As we look forward to the main golfing season, we are going to graduate to summer conditions by ceasing to use mats in the rough. Use mats on the fairway until April, but do not use mats in the rough.

The summer season will be as full and varied as always, if not more so (with extra away venues). Here are a few reminders for those who want to participate, and enjoy to the full, the impressive range of events organised by the Committee:

• Remember to add your name to the list, on the Seniors’ noticeboard, before the end of March for the Singles Knockout: the Mike Smith Trophy
   
• Remember to contact Grahame Brickell if you wish to book your place on the two-day-one-night trip to Portal, Tarpoley. Grahame requires your £35 deposit before the end of March.
   
• Remember to add your name to the list of players who are available to be drawn (by John Armstrong) for the inter-club friendly matches.
   
• Remember always to check your handicap on the Senior’s noticeboard before filling out your card on Fridays. (Peter Willson tells me he’s still getting a few incorrect handicaps, which means he has to spend time recalculating the correct Stableford score of the offenders.)
   
• Remember to bookmark lgcseniors.com on your personal computer or your phone, or better, use the ‘follow’ feature on this website (for automatic emails for new content). I am going to stop sending out mass emails in April.

On the Inter-Club Matches page, I have created a list, supplied by John Armstrong, of all the members who are available to play in the Inter-Club Matches. Throughout the season, John will try to give everyone who wants to play an equal number of home and away matches. See the Senior Section Calendar page for the planned matches.

Senior’s Calendar

Rob Taylor has updated the calendar spreadsheet, which I have placed on the Senior Section Calendar page.

Winter League:

Congratulations to Paddy and Phil !

The 10th of the 10 matches had to be abandoned due to snow and ice last Friday, meaning that Paddy Moran and Phil Perry could not be challenged at the top of their respective divisions.

Winter League Final Results:
Division 1
1st: Paddy Moran – 167 points
2nd: Michael John  – 166 points
3rd= Martin Franks and Grahame Brickell  – 165 points

Division 2
1st: Phil Perry – 159 points
2nd: Alan Thomas – 156 points
3rd= Richard Yates – 155 points

See the Leaderboards page for more details, where I have now listed all who played at least 5 games in the Winter League.

Well done all who made the prizes, in a very competitive season with some good-quality golf. A special mention to Colin Hughes, who although aggregating 159 points to match Phil Perry in Div 2, did not – according to the powers that be – have his senior handicap bedded in until part way through the winter league.

Summer League Begins

This Friday (17th March) we go straight into the summer league.

For the summer league, do not play off mats in the rough. We are obliged to continue to play off mats on the fairways, until April, but, we are now playing out of the rough without mats. You can clean and drop the ball within six inches, until 1st April, following which you must play the ball as it lies in the rough.

To help with tee booking for the summer season, David Craggs (and his tee-booking deputy Grahame Brickell) requests that I publish the booking schedule every week.

Here is the booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 16th) to reserve tees on 31 March:

Please note that we have a Handicap Committee meeting tomorrow (Thursday). And so before you go out on on Friday, consult the Senior noticeboard before you write your handicap on your card.

Slow Play?

David Craggs has taken seriously the appeals to the senior section to speed up play. He has become an athlete, no less!

Pictured are three generations of Craggs taking part in the High Legh 10K run on Sunday 12 March.

David competed with his son Andrew and grandson Daniel. Thankfully the weather was good on Sunday!

Daniel, age 15, got round in 42 mins. Andrew, age 49, 52 mins, and Grandad Craggs, age 75, a very respectable 72 mins.

Well done, David! 10k runs are like golf: it’s a great achievement to beat your age!

David tells me he’s looking forward to next year’s race, but there is another way to speed up your golf, David: hit the ball straighter 😉

Senior Open Competition at Vale of Llangollen Golf Club

In January we advertised the Senior Open (4BBB) at Llangollen, for which Ron Thornton had agreed to organise a senior-section outing by block booking some tee times. Ron has not received sufficient interest to do this. However, Grahame Brickell tells me there are still tee times available early afternoon. If anyone would like to play in this open event on Thursday 1st June, contact Grahame, who will try to arrange for our members to play together.

Cost is £55 per pair.

And Finally

Here is an article sent in by our loquacious Secretary, talking balls.

How many Balls for a Two? How Many?

Reporter: Rob Taylor

Oh deary me!

The new committee met back  in November and cogitated on the prize given for a “two” scored on a Friday game.

The cheap balls ( all we could afford way back then) were a bit of a damp squib now.

We toyed with expensive balls ( Yay! We hear you all shout) but, no – too expensive and generally of little help to most of our players.

What we needed was a collector’s item – a ball that would stand out from the crowd. A unique offering, something others would notice and comment on.

The idea was nurtured, costed, decided on and a stock purchased. The Senior’s rather unique “Two’s Ball” is ready in the cupboard for the coming season.

Now, a-lackaday : a foul rumour spread like wildfire through the ranks.

Only 2 balls per “Two” scored; These items are too expensive to fritter away.

Well, not truly a rumour. Our benighted Treasurer stamped his mighty foot and we all cowed and agreed – two it would be ( spoilsport) .

But then: Well again. The abacus has clacked, the runes have been tossed and – thankfully – the number of two’s scored have been below expectation.

The mighty Treasurer ( the keeper of the purse) spoke again – VERY LOUDLY –  and he has said ( and we quote verbatim):

 “ They shall have three balls!”

So there you have it – you shall receive 3 balls ( a whole sleeve) for every two scored both for this session ( Winter), the summer session to come and even into the Autumn Session.

Hooray ! – except for some of us who have not managed a two in 6 years.

Rob Taylor

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles