of entertaining our friends from “the” Warrington golf club. A slight change to the way the day ran saw us meeting up early for bacon butties and coffee before a slightly later than usual start. This seemed to go down well with the majority of those there, so we’ll be adopting this new arrangement going forwards into next year’s matches.

The match itself was played in largely dry conditions, thankfully, and saw a convincing win for the home team by a score of 6-2. The individual scores were as follows :

Mr Captain & Art Laird – Won 1 up
Andrew Cox & Stuart Baird – Won 2 up
David Donnell-Jones & Ron Thornton – Halved
Steve Gosling & Colin Hughes – Lost 6&5 !!
Pete Broady & Les Williams – Halved
Mike Pigott & Grahame Brickell – Won 4&2
Paddy Moran & Mervyn Roberts – Won 4&2
Mike Bennett & Ian Smith – Won 1 up

The day was then rounded off by a fine fish and chip meal and a presentation including a joke which (even if we all had heard it before) did raise a decent laugh.

A final comment – on behalf of everyone who played in the matches this year, I’d like to propose a vote of thanks for Grahame Brickell and Steve Bird who have both been brilliant this year in their organisation of the matches. Bring on next season…..

Bottle of Wine Competition, Friday 19 September

Reporter: Paul Foster

A mixed bag for the final episode of the Châteaux de Willson challenge. A day for low handicappers it seems, as the top 6 positions were all 12 hcap or less.

Nobody beat par today again out of an improved 29 entry’s, with just one 2 scored, that man PC…!

Please note there were 29 pre-registered for the comp, with only 25 entering their score into Ig, and 24 cards handed in. I repeat, If you enter a comp you must either remove your name if you do not intend to play, or, you must enter your score into Ig.

Results

Winner – Colin Royle with 30pts on a CPO
R/up – Paul Collins with 30pts
3rd – Koos Alders with 29pts

Peter, has by all accounts an exceptional bottle of wine for Colin this week, from the dusty dark corners of his stately residence underground wine cellar, I feel an 1869 Château Lafite Rothschild on offer…!

That’s it for the BoW Fridays this year, bring on the Autumn League…

Full comp results on the LGC website here.

Turkey Trot, this Friday

This coming Friday – 26 September – sees the climax of the Senior Section’s golfing year: the Turkey Trot.

The Turkey Trot is earlier in the calendar this year, the plan being that we would be playing the full WHS qualifying course off the proper tees. Unfortunately, we have had the short-notice plans from LGC that maintenance of all tees is to be carried out over the next few weeks, and drainage work on holes 1 and 12. Therefore, there is no need to enter the competition on IG. Paul Foster will manually go through the cards. There will be no more WHS qualifying rounds in the Senior Section competitions this year, because even if the course fully re-opens in mid October, our senior handicaps will have been manually adjusted after the first two Autumn-league rounds.

Entry to the competition is free to all paid-up members of the Senior Section, who will compete for the massive purse of £60: two £30 cash prizes, one each for the winner of Division 1 and Division 2 respectively. See Paul Foster’s piece above, regarding the divisions for Autumn and Winter.

Although £30 will be unlikely to get you a turkey for human consumption, it will more than cover the top-of-the-range turkey pet food, if you want to give your loyal companion a treat at Christmas.

Subs are due 1 October

It is now time to pay your £25 annual subs, which are due by 1 October.

You can pay the £10 fee for the ABM lunch at the same time. Do not pay into the inter-club match account, use the main Senior’s account, as shown here:

Lymm Golf Over 60s
60-20-29
50244779

Happy Mondays report for 22 September

Reporter: Peter Willson

A beautiful crisp, and yet little chilly, start to the day with clear blue skies. Little to no wind. The course is looking good following the recent rain which has softened it up and the greens are receptive and running true. However the pin positions were still the very challenging ones that had been set up for the LGS Finals Weekend, hence the lowish average scores.

5 teams – 19 players – for the Team Stableford game 

Winners: Paul Foster, Ken Pearce, Mark Pickles and Steve Rowley – 102 points or 22.5 ppp

Second: Mike Bennett, Pete Broady, Colin Crail and Rich Yates – 93 / 23.3 ppp

Highest individual score – Mark Pickles 30 points, which included a ‘2’ on the difficult (today) 13th, with the pin on the very back of the green.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 25 September)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 28th

Galloping Grandads!

Paul Foster went to watch his son and his daughter finishing the Warrington half marathon last Sunday, and much to his surprise, our own Alan Copeland was amongst the good, the bad and the ugly crossing the finishing line.

Alan, it seems, is no slouch in the running the shoes, and posted an impressive time of 1:43:38, which was very similar to the time posted by Paul’s son.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Interclub friendly Lymm versus Leigh, Friday 12 September

Reporter: Grahame Brickell (CoD)

Oh I do enjoy golfing days like last Friday… sun was shining, still warm for the time of year, some dampness on the ground, and as you get to the lounge/bar before the game, the room was fairly full, the coffee & biscuits were going down well and there was good buzz about the place.

Mr Captain, after a gentle nudge from myself, welcomed our guests and we endeavoured to ensure everyone knew who the they were playing with and then we headed out to do friendly battle.

I played with Les W. We found ourselves 1 down after the first due to a lengthy putt from one ‘‘of them”, but following a long edge-of-the green burdie putt at hole 6 from me, we got to the turn 1 up. From there played some solid golf through to 15… where we were sitting pretty, at +2, but up steps their Mr Long putter nailing one from off the green for a 4, needing me to hole my 20ft for a half ..good job I did, they were devastated!

They took 16, with 5 nett 4’s, 17 was halved, down to the last which again was halved. We won 1 up.

Our 1 up win was the lowest winning margin!!
Messrs Craggs & Alders 5&4
2 x 4&3 wins
Only 1 match was halved
Lymm win 7.5  – 0.5

Great games all round with plenty of good spirit being in evidence on both sides.

Roll on this Friday and our last match of the season, Warrington ! Another good win is required to round off the year.

Grahame.

Friday BoW Competition, Friday 12 September

Full results here on the main LGC website. Stuart Baird takes the bottle.

Presentation Lunch and Annual Business Meeting, Friday 17 October

Reporter: Dave Craggs

The presentation lunch this year will be held on Friday 17 October.

The format will be the same as our previous presentation lunches. The business of the ABM will precede the presentation of our 2025 Trophies to those that triumphed during this year.

No long lists to plough through nor boring monologues, just the usual barrel of laughs and a fitting end to another fabulous year.

The ABM and trophy presentation will commence at 1.30pm and we aim to sit down to lunch at 2pm – so please plan to be there before to allow time to enjoy a pre-lunch drink with your friends if you so wish.

A list is now up on the Seniors Section notice board adjacent to the locker room.

Please put your names down as soon as possible so we can have a clear shot at reckoning the numbers for Karen and her team.

The lunch will consist of steak pie and chips followed by apple crumble & custard. The meal will be subsidised to the tune of £8.00 leaving you to pay only £10.00.

If you wish to pay your annual subs of £25.00 at the same time, please pay £35.00 which should be paid to:

Lymm Golf Over 60s
60-20-29
50244779

Ref: ABM-surname

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 18 September)

Happy Mondays tee-booking this Sunday, 21 September

Andy Ward Pairs Trophy

Reporter: Peter Willson

The draw has been made, with guidance and assistance from Russ Jones. Your partners (don’t blame me – it’s the pooter which selects the names and pairings), the draw and dates for completion of rounds can be found on the main LGC website under ‘Upcoming Competitions’.

Five 1st round matches to be played by 14th November; 2nd round by 12th December.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Seniors’ Championship 2025 – Friday 5 September

Reporter: Paul Foster

Another pleasant late summer’s day, with little wind, no rain, and the sun intermittently peeping out from the clouds for the biggest annual prize on offer for the seniors, in a field of 25 players.

Another Rommel to add to the list, John Higgins!

With the ever increasing numbers of buggies, we now have our own version of the ‘Wacky Races’, where the Army Surplus Special and the Arkansas Chuggabug (Alister Cook & Steve Barlow) criss-cross the fairways vying for position.

Five players beat par today out of twenty six entry’s, with two 2s scored, Colin Crail & Barry Smith. Lowest gross score was Mark Pickles.

Seniors Champion for 2025 and winner of the coveted Green Jersey was Tony Dixon.

Results:
Winner – Tony Dixon with 34pts
R/up – Art Laird with 33pts
3rd – Alan Copeland with 32pts on a CPO

Friday BoW Competition Friday 5 September

Ten entries for this weeks 9-hole ‘Willson wine of the week’ competition for those who had not qualified for the Seniors Championship. Alister Cook had the only 2.

Results:
Winner – Les Williams with 21pts
R/up – Ian Goodman with 20
3rd – Martin Lowe with 19p

Interclub friendly, away at Northenden Golf Club, Monday 8 September

Match Reporter: Bob Mycock

The Lymm Team selected by Grahame (the eternal optimist) for the match at Northenden duly turned up for duty, in good spirits and in possession of our swimming trunks and snorkels just in case the River Mersey had burst its banks again after the torrential rain over the weekend.

Luckily, this time the Mersey behaved itself, and and Ron Thornton was able to put away his mankini for another Day (phew). The course however was still showing signs of the New Year’s Day Floods on the front 9 holes, with most of the bunkers GUR and still awaiting repairs. But generally the course was in good condition with mainly lush grass on the fairways.

On to the match, which was played in the a friendly and good spirit, but ultimately resulted in a resounding hiding in Lymm’s favour of 5 1/2 to 2 1/2, or an honourable draw (if you are from Northenden).

Lunch provided the biggest slice of cheese and onion pie (seen this side of Cheshire) with a couple of hidden chips…

Many thanks to the team on the day for a great performance and their support on an impressive away win.

Tatton League 2025

Reporter: Mike Pigott (Tatton team captain)

After the triumph of winning the league last year, this season was a bit of a disappointment. However, after playing the final round at Heyrose yesterday, we managed to finish a creditable 3rd place behind the eventual winners Antrobus and silver medalists Heyrose. Both the leading teams have a bit of a reputation of having a number of spurious high handicappers in their fold so finishing close to them was a fair achievement. And I am told by Andy Timms (Club Captain and deep-thinking statistician) that 905 points was 14 points more this year than we made last year when we won the title.

As Lymm captain of the Tatton side I would like to congratulate Antrobus on their great comeback to win the title and remind them we are only loaning them the trophy for twelve months!

On a personal note I would like to thank the players in the squad for making themselves available and for bearing with me when they weren’t selected, a task I found quite difficult for most games. The following players represented Lymm Seniors during the year: Paddy Moran, Ian Whitehead, Colin Royle, Mike Pigott, Richard Cooper, Steve Gosling, Grahame Brickell, Rick Shaw, Russ Sollitt, Mark Pickles, Andy Timms, Russ Jones, Dave Meir, Martin Franks and Martin France.

The league table finished Antrobus 927, Heyrose 919, Lymm 905, Birchwood 903, High Legh 900, and Styal 850.

All who made themselves available for selection are meeting up for a golfing and socialising day at Lymm on Monday 6th October. Hopefully we can all have a bit of fun, and formulate a way of winning back the title next year!

Abergele Seniors’ Open – 4-Man Team

By all accounts, Peter Broady did an excellent job, as he does every year, organising a Lymm possy of happy and smiling Seniors to compete in the Abergele GC Seniors’ Open last Thursday.

Peter reports: “Sunshine and heavy showers were the order of the day on the golf course. The greens flooded on one occasion but soon recovered when the sun came out again. Despite the weather we enjoyed ourselves”.

Results of Lymm’s in-house competition:

Winners: Trevor Williamson. Ron Thornton. John Booth. Les Williams.    70 points.
Runners up:  
Mike Bennett. Richard Yates. John White. John Armstrong.    63 points.

I spoke to Peter today, who tells me that there were four prizes for the main Abergele competition, with 4th prize on 76 points and 1st prize on 80 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 11 September)

Happy Mondays tee-booking this Sunday, 14 September

Andy Ward Pairs Trophy

Do you want to play in the autumn/winter pairs knockout, but have not yet put your name on the list? Please enter your name before this coming Friday (12 September). On Friday, Peter Willson will remove the list from the Seniors’ noticeboard, and create the draw for the competition on I.G.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Urgent: Time to Enter the Doubles Knockout!

As noted in last week’s newsletter, the entry sheet for the Andy Ward Trophy – the Autumn/Winter doubles knockout – is now on the Seniors’ noticeboard.

Peter Willson is concerned that, as yet, there are very few names on the list. In view of the fact that Peter will be making the draw on 12 September, please enter your name as soon as possible if you wish to compete.

Seniors’ Championship this Friday

If you’re competing in the Seniors’ Championship this Friday, 5 October, make sure that you have booked into the competition on IG.

Similarly, if you are playing in the BoW comp on Friday, book beforehand in IG.

Notice of our Annual Business Meeting

Our ABM will be on October 17. This year, there are a few of us who are coming to the end of our three-year stint on the committee, and therefore we are looking for new volunteers to replace us.

If you would like to be on the committee, please put your name on the list on the Seniors’ noticeboard, or speak to a member of the committee. Dave Craggs, our secretary, would be a good person to speak to, because he has a grip on all the business of the committee, including which committee roles are likely to become vacant.

Bottle-of-Wine Competition, Friday 29 September

Well done George Clark, who won the bottle of wine last Friday, in a field of 39 players. It’s nice to see George win. George has watched his good friend and regular playing partner Joe Priestner enjoying much of the glory this year!

You can see the full results on the main LGC website here.

Friendly Away Match at Bramhall Golf Club

John Armstrong reports that score at Bramhall on Monday was 5 – 3 to Bramhall. It was a very close match with no few than four of the matches halved!

John says the golf course was in excellent condition and the greens superb. A few squally showers did not prevent another great day of inter-club golf!

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 4 September)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 7 September

A helping hand

Four of us had a very enjoyable away day at Mere Golf Club on Monday!

After a great day’s golf, after chucking my golf bag on the back seat of my car, I noticed that Steve was preparing to get his new golf buggy into his car. I offered to help, and was astonished at the weight. Steve is a strong man, but his golf buggy is without doubt a two-man lift. Steve is on a waiting list to store the buggy at Lymm Golf Club, but in the meantime will need to transport the buggy home-and-back in his car.

I know that some of the buggies that our members use split in half, and are therefore obviously easier to lift, but please do offer an extra pair of hands to anyone needs to bring his buggy by car.

Newsletter Editor – Mark Pickles

Mike Smith Plate – Singles Knockout

Congratulations to Paddy Moran, on winning the final of the knockout against Jeff Ashurst last Friday. Well done also to Jeff, for making it through to the final after a long spring-summer campaign.

Andy Ward Trophy – Pairs Knockout

Peter Willson will soon start to prepare the draw for the autumn/winter season pairs knockout.

Peter has put an entry sheet on the Seniors’ noticeboard, and so please enter you name by September 12 if you would like to compete.

Each pairing will include a lower handicap player and a higher handicap player, determined at random using LGC’s IG software. The draw, and the date for completion of each round, will then appear on the LGC website.

Match at Home against Davyhulme Golf Club – Friday 22 August

Reporter: Trevor Williamson (CoD)

Lymm were victorious in the return match against Davyhulme Park Golf Club, coming out on top 5 – 3. Having lost  5 – 3 at Davyhulme means it was truly an honourable draw over the two matches.

Thankfuly it was a little cooler than of late, with only a few drops of rain threatening to spoil our day.

Some great winning scores were posted by:  
Willson & Goodman 7 & 5
Lomas & Simpson    6 & 5
Pigott & Thornton    5 & 3

Despite the score and in acknowledgment of the recent lack of rain, our visitors were complimentary about the general condition of the course and hospitality received. The delicious steak & ale pie and raspberry cheesecake went down well too!

Bottle of Wine Competition – Friday 22 August

Well done to the in-form Joe Priestner, who won the 15-hole BoW competition with 34 points.

Full results of the competition on the main website, here:
https://www.lymmgolfclub.co.uk/competition.php?compid=11590

Away match at Helsby Golf Club

Match Reporter: John Armstrong (CoD)

Glorious weather. There were a couple of brief squally showers, thankfully too brief to spoil the day. The golf course was in excellent condition, both the fairways and greens. 

The meal of sausages in a chilli sauce was very nice, and well served by polite staff.

The result was a reverse of the score at Lymm earlier in the season. This time the honourable draw was in favour of Helsby 5 matches to 3. The winning pairs were:

John Armstrong and Stuart Baird: Won 5 & 3
Mark Pickles and Mike Bennett: Won 1 up
Alan Burton and Phil Ormesher: Won 1 up

Happy Mondays Competition – 25 August

Reporter: Peter Willson

A sunny and warm Bank Holiday Monday morning with a welcome cooling breeze. 

14 players in 4 teams 

Winners: Steve Bird, Dave Craggs, Steve Rowley and Peter Willson – 128 points or 32 ppp

Second: Steve Barlow, Kevin Bocquet, Alan Copeland and Dave Waggitt – 118 points or 29.5 ppp

Highest Individual score – Steve Bird – 35 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 27 August)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 31 August

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

The Petter Herrity Memorial Trophy – Friday 15 August

Reporter: Paul Foster

A blistering summer’s day last Friday for this annual trophy competition.

Once again, a pause at the seniors memorial bench to remember Peter, a seniors member who has sadly passed. I never had the chance to meet Peter, but have heard many honourable reports about him.

Seven players beat par today, out of 42 entries. Once again, some of the fairways on the top 9 were bone hard, with the golf ball embarrassingly bouncing in all directions, and forty yard chip and runs ran out nearer 100 yards! I note Peter (Rommel) Barlow is now the proud owner of a shiny, spanking new Formula Ford buggy! A whole new world for Steve.

Some sensational scoring, with the ever popular Peter (2 LLs) Willson taking home the trophy with an incredible 46pts, losing 2.6 shots off his handicap.

Get this: Peter had a hot streak where he scored 38pts (14 under par) in 12 holes, and could even afford to blob the last and still win by 5 points.

Duncan Clarke shot a very impressive 78, and Ron Thornton burnt the course up scoring 41 with a blob.

Five 2s recorded, Franks, Hughes, Pickles, Pigott and Thomas.

Results:
Winner – Peter Willson with 46pts
R/up – Duncan Clarke with 41pts on a CPO
3rd – Ron Thornton with 41pts

Interclub friendly at Home against Ringway – Friday 8 August

Reporter: Russ Jones (CoD)

On a lovely summer morning Lymm GC were looking to avenge the 7-1 drubbing we took at Ringway earlier in the season.

CoD Russ Jones managed to get to the club early to inspire the team and ensure we were ready for revenge.

The course had recovered well after the Course Maintenance works the previous week and the greens were rolling well.

As CoD I played with their CoD with and Art Laird. We started well getting 3 up and never really looked back, winning 2-1.

This was matched by some really good wins by Lymm, and we came in winners 6 ½ to 1 1/2, overall a really satisfying win.

Into the clubhouse where we were treated to lovely Fish and Chips from the catering staff, that went down well with our visitors.

All-round good day. Great result, Good weather, Good Company. What more could you ask for?

Bottle of Wine Comp, Friday 8 August 2025

Reporter: Paul Foster

A pleasant late summer’s day for the latest episode of the Châteaux de Willson challenge.

Only three players beat par today out of twenty five entries, a rather poor show, considering some of the fairways on the top 9 resembled runways at Manchester Airport.

One 2 were recorded, Señor Waggitt on the 9th.

Results:
Winner – Paul Foster with 33pts on a CPO
R/up – Peter Broady with 33pts (the 14th did you Pete)
3rd – Michael John with 31pts

Spookily, the players on the podium were all off 14 handicap!

We have another Rommel ! Ken Pearce, visiting seven bunkers, one pond and umpteen trees!

I heard a rumour that the wine this week for the winner, is a bottle of 1945 Châteaux Pétrus!! Don’t mind if I do….

Interclub friendly away at Huyton and Prescot – Monday 18 August

Reporter: Steve Gosling (CoD))

An overcast day saw 16 intrepid adventurers take a trip down the M62 towards Liverpool.

A warm welcome and a bacon butty was on hand for our first trip to Huyton & Prescot Golf Club

A tricky course with plenty of blind tee shots and dog legs to catch the unknowing out!
Home advantage was definitely a thing.

Congratulations to Andrew Cox, John Armstrong , Peter Willson and Ron Thornton for getting the points in their matches and to Andy Timms and Colin Hughes for a draw.

A loss 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 but an enjoyable first outing to a new course and one we look forward to returning to next year with a bit more course knowledge banked!

[ Editors Note: Tommy Lawless, our Scouser-in-residence at LGC, tells me there is a tributary from the Mersey that runs past Huyton and Prescot. A dolphin made its way up there recently. Tommy says it was found on a pile of rocks with its fins and tail missing. 😂 ]

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 21 August)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 24 August

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

The Mitre Cup – Tuesday 12 August

Reporter: Andy Timms (Mr. Captain)

After a surprisingly damp start the sun came out and did its best to melt the gallant competitors in the annual Mitre Cup challenge between the seniors and the ladies. This year the hope was to stop the long run of defeats we had suffered at the hands of the ladies, and to that end some fine performances were recorded on our side, a notable 38 points on 15 holes from Peter Willson and Alan Ranscome, and 37 from Mark Pickles and Trev Williamson. (The Mitre Cup is a 15-hole comp.)

Sadly, the ladies greater consistency across the whole team proved to be the deciding factor, as they triumphed in the end by a score of 262 points to 257. Still, this represents a closer margin than in recent years, and so the prospects are looking good for next year!

When it came to the presentation, despite much searching, the trophy couldn’t be found! We had to make do with presenting the scoresheet to the winning captain, Catherine Catchpole.

A One-in-a-Million 80th Birthday!

What are the chances of getting a hole-in-one within a few days of your 80th birthday? Quite remote I would have thought, but Barry McGuigan’s recent achievement on the cusp of becoming an octogenarian was part of an even more unlikely round of golf.

Playing at Dunham Forest Golf Club, Barry partnered Mike Pigott in a 4BBB match against Andy Timms and Dave Roberts (now at Dunham, but a former committee member at Lymm).

Mike got a two on the first of the par 3s, and another two on the second of the par3s, and then Barry got his hole-in-one on the third of the par 3s (hole 13). This means that the pair did the first three short holes in a mere 5 shots! Surely some kind of record?

Mike tells me that Barry’s ace was his seventh hole-in-one, which, again, is remarkable achievement.

Apparently the 4BBB match was fiercely contested, but Barry and Mike took it from Andy and Dave on the last hole.

Barrie was presented with his Senior Section ‘jumper’ yesterday for his 80th birthday by our chairman John Armstrong.

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Steve Gosling

Five groups set off on a hot morning to enter battle for the gold coins.

Top scorer with 36 was Les Fecitt, followed by Ron Thornton with 35

The top team of the day featured comprised Les Fecitt, Steve Barlow, Ken Pearce and Steve Gosling with a score of 31

Runners up with 29.7 were Ron, Phil Lomas and Ken Narraway.

BoW Competition on Friday 8 August

I do not seem to have received a report for the BoW comp last Friday, but you can see the results on the main LGC website here.

Paul Foster won with 33 points over 15 holes, beating Pete Broady on CPO.

I have not yet received a report on the home match against Ringway GC on 8 August. If one is forthcoming, I will publish it in next week’s newsletter. Did we win?

Seniors Championship Game on Friday 5th September

Seniors who have won one or more of the Friday games in the from winter 2024 to summer 2025, or won the leagues, or won any of the senior competitions or knockouts, qualify for the Senior Section Championship on 5th September.

Here is a list compiled by Dave Craggs. If you are not on the list but think you should be, contact Dave and explain why you think you qualify.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 14 August)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 17 August

Memorial Trophy

£113.50 was collected for charity at the Memorial Trophy competition. Thank you to all who contributed. See last week’s newsletter for the results of the competition.

Peter Herrity Trophy on Friday 15 August

The Peter Herrity Trophy is also a charity event. The funds will be donated to our nominated charity.

Please make sure that you book online or on the I.G. app before Friday. £5 will be deducted from your clubhouse account. The competition is 18 holes off yellow tees.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Seniors Memorial Trophy

Reporter: Paul Foster

A right ‘Carry On’, Up, down, up down, up down, on, off, on, off, on, off… Umbrellas and water proofs! Little time to play any golf, more time just trying to escape from the rain, and dressing and undressing, and just when all the confounded weatherproofs were donned for the 5th time, out came the sun, and off came the waterproofs…repeat…repeat…repeat.

However, once again some super scores, with eight players breaking par from the forty six entries who played for the Memorial Trophy, invoking treasured memories of seniors who have sadly passed away. I for one paused at the memorial bench, just to reflect on the lives of seniors whose names are shown on the plaques, and a cheery tot of whisky afterwards on the patio in their memory.

We had in our 4-ball, a version of a Barbershop Quartet, all bellowing ‘FORE’ in varying octaves on the 6th, featuring a “ringing” quality achieved through precise tuning and blending of voices. To follow that, Eddie Floyd’s ‘Knock on Wood’ came wafting down the 10th fairway as all four of us managed to hit the same cluster of trees, and Steve ‘the actor’ Barlow, now has a new name…..Steve ‘Rommel’ Barlow after his escapades of visiting possibly every bunker on the front nine…!

Four 2s were recorded, Paul Collins, David Donnell-Jones, Dave Meir (as usual) and Mervyn Roberts.

All cards were marked correctly, except one, which didn’t have a name on it…mine!!

Results:
Winner – Dave Meir with and excellent 34pts on a CPO
R/up – David Craggs with 34pts
3rd – Peter Willson with 33 pts.

The Mitre Cup, to be played on Tuesday 12 August

Reporter: Andy Timms (Mr Captain)

The Mitre Cup, our annual challenge match against the ladies takes place next Tuesday, 12^th August. The match format is 4-ball-better-ball Stableford over 15 holes with the winning team being the one with the highest aggregate score. There are 8 pairs going out from each side with the first tee reserved from 11:03 am. The final pairings will be sorted out in the next day or so, but in the meantime I can confirm that the team will be:

Dave Craggs 
Andrew Cox  
Steve Gosling     
Colin Hughes      
Rob Taylor  
Andy Timms  
Phil Ormesher     
Alan Ranscombe    
Arthur Laird      
Ron Thornton      
Pete Broady 
Mark Pickles      
Sammy Lee   
Arthur Nuttall    
Jeff Ashurst      
Richard Yates     

With reserves:
Trev Williamson
Peter Willson
Alan Copeland

If your name is down as part of what will hopefully be a winning team this year, but you aren’t now able to play, then please let me know as soon as possible so that I can get one of the supersubs off the bench.

Happy Mondays Report for – Monday 28th July

Reporter: Peter Willson

A brief shower at 1st but then a dry, breezy but overall a fine day for golf.

Game: Team Stableford – 15 players, 5 teams 

Winners: Les Fecitt and Paul Foster – 59 points or 29.5 ppp narrowly beating in 

Second place: Phil Lomas and Alan Thomas – 58 points or 29 ppp

Highest Individual Scores – 33 points – Mike Bennett and Phil Lomas.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 7 August)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 10 August

Friday 8 August – BoW Competition

Please note that the ‘fun comp’ scheduled for this Friday will be individual Stableford Bottle of Wine competition. Register on the IG app of the LGC website in where it is listed in ‘Upcoming Competitions’ for 8 August.

Friday 15 August – Peter Herrity Trophy

A week on Friday we play for the Peter Herrity Trophy. This is an 18-hole Stableford off yellow tees. Please enter beforehand in ‘Upcoming Competitions’. The entry fee is £5, which the Senior Section donate to charity.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Bottle-of-wine Competition, Friday 25 July

Reporter: Paul Foster

A sticky hot day for the Châteaux de Willson challenge.

Some super scores on the day. The highlight in the 4-ball I played in was Richard Smyllie smashing his drive down the 14th, leaving a wedge to the green and then sinking the 5-footer for a birdie. A pleasure to watch, and then Richard nearly eagled the 15th with his third shot, a 10-yard chip-and-run.

Four players beat par out of the twenty three entries.

Five 2s were recorded, Paul Foster somehow managed three 2s, others by Dave Meir and Tony Dixon (pity there’s no balls to be won for 2s on the BOW weeks)

Results:

Winner: Alister Cook with 36pts
R/up: Paul Foster with 33pts on a CPO
Third: Ken Pierce with 33pts

Friday may have just been a BoW comp, but we all must treat the round as if it were a competition day. There were 23 cards handed in, 2 members handed cards in but didn’t pre-register the competition, and 1 member pre-registered the comp but didn’t hand his card in or enter his score into Ig.

Rules state: If a golfer pre-registers for a competition but does not submit their scores afterward, they may face a penalty score being applied to their handicap record. This is a common practice to ensure players are accountable for their rounds and to prevent manipulation of handicaps. 

Interclub friendly at home versus Sale GC, Friday 25 July

Reporter: Mark Pickles

Paddy Moran was Captain of the Day, by popular demand, not only for his sportsmanship and captaincy record but for his talent for telling jokes!

Lymm won 5 to 3.

Our winning pairs were:
Trevor Williamson and Art Laird
John Armstrong and Colin Hughes
Mike Bennett and Phil Lomas
Phil Ormisher and Andrew Cox
David Donnell-Jones and Jeff Chapman.

Speeches followed after an enjoyable lunch of chicken curry, and apple crumble with ice cream. Paddy immediately got laughs for his comments on David Donnell-Jones’ recent flop of a joke, and so Paddy put himself under pressure to make sure his own joke didn’t flop! I’m pleased to say that Paddy touched 8/10 on the laughometer, which is a good effort for a clean joke, with none of the smut of Bobby Mycock’s jokes!😉

Hawkstone Trophy 2025

Reporter: Les Williams

Our fourth year of playing for the coveted Hawkstone trophy at our two day jolly at Hawkstone park didn’t disappoint.

Sixteen players turned up for an early lunch with a glint in their eyes and thoughts of winning this year!

First tee at 12:30. Clear sky, and everyone chomping at the bit. The Old Course is an amazing course to play with all holes completely different and challenging.

Result for the day was, in second place, Bob Mycock and Dave Craggs with 44 points, just beaten by the winners Paul Collins and Mike Kendal also with 44 points and with a better back nine on the CPO.

A good crack was enjoyed by all prior to dinner, which as usual was delicious food and good quality wine, followed by watching England ladies progress to the final of the Euro Cup.

Next morning some bleary eyed players discussed how they would dismantle the Championship Course, and so they did with amazing scores from Paul Collins, Jeff Ashurst, John Hayes and Alan Thomas returning a score of 122. The format was best three scores from each four-man team.

A bottle of good red wine for the deserving winners.

A light lunch was enjoyed by all before returning home while looking forward to the challenge again next year.

Memorial Trophy Competition on Friday

We play for the Memorial Trophy on Friday. Please make sure that you enter for the competition on I.G. or on the LGC website the day before.

I got this photo in an email from a ‘Ronald Craggs’, telling us that the Memorial bench has been spruced up ready for the competition.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 31 July)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 3rd August

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League Round 10 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A bumper edition this week. Settle down on your favourite settee, grab a large glass of Pinot Noir and enjoy…

A fine warm day with cloudy intervals, and when the sun did shine it got jolly hot, out came the silly hats, and red went the milk bottle legs emanating from an assortment of Gunner ‘Lofty’ Sugden shorts. A great day for golf, judging by the results, and the smiling faces all around the course, also on the patio where Les Williams remained after his round for most of the day.

Fifteen players beat par on Friday, lots of hcaps to be docked by England Golf..!

Forty seven entry’s for the final round of the long Summer league, punters have been jockeying for position since last March, now it’s all over.

Twenty three players from division 1, and twenty four from division 2.

Just to irk our esteemed treasurer, four 2s were recorded. Martin Franks managed two 2s, on the 2nd and the 9th. Others by Paul Collins and a marvellous 2 for Rob Taylor, both on the 13th.

Top of the pile and the highest stableford score for the 1st division, and the lowest gross by anybody in the summer league was that man Martin Franks. With a quite an astonishing 38pts, finishing 1 under par gross after 15 holes. Congratulations for sure. Martin’s round consisted of 2 birdies, 12 pars and 1 bogey.

Just Martin Franks managed ‘keep a six off your card’, (not surprisingly) in the 1st division, but no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ in the 2nd division.

Division 1 Results:

Winner – Martin Franks with 38pts
R/up – Barry McGuigan with 33pts on a CPO
3rd – Steve Gosling with 33pts

Division 2 Results
Winner – John ‘the singer’ Hayes with 33pts
R/up – Alan Copeland with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Mike Kendall with 32pts

With Martin’s fantastic last round, the 1st division Summer League Trophy is shared between Paul Collins and Martin Franks.

No change from round 9 in division two, so Joe Priestner and Stuart Baird share the 2nd division Summer League Trophy. Hearty congratulations to all four players.

Interesting snippets of information from the Summer League:

In the 1st division the following players managed a ‘keep a six off your card’; Martin Franks (4 times!), Paul Collins, Ian Whitehead, Mike Pigott and Duncan Clarke,

In the 2nd division the following players managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’; Art Laird, Mike Bennett twice, Joe Priestner, Alan Copeland three times, Mervyn Roberts and Colin Hughes.

Just seven players competed in all 10 rounds, top score in the 1st division was Martin Franks with 38pts and top score in the 2nd division and summer league high was Barry Smith with a phenomenal 39pts.

There were 109 birdies, including twenty five 2s and 1 eagle scored over the ten rounds, with 479 rounds of golf played by 80 players.

All looking forward to the Autumn league???

[ Editor’s Note: See the Leader Boards page for the full list of results. ]

Happy Mondays Competition – 21 July

Match Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry yet warm and humid day with virtually zero wind.
Game: Team Stableford
13 players, 4 teams
Winners: again for 2nd week in a row – the guys out last came in to collect the spondoolics – Mike Bennett and Colin Crail – 58 points or 29 ppp
Second: 2 teams on 28.8 points per player.

Highest Individual scores: Alan Copeland and John Mather – 33 points each

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 24 July)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 27 July

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Gordon Wood Trophy – Friday 11 July

I do not seem to have received a match report for the Gordon Wood Trophy from Lord Lucan’s Foster-child. In fact I’ve not seen him for ages. Does anyone know where he is? No doubt Paul is enjoying life in some exotic locale, and will turn up at Lymm again one day??

However, the full results of the Gordon Wood Trophy are published on the main LGC website here: https://www.lymmgolfclub.co.uk/competition.php?compid=10811

Congratulations to the trophy winner Stuart Baird, with 40 points. And well done runner-up Ian Whitehead, with 39 points, posting an impressive gross score of 75.

I played first thing in the morning on Friday with Paul Collins, with whom I was scheduled to play in a four-man team at a Maxitours event at Lancaster Golf Club in the afternoon, with fellow Lymm members Steve Lamont and Peter Gold. A few days before, PC had proposed the mad idea – to which I agreed – of playing the Gordon Wood in the morning, and then driving straight to Lancaster, an idea that turned out to be even madder on the day, as temperatures reached about 31 deg C !

Even worse, as it turns out, we had decided beforehand to go in Paul’s car, which is a massive Audi EV (i.e. it is fuelled by milk-float technology). As Paul and I started to suffer ‘range anxiety’, he switched off the A/C. In hindsight, we should have gone in my 10-year-old Renault Megane diesel, as Paul and I did last month to a Maxitours event at Conway. My car averages 65 miles to the gallon (seriously), and does nearly 700 miles on a full tank, even with the A/C blasting out air as cold as a fridge! As for ‘Carbon footprint’ – for anyone who is into ‘Mad Ed’ Milliband’s UK-net-zero ideology – I think an economical diesel car wins hands down. Most of our electricity, be it generated (or imported), is still from carbon fuels, and the (diesel) energy used for mining for nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite, tantalum… for manufacturing batteries is phenomenal. Milliband doesn’t care, because these ‘conflict minerals’ are mined by fossil-fuel-profligate Communist China in Africa and therefore don’t affect his UK ‘Net Zero’ claims… (Apologies for this rant to my good friend Paddy Moran, whom we all know for this right-to-Leftist bias.)

However, PC and I managed all 36 holes. In fact my Pedigree Chum played the best of all of us, including Steve and Peter who turned up at Lancaster at 13:00, fresh and ready-to-go an hour before tee-off. PC and I recovered from a full day’s playing golf in arduous heat after a couple of pints of cold lager and good meal in a local pub!

Happy Mondays game – Monday 14th July

Reporter: Peter Willson

A warm day but with a gentle breeze, temperatures thankfully much lower than last Friday and over the weekend just gone. Cloudy skies but some sunny spells
Game – Team Stableford.

5 teams – 17 players

As is often the case – whilst players were waiting expectantly on the terrace – the last group of “Tail End Charlies” came home to claim victory but only by the smallest of margins – 1 point.

Winners: Eric Cox, Ken Pearce and Ron Thornton – 89 points or 29.7 ppp
Second: Steve Barlow, Alan Copeland and Peter Willson – 88 points or 29.3 ppp

Highest Individual Score – Peter Willson – 38 points

Please note no game on Monday 4th August – as the course is closed for Summer Maintenance works.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 17 July)

Tee-booking tomorrow is for our Memorial Day. 15 holes, WHS 95% Stableford, yellow tees.

There will be a collection bucket on the bar in memory of those passed. Proceeds to our chosen Charity and to fund the bench/plaques. “Tots on the Bar” will be courtesy of our secretary Dave Craggs who will provide a bottle of whisky.

Prestatyn Senior’s Open 4BBB – Thursday 2 October

Following last week’s note about Prestatyn GC’s senior open on 2 October, it’s good to see that eight of us have booked the 10:30 and 10:40 slots. As you can see from this screenshot I’ve just taken, there are still slots available if you’re interested, from 10:00 to 10:50.

Book Early!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Message from Keith Melia regarding the anticipated BBQ last Friday

Dear Members of the Seniors Section

We are aware that the members expecting a B-B-Q on Friday 27^th June were disappointed that this was not provided, and had not been communicated to you beforehand. We also received several comments regarding the quality of the food served, that it did not meet with expectations. We sincerely apologise that there was no communication regarding the B-B-Q and that the food served was not well received, we are therefore inviting all those who had paid for the B-B-Q to have a complimentary breakfast barm after they’ve played this Friday (either bacon, or sausage, or egg).

– regards Keith.

Gordon Wood Trophy this Friday (11 July)

Our annual Gordon Wood Trophy competition takes place on Friday. This is an 18-hole competition, off yellow tees, for members of the senior section only.

Please make sure that you enter the competition in ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main LGC website, or the IG app, before Friday, just as you do for the senior’s league competitions. (The Pro’s shop is not involved in this competition. There is no entry fee. The prize for the winner is funded by the Senior Section.)

Interclub friendly away at Davyhulme GC

Match Reporter: Trevor Williamson (CoD)

A good time was had by all who played in the Seniors’ match at Davyhulme Park Golf Club on Monday 7th July.

The weather was fine and warm, the course was in good condition, and everybody enjoyed the splendid carvery, followed by sticky-toffee pudding and custard in the clubhouse afterwards.

The website of the club, the 4th oldest in England, describes the course as ‘deceptive in its challenge’. Whilst three pairs, David Craggs/Trevor Williamson, Andrew Cox/Art Laird, and Ian Whitehead/Peter Willson rose to the challenge, home advantage prevailed in a 5 – 3 home win for Davyhulme.

Lymm players look forward to reversing this match score when Davyhulme visit Lymm in September. Lymm is certainly no less of a challenge, so it will be interesting to see which team comes out on top over the two matches.

Report for Fun Game played on Friday 4th July

Reporter: Peter Willson

Game played for “A Bottle of Wine” before the Captain’s Charity Day competition held 

Game: Individual Stableford – over 15 holes 

23 Entries  – Some players didn’t manage to complete the full 15 holes before the Charity Day shotgun start competition began – but their scores have been pro-rata’d to 15 holes.

Winner: Stuart Baird – 38 points 

Second: no less than 4 players on 34 points but the leader after card count-back was the ever-present Pete Broady. 

Bottle of Sainsbury’s best red plonk to Stuart.

Captain’s Charity Day

I do not have a report for the Captain’s Charity Day, and unfortunately I was unable to participate, being away on holiday. I suspect that Keith Melia will update LGC on the day’s events in his ‘Friday Message’.

However, I have received this photo of the team that came third. As you might guess, the team shirts were conceived by Bob Mycock, ever in touch with his feminine side. It looks to me like Bob got out his sewing machine to repurpose an old pair of curtains!

Watkins Cup Round 4

I do not usually report on the Saturday competitions, but of the 154 competitors last Saturday we had some senior-section notables.

Firstly, ‘Pedro’ Broady posted 85 gross: a great score off the white tees, and 5 shots under Peter’s white-tee handicap of 19 on the day (now down to 18). Peter’s score qualifies him for the Watkins Cup Final on Finals Day in September.

Paddy Moran played very well, and equalled his age, scoring 80 gross (2-under for the day). That’s a remarkable achievement off white tees. Almost exactly a year ago, Paddy beat his age off yellow tees with a gross 78 in the Gordon Wood Trophy, as I reported here.

Also remarkable was Mike Pigott’s card. Coming in at net level (78 net 71), Mike scored four consecutive birdies on holes 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 10 July)

Please note that although Mike Kendal tries to accommodate requests for preferred tee times, he obviously needs to make adjustments when we have an interclub home match on Fridays, including Friday 25 July, when we invite Sale GC.

Happy Mondays Tee-booking schedule for Sunday (13 July)

Prestatyn Seniors’ Open 4BBB – Thursday 2nd October

Prestatyn Golf Club is a great championship links that I’ve played many times. Its open competitions are a great way to play and are great value for money.

There is a seniors’ 4BBB open comp on Thursday 2nd October, costing £25 (£50 per pair).

Paul Collins and I have booked for 10:30. As you can see from this screenshot I’ve just taken from the BRS booking sheet, there are many free morning slots still available. It would be great to see some familiar faces there. Perhaps we could have our own internal competition if there are enough of us.

Here is a link to the Prestatyn opens on the BRS site. And here is a link to Prestatyn Golf Club.

I don’t doubt the free spaces will start to fill up in the coming weeks. And therefore, in the famous words of Fred Pontin (there is still a Pontins holiday camp at Prestatyn): “Book Early”. 👍

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

When is a barbeque not a barbeque? When it’s a boiled hot-dog sausage in a finger roll, apparently.

Apologies to all who were disappointed with our summer social event last Friday. I believe that our Treasurer Steve Gosling – who handed over Senior Section surplus funds to subsidise the event – is discussing the matter with the Chair of House.

The only redeeming point is that we’re ‘seniors’, and are therefore likely to forget what we ate for breakfast this morning, let alone what we had for lunch last Friday. In fact, I can’t remember anything about the BBQ at LGC last Friday… ???

My wife has just told me that, in fact, I wasn’t at LGC last Friday! We were driving down to a cottage on the Norfolk Coast, from where I’m writing this newsletter.

Summer League – Round 9 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Cloudy intervals, with the sun peeping out occasionally, but all in all a reasonable day for golf.

Seven players beat par on Friday, just two from the 1st division.

Forty-one entry’s for the penultimate round of the Summer league, punters have been jockeying for position since last March, and now it’s all down to the last round…anybody sweating…???

Eighteen players from division 1, and twenty three from division 2.

Just one 2 recorded, well done Barry McGuigan on the 13th, a very tricky hole on Friday, with OOB looming just a yard from the green, and just a few yards from the hole..

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Richard Smyllie with 33pts
R/up – Paul Collins with 31pts
3rd – Grahame Brickell with 30pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Richard Yates with 33pts on a CPO
R/up – Stuart Baird with 33pts
3rd – Dave Craggs with 32pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, with a five point gap over Colin Royle, and six point lead over Paddy Moran.

Long time leader in division two Joe Priestner, has been caught by Stuart Baird, both on 162 points, and it’s now a 2 horse race. Alan Copeland is some 8 points back.

No one managed ‘keep a six off your card’, from the 1st division, and equally, no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ from the 2nd division.

Remember that the last and final round, 10 of 10, of the summer league has had to be rescheduled to Friday 18th July, as noted in last week’s newsletter.

Happy Mondays report, Monday 30 June

Reporter: Peter Willson

A very hot day – little wind and when the sun came out later on… Wow!

Game – Team Stableford – 22 players in total in 6 teams 

Winners: Pete Broady, Tony Dixon and Les Fecitt – 94 points or 31.3 ppp

Second: Alan Copeland, Eric Cox, Ian Goodman and Charlie Hill – 118 points or 29.5 ppp

Best Individual scores – 35 points – shared between Pete Broady and Peter Willson  

Padeswood and Buckley Trip – Tuesday 1 July

Reporter: John Hayes

Today saw 24 intrepid recycled teenagers venture across the border to enjoy a day of golf at Padeswood and Buckley GC Senior Open.

After the great heat of the previous day the weather turned out to be cloudy and cool, in fact ideal for playing golf. As usual the greens were quite slick and the course in good condition for golf. Within our own “mini-competition” there was a close contest for the winning score. After cross-checking score cards, very willingly done by Paul Lennie with my grateful thanks, the winners turned out to be Sammy Lee and Grahame Brickell, with 39 points after a card play off on the back 9. They were closely followed by Paul Collins and Pete Broady also on 39 points and, in third place, Club Captain Andy and Dave Meir. Given that our regular handicaps were reduced to 85% for the day these were excellent scores. After a time spent in the clubhouse catching up on the gossip, we all wandered back to the Cheshire plains, possibly thinking about a very enjoyable day out and revisiting all those putts we shouldn’t have missed.

Photo courtesy of Dave Craggs showing the winning pair receiving their acclamation from the crowd.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow – Thursday 3 July

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 6 July

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League Round 8 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

It ain’t half hot mum…!

Only 6 players beat par on Friday. Well, It was I believe like playing on the runway at terminal 2 at Manchester, all wearing Benny Hill shorts and silly hats, you know it makes sense to cover up… and slap on the sun cream…

44 hot and bothered entries for round eight of the Summer league, which is now starting to take its final shape. N,n,n,n,n 19 from players from division 1, and 25 from division 2.

No 2s recorded, Mr Gosling is well pleased again!

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Dave Meir with 33pts
R/up – Peter White with 30pts on a CPO
3rd – Paddy Moran (that man again) with 30pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Stuart Baird with 33pts
R/up – Dave Craggs with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Bob Ellison with 32pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, followed now by newcomer Colin Royle, and Paddy Moran. Clear leader in division two is still our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Stuart Baird, then Barry Smith.

A great run of 9 consecutive pars from Mike Pigott. One ‘keep a six off your card’ from the 1st division: Martin Franks. No-one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ from the 2nd division.

Senior Friday competitions in Ig have been tweaked, such that, all rounds from now on, will not require an NS to be entered for the last 3 holes.

Happy Mondays – 23 June

Reporter Paul Foster

The Four Seasons…!

What a difference a day makes…Play started in the wind and rain, with players donning winter hats (Dave Waggitt’s luminescent hat taking the silly hat award) and coats, with umbrellas a plenty. Not a good day for scoring.

Six teams, consisting of 20 hardy souls, battled through to compete for the gold coins. A really tight battle ensued, with first to fourth places separated by an average of just 0.66 points per person.

Winner of the day were team Craggs, Foster and Narraway, beating by a solitary point that well know solicitor’s firm Copeland, Cox, Lomas & Lee.

Top dog was Steve Rowley with an excellent 34pts. Funnies: from 10 yards, Dave Craggs managed to hit flush, slap bang in the middle the 150yd marker post on the 14th, Dave’s ball rebounded no less than 60 yards back towards the tee he had just left…! Tony Dixon drove into the fairway bunker on the 8th, and played an excellent shot towards the green. His playing partners could not find the ball, until Tony checked the hole, and it was there! A great eagle 2!

By the size of the poop splashed all over Paul Foster’s bag, we have a Pterodactyl soaring above the trees above the 10th hole.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 26 June)

The tee-booking schedule tomorrow is for the Gordon Wood Trophy, an 18-hole competition for Senior Section members only.

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 29 June

Senior’s Calendar

Check the Seniors’ noticeboard for entry sheets for:

The Mitre Cup (Seniors v Ladies) on Tuesday 12 August.

Seniors v Juniors on Wednesday 20 August.

Dave Craggs has updated the Seniors’ Calendar. (See the ‘Senior Section Calendar’ tab.)

Please note that we have moved round 10 of the summer league to 18 July, because it conflicted with the Captain’s Charity Day on 4 July (with a shotgun start at 13:00. 4 July will be a fun comp for the seniors.

BBQ on Friday

If you are attending the Seniors’ BBQ on Friday, please make sure that you have money in your bar account beforehand. Karen will be taking £5 from all names on the list on Friday morning.

Annual Business Meeting – Election of Committee Members

Reporter: Dave Craggs

Whilst this may seem an early request we would like all members to give some thought to putting their names forward to join the Seniors Committee in October.

The end of our financial year sees a number of our 10 elected members completing their term in office.

We therefore have a seats to fill at this year’s Annual Business Meeting which is on the 17th of October (concurrent with the Presentation Lunch).

We need volunteers now please! A list asking for nominations will be pinned onto the Senior’s Notice Board in the Locker room.

If you would like to give something back to the Senior’s by joining the Committee, please: Add your name to the list, or speak to any member of the existing Committee, or e-mail/ phone the chairman, John Armstrong.

If more applications are received than seats available voting papers will be prepared, and a run off will be held at the ABM.

The closing date for applications is the 15th of October (2 days before the ABM)

Many thanks,
Dave Craggs, Secretary to the Gents Seniors committee.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Firstly, my apologies to Grahame Brickell and all who played at Lllangollen on Thursday 5 June for not including Grahame’s report in last week’s newsletter. Grahame had sent the report in good time, but I missed it off my list of items to include.

To my amazement, Grahame’s report is written in near-intelligible English! Here it is below, without any edits, just to prove that Grahame can communicate effectively in his second language (his first language being Brickellish: ?? && * HAGW pp, c b4 peops + mp 6t, 2 squids Brx ..).

Vale of Llangollen Golf Club – Seniors Open, 5 June

23 Lymm Seniors + 1 invited guest battled the rain & rush hour on the 56 & headed into mid wales last thursday. Low and behold as we passed the ‘Welcome to Wales’ sign the rain stopped, the clouds parted and blue sky was to be seen.. a good omen for the day ahead!
Ok there was a light shower as we downed bacon sarnies & coffee with the more adventurous among us going for a full Welsh fry up l!

So the sun shone, not like back at home & the course was in fine fettle and the majority of the pairs finished on or around par. Mr Treasurer, Steve Gosling, and his partner, the invited guest (Jeff Acton) managed to secure 3rd place prize in the overall comp with 41 points and hence also grabbed our own seniors pot of £15 each followed by Duncan C & our own Welsh man, Les Williams on 39 points raking in £9 each .

Some fine after the game nosh was enjoyed by the majority .. with also a good show of hands to return next year.. can we make it to 28 or even 32?
Drop me a text if u fancy it and i’ll add your name to the list for confirmation when date & times come out in November.. Grahame ..

[ Editor’s note. The Brickellish convention of a two-dot ellipsis rather than the three dots of English grammar is interesting. Perhaps it’s the energy-saving future! ]

Please support Mr Captain, Andy Timms, on Captain’s Charity Day, Friday 4 July

As you’ll know, one of the obligations of the LGC Captain is to raise money for his chosen charity. One of the most effective ways of doing this is the Captain’s Charity Day. In the four years that I’ve been at LGC I’ve participated in two Captain’s Charity Days, but unfortunately I will be travelling back from a week’s holiday on Friday 4 July, much as I would have liked to support my good friend Andy.

Although Andy rarely plays in the Friday competitions, I’m sure that most of you know him well. He is very involved with the Senior Section; he’s on the Seniors’ committee, and represents us to the main committee.

Please join a team, or raise your own team. The event is open to members and non-members. I don’t doubt there’ll be good prizes for the day! I played in a team raised by Grahame Brickell three years ago, and (if my memory serves me) we won second prize.

The cost is £180 per team. Shotgun start at 13:00, with team registration from 11:30, at which time the clubhouse will be open for hot drinks and breakfast orders.

• Format – Team of four, any combination of gents and ladies.
• 85% handicap allowance, best two scores to count on each hole.
• Prizes for nearest the pin on all par 3 holes and the longest drive.
• Beat-the-pro prize on the 13th hole
• Buffet and prize-giving presentation from 18:00
• Mr Captain’s chosen charity is Warrington Foodbank

You can register your team here, in ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main LGC website.

Interclub-friendly, Lymm v Northenden, Friday 13 June

Match Reporter: David Donnell-Jones (CoD)

On a dry and bright morning, the visiting Northenden team assembled early in the car park, ready for a competitive days golf. The fine weather set the tone for an enjoyable morning on the course.

After the match, both teams were treated to a delicious lunch provided by Karen, Josh and Lindsey.

A brief recap of the day’s proceedings followed, with the team Captain’s offering his reflections on the day’s events. In an effort to avoid overshadowing Craggzy’s joke from the previous week’s encounter at Hale, the Lymm Captain’s joke was met with a polite silence! 

The day concluded with the announcement of a convincing 6½ to 1½ victory to Lymm. A big thank you to Graham, as always, for assembling such a dynamic Lymm team.

Notable performances:
Andrew Cox & Jeff Chapman won 5 & 4
Trevor Williamson & Ian Goodman won 4 & 2

You have to laugh!

Reporter: Mark Pickles

I was there at the Hale match a few weeks ago, when Craggzy managed only 2-out-of-10 on the laughometer, but apparently David Donnell-Jones’ attempt last Friday at being Lymm’s stand-up comic supremo was even worse!

No fewer than three Senior-Section members – Alan Burton, Paddy Moran and Paul Collins – have approached me since last Friday to say that I need to mention David’s joke failure in the newsletter. Poor David. And to think that Alan Burton is one of David’s close friends!

I would have expected David to be a natural-born comedian. He is surely one of the most jovial characters in the senior section, the kind of person you would expect to be sacked from a funeral directors’ firm for laughing too much!

Paddy Moran on the other hand, who often looks deadly serious, and whom I could imagine driving a hearse, managed 9-out-10 on the laughometer for his Irish joke at Sale GC this year. It’s the way he tells ’em!

Pairs Betterball Competition held on Friday 13th June

Reporter: Peter Willson

A change of competition whilst the Interclub game vs. Northenden was being held 

A fine dry, but breezy day. Thirteen pairs of players took part. 

A close run affair with only 5 points separating the first 5 teams 

Winners: John Mather and Barrie Simpson – 40 points – please see Mr. Treasurer for your prize of a sleeve of balls 

Second: Dave Craggs and Peter White – 39 points 

Third: Alister Cook and Richard Yates – 38 points 

[ Editor’s Note: John Mather is not a member of the Senior Section. ]

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 19 June)

Happy Mondays Game

Match Reporter: Peter Willson

Another dry and part sun / part cloud day, pleasantly warm with a moderate breeze

Game: Team Stableford
18 players – in 6 groups

Winners: Dave Blackledge, Pete Broady and Dave Waggitt – 95 points or 31.7 ppp
Second: Mike Bennett and Richard Yates – 61 points or 30.5 ppp
Third: Steve Bird, Alan Copeland, Steve Gosling and Peter Willson – 115 points or 28.7 ppp

Highest Individual Score: Dave Waggitt – 36 points

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 22 June

Interclub Matches Update

Reporter: Grahame Brickell

We are now halfway through the season of friendly matches (10 played). We have won four of the five home matches, but we have lost all the away matches! We need to do better in the second half, starting at Daveyhulme, and then on to Leigh and Warrington.

Thankfully we have been blessed with mainly fine weather (apart from at Sale GC). Let’s hope it continues.

So far out of the 60 players ‘registered’ to participate, 46 have done so, with Messrs Gosling (played 8) Willson (7) Craggs & Roberts (6 each) topping the matches played leader board. We have some members who are not responding to the poll requests. If you are not interested in playing, message me and I will remove you from the WattsApp group.

Thank you to all those who have played so far and will hopefully continue.

Enjoy the summer. Keep swinging and if the sun’s out, cover up!

Brx.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Round 7 – Summer League – Friday 6th June

Reporter: Peter Willson

In the absence of our esteemed scorer and talented wordsmith, Paul Foster, who is out of the country (again), an abbreviated report of the Summer League Round 7 

Division 1

Winner: Tony Dixon- 33 points
2nd: Arthur Nuttall – 32 points CPO
3rd: Paddy Moran – 32 points 

Division 2

Winner: Sammy Lee – 31 points – on only his second turn out this session
2nd: Steve Bird – 28 points CPO
3rd: Phil Ormesher – 28 points 

2’s
Alan Copeland, Paddy Moran, and Colin Royle

Division league tables will be calculated and updated by Paul on his return next week.

Interclub friendly, away at Hale, Wednesday 4 June

Match Reporter: Dave Craggs (CoD)

Our return away match with Hale GC is always eagerly awaited not only for the golf but also the dining experience, and we were not disappointed.

Sorry to say the result of the match was not as satisfying. We started the day with a slight trauma as the first team had set off and we had a panic as one of the team (no name no shame) had not arrived. We phoned him, and apparently he was at work!

Thank you to Steve Gosling who rang around and found a replacement. Many thanks to Mark Pickles who lives fairly close to Hale, and fortunately made the tee within 10 minutes of the phone call!

Our home game with Lymm resulted in a win for Lymm 4-3 but on their course the result was reversed and Lymm lost 5-2.

Paddy Moran and Mervyn Roberts won convincingly 8 & 6 and the other winners were Steve Gosling and Peter Willson.

Weather was kind to us and overall a very enjoyable day.

[ Editor’s Note: Craggzy attempted a joke, but it only got 2/10 on the laughometer! ]

Happy Mondays Game

Reporter: Peter Willson

A cloudy and at times a chilly morning but it stayed dry 

Game: Team Stableford 

5 Teams – 15 players 

Winners: Steve Gosling and Alan Thomas – 58 points of 29 ppp 

Second: Pete Broady, Sammy Lee, John Mather and Steve Rowley – 28.7 ppp

Highest Individual score – Steve Gosling – 33 points 

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 11 June)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 15 June

Fun competition this Friday – 13 June

While a senior team plays an interclub friendly against Northenden on Friday, the rest of us will, for a change, play a pairs betterball (4BBB) competition with two sleeves of balls for the winning pair. Best Stableford score from the pair for each hole to be recorded on the card.

Seniors BBQ – Reminder

As noted in last week’s newsletter, we are having a BBQ and social gathering on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name as soon as possible if you intend to join us, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Welcome Ian Goodman to the Senior Section

I met Ian for the first time at the away match at Hale last week. I was paired with him in fact, and enjoyed his company. I asked him if he could introduce himself to the Senior Section.

About me

I joined Lymm GC on the 1^st of April this year after playing Society golf on and off for quite a few years.  I made a great decision to join the Senior Section and have already made my mark playing for the team.  Played three, lost three.

I was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire from a line of Scotsmen (so being ‘careful with money’ is in my DNA).  Highlights of my school years were being the singer in a punk band and getting trapped underground for 24 hours in a flooding pothole in the Yorkshire Dales.

My late father played golf off 3 at Southerness (a tough links course in the Southwest of Scotland) but unfortunately his golfing ability didn’t make it into my DNA.  I was a member at Woodsome Hall Golf Club in Huddersfield from the age of nine but gave up when I went to Lancaster University and discovered other less wholesome diversions.  I graduated with a degree in politics and philosophy, but most importantly met my future wife (Dianne) whilst “studying”.  Dianne is a Warrington girl and spent most of her early life in the Ship Inn at Walton (because her mum and dad ran it, not because she had a drink problem).  We’ve been happily married for 42 years now and have a son, daughter and two grandchildren, both girls.  My daughter is following the family tradition and currently lives over a bar in Manchester which her fiancée owns.

After passing basic military training while in the Territorial Army my original plan was to go into the army as a young officer, but a change of heart meant I went into financial services instead.  I started with the Bradford & Bingley Building Society as a trainee and worked my way steadily up the ladder managing branches in Beverley, Hull, Warrington and Wigan.  My first area role was looking after the branch network across Merseyside and Northern Ireland when the troubles were still on (in both places!). I then moved around the banking sector, working for several major banks, ending my career in consultancy work for the Co-op bank.

My last (and most enjoyable) job before retiring earlier this year was as a supervisor at Citizens Advice in Warrington. 

I had an unexpected and inconvenient heart attack / double bypass a couple of years ago but I’m fighting fit again now and still on the long journey towards my first hole in one (a par on the 16th would do).

I’m looking forward to meeting even more of the colourful characters in the Seniors Section and, if they’ll keep letting me wear the shirt, maybe even winning a match for the team.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League – Round 6 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Not such a good day for golf this week, with just 3 players beating their hcap. Why so hard this week compared to last week? Oh, the joys of golf!

43 entries for round six of the Summer league. 19 players in Division 1, and 24 in division 2.

Just one 2 recorded, Colin Royle on the 2nd hole. See the man who now has his own car parking space for your balls.

[ Please note that there were four 2s recorded in Round 5 of the league. I missed them in last week’s report because, for some reason, they were not automatically collated by the I.G. app. The 2s in Round 4 were: Paul Collins, Tony Dixon, Michael John and Phil Lomas. ]

Division 1 Results:

Winner – PC (again) Paul Collins with an excellent 34 pts (you’re getting as boring as Pete ‘down the middle’ Broady now, PC)

R/up – Colin Royle with 31pts

3rd – Dave Meir with 30pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:

Winner – Richard Yates with 31pts

R/up – Joe Priestner (again) with 30pts on a CPO

3rd – Steve Bird with 30pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, followed by Colin Royle, with Pete Broady in 3rd place.

Still leader in division two, and still our favourite, Joe Priestner, followed by Barry Smith then Graham Sweeney.

A remarkable start from Stuart White, missed a 6-foot putt on the 1st for a par and chipped to a millimetre on the 2nd, but didn’t fall in. Would have been 9 points after 2 holes…(took me 10 holes to get to 9pts)…

Once again, no one managed a ‘keep a six off your card’, and in the 2nd division, no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’.

Please ensure you put your correct playing hcap on your card, and ensure your score in Ig is the same as shown on your scorecard. Makes my life much easier.

Happy Mondays Game – 2 June

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry, sunny day with a gentle breeze – the course has greened up significantly after the recent rains and the mad bounces from the parched earth have reduced.

Game : Team Stableford (as ever)
7 teams / 23 players

Winners: just as several players were waiting with anticipation along came ‘those tail end Charlies’ to scoop the gold coins – as is often the case:

First: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail, Rob Taylor and Rich Yates = 111 points or 27.7 points per player.

Second: Pete Broady, Alan Copeland and Phil Lomas = 80 points / 26.7 ppp

Highest Individual score – Phil Lomas – 35 points. Second Tony Dixon – 34 points

Tee-booking Schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 5 June)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 8 June

Seniors BBQ – Reminder

As noted in last week’s newsletter, we are having a BBQ and social gathering on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name if you intend to join us, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Llangollen Senior Open

Tomorrow, 24 of us are heading to the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club for the senior open (4BBB). We’ll report on the event in next week’s newsletter. Grahame Brickell has managed to book six consecutive tee times, starting at 11:00.

Be aware of speeding restrictions on your drive to Llangollen. There are long sections of dual-carriageway and single-carriageway with 50 mph restrictions, monitored by average-speed cameras over several miles. Three years ago, one of our members received two speeding tickets, one for drive to Llangollen, and one for the return home to Cheshire!

Please note that none of the staff at Llangollen speak English. But do not worry; if you can understand Brickellish (i.e. if you can understand Grahame Brickell’s text messages) you’re halfway to understanding Welsh. Brickellish and Welsh are closely related languages. Furthermore, Grahame himself will be on hand to translate.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Apologies for my causing some confusion in last week’s newsletter. I headlined the away-match report for Ringway with ‘away match report for Hale‘. I have now corrected it.

***

Our Secretary, Dave Craggs, has updated the senior calendar (see the Senior-Section Calendar tab). This includes a date change for the next Tatton Match (away at High Legh, on 12 June), a date change for the Hinson Cup, a date change for the Mitre Cup, a provisional date for a ‘Seniors versus Juniors’ match, and a date set for a ‘Seniors BBQ’.

The Seniors BBQ will be on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name if you intend to join us for this social event, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Summer League Round 5 of 10 – Friday 23 May

Match Reporter: Paul Foster

A good day for golf apparently, with 14 players playing to, or beating their hcap. Lots of docked handicaps in WHS!

Forty two entry’s for round five of the Summer league, the half way point.

Twenty one players from each division.

No 2s recorded; Mr Gosling is well pleased.

[ Update, Thursday 29 May: There were in fact 4 x 2s. For some reason the IG app did not record them automatically.

2s scored by Paul Collins, Tony Dixon, Michael John and Phil Lomas. ]

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Colin Crail with 31pts on a CPO
R/up – Duncan Clarke with 31pts
3rd – Michael John with 30pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Barry Smith with 39pts
R/up – Joe Priestner with 34pts
3rd – Stuart Baird with 33pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, still followed Ian Whitehead, Dave Meir and Paddy Moran.

Leader in division two is still our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Graham Sweeney and now Stuart Baird. Joe is the only player under par in either division.

A remarkable card from Barry Smith, 14pts after just 4 holes, 27 pts on the front 9. Barry who plays off 24, was just 3 over par gross after 9 holes.

Top 6 placings on Friday were all 2nd division players.

No one managed a ‘keep a six off your card’, and no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ either.

One instance of a NS (not started) instead of a NR (no return) entered on a hole played. Make sure you enter the correct abbreviation.

Tatton League Match Report – 21 May, Styal Golf Club

Reporter: Mike Pigott – Tatton Team Captain

The course at Styal was very dry and fast, and the white tees made it a very tricky prospect. A minimum target of 36 away points per pair looked a difficult task, but Lymm performed very well, getting a great start with Martin Franks and Mark Pickles with 41 points, placing them second overall. This was well backed up by Ian Whitehead and Colin Royle with 38 points, followed by Mike Pigott and Richard Copper, and Russ Sollitt and Rich Shaw, both pairs scoring 36 points.

Birchwood is now lead with 314 points, High Legh 310 points, Lymm 309 points, Heyrose 307 points, Antrobus 295 points, and Styal 289 points. (Birchwood and Styal have now played their home matches.)

Lymm were able to boast all three nearest-the-pin prizes: Richard Cooper (hole 11), Mark Pickles (hole 14) and Rick Shaw (Hole 4), and so the wine store is now building up!

Well done team. The next fixture is at High Legh on 12 June, followed by Antrobus on 16 July.  

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 29 May)

Tee-booking schedule for Sunday 1 June

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

I do not seem to have a report in my Inbox for last Friday’s 15-hole Bottle-of-Wine competition. However, you can see the results here on the main LGC website. Arthur Nuttall takes the bottle with 33 points, beating (near-teetotal) Bob Ellison on a CPO. Duncan Clarke came in third with 32 points. And I should mention that my good friend and fellow Yorkshireman Dave Waggitt came in fourth with 31 points. (Two days before, I had marked Dave’s card in the midweek comp, in which he posted an all-time record of 10 blobs!)

We have had a very active seniors’ week since the previous newsletter. I have received no fewer than three reports of interclub friendlies since last Wednesday. Furthermore, I returned home just over an hour ago through rush-hour traffic from Styal Golf Club, which today hosted this month’s Tatton League competition.

I think that Tatton captain Mike Pigott is pleased with Lymm’s performance today. He will write a report which I will publish in next week’s newsletter. Five of today’s eight-man team were LGC Senior Section members. I don’t want to steal Mike’s thunder, but suffice it to say that his steady strategy for attempting to retain the Tatton Trophy seems to be on plan. (Lymm GC won the Tatton Trophy last year for the first time since its inception, which I think was about 20 years ago.)

Match Report for Away Match at Ringway, Wednesday 14 May

Match Reporter: Russ Jones (CoD)

It was a hectic start to the day for some, as the traffic on the motorway and roads to Ringway were extremely busy.

A clear sky and a slight cool breeze welcomed us to the first tee. Then the sun shone warm and bright for the rest of the round.

The welcome from the Ringway team was very nice. The course played hard and fast (although “not as fast as Lymm”, was the comment from Hale members who played in the Open at Lymm the day before).

Cumberland sausage and mash was served afterwards. Very tasty and, served with a smile, but that was the end of the pleasantries, as we were comprehensively beaten 6 ½ v 1 ½

Russ Jones (CoD)/Grahame Brickell Won 4&3
Alan Burton/ Jeff Ashurst Lost 4&3
Captain/Jeff Chapman Lost 6&5
Charlie Hill/Mervyn Roberts Halved
Ian Whitehead/Peter Broady Lost 3&2
John Armstrong/Phil Lomas Lost 5&4
Koos Alders/Steve Gosling Lost 5&4
Paul Collins/Steve Barlow Lost 3&2

Thanks to Grahame for helping me get through my first Captain of the Day. I hope the team responds better if I’m ever asked to do it again!!

[ Editor’s Note: Well done Russ. You played a captain’s innings at least! ]

Match Report for Home Match against Bramhall – Friday 16 May

Match Reporter: John Armstrong (CoD)

A fine sunny day saw a magnificent home win for Lymm. Unsure whether this was down to the inspired team selection by Grahame Brickell or the management skills of the CoD John Armstrong! Or maybe just luck. However we won 5 games to three.

The winners were:
Mike Bennett and Phil Perry
Paddy Moran and Alan Ranscombe
Paul Collins and Jeff Ashurst
Dave Craggs and Barry Smith
Mervyn Roberts and Colin Hughes

The also rans were:
John Armstrong and Ian Goodman
Grahame Brickell and Mike Pigott
Steve Gosling and Jeff Chapman

Sandwiches, salad and chips were served afterwards: a change from our usual fare, but sufficient for a hot day and the reciprocal of the food we received at the away match.

Match Report for Home Match against Huyton and Prescot – Monday 19 May

Match Report: Steve Gosling (CoD)

The long awaited day finally arrived on Monday when 12 of Lymm’s finest turned up to play the re-arranged match.

A cloudy start and all matches apart from one were closely contested. By the time we got to the finish, the day heated up… as did the golf!

In our match we headed down the 16 one shot down, only to see our opponents hit a drive and a 3 wood and land pin high to claim a 4 net 3… Not even our par was good enough!

In the end everybody has a good day, great meal of gammon, egg, peas and chips and friendly banter in the club house

The result was a loss 4 1/2 to 1 1/2

Well done to Trevor Williamson and Mark Lyons for their victory

On to Sale next…

[ Editor’s Note: Seems to me like we were robbed by lawless visitors from Merseyside.]

Happy Mondays – 19 May

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry day with some cloud cover and a slightly chilly day after the glorious hot blue sky days we’ve had for the past couple of weeks. 

Game: Team Stableford
16 players – 4 teams 

A confession to those present at the end: your organiser cannot add up (at first) – a recalculation of the scores means that the (only) 4-ball came out on top.

Winners: Les Fecitt, Tony Lambert, Phill Perry and Peter Willson – 113 points / 28.3 points per player.

2 teams in joint 2nd – Eric Cox, Tony Dixon and John Hayes also Charlie Hill, Phil Lomas and Steve Rowley – both teams had 82 points or 27.3 ppp

Highest Individual score – Les Fecitt – 31 points. Two players on 30 points – John Hayes and Steve Rowley

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 22 May)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 25 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League – Round 4 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Good to return to the seniors league competition on a hot and sunny early summer’s day, with the ball bouncing a long way down the fairway (if you managed to hit the fairway that is). Still noticed a few members without a silly hat, you know the phrase gentlemen from Sid the seagull, slip, slop, slap, you know it makes sense…

Forty six entry’s for the forth round of the Summer league, 22 players from Division 1 and 24 players from Division 2.

Two 2s recorded, Paddy Moran & Colin Royal (with a 2 on the par 4 11th !!)

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Paddy Moran with 34pts on a CPO
R/up – Dave Meir with 34pts
3rd – Colin Royle with 33pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Alan Copeland with 34pts
R/up – Jeff Chapman with 33pts
3rd – Graham Sweeney with 32pts

Early leader in the 1st division is PC Collins, closely followed Ian Whitehead, Dave Meir and Paddy Moran.

Leader in the 2nd division is our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Graham Sweeney and Alan Copeland, these three are the only players under par from both divisions.

Please check your WHS hcap for next week, makes my job a lot easier if all players put on their card their correct hcap.

Just three cards marked incorrectly (as usual entering the gross and nett score under column ‘A’ and entering the stableford points scored in column ‘B’, instead of the ‘Points’ column), and a new one on me this week, putting the gross score and stableford points scored in the ‘points’ column, and only for the back 6 holes. It’s the same players every week, so I think I’ve gone as far as I can with this. No more about it from me..!

One ‘keep a six off your card’, Duncan Clarke in the 1st division.

No one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’, in the 2nd division.

49 cards handed in, 46 entered into Ig, remember playmates, players not entering their scores into Ig will NOT be in the competition.

Inter-club Senior Friendly, Lymm vs Hale – Friday 2^nd May

Reporter: Mr Captain, Andy Timms (CoD)

Another dry and sunny day greeted the two teams, with Hale our visitors for the day. Speaking with their captain, I learnt that they have been struggling to get the numbers to put teams out, hence the reduction to 7-pairs match. However they said that for the Lymm game they were over subscribed and would have been able to fill the extra game if needed. I think we can take as a compliment for our course and team.

The matches themselves were all played in a good spirit and were rounded off by an excellent fish and chip lunch, so a good day had by all. 

The results, a positive one for the home side, with Lymm coming out 4-3 winners overall. Individual match results below :

Captain & Peter Willson – Lost 5&4
Andrew Cox & Barry Smith – Won 1 up
Tommy Lawless & Dave Craggs – Lost 2&1
Russ Jones & Stephen Bird – Won 2&1
Richard Smyllie & Sammy Lee – Won 4 & 2
Mark Lyons & Mervyn Roberts – Lost 3&1
Grahame Brickell & Phil Lomas – Won 3&1

Overall Result – Lymm 4 – 3 Hale

Inter-club Senior friendly, Lymm V Helsby, Monday 12 May

Reporter: Pete Broady (CoD)

The day started with the prospect of thunder and lighting in the afternoon.
Thankfully the day turned out to be dry, although hot and humid.

As the results show some very close fought matches.

RESULTS.
 Broady+Bramall: Match Halved
Mr. Captain + Ashurst: Match Halved.
 Smyllie+ Perry:  Match.  Halved.
 Jones + Willson:  Match.  Halved.
 Collins+Whitehead: Won.  2 up.
 Meir + Bird: Won 3+2.
 Lawless+Craggs: Won 4+3.
Armstrong +Gosling: Lost 5+3.

Overall result: Lymm 5 – 3 Helsby.

Good to hear great remarks about our course and, after the match, the steak pie, followed by Danish cheesecake.

Look forward to playing the return match at Helsby in August.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 15 May)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 18 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Bottle of Wine Competition – Friday 2 May

Reporter: Paul Foster

A marvellous early summer day, little cloud, and a full sun all round, hope you all slapped on the sun cream and donned a silly hat?

Winner of the wine of the day was Joe Priestner, with a tremendous 36 points over the 15 holes. Joe is another one saying goodbye to his present hcap!

This week 13 players beat their hcap.

Runners up were Ken Pearce, Michael John, Andrew Ransom & Koos Alders, all with 34 pts.

Notables:

35 entered their scores into Ig. Just 2 incorrectly marked cards, one with nett score added in column ‘A’, and the other had Stableford points entered in the ‘B’ column. All the rest were blob on! Well done boys.

Don’t forget to enter NS (Not Started) for holes 16, 17 & 18. Do not enter NR (No Return) for holes 16, 17, and 18, because the WHS will assume that you played them, and had a bad score. This will result in an incorrect adjustment to your handicap.

Dave Meir had two 2s and 4 birdies in total.

Mark Pickles had the lowest gross overall, with 65.

Lowest gross front 9 were Koos Alders & Mark Pickles with 37.

Well done also to Mike Bennett, Howard Jones, Dave Waggitt who scored only +3 over par on the back 6 holes.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 8 May)

Happy Mondays

There was no Happy Mondays competition this week, due to the bank holiday. And no tee-booking is necessary this Sunday because there is another bank holiday Monday on May 26.

Interclub-friendly against Hale on Friday 2 May

I have not a received match report. If I receive one before next Wednesday, I will publish it in next week’s newsletter.

Newsletter Editor – Mark Pickles

Another shorter newsletter this week, largely because there is no report for the match against Huyton and Prescot last Friday. The H & P team failed to turn up, somehow thinking the match was to be played on the following Monday!

Friday Bottle of Wine Competition

Reporter: Paul Foster

A marvellous late Spring day, light cloud, an intermittent coolish breeze, and a relatively empty course. What’s not to like…?

Winner of the wine of the day was Steve ‘the actor’ Barlow, with a tremendous 36 points over the 15 holes, and the only one to beat his hcap. Say goodbye to playing off 16 Steve!

Runners up were Colin Royle, Arthur Nuttall & Bob Ellison, all with 29 pts.

Notables:
23 entered the BOW competition
22 entered their scores into Ig
2 incorrect hcaps entered on the card
2 incorrectly marked cards

All the rest were blob on..!!

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Peter Willson

A lovely late Spring day – blue skies, no wind, ground firm – so why did the majority of us score so poorly? Not many excuses can be found.

Game : Team Stableford

6 teams – 19 players.

Winners: Mike Bennett, Pete Broady, Ken Pearce and Ken Rigby – 116 points or 29 ppp
2nd: Phil Perry and John White  – 47 points or 23.5 PPP

High Score of the day – it’s that man again – Pete Broady with 33 individual Stableford points.

Tatton League

Reporter: Mike Pigott (Team Captain)

The first round of the Tatton League took place on Monday 28 April at Birchwood, in glorious sunshine.

Lymm Seniors, the holders, picked from their tried and tested squad from the last few years, plus four or five new additions who are available for selection.

Mike Pigott and Dave Meir finished with 38 points, after a sticky patch in the middle of the round, following by Ian Whitehead and Colin Royle, also with 38 points. Third home were the reliable pair of Andy Timms (Club Captain) and Mark Pickles, again with 38 points. The last pair, Richard Cooper and Steve Gosling excelled themselves with 44 points. A great debut for Steve, who said, “I enjoyed playing with Richard today”. Who wouldn’t, the way Richard plays!

Dave Meir and Richard Cooper won nearest the pin prizes, and Richard and Steve missed out on the best score on a back-nine card playoff.

Scores after Round 1 of 6:

High Legh: 163 points
Birchwood: 159 points
Lymm: 158 points
Heyrose: 157 points
Antrobus: 151 points
Styal: 145 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 1 May)

Happy Mondays Tee-Booking Schedule for Sunday 4 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Apart from the tee-booking schedules, there is not much to report this week, due to the lack of senior-section golfing events over the Easter holiday period.

However, congratulations are due to Pete Broady, who came second in the Saturday competition (Stableford), in a field of about 150 players.

For anyone interested in nature, I heard a Cetti’s warbler today by the 6th tee, the same place I frequently heard one last year. It’s a rare bird that I will report to Brian Ankers, who monitors the birdlife on Lymm Golf Club, and puts up the nest boxes, and is connected with a network of ornithologists throughout the region. Brian writes the ‘Wildlife Report’ on the main LGC website. Here is the song of the Cetti’s warbler on YouTube. It is very distinctive, and very loud. Other summer visitors I have heard (but not yet seen) are whitethroats and chiffchaffs. I have yet to see a swallow at Lymm this year, but I’m sure we’ll start to see them any day soon, as they arrive back from South Africa to the place where they were born.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 24 April)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 27 April

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League – Round 3 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

The playing conditions are vastly improving, and at last we are thankfully off the mats, but still playing off some winter tees. Fifty nine entries for the third round of the Summer league, 28 players from Division 1 and 31 players from Division 2.

Four 2s recorded, Alan Copeland, Howard Jones, Russ Jones & Alan Thomas.

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Steve Gosling with 36pts
R/up – Arthur Nuttall with 34pts
3rd – Martin Franks with 33pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Phil Lomas with 32pts on a CPO
R/up – Joe Priestner with 32pts
3rd – Les William with 31pts

Seven Div 1 and four Div 2 players put their wrong hcap down. Please check handicaps before signing your card. This is especially important now we are switching to WHS qualifying. It is also important to make sure you sign in to the competition in I.G. at least one day before play, otherwise your card will not be included in the competition.

I am still getting marked incorrectly (usually entering the gross and nett score under column ‘A’ or by entering the stableford points scored in column ‘A’ or ‘B’, instead of the ‘Points’ column). We are getting better at this, but it seems it’s the same players every week that incorrectly mark the cards. All we need is gross score in column ‘A’ and stableford points in the ‘Points’ column.

Three ‘keep a six off your card’, Martin Franks, Ian Whitehead & Mike Pigott in the 1st division.

One ‘keep a seven off your card’, Colin Hughes in the 2nd division.

59 cards handed in, 53 entered into Ig, remember playmates, when we are back on the WHS system, players not entering their scores into Ig will NOT be in the competition.

Funny notes;

One player registered in IG a ‘hole in 1’ on the 2nd hole for 5 points! It should have been a 5 scored for 1 point.

John Higgins lost his ball on the 11th green! It took nearly a minute to locate his marker!

My fourball would like to apologise to Mike Pigott, Alan Ranscombe, John Armstrong and Dave Waggitt, as we teed off from the 13th when they were still on 15th green. There’s a sign by the 13th tee telling us to wait till the 15th green is clear before teeing off… all please note.

Interclub friendly away at Leigh

Reporter and CoD: Grahame Brickell

The day started so well … bright and dry, the prospect of rain having dissipated.

With only the 1st tee as the starting whole, the later starters didn’t arrive early enough for coffee and hence missed the CoD’s rousing rally for a better performance than our team had at Warrington!

As the results show, only the first 5 players clearly got the message!

Results:
Brickell & Roberts W 1up
Broady & Ashurst W 2&1
Jones & Parry W 1up
And then it went downhill!
Armstrong & Smith L 4&3
Barlow & Willson L 1D
Mr Captain & Bennett L 5&7 😬
Gosling & Burton L 3&2
Williamson & Lee, halved on 18

Overall a loss 3 1/2 to 4 1/2, which is not bad for an away match. We expect to beat them at the return match at Lymm in September.

The steak, mash and veg, following by apple crumble and custard, was very enjoyable.

There was no repeat of a golfer falling into a pond this year!

Next match, our first home fixture Friday 25 April against newbies Huyton & Prescot.

Watch out for three ‘availability’ posts coming soon on WhatsApp for ..
Helsby home monday 12th May
Ringway away weds 14th May &
Bramhall home frid 16th May
A busy week!!

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 17 May)

Happy Mondays – 14 April

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry yet quite breezy and chilly day, which didn’t deter 19 Happy golfers trying to emulate Rory McIlroy’s exploits the day before in the exciting finish at The Masters.

Game: Team Stableford
6 teams / 19 players

Winners: John Booth, Colin Chisnall and Alan Thomas – 86 points or 28.7 ppp
2nd: Pete Broady, Tony Dixon and Tony Lambert – 80 points or 26.7 ppp

Highest individual score – John Booth 33 points, second – Alan Thomas 31 points.

There is no tee-booking schedule for Happy Mondays this week because Monday 5th May is a bank holiday.

Slow Play

Once again, our Senior Section pace of play was far too slow last Friday, with reports of three groups backing up on one hole due to a slow group ahead. Lymm Golf Club has put out some general instructions on avoiding slow play. And we have been instructed to write our start times and finish times on all scorecards.

Always play ready golf.

The problem we have in the senior section is that we have have groups of diverse ability and diverse hitting distance. In order to get around this, please be prepared to play out of turn if it is safe to do so. For instance, if you have hit your ball 270 yards down the right-hand side of the fairway, and your playing partner has hit a shot half that distance into the semi-rough on the left, walk quickly to your ball and play it.

Whilst we encourage you to play out of turn to speed up play, only do so if you have assessed it is safe for everyone, including yourself.

This week’s ‘Nutty’s Notable’: Rob Taylor

Reporter: Arthur Nutall

Rob was born in 1947 in Simonstown, South Africa. His earliest idyllic years were on the family Chicken Farm, but when “big school” loomed, the family moved to the campus of the University of Cape Town. (Sadly, this wasn’t because Rob was a child prodigy – it was because his Dad worked there!) 

1955 – the winds of Afrikaner Nationalism were blowing hard, so his very British family piled into their very British car (a Standard Vanguard) and headed into the British territory of Rhodesia (now Zambia).

Rob recalls tumbling through his school years at Churchill Boys School, where he played Rugby, Cricket and Athletics and some nominal desk learning. He slid from there into a job with Rhodesian Customs & Excise, starting at the bottom and ending 11 years later as the department’s Director of Training Schools. Postings included spells at Victoria Falls, Biet Beit Bridge (on the Limpopo River), Chirundu (on the Zambezi River) and even 2 years abroad – in Beira, Mozambique (evading the sanctions imposed by the Wilson Government).  

Threaded through all this was his National Service. He was called up in 1966. The Bush War had started, so it was Infantry, Logistics, Signals and finally (believe it or not!) Military Intelligence. Through the magical system of rolling camps – on average, he spent 4 months of every year in the Bush – living the dream.

In 1977 – the winds were blowing a different tune but the writing was on the wall, so it was time to pack up the family again. By this time, it consisted of his wife, Joyce, 4-year-old Tamara and tiny baby Neil. The destination of the next chapter was “Mud Island” (as England was affectionately known), Plymouth to be exact – the ancestral home.

Rob says that moving to England was possibly the best decision they ever made. It turned out to be a land of golden opportunity for all the family. Rob spent 33 years in business management: general management (4 companies), start-up ventures (3 companies) and some rescue consulting and contracting.

When asked about his career highlight, he believes that this was definitely his first job, where he spent 10 great years with Pioneer Concrete. He progressed from Plant Manager to Regional Director North West (hence his move to his current home in Knutsford).

In the early 90’s, Rob joined two American entrepreneurs for an exhilarating 5 years in a start-up company that was to become Virgin Media no less, experience that, in the early 2000’s, Rob took with him as he devised and instigated a project to digitise the Scottish Highway Agency fibre optic network (signalling and CCTV) – a concept design in partnership with Tyco Technology.

By 2010, it was time to close the workbook and start another new chapter. He took up golf! And coerced by myself and Phil Blake, Rob help to set up and administer our Senior Section for a number of years.

Rob and Joyce have never got used to our British winters, and annually chase the sun to places such as Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and Tenerife.

Arthur Nuttall

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Straight Down the Middle!

A large and ebullient crowd gathered around the first tee for the Captain’s Drive-In on Sunday 6 April. To the sounds of clapping, cheering, and not a little heckling, our very own Andy Timms walked up to the tee markers.

As Andy teed up the ball, all became suddenly hushed. Thankfully he held his nerve and launched the perfect drive, long and straight, earning himself a few “wows” from the spectators and a huge round of applause.

I’m sure that I speak for all members of the Senior Section in wishing Andy a good and happy tenure as Mens’ Captain of Lymm Golf Club. I’m pleased to report that Andy will remain on our Senior Section committee. He will continue to liaise between the seniors and the main committee, and he has volunteered to do the organisation of the Mitre Cup (Seniors v Ladies) in August.

Our roving investigator, Arthur Nuttall, recently caught up with Andy, who features in this week’s ‘Nutty’s Notables’.

Summer League – Round 2 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A splendid early summer’s day, with fifty five entry’s for the next round of the Summer league, 23 players from Division 1 and 32 players from Division 2. Just 3 players under par from the 1st division, but an exceptional 13 players under par from the 2nd division.

Two 2s recorded, John Higgins and Colin Hughes

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Paul Collins with 33pts
R/up – Steve Barlow with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Colin Royle with 32pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – George Clarke with 36pts
R/up – Phil Ormesher with 35pts on a CPO
3rd – Graham Sweeney with 35pts on a CPO

Another candidate for Nutty’s Notables: Division 2 winner of the week George Clarke. Well done George!

Four players put their wrong hcap down. Please check your seniors hcap in the newsletter for next week, just in case we are not back on the WHS system. Five cards marked incorrectly (usually entering the Stableford points scored in column ‘A’ or ‘B’, instead of the ‘Pts Scored’ column). But all the rest were beautifully presented, well done boys.

One ‘keep a six off your card’, Paul Collins in the 1st division.

Three ‘keep a seven off your card’, Mervyn Roberts, Mike Bennett & Alan Copeland, in the 2nd division.

55 cards handed in, 52 entered into Ig.

Happy Mondays – 7 April

Reporter: Peter Willson

Another glorious sunny, blue sky day without a cloud in the sky, and after a cool start it turned into a very pleasant spring day

Game – Team Stableford 

7 teams / 24 players 

Winners– It’s those 3 again out last and coming home when others were anticipating winnings ! Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 93 points or 31 ppp

Joint Second – Steve Bird, Tony Dixon and Les Fecitt – 84 points / 28 ppp and Pete Broady, Alan Copeland, Ron Thornton and Peter Willson – 112 points / 28 ppp

Highest Individual Score – Mike Bennett 36 points 

Tee-booking Schedule for Tomorrow (Thursday 10 April)

This is the schedule for 25 April. It will be a fun comp (bottle of wine to the winner) because we are hosting an interclub friendly match against Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.

Happy Mondays Tee-Booking Schedule for Sunday 13 April

Do you have some business-promotion experience?

John Tomlinson, a director of Lymm Golf Club, is seeking volunteers to help attract business-sponsorship partnerships. The Ladies’ Section has been doing an excellent job in this regard, and John is wondering if there are any members of the Senior Section with sales and promotion experience who are willing to help.

John writes:

“As part of our drive for new income streams we need 1 or 2 volunteers to call potential local sponsorship partners. We are in the middle of sending a small promotional message by post to local businesses and then following up with a phone call to the addressee. So far the ladies section have made almost 300 calls and it would be good to have some gentlemen to make the calls as well.

“We have a master list of names and phone numbers and a standard script for each call. The aim of the call is simply to identify any interested local businesses that Keith Melia can then call with details of our sponsorship packages. The ideal volunteer would have experience in sales, marketing or regularly making telephone calls.

“If you are able to help or would like more information, please contact me (John Tomlinson) or Keith Melia.”

This week’s ‘Nutty’s Notable’: Andy Timms (Mr Captain)

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

Andy was born in Potters Bar, just outside the M25 and spent the first 8 years of his life there, before his parents moved to Bramhall in the 70’s. He was down south just long enough for him to become a Spurs fan (no regrets there he claims!?). His dad was a single figure golfer for most of his life, (He was Artisan Captain at Potters Bar Golf Club the year that his mate Tony Jacklin, the professional there, won the Open). Andy started his golfing journey as a junior at Bramall Park Golf Club, where he stayed as a member for nearly 30 years.

He studied Civil & Structural Engineering at Sheffield University, and it was there that he met his future wife Liz. They have been married for 35 years now and have two children, Michael and Mary.

Professionally, he was a Civil Engineer, working in the water industry initially at Trafford Council before moving on to several engineering consultancies, finishing up at United Utilities, where he was a Project Manager in the glamorous world of sewerage and wastewater treatment. Along the way he became a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, finally retiring in 2021.

Despite being a Spurs fan, he retains a strong interest in football. He is a FA qualified junior football coach and was secretary of Urmston Meadowside for several years, during which time the club won several national grass roots football awards. Given that he also had a full time job, golf didn’t get much of a look in for about 10 years, and only when his children stopped playing football did he take the game up again, joining Lymm back in 2012.

His other passion is food, and more specifically cooking. He has a collection of over 90 cookbooks and takes real pleasure in preparing meals from scratch, his specialties being a slow cooker pork chilli con carne and barbecue baked side of salmon.

Andy is not a chap who likes to sit idle for too long, and since retiring, he’s immersed himself in golf club life. To that end, in addition to accepting the role of Captain, he also sits on 4 committees at the club (Greens, Seniors, Men’s and Social) and is regularly one of the Wednesday green volunteers.

Also, his nerdy engineering background has left him with a love of data, which is why he started keeping a log of every game of golf he plays. Highlights from that list include the fact that he has so far played 1,031 rounds of golf at Lymm (correct as of 25th March) and has played 184 different courses (in 6 different countries) in his lifetime so far.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

A fairly long newsletter this week, including reports for the Texas Scramble and the Andy Ward Pairs-Knockout Final of two weeks ago that did not reach me in time for last week’s newsletter.

Summer League – Round 1 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A somewhat chilly day greeted a record high of 61 entry’s to the first round of the Summer league, 27 players from Division 1 and 34 players from Division 2. Now we are playing the maximum 15 holes, the number of under par rounds has expectedly dropped, just 6 were under par for the day.

Four 2s recorded, Bob Ellison, Art Laird, Phil Perry and Mark Pickles

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Ian Whitehead with 35pts, (an awesome card, even with a blob)
R/up – Mark Pickles with 32pts
3rd – Pete Broady with 30pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Art Laird with 35pts
R/up – Mike Bennett with 34pts
3rd – Phil Ormesher with 33pts

Fulgurous to see the instigator of the FAWC (Friday Afternoon Wine Club) Art Laird on top of the early 2nd division leader board (surely a candidate for Nutty’s Notables).

Seven players put their wrong hcap down. Please check your seniors hcap in the newsletter for next week, round 2 seems likely to be the last week using the seniors winter hcap system. Four cards marked incorrectly. But all the rest were beautifully presented, well done boys.

One ‘keep a six off your card’, Martin Franks in the 1st division.

Four ‘keep a seven off your card’, Art Laird, Mike Bennett, Joe Priestner & Alan Copeland in the 2nd division. Both of these achievements are much more of a challenge now we are playing three par 5s.

Interesting notes; Koos mixed four blobs with five 3s, Martin Franks had eight 4s and seven 5s, Grahame Brickell scored 4 shots or blobs on all the front nine holes.

Texas Scramble 21 March

Reporter: Paul Foster

Thirteen teams of 3 and 4 players competed for the first Fun Friday competition of the year. Some excellent scores gentlemen using the Texas Scramble rules, and excellent mathematics to boot.

Winners with a remarkable of 7 under par gross, and 20 under par nett were:
Team Bennett, Crail, Ellison and Willson. A fine score by anybody’s standards.

In second place a distant 4 shots behind were :
Team, Gosling, Copeland, Waggit and Broady.

Andy Ward Winter Pairs Final

Reporter: Paul Foster

Played on Monday 24th March, Dave Meir & Bob Ellison against Paul Foster & Dave Craggs. In perfect golfing weather, the golf proved at times spectacular.

Winners Paul Foster and Dave Craggs managed a fine 5 under par nett by the time of the winning hole, the 15th. The turning point probably came on the 11th and 12th, Dave knocking in a 15ft putt for a half on the 11th when seemingly about to lose the hole, and on the 12th, Paul, after searching for his ball in the trees on the left off the tee, could only chip out 30 yards, then pushed his 3 wood right of the green and hit a very thin tree to keep it in bounds, Paul then chipped in from 30 yards to win the hole 4 nett 3. Dave Craggs also had a 2 nett 1 on the 9th. Dave Meir had a run of 10 pars from the 4th to the 13th and incredibly didn’t win 1 hole!

Happy Mondays – Monday 31 March

Reporter: Paul Foster

Perfect for golf again, a fine Spring day enticed the seniors to play for the gold coins.

Game – Team Stableford. 16 players – 5 teams.

Winners – Team Broady, Booth & Cox, with an average of 29.66pts per player

R/up – Team Bennett & Crail, with an average of 29.5pts per player on a CPO

Best individual score – Mike Bennett with 36pts followed by Tony Lambert with 34 pts

Mike scored 3pts on each of his last 6 holes!

No ‘Happy Mondays’ tee booking is required this coming Sunday, because it will be Easter weekend in two weeks time. If you would like to play as usual on Easter Monday, make your own booking after 8pm on Sunday.

No Tee-Booking Schedule this week

Two weeks on Friday is Good Friday, for which there is no Summer League game and no other planned event in the Senior Section Calendar.

Mike Smith Plate – Seniors’ Individual Knockout 

Reporter: Peter Willson

The draw has been made for this Summer’s Knockout competition – The Mike Smith Plate. 

15 lucky souls have a bye, the rest need to play the first round 1st May.

Don’t blame me if you don’t like your opponent – it is IG software’s “fault”, which has done the draw at random.

The draw can be found on the main Lymm Golf Club website, at:

Competitions : Knockouts : Mike Smith Plate. And it should appear in the section, “My Upcoming Competitions”.  

Interclub Friendly Match – Away at Warrington

Reporter: Mark Pickles

Those of us who played today (2 April) at the away match at Warrington all seemed to have had an enjoyable day. Very sunny, but very breezy, especially on the high-altitude tees! The visibility was excellent, especially the panoramic view from the 16th tee. One of the Warrington players pointed out Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, just visible on the horizon.

The greens were very sandy and slow due to Warrington GC’s recent maintenance week, and this caught many of us out in the earlier holes, having just got used to the recently-pressed fast greens at Lymm. Unfortunately we were well beaten, losing 7 matches to 1, but congratulations are due to the winning pair Paul Collins and Barrie Simpson.

The hospitality at Warrington was very good, as always, and the fish-and-chips meal afterwards was superb.

Our Captain of the Day was Mike Pigott. Mike recycled his joke about an Irishman called ‘Paddy’ who bets his lifesavings on a horse called, ‘It’s alright now’. Mike did tell it very well – it’s a difficult joke to tell, with simulated high-speed racetrack commentary – and the response of the room was certainly at the top of the laugh-o-meter scale, despite the fact that some of us Lymm players had heard Mike tell it before. A good captain’s effort to start the 2025 friendly season, and one to beat for future CoD’s who are willing to attempt a joke!

[ Any similarity to actual Irishmen called ‘Paddy’, or actual events, is purely coincidental. 😉 ]

Welcome Koos Alders to the Senior Section

It is great to have Koos on board. I have played with Koos in LGC Saturday competitions, and I know that he answers to diverse Anglicised pronunciations of his name, such as “Koose” and “Kooze”. However, I asked him for the correct pronunciation, and he tells me it is “Koas” (like “coast” without the “t”).

I asked Koos to write a couple of paragraphs to introduce himself.

“I have been a member at Lymm golf club for over 10 years. I am Dutch, my accent gives that away quite quickly I guess. I have been in the UK for more than 25 years, having married an English woman, Helen, who actually grew up around here. We have one son, Ben, who is also a member of this golf club.

“I have worked in the financial sector for most of my career, after studying economics in Amsterdam. I have worked for the Dutch and UK central bank and also 10 years for Nationwide Building Society, in their Treasury department. I retired quite some time ago and have since then been involved in volunteering work, apart from playing a lot of golf of course. I was on the Board of the (former) Warrington Credit Union and am now doing one day at Citizens Advice in Warrington town centre. I regularly join the volunteers here at our golf club on Wednesday mornings. And since April last year, I am the chair of our Board of Directors.

“I will soon turn 65. I have just given up playing tennis due to injuries, so a good time to join the Senior section at Lymm golf club!”

Nutty’s Notables

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

As you may have read in the last few Seniors Newsletters, I am submitting (with their permission and approval) brief Personal Profiles of some of our members. The reason being that I believe that there are quite a number of interesting untold/unknown facts within our membership.

I can only do this of course, if I get the necessary input from volunteers. This ‘opportunity’ is open to any Seniors member who is prepared to have 5 minutes with me, while I ‘grill’ you and tease out those little gems of interest that modesty may otherwise have prevented you from sharing!

My in-depth profile next week will be on Andy Timms, no less, just a few days after his Captain’s Drive-In on Sunday!

So please give me, Arthur Nuttall, a call (07774 972875), or send me an e-mail, or have a brief chat down at the club if you are prepared to give it a go.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Pairs Knockout Competition – ‘The Andy Ward Trophy’

After many rounds and close-run tussles the Winter Pairs Knockout final was played on Monday.

Congratulations to the winners Dave Craggs and Paul Foster.

And well done to the runners up Bob Ellison and Dave Meir.

Interclub Competition Fee Increase

Due to increasing costs at all golf clubs, including our own, we need to increase the competition fees for interclub matches.

To keep things simple, we have decided to increase the away-match fee from £20 to £25, and to leave the home-match fee at £15.

Mike Smith Plate – Individual Matchplay Knockout Competition 

URGENT: Please add your name to the entry list on Senior’s notice board if you want to take part in this year’s competition.

Peter Willson hopes to do the draw for the preliminary and first rounds as soon as possible. Therefore, please put your name on the list by this Friday, 28th March. Peter intends to do the draw over the weekend, and enter it on the main LGC club website next week.

Happy Mondays Match Report, 24 March

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry and sunny day with light winds. Spring has truly sprung.

Game – Team Stableford 

19 players – 7 teams 

Winners – Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 92 points or 30.7 points per player 

Second – Pete Broady, Eric Cox, John Hayes and Peter Willson – 120 points or 30 ppp

Highest individual score – Mike Bennett – 34 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 27 March)

Happy Mondays Tee-Booking Schedule for Sunday 30 March

Slow Play

Our chairman, John Armstrong, has asked me to remind all members to avoid slow play. Apparently, in the Texas Scramble last Friday one of the slower groups caused four other groups to back up on a single hole!

Please use some common sense and have some courtesy for the players following you. If you see you are causing play to back up, and you have lost well over a hole from the fourball in front of you, take some remedial action, such as skipping a hole.

Texas Scramble

I have yet to receive a report of last Friday’s Texas Scramble. I’m not sure who collected the cards. I’ll add the report of the results next week if we can track them down.

Summer League Starts this Friday (28th March)

Our Summer League starts on Friday. The Summer League is a 15-hole competition. We will start the league on the seniors’ handicaps (see the Handicaps page), and switch over to WHS handicaps as soon as LGC announces that we can enter WHS qualifying cards. We expect this announcement in the coming days, as we come off winter-protection measures and revert to playing the full measured course.

Padeswood and Buckley G C Senior Open on Tuesday 1st July 2025

Reporter: John Hayes

Many of you will be aware of our annual visit to Padeswood to enjoy the excellent facilities of the club and grounds. This coming season is no exception and tee reservations are in place for Tuesday 1st July starting at 10:40.The quality of the day out is confirmed partly the fact that the majority of the places have been taken by those who played last year. However, there are still a few places left and I invite you to contact me to say that you would like to play this year.

The cost of the day is a meagre £18 each, which includes the course fee of £15 and a contribution of £3 to the prize fund for our group only, there being a cash prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd within our group scores. The format is four-ball-better-ball and the overall prizes for the competition are provided by P and B G C.

The course is situated about 45/50 minute’s drive from Lymm G C, via M56/A55 and minor roads for the last couple of miles. Refreshments are available at the clubhouse (at your own expense!) before and after the golf.

If you would like to join the group please contact John Hayes on 07771464028 or 01925758244 or john@jchayes.net   

We welcome Ian Smith to the Senior Section

Ian Smith – who tells me that he is ‘a proud Brummie’ – has recently joined the senior section. I asked him to write a paragraph or two to introduce himself:

I have lived in Lymm for 26 years with my wife Deborah. We have two grown up children, a daughter and a son, both with baby boys born in the last 12 months, making us ‘new’ grandparents.

I retired in 2022 from a career in the volume house building industry working as a Regional Managing Director for some of the country’s largest house builders. I studied Town Planning at university in Cardiff in the early/mid 1980’s and found my way into house building with a job as a land buyer and planner.

I have been a member of Lymm Golf Club three times on and off since 2001, re-joining most recently when I retired. My lowest handicap since taking up golf in my 20’s was 17.8, so a return to at least that level has been my target since re-joining the club. Outside of golf I am a member of Lymm Runners, and also do Pilates to try to keep in shape. My wife and I are Sale Sharks rugby season ticket holders.

I’m looking forward to playing more of my golf in the company of the LGC Seniors group and have already enjoyed healthy ‘banter’ with some of you so I know what to expect!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Winter League round 10 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

So that brings down the curtain on the Winter league, a super final day where over half of the field played to their handicap or better.

A field of 50 competed, a league high, 25 players from Division 1 and 25 players from Division 2. With the splendid weather, little wind and again no rain, the scores were spectacular.

Three 2s recorded today, Martin Franks, Tommy Lawless & Barry McGuigan, balls to you three from the treasury!

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Richard Smyllie with 29pts
R/up – Charlie Hill with 28pts on a CPO
3rd – Grahame Brickell with 28pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Rob Taylor with 28pts (great to see Rob’s name in lights)
R/up – Steve Bird with 27pts
3rd – Steve Bramall with 26pts on a CPO

Four 1st division players put the wrong hcap down, and two 2nd division player put the wrong hcap down. Please check your seniors hcap every week in the newsletter. Just 1 card marked incorrectly (pts entered under the ‘B’ column).

50 cards handed in, 47 entered into Ig. When the WHS hcap system awakens in April, only scores entered into the Ig system will count.

Two ‘keep a six off your card’, this week, Richard Smyllie and Mark Pickles. The following achieved this over the winter league; Paddy Moran x 3, Michael John, Ian Whitehead, Paul Foster, Tommy Lawless, Dave Meir, Steve Barlow, Russ Jones x 2, Koos Alders, Richard Smyllie and Mark Pickles x 1. Paddy wins this new league challenge. Congratulations Paddy.

For the upcoming Summer league, alongside the ‘keep a six off your card’ for the 1st division, we will be running a ‘keep a seven off your card’ for the 2nd division.

Final results of the years Winter League

Reporter: Paul Foster

Division 1:

Paddy Moran, with a top-notch 16 under par, finished as the top dog.

Grahame Brickell, with a late burst in the last couple of rounds, finishing 13 under is the r/up.

Michael John, Steve Barlow & Richard Smyllie all came equal 3rd.

Division 2:

Steve Bramall, with an amazing 20 under par is champion, despite lowering his hcap by 8 shots during the winter league!!

Dave Craggs, finishing 9 under par is the r/up.

Steve Bird, finishing 7 under par came 3rd.

The winter league had 35 division 1 competitors and 34 division 2 competitors, totalling 333 rounds of golf across 8 Friday’s, 8 different winners of the 1st division & 7 different winners of the 2nd division. Only Steve Bramall managed to win 2 rounds, Steve was also in the top 3 five times. Surely the player of the season!

Texas Scramble this Friday (21st March)

This coming Friday we have a ‘fun comp’ on the calendar. By popular demand, the format will be Texas Scramble.

Calculating the Team handicap:

The WHS system for calculating Texas Scramble team handicaps is:

• Four Players: 25% + 20% + 15% + 10% of the course handicap from the lowest to highest handicap.
  
• Three Players: 30% + 20% + 10% of the course handicap from the lowest to highest handicap

Do not round the decimal points up or down.

Rules:
15 holes, medal. When you subtract the team handicap from the gross score, do not round the decimal point.

For teams of four, at least 3 drives of each player must be used.

For teams of three, at least 4 drives of each player must be used.

Summer League – Best 5 out of 10 – starts on 28 March

The Summer League starts on Friday 28 March. If, on the 28th, we are still on winter conditions – the shortened winter course, and playing off mats – our senior handicap will apply.

When LGC switches to WHS qualifying, our WHS handicap will apply.

If you intend to play on the 28th, please remember to enter in the ‘Upcoming Competitions’, on the I.G. app of the LGC website. The competition is listed as Senior Section Summer League Round 1.

Congratulations to our Senior Section Chairman!

Congratulations to Young Mr Armstrong, who has become the latest of our octogenarians to grace the fairways! Steve Gosling presented John with his LGC Senior’s jumper on his 80th birthday.

Final Match of the Doubles Knockout (The Andy Ward Trophy)

The final of the Andy Ward Trophy is to be played next Monday, teeing off at 09:27. Spectators welcome. Admission free. Please follow the stewards’ advice at all times. Overflow carparking has been arranged.

The finalists are:

Paul Foster and Dave Craggs versus Dave Meir and Bob Ellison.

It should be a great match!

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 20 March)

Tee-booking schedules for Fridays – General Information

Mike Kendal, who joined the senior committee last autumn, was assigned the difficult task of producing the tee-booking schedules for the Friday competitions.

A few of our members have sent comments, moans, and questions to Mike. A few have asked why they seem to be drawn regularly with the same players, and would prefer it if the draw was more mixed up.

Mike creates the schedules based on the requests of the members. For instance, my request is to play ‘early’. Some members have requested half-hour time slots. If other members have requested the same half-hour time slots, they will inevitably be drawn together very often.

On the other hand, we have other members who prefer to play regularly with their close friends.

Mike tries to accommodate all requests, but as you can imagine, it’s not easy! Please send any updates to Mike if you want to be less restrictive about your tee times, which will allow him to create a more diverse mixing of groups.

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 23 March

Spot the Ball !

I think we’ve all hit balls into dense conifer trees, only for them never to come down. Last Friday Steve Gosling managed to keep his ball high up in some skinny bare twigs of the tree overhanging the 11th fairway! The gravity-defying ball was still there this morning (Wednesday). It’s becoming somewhat of a tourist attraction!

I believe that Steve is taking bets for the day his ball drops!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Please note that there will be no newsletter next week because I will be abroad on holiday. I suggest that everyone uses the same the signing on schedules next week for the Friday and Monday competitions as this week.

When I return next Thursday evening, I will update the leader boards and handicaps that Paul Foster will send to me, in order that the folks at the top of the leader boards can see how they stand before they head out for final round of the Winter League!

If anyone would like to become a reserve newsletter editor, please do let me know. I did train two fellow members of LGC Seniors two years ago on how to use the Microsoft ‘WordPress’ platform, but Microsoft have made significant changes to WordPress Administrator since then.

Winter League Round 8 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A pulchritudinous winter’s day, brilliant sunshine, with no wind and no rain, a little foggy for the early starters, but all in all a fine day for golf. Gentlemen, we are indeed a fortunate group, of shall we say ‘golfers of a certain age’ to enjoy life on the fairways.

[ Editor’s Note:
Dear Paul. I will allow your ‘pulchritudinous’ this time. But in future, please stick to the kind of vocabulary you would use if you were hosting the Wheel Tappers and Shunters Club, or doing your shopping in Oldfield Brow. Please avoid the kind of ostentatious sesquipedalian ramblings one might expect to hear from the compere of an Edwardian music hall. 😉 ]

With such benign conditions, three players achieved the ‘keep a 6 off your card’, Paddy Moran, Steve Barlow and Russ Jones. Well done you boys, Steve is the highest handicapper to achieve this feat. Paddy Moran now leads this elite group of players, Paddy has achieved three ‘keep a 6 off your card’.

A field of 41 runners for the last day in February, 20 players from Division 1 and 21 players from Division 2.

Zero 2s recorded today for the second week running, I’ve never seen such a large Cheshire Cat grin on Steve Gosling’s face..!

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Paddy Moran with 29pts
R/up – Steve Barlow with 28pts
3rd – Richard Smyllie with 27pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Dave Craggs with 27pts on a CPO
R/up – Richard Yates with 27pts
3rd – Ron Thornton with 26pts

Paddy Moran still enjoys a lead in the 1st division of 8 pts, but now from from Russell Jones. Steve Bramall now tops the 2nd division, with a 4pt lead over Dave Craggs.

Sadly five 1st division players (a quarter) put their wrong hcap down, just one 2nd division player put their wrong hcap down. Please check your seniors hcap every week in the newsletter. Your seniors hcap may well be different to your WHS hcap.

I can’t speak… all cards were marked correctly, first class… a few players put their names under the ‘B’ column, go to the back of the class you six.

41 cards handed in, 40 entered into Ig.

Summer Knock-Out competition

Reporter: Peter Willson

It is time this summer’s individual match play competition. I will put a sheet on the Seniors’ noticeboard.

Format: 18 holes Match play using WHS (95%) handicap. 

* Full rules are contained in the Rules and Guidelines section of the Seniors website

* Please enter your name on the entry form posted on the Senior’s notice board in the changing room. 

* The draw will be made at the end of March – the sheet will be removed on Friday 28th March and the draw made shortly afterwards. 

 * The draw details and play by dates dates for each round will be posted on the club website.

Just to note, I do enjoy reading the ‘Nutty’s Notables’, are we allowed to ask for requests Arthur?

Happy Mondays – 3 March 2025

A chilly start, but thankfully it remained dry and the sun tried to break through towards the end of the round. First signs of spring with the large willow tree by the 1st tee with leaf buds just breaking out, and the course continues to dry out.

Game: Team Stableford

5 teams – 13 players 

Winners: Pete Broady, Tony Lambert and Phil Perry – 88 points or 29.3 points per player

Second: Steve Bramall and Alan Thomas – 29 ppp

Highest individual score – Phil Perry – 33 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 March)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 9 March

This week’s Nutty’s Notable: Paul Collins

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

Paul was born and bred in Altrincham. He was fascinated by the mechanics of cars from an early age.

Editors Note: From memory, Paul told me that the first car he purchased as soon as he was old enough to drive was a wreck of a Mini Cooper. He borrowed money off his Dad to renovate it. Several months later, Paul was the proud owner of a gleaming red Mini Cooper. However, taking it on its first outing, and racing one of his mates from Oldfield Brow up to the posh part of Altrincham, the engine that Paul had reconstructed blew up. He immediately realised that he’d forgotten to torque the cylinder head bolts. That was the end of the Mini Cooper!

Paul moved to Warrington in 1985 to pursue a career in motor technology with a prestigious dealership. After a 10-year period, during which he gained a Senior Technician qualification, Paul set up his own company, which he ran for 30 years. He tells us that he has recently changed career. He is now a full-time golfer!

Paul’s first taste of golf was at the age of 12, when he used to caddy at Dunham Golf Club for some additional pocket money. He took up the sport seriously in the mid 1980s, progressing well and attaining a handicap of 10.

In the mid 90s, Paul took a break from playing golf to concentrate on building his business, with some considerable success. However, there was still some time for leisure, including motorcycle road riding and racing for Aintree Motorcycle racing club and Wirral 200. Paul returned to golf about 15 years ago, playing at Walton Hall and Birchwood before coming to Lymm GC.

Paul tells us that by far his biggest achievement in life is his marriage to Janet for over 40 years, and the priceless relationship he now enjoys with two children and four grandchildren!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Winter League – Round 7 of 8

Strong winds with high-speed gusts, although only little of the anticipated rainy conditions. Thankfully, temperatures, in comparison to previous weeks, were almost tropical!

No one achieved the ‘keep a 6 off your card’ this week, but Tommy Lawless and Mark Pickles managed to limit the damage to just one 6 (and nothing worse). Well done guys, considering the conditions.

A field of 36 runners, 18 players from Division 1 and 18 players from Division 2.

Zero 2s recorded today, Steve Gosling is once again a happy chappie.

Last week I mentioned the return of the Friday Wine Club. When I collected the cards this week, four-and-a-half-hours after the last group teed off, they were still seen to be consuming copious amounts of red wine in the clubhouse, and their cards were no where to be seen!

Division 1 Results
Winner – John White with 27pts on a CPO
R/up – Trevor Williamson with 27pts
3rd – Arthur Nuttall with 26pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results
Winner – John Booth with 26pts on a CPO
R/up – Dave Craggs with 26pts on a CPO
3rd – Steve Bramall with 26pts

Paddy Moran enjoys a lead in the 1st division of 8 pts from Michael John, and Jeff Chapman tops the 2nd division also with has an 8pt lead over; Bob Ellison, Dave Craggs and Steve Bramall.

As last week, nine cards were marked incorrectly. Put down the gross score on each hole, of the persons card you are marking, under the ‘A’ column, add the stableford points scored under the ‘Points’ column, nothing more, nothing less, add your own score under the ‘Marker’s Score’ column, sign the card, and that’s it. Nothing else. No net scores, no scores in the ‘B’, ‘C’ or ‘D’ columns and no Stableford points anywhere else except the ‘Points’ column. Thank you.

Happy Mondays – 24 Feb

Reporter: Peter Willson

A fine day, slightly chilly at first but only light winds, however muddy underfoot after some fairly heavy rain overnight Sunday. It stayed dry and we even had a glimpse of the sun!

Game: Team Stableford

6 teams of 3 – 18 players  – played over 15 holes 

Winners:
Grahame Brickell, Peter Willson and Steve Chalcraft (a new recruit to the Seniors) – 32.7 points per player.

Second:
Steve Barlow, Paul Collins and John White – 31 ppp

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 27 Feb)

Course closed for maintenance from Monday March 17th until Wednesday 19th

No need for Happy Mondays tee-booking this coming Sunday, due to the course being closed on Monday 17th.

Nutty’s Notables

Thank you again to Arthur for his continuing contributions to the newsletter, as he works his way around the senior section to unveil the personal histories of our notable members, i.e. every one of us who is happy to reveal some personal history previous to joining the remarkable fraternity of LGC Seniors!

This week:

“It’s a Kind of Bandit…” 

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

Born in Solihull, Warwickshire, Steve Barlow moved to Bowdon at the age of 8, when his Dad moved jobs. Steve started playing golf at age of 10, mainly because one of his neighbours was the tour pro Dave Thomas (Wikipedia), who encouraged Steve to give it a go. 

Steve joined Mere GC, but when it burned down in 1970, he joined Ringway. He played there until his mid 30s, but then gave it a rest until into his mid 60s. He was more committed to tennis, playing for over 50 continuous years. He was a member of Hale Lawn Tennis Club, playing on their teams for several years and winning many club trophies.

Always passionate about music, Steve used to go to the Free Trade Hall and other Manchester venues at least three times a week in the 1970s, seeing such bands as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Faces, and The Rolling Stones etc. Believe it or not, they were £1.25 for the front row in those days. He has kept the tickets as proof! He saw the opening night of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust Tour” at the Hard Rock in November 1972, and Mott The Hoople in 1973, where the support band were an unknown group called Queen. His mates at the time said he looked like the lead singer, a guy called Freddie Mercury.

Steve played in bands in his teens and even got signed to a major record label, but, alas, never quite made it through to the big time. However, he worked for record and management companies throughout his career and met a lot of interesting characters, from Elton John to Jedward (remember them?) and numerous celebs in between.

In 1996, Steve was asked to start up a new Music College in Manchester, called Access to Music. They are a national music college and the largest provider of music education in England. They started with 36 students at The Bee Hive Mill in Ancoats and when he retired, they had 450 students, studying not only music, but also media and gaming. Steve passed his knowledge onto individuals who would become famous, including Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne and Rita Ora. He says that it was a privilege to teach, and to see students go on to make a success of their life.

When Steve eventually retired, he decided to take up golf again, joining Lymm GC in 2022. He joined our Senior Section, where he was given the nickname “Bandit Barlow” during his first year. He claims he still doesn’t know why! 

[ Editor’s Note: He knows why! 😉 ]

Nowadays, during time away from golf, Steve is a TV/Film extra, which he loves doing. He has worked on productions such as Coronation Street, big Netflix costume dramas, crime dramas such as Ridley, and Sexy Beast and comedies such as Brassic and The Power of Parker.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Winter League – Round 6 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A bitterly raw winter’s day, with a light-to-medium arctic breeze off the ship canal to shiver me timbers. An assortment of silly hats on view across the course, not quite as silly as Les ‘silly hat’ Fecitt or MAGA Barlow, but still silly. Nobody told me I played 12 holes with my hat inside out ! I blame you, Eric Cox, but you did have your wrong glasses on.

Twelve holes in play again, although one group tried to sneak in scores for the 13th on their cards. I’ve spotted it you, three rascals. Please enter your scores on I.G. for 12 holes only.

Two players achieved the ‘keep a 6 off your card’. That was Paul Foster and Paddy Moran.

A field of 40 runners, 22 players from Division 1 and 18 players from Division 2.

Four 2s recorded today, all on different holes, Michael John on the 2nd, Art Laird on the 5th with a simply gorgeous chip in from off the green, and Russ Jones on the 9th.

And get this:
Bob Ellison engineered a quite incredible 2 on the 7th. How on earth??? Bob got 5 points for the hole.

Dandy to see the return of the Friday Wine Club (I must try and join you in the Sadlers), as Art Laird has rejoined the nest. Also good to see Joe Priestner and George Clarke both playing under par, and both having their handicap docked.

Division 1 Results
Winner – Paul Foster with 29pts
R/up – Paddy Moran with 28pts (Paddy, you are becoming boring now)
3rd – Richard Smyllie with 26pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results
Winner – Jeff Chapman with 31pts (a winter league high score)
R/up – Colin Hughes with 26pts on a CPO
3rd – Alan Thomas with 26pts on a CPO

Paddy Moran extends his lead in the 1st division from Grahame Brickell. Jeff Chapman who has a 10pt lead over Richard Yates, tops the 2nd division.

Two 1st division players put their wrong hcap down, and two 2nd division players put their wrong hcap down. Spooky…

Nine out of forty cards marked incorrectly…the players score should be entered under the ‘A’ column, and the stableford points entered under the ‘Points’ column, nothing else, besides your own score under the ‘Marker’s Score’ column, seems fairly simple to me!

Nice to see all scores were on Lymm Golf Club cards. 40 cards handed in, 36 entered into Ig.

Happy Mondays – 17 Feb

Reporter: Peter Willson

Another very cold day with a biting South Easterly but it was dry and the sun made a fleeting appearance 

Game: Team Stableford. 5 teams – 16 players.

Well it was that man again – Dave Craggs – with another stellar scoring round – albeit with slightly dodgy mathematics which were resolved in the clubhouse and the team still came out on top

Winners: Paul Collins, Eric Cox, Dave Craggs and Paul Foster – 25.3 points per player
Second: Kevin Bocquet, Pete Broady and Steve Rowley – 25 ppp

Kevin Bocquet – came out on top with an individual round score of 32 points. 

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 20 Feb)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 23 Feb

Nutty’s Notables

Arthur Nuttall suggests we have ‘player profiles’ as a regular feature in the newsletter. I think it’s an excellent idea. Last week Arthur provided a profile of Colin Lees. This week it’s John Hayes.

I don’t doubt that everyone in the senior section has a notable personal history that would be of interest to fellow members. I hope that Arthur continues to investigate! I would be particularly interested in Paul Collins, the reason being, I was playing in a senior interclub friendly home match against Sale GC last year, and one of the Sale pair was a retired prison officer. We were on the 14th tee, and he pointed to the 15th green, asking, “Is that Paul Collins?” I replied in the affirmative. He said, “I’ve not seen him for a while, but I’ve known him for years”. I thought I’d better not ask how!

Focus on John Hayes

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

As some of you will already be aware, John is originally from Yorkshire, and as we know, Tykes can be pretty good at “blowing their own trumpet”. Well, John is a bit different – he actually plays the euphonium and is a member of the Lymm Concert Band.

Having started playing a flugelhorn at the age of 9, John had a 50-year gap before he eventually took up his musical hobby once again, switching to the euphonium. Lymm’s next concert will be at the Arley Hall Garden Festival at the end of June. The repertoire of their music is quite wide and includes film music, selections from current and traditional musicals, big band, military band and light classical.

Not content with his blowing activities, John is also a member of a Choral Society. In the mid-1980’s, he was “volunteered” to join a choir, on the grounds that the choir was desperate for male voices. Given that he could already read music, he was considered good enough to join without further ado. Much later, in 2011 when he moved to Lymm, he was invited to join Altrincham Choral Society, which, having upwards of 100 members, was a much larger choir than he had been used to singing with. The choir produces three major concerts each year, performing mainly classical music in the form of oratorios and requiems by the major composers. These are held in a variety of venues, including the Royal Northern College of Music Theatre in Manchester.

But that’s not all. After retiring in 1993, John took part in voluntary projects, including leading a team to carry out construction work in rural Tanzania for a small UK based charity. Prior to leaving for Tanzania there was a series of introductory weekends where the volunteers were given training in all aspects of the proposed trip. The purpose of the project was to help villagers to construct a Health Centre within the confines of the village. Very rudimentary in terms of construction, but of vital importance for the village. At the end of our tour of duty they had got the building up to roof level; the next group to follow were able to complete the building ready for use. 

As you can see from the photos below, John hasn’t changed much!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Winter League – Round 5 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Twelve holes at last! Not much to report as I wasn’t able to play.

Only one player who achieved the ‘keep a 6 off your card’: Ian Whitehead. Well done Ian.

A field of 39 runners, 15 players from Division 1 and 24 players from Division 2.

No 2s recorded today, Steve Gosling is most impressed with you all..

Division 1 Results
Winner – Russ Jones with 29pts
R/up – Ian Whitehead with 27pts
3rd – Paddy Moran with 25pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results
Winner – Steve Bramall with 28pts
R/up – Steve Bird with 26pts on a CPO
3rd – Richard Yates with 26pts

Paddy Moran & Trevor Williamson now leads the 1st division, and Jeff Chapman from Richard Yates leads the 2nd division.

Russ Jones had 3 birdies, and finished one over par gross.

Same 1st division player continues to put the wrong WHS club hcap down, and four 2nd division players who played off their wrong seniors hcap.

One card handed in marked on a Padeswood & Buckley Golf Card! How does that work???

39 cards handed in, only 35 entered into Ig.

Happy Mondays – 10 Feb

Reporter: Peter Willson

Happy Mondays – 10th February ‘25

A very, very cold day mainly dry but with a biting North Easterly wind. Decided to restrict to 13 holes as it was cold (did I say that?) and limited access for buggy’s 

Game: Team Stableford (still)

6 teams – 19 players . A close run affair with 2 teams vying for the prize until a check on current handicaps was made 

Winners: Dave Craggs (the birthday boy), Charlie Hill and Peter Willson – 27 points per player 
2nd: Steve Barlow, Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 26.8 ppp

Mr Craggs went to celebrate his Birthday with his winnings. It may stretch to a McD’s 

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 13 Feb)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 16th Feb

Andy Timms to host Quiz night – Thursday 6 March

One for your calendar:
Our very own Andy Timms, soon to be LGC Captain, will be quizmaster for the event on Thursday 6 March.

£2 per entry, to go to the clubhouse development fund.

Colin Lees – Tennis Supremo!

Reporter: Arthur Nuttall

Colin Lees must have reached a pretty high standard in competitive tennis circles in his younger days, as these photographs (discovered by chance by me in America) feature him in a Pro-Am in 2000, partnering none other than Roscoe Tanner (second left), Wimbledon finalist in 1979.

While Colin and Roscoe won the Pro-Am and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, Roscoe lost to Bjorn Borg in the final, then spent some time in jail for unrelated matters!

In my recent chat with Colin, he tells me he was also mens 1st Team captain at Lymm Tennis Club for several years, playing in Division 1 in two Leagues – until sciatica struck!

More recently, he’s had to park Friday golf for a bit to let 3 months antibiotics do their job on an infected bone. He’ll be back, I’m sure.

We wish him well and hope that he is able to get fully back on the golf course soon.

In the meantime, if you have a couple hours to spare when he pops into the club for a coffee, ask him about his Hi-Fi System and record collection! Fascinating!

Arthur Nuttall

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Winter League Round 4 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

A chilly winter’s day, no wind, with only the top 8 holes on offer, with 1 winter green on the 7th, that seems impossible to hole a putt of more than 12 inches!

With just 8 holes there were were 4 players who achieved the ‘keep a 6 off your card’. They were Dave Meir, Michael John, Tommy Lawless and Paddy Moran.

A field of 37 runners, 17 players from Division 1 and 20 players from Division 2.

Two 2s recorded today, Andy Timms and Trevor Williamson. As I stepped onto the 10th to play my first shot I watched with astonishment when Trevor sank his monster, across the slope left to right, and up hill, right into the middle of the cup on the 9th, a beauty!

See the Second Lord of the Treasury Steve Gosling for your balls when he’s finished with his merriment on the snow slopes…

Division 1 Results
Winner – Dave Meir with 30pts
R/up – Michael John with 27pts on a CPO
3rd – Steve Barlow with 27pts

Division 2 Results
Winner – Barrie Simpson with 29pts
R/up – Jeff Ashurst with 27pts
3rd – David Craggs with 26pts on a CPO

Steve ‘MAGA’ Barlow, proudly sporting his new hat on Friday, leads the 1st division, and Jeff Ashurst leads the 2nd division.

A few comments about our second round of the new year.
Just the one 1st division player who continues to put the wrong WHS club hcap down, (I’ll start naming names soon), and two 2nd division players couldn’t remember their hcap from last week.

One card not handed in, but scores entered in the Ig app… and one player, played the 18th according to his Ig input!

Happy Mondays – 3rd February

Reporter: Peter Willson

A slightly cloudy start but with sun breaking through at the end. Chilly 6 deg. C but a light breeze only. Played over the 13 holes open 

7 teams – 21 players 

Game: (good old) Team Stableford 

Winners:
Eric Cox, Steve Gosling and Charlie Hill – 25.7 points per player 

2nd: Kevin Bocquet, Dave Craggs and Ken Pearce – 24.3 ppp

The winter skiing break must have suited Steve G has he had the joint highest individual score on 29 points shared with Steve Rowley.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 Feb)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 9 Feb

Inter-club friendly matches for 2025

Grahame Brickell and Stephen Bird are busy organising this year’s inter-club matches, the first of which is on 2nd April.

Grahame and Steve will use the WhatsApp groups called ‘Senior Matches’ through the main golfing season to keep us all up-to-date on match details. If you want to be added to the group, or if you want to be removed from the group, message Grahame.

In selecting for the teams, Grahame and Steve will try to share the matches between everyone on the group. All members can expect to play an equal number of home games and away games.

All members must wear the navy blue LGC team shirt for the matches. If you have not got one, or would like have a fresh one, see Steve or Fizz in the Pro’s shop.

If you would like play in some of the friendly matches, but you are not yet on the WhatsApp group: Give Brickell a Tickle.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles