News from the Seniors’ committee on handicaps

There was much to discuss at the committee meeting last Friday, not least handicapping, and how best to align with the new – and more flexible – WHS handicapping scheme when it is introduced in April.

Both Paul Foster and Andy Timms have done a lot of research and thinking on how best to move forward. Andy – who represents the seniors on the main LGC men’s committee – and Paul have had discussions and communication with, variously, John McCue, English Golf Union, Cheshire Golf, and Steve and Fizz in the Pro’s shop. (Fizz is on the main LGC handicap committee, and has agreed to help the senior section to transition to WHS.)

Andy Timms has received agreement from English Golf, Cheshire Golf, and LGC to allow us to submit our scorecards for 15 holes (or less) in the main golf season (as determined by LGC).

The senior committee voted unanimously to move senior handicapping over to WHS from April. However, with Paul Foster being away on holiday last Friday, we were unable to ratify the details. Full details will follow in the weeks to come, including the possibility of allowing the ‘bottle of wine’ competitions (on interclub-match days) to be included for registration of WHS handicap.

The Winter League

Due to yet more rain last week, and the playable holes reduced to eight, last Friday’s match did not quality for the winter league, which would have reduced the league to the best 5 from 7.

However, the committee have decided to extend the winter league until the end of March (it was due to finish in mid March), which means the league will be 5 best from 9.

The reason we have done this is because we do not want to start the seniors’ summer league (due to start in mid March) until April, by which time we will have introduced the WHS handicapping for 15 holes.

Due to this extended winter league, the summer league will likely be reduced to the best 5 from 9.

Bottle of Wine Comp – Friday 23 Feb

Reporter: Peter Willson

Winner Jeff Chapman – 19 points
Second place Steve Gosling – 18 points (CPO over last 1 hole – 3 points)
Third place Sammy Lee – 18 points

Notes
Only 8 holes open – 1 on temporary green – Round declared VOID

Bottle of Wine to the winner

Rain and slight breeze: 8 deg.

Happy Mondays

Reporter: Peter Willson

Dry conditions, slight breeze, cold start light frost 1 deg. C 

6 teams – 20 players – Game: Yellow Ball played over 11 holes – 9th out of commission for construction of new bunkers 

Nobody lost their Yellow Ball 

Winners: – Steve Barlow; Dave Craggs; Charlie Hill and John White – 90 points 
2nd – Tommy Lawless; Phil Perry and Alan Thomas – 86 points 

Please note that next Monday’s competition (4th March) is cancelled due to repairs to the bollard system on the main drive.

Signing-up time

With the main season just a month away, do not forget to sign up to the interclub matches and the summer knockout (Mike Smith Trophy).

For those who have not played in the interclub matches before, please note that you will need a navy-blue LGC shirt. Speak to John Armstrong for details.

Senior Section Calendar

Dave Craggs has updated the senior section calendar. I have put the new spreadsheet on the calendar tab. Dave is also working on updating the senior-section rules, in time for the main season and our move to WHS.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (29 Feb)

Winter League – Round 5 of 8

Match Reporter: Paul Foster

Well what a day last Friday proved to be!

Three players played scratch golf: Mike Pigott, Mark Pickles and Martin Franks.

Trevor Williamson nearly played to scratch, scoring 9 pars out of the 10 holes. Phenomenal senior golf by any standard!

We had the most participants, most changes in handicaps, most players beating their handicaps and fewest players playing below the zone. Bob Mycock had two 2s on the day. And Steve Bird scored 5 pts on one hole.

51 players, with 20 playing better than their handicap, 29 in the zone and only 2 below the zone (not to be named, unless somebody asks)

Winner of Division 1 was Trevor Williamson with 39 points, followed by Bob Mycock, Martin Franks and Mark Pickles on 35 points.

Winner of Division 2 was Dave Craggs, with an all-time record of 42 points! (and an all time record chop in his handicap to go with it). The runners up were Steve Bird and Martin Lowe on 35 points.

Just three rounds to go and it’s hotting up in both winter league divisions.

Paul Lennie leads the way in division 1 with Dave Meir, Mark Pickles and Mike Pigott hot on his trail.

In the second division, Steve Bramall still tops the list, but the lead has been cut to 4 points by Jim Wilson and Joe Priestner.

Happy Mondays

22 players took part in this week’s competition of Team Stableford.

The results were as follows:

1st Place.   21.25points:
David Craggs, John Booth, Mark Pickles and Alan Thomas

2nd Place.   21 points
Pete Broady, Steve Barlow,and Tony Lambert

3rd  Place.    20.33 points
Steve Gosling, Steven Bird,and  Steven Perry.

Tee Booking Schedule for Tomorrow (22 Feb)

Beware Internet, Email and Banking Scams

Barely a weeks seems to pass without one of our members being scammed or defrauded or having his email account hacked. Internet fraud is on the increase, and some of it is becoming very sophisticated.

Some banking and credit card frauds are beyond our control, and there is little we can do to prevent attempts or actual instances of theft. In one recent case one of our members was defrauded by someone who successfully applied for a car loan using ‘identity theft’. In such cases, the bank, or the loan company, takes responsibility and recovers the funds (or writes them off). But, of course, it is a hassle if it happens.

There are many scams and infiltrations to our phones and computers that we can prevent and avoid. As a rule of thumb, do not click on links in emails unless you are absolutely certain of its source, and you are absolutely certain the source itself has not been hacked. If you receive an email from a friend asking for a ‘favour’ or ‘help’, be very cautious, because it is likely that friend’s email account has been hacked, and if you click on the links in that email, you will suffer the same fate.

Here is the latest advice on the Gov.uk website, including advice on how to report Internet scams.

https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

Padeswood and Buckley G C Senior’s Open Thursday 4th July 2024

Reporter: John Hayes

Once again it is time to think about summer golf and visits to other courses.
In the past few years a number of us have enjoyed a day out at Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club on the day of their Senior’s Open, being a course that is usually in great condition and has an interesting layout.

This year the date is Thursday 4th July.

A block of tee times has been booked for this date and most of the participants last year have indicated that they would like to play again this coming summer.

There are a number of places remaining to be filled and details are as follow.

The club is situated on the west side of Chester and it takes about 50 minutes by car from Lymm GC going via the M6 and A55. Tee times are ranged from 10:30 to 11:20 teams of four, the competition being played in pairs in “Four-ball Better-ball” format. The entry fee in total is £18 per head, which includes £15 for the Padeswood and Buckley fee and £3 for our own internal competition prizes.

The leading pairs within our group will receive a prize based on the score submitted in the main competition, with first pair getting £15 each, second £10 each and third £5 each, presented immediately after the last of our rounds.

If you would like to join the group for this day out please contact John Hayes to confirm your place. No payment is requested at this stage – he will contact you in a few week’s time when payment is due.

The Dave Craggs Mystery

Who would have thought that Dave Craggs, who has never won a Friday competition in his years in LGC Seniors, would win the last two Fridays in a row!

And who would have thought he would win with an all-time record score of 42 points (aggregated for 15 holes)!

What’s his secret? Perhaps he has been taking Paddy Moran’s tips on eternal youth (including intermittent fasting, avoiding bananas, and a rigorous daily workout followed by a cold shower)?

Or perhaps there is something more mystical going on. By coincidence, my wife and I were walking near Stockton Heath last Sunday, and we saw a man standing in the middle of ploughed field, wearing a triangular hat, holding a large pole in one hand and the number “5” in the other.

I zoomed in with my phone camera, and exclaimed, “it’s Craggzy” !

We walked a little further, and I stopped a lady walking in the opposite direction to ask if she knew what that man in the field was up to. She said, “beats me; he’s there every Sunday, in exactly the same spot, holding a pole on top of an equilateral triangle, and wearing a triangular hat; the only thing that changes is the number”.

I’m guessing that Dave has got involved in some kind of Pythagorean numerological cult, but, credit where credit’s due: it’s working wonders!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

‘Round 5 of 9’, Winter League

Match Reporter: Paul Foster

Regrettably, last Friday’s round has been declared null and void, as there were three winter greens in use.

Seniors’ rules state;

“If 3 or more greens are on “temporary” positions, irrespective of everything else, the round will be deemed to have been cancelled”

A bottle of Chateaux De Lymm will be awarded to Dave Craggs, who had the best score of the day.

2’s recorded on the day were achieved by Paul Lennie and Peter Broady, both at the Somme hole (9th).

With the shortened course and some elephant sized holes, there were some impressive scores on show Friday, with eleven players scoring under par and only two of 34 who played unable to reach the zone.

The day started badly for Steve Bramall, whose wheels fell off, literally, on the walk up to the 10th tee. He arrived at the tee with just a dust cover off one of his trolley wheels, no trolley, no clubs. Meaning a sprint back to the pro shop to hire a trolley (and of course he had no cash) then a sprint back to catch us up on the 10th winter green. Unsurprisingly Steve didn’t stop breathing like a Grand National winner until the 5th hole..!

So no change in the division tables or handicaps…Boooo……!!!!

Please note, the winter session is now best 5 from 8.

Happy Mondays, 12th Feb

Match Reporter: Peter ‘Conffusion’ Willlson

The day was cool with slight breeze but it stayed dry. 

12 holes open – with the 8th hole being particularly generous for points scored – due in the main to the tee being moved forward, onto the fairway and beyond the humps

Game – Best 2 from 3

7 teams played – 27 players 

Winners: Dave Craggs, Mark Pickles and Charlie Heath – 58 points

2nd: Paul Collins, Dave Meir, Mike Pigott and Trevor Williamson – 55 points

3rd: Colin Chisnall, Tommy Lawless and Alan Thomas – 54 points

Note 27 players took part – only £26 in the pot – would the missing player please see Charlie Heath to complete his prize money from the winnings total. Thank you.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (15 Feb)

Winter League – Round 4 of 9

Match Reporter: Paul Foster

Friday’s weather was a little coolish, but a fine day ensued, no wind, plenty of sun, serene swans on the mill-pond like ship canal, and wispy clouds drifting on the skyline. I saw lots of big grins around the course. A great day to be out.

47 happy golfers played, with much better conditions than recent for good scores. This showed in some spectacular rounds, 12 players playing better than their handicap, 26 played within the zone, and just 9 unable to get in the zone.

Alas there were seven incorrect handicaps used this week, just as I thought people were actually looking for changes in their handicaps. Please read the handicap page for your up to date handicap, or look at the seniors notice board. The handicap list is renewed each Wednesday in the newsletter and on the notice board.

From zero 2s last week to two 2s this week, Michael John and David Donnell-Jones both managed to negotiate the Somme battle field which is the 9th hole. Talking of the 9th hole, taking note of the advice regarding playing the 9th, from the club message, two groups bypassed the hole, which caused all sorts of shenanigans back in the clubhouse (I had to stay for another 3 drinks discussing what to do) Hic…! The final decision was to pro rata those who played 11 holes up to 15, and the rest, pro rata 12 holes up to 15.

In the 1st Division 9 players played better than their handicap, great to see Peter Broady return to fitness and top the pile with 35pts, winning on a cpo from Mark Pickles, with David Donnell-Jones in 3rd place also on 35pts. Some great golf by these three. Others enjoying a great day were Paddy Moran, John Armstrong, Steve Gosling and Michael John. Note here that John Armstrong has lowered his handicap by 8 shots since October, and he’s still near the top of the leader board.

In the 2nd Division, 3 players played better than their handicap, the leading score belonging to Arthur Nuttall with an outstanding 39pts…r/up was Ron Thornton with 34pts and in 3rd place was Ken Narraway with 31pts pts.

Division 1 Results

Winner – Peter Broady with 35pts on a cpo
R/up – Mark Pickles with 35pts on a cpo
3rd – David Donnell-Jones with 35pts

Division 2 Results

Winner – Arthur Nuttall with 39pts
R/up – Ron Thornton with 34pts
3rd – Ken Narraway with 31pts

Leader in the 1st division is still Paul Lennie at 1 under par, Andrew Cox and David Meir make up the top three

In the 2nd division with John Higgins AWOL, the new leader is newcomer Steve Bramall at 2 under par, with an impressive 8 point margin over Peter Willson with Jim Wilson running third.

Please note, the winter session is now best 5 from 9 as one game was not played (week 3) and we cannot fit an extra one in before the summer session starts.

Happy Mondays

Match Reporter: Peter Willson (of conffused.com)

Well another confusing day – brought about in the main by the 9th Hole being taken out of play for the bunker work and how to decide how many players to count on the 10th 

Game – a Waltz – 1-2-3. 

Weather: Dry but with a chill breeze – the course is drying up and all 18 holes were open for play although the 12th, 14th and 15th are still heavy going – but it’s good to be back. 

7 teams comprising 25 players 

Winners – Steve Bramall, Colin Crail, Les Williams and Richard Yates – 61 points 
2nd – Colin Chisnall, Les Fecitt and Alan Thomas – 60 points 

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 8 Feb)