The weather got the better of us last Friday, and the Chairman’s Day/BBQ had to be cancelled.
A few of us played on Friday morning, once the wind had subsided, and the green staff had cleared away the worst of the storm damage. I partnered Paul Collins in a very enjoyable match against Steve Barlow and Alan Copeland.
Unsurprisingly, ‘double hot dog and chips’ was on the ‘specials’ menu as we arrived in the clubhouse just in time for lunch. And very nice it was too.
The highlight of the morning for me was watching large groups of swallows and house martins hunting at high speed on the bottom half of the course, particularly around the 13th green and the 14th fairway. The cooler, heavier air and damper weather of recent days causes the swallows to hunt very near to the ground, almost around our feet, because the strata of flies and gnats are a lot lower than when thermals are lifting them. Enjoy the swallows and martins while you can. Within a week or two these remarkable birds will be making the miraculous 6000-mile journey to the southern half of Africa, covering about 200 miles per day. Those that survive will begin returning to breed in April next year, just in time to see Andy Timm’s Captain’s Drive In!
The Duel in the Gloom
The gloomy bank-holiday Monday saw the final of the senior section’s summer knockout. Steve Barlow and Keith Melia went head-to-head for the Mike Smith Plate.
I’ve spoken to both Steve and Keith, who reported that it was a great match, which went down to the final putt on the 18th green.
Congratulations to Keith, who won the day, and will also now qualify to play in the Seniors’ Championship next Friday (6th September).
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 29 August)
Happy Mondays Tee-booking schedule for Sunday 1 September
Away match at Helsby
I have yet to receive a report from the CoD for the away match at Helsby yesterday. If I receive one, I will publish it in next week’s newsletter.
Please remember, if you are nominated as CoD for a home or away match, to send me an email with your report, or message me on the I.G. app or the LGC website messaging system. My email address is in directory on the LGC website.
There were some excellent scores in this year’s Peter Herrity Trophy, and with a large field, a good sum of money raised for this year’s charity (to be decided by the committee).
The winner of the trophy was the on-form Tommy Lawless with 41 points.
In second, also with 41 points, was Peter White.
Peter just missed out on a card play off. Both Tommy and Peter had 22 points on the back nine, and so result was determined by the back six.
The Chairman’s Day competition will be for a bottle of wine. All competitors should enter the competition online by Thursday.
Go to ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the LGC website or I.G. App, and scroll to Senior Section Chairman’s Day.
The BBQ will start at 12:00 and will continue to be served as players finish.
Would you like to join the Senior Section Committee?
If you would like to help out on the committee, please apply by putting your name on the list, with the name of a proposer, on the Seniors’ noticeboard. We now have almost a hundred members in the Senior Section, and with a full calendar of activities, there is a lot of organisation involved.
Committee members generally serve for three years. This year at least two members, including the Chairman, will stand down at the end of the summer season.
Please note that you cannot apply directly for a particular role on the committee. The first stage is to get on on the committee, and then all the roles are decided when the new committee is formed. Each member volunteers for a role. Usually, discussions at the inaugural meeting determine which role is best suited for each individual.
Happy Mondays, 18 August
Team Stableford:
Winners: Pete Broady. Alan Copeland. Kevin Bocquet. 32.6. Points
Second. Tony Lambert. Phil Lomas. Dave Craggs. 29.33 Points.
Third. Mike Bennett. Richard Yates. Les Williams. Tony Dixon. 28.75 Points.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 22 August)
Happy Mondays Tee-booking Schedule for Sunday 25 August
This is the schedule for booking our game on Monday 9th September. However, the teams could be subject to change on the day due to players dropping out to play in an inter-club match at Northenden Golf Club.
Tatton League
Apologies for the late publication of this week’s newsletter, but I have only just returned from a Tatton League match at Heyrose.
Although the senior section is no longer involved in administration of the Tatton League, we do have members in the pool for Tatton League captain Bob Mycock and vice captain Mike Pigott to select from.
The Tatton League has six clubs in it: Lymm, Antrobus, Styal, Heyrose, Birchwood and High Legh. The scoring is the aggregate of 4BBB Stableford points over the season, with four pairs from each club playing in each match.
Today’s team of 8 at Heyrose included Andy Timms, Mark Pickles, Mike Pigott, and Ian Whitehead, all of whom played well in a challenging combination of blustery conditions and hard-bouncy greens.
After 5 matches to date, we are lying in second place, just 5 points behind the leaders Antrobus. However, we are now the only club not to have hosted the Tatton League. We will be hosting the final match on 10th September, when we hope that we can take advantage of the home fixture, and raise the trophy!
We play for the Peter Herrity Trophy on Friday: 16 August. This is our annual charity competition.
To enter the competition, go the ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main Lymm Golf Club website. Scroll down to “Senior Section Peter Herrity Trophy” on 16 August, and enter the competition.
You must enter the competition online at least a day before you play. If you intend to play, and you have not already entered, do so now, to avoid the risk of forgetting. As in all LGC online competitions, you will not be able to enter on the day of play. Cards that have not been entered online will be disqualified from the competition, and will not qualify for handicap.
To remind you, the competition is 18 holes, off yellow tees. Entry fee, payable to Steve in the pro’s shop, is £5.
Enter your score on the I.G. app, and place your completed card into the competition box.
We are expecting Margaret Herrity to present the trophy to the winner, at lunchtime. Therefore, if you post a good score, and think you might be in contention for first place, please stay for the presentation.
2024 Seniors’ Championship, 6 September
We play our Seniors’ Championship on Friday 6 September. Listed below are all seniors who have qualified for this year’s competition. If you are unable to play, please inform Grahame Brickell, who will remove you from the tee-booking schedule.
1 Mike Bennett 2 Steve Bramall 3 Michael John 4 Keith Melia 5 Tommy Lawless 6 Les Williams 7 Pete Broady 8 Arthur Nuttall 9 Trevor Williamson 10 Dave Craggs 11 Peter White 12 Joe Priestner 13 Dave Meir 14 John Booth 15 Martin Franks 16 Eric Cox 17 John Armstrong 18 Mike Pigott 19 Paddy Moran 20 Ron Thornton 21 Grahame Brickell 22 Alan Copeland 23 John White 24 Colin Crail 25 Stuart Baird 26 Art Laird 27 Alan Thomas 28 ? (Mike Smith Trophy winner) 29 ? (Peter Herrity Trophy winner
Interclub friendly at home against Ringway GC
Match Report: David Donnell Jones (CoD)
On Friday, August 9th, Lymm seniors played host to the visiting Ringway team in the latest round of the thrilling Matchplay series.
The morning was greeted with a cloudy, overcast sky, but this did little to diminish the buzz of excitement in the car park as players gathered their gear and exchanged friendly banter.
As the teams took to the course, the Ringway team was full of energy, eager to make their mark. However, as the clouds gave way to brights unshine, it became clear that the day was shifting in Lymm’s favour. One by one, the scores began to tip towards the home team. much to the growing concern of Ringway’s players.
Result:
Jeff Ashurst & David Donnell Jones, Won 1 up
Jeff Chapman & Russ Jones, Won 2 & 1
Phil Ormesher & Sammy Lee, Won 3 & 2
Alan Ranscombe & Arthur Laird, Won 7 & 6
Martin Lowe & Bob Mycock, Halved
Ian Whitehead & Dave Meir, Won 2 & 1
Barry Smith & Trevor Williamson, Won 1 up
Steve Bird & Barrie Simpson, Lost 3 & 2
Team score Lymm 6 ½ Ringway 1 ½.
Among the day’s standout performances were Alan Ranscombe and Arthur Laird, a formidable 7 & 6 victory was the best of the day. Not to be outdone, Jeff Ashurst, produced a putting masterclass. Jeff’s steady hand and keen eye on the greens, delivered a great win in a very close match.
As the match concluded and the sun shone down on the patio, both teams gathered in the clubhouse to enjoy a well-deserved meal. The lively post- match conversations were filled with good – natured banter and detailed breakdowns of the day’s highlights.
All in all, it was a delightful day of golf. As the sun set on a beautiful day at Lymm Golf Club, both teams left with full bellies, satisfied smiles, and Ringway planning their revenge for the next encounter.
Bottle of Wine competition, alongside interclub match with Ringway
Reporter: Peter Willson
Dry breezy day and pleasantly warm
22 cards entered but only 19 players registered via IG site – if you don’t enter via IG you can’t win!
Winner: – Michael John – 35 points
Second: – new member Howard Jones – 33 points
Third: – Joe Priestner – 32 points
Happy Mondays competition – Monday 12th August
Reporter: Peter Willson
A warm start turning into a hot day with a brief shower at first, but cloudy in the main and very humid at 29 deg. C
25 entrants
Game: Team Stableford
We welcomed another new member to the section today – Tony Dixon – and he’s a winner on his 1st outing !!
Winners: Mike Bennett, Tony Dixon, Dave Waggitt, Les Williams – 30 points per player
Second: Colin Chisnall, Alan Copeland, Alan Thomas – 29 ppp
Third: Andrew Cox, Dave Craggs, Bob Mycock, John White – 28.75 ppp
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 15 August)
Friday 30 August: Bottle of Wine competition, alongside our home match against Davyhulme.
Happy Monday’s tee-booking schedule:
Chairman’s Day, Friday 23rd August
If you are staying for food after the Chairman’s Competition (15 holes) a week on Friday, enter your name on the sheet on the seniors’ noticeboard, for catering purposes.
If you are entering the competition, you must pre-register in the normal way. Go to ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on I.G. App or LGC website, and select ‘Senior Section Chairman’s Day’ from the list.
A super summer’s day for the Texas Scramble fun day. A most enjoyable format which takes all the stress out of ‘not letting your team down’
Some great scores in from the 13 teams who participated, with 5 teams finishing under par gross. As usual lots of banter on the patio, especially when Ken Pearce announced his team had scored a net 38 for 15 holes…! After an inspection by Bob Mycock, that score was amended to 49, then when the suspicious card was even more carefully examined, the net score became 53…!
Good to see the half-way house in use, we should support the club and make full use of the facility provided. Paul Collins took full advantage of a voluptuous pork pie on offer, carefully packed into a heat retaining parcel complete with napkin. Paul made sure it was a low calorie pie before devouring it as we were passing ladies’ tee…!
Please check your handicaps before playing; there were a few incorrect ones entered on the score cards.
So to the results…
In 3rd on a cpo was team Ellison, Chapman, Copeland & Pigott scoring a nett 49.
R/Up were team John, Nuttall, Chisnall & Thomas scoring 48.
Winner of the day on a cpo was team Broady (that man again) Hayes, Cox and Meir, scoring 48. Shooting birdies on 4, 10 and 15 and an eagle 2 on the 4th ! Worthy winners indeed.
Happy Mondays – 5 August
Reporter: Peter Willson
A fine but cloudy day which brightened up towards the later stages and became warm at 20 deg.
Game: Team Stableford
5 teams / 15 players
Winners: Steve Barlow, Colin Chisnall, Alan Thomas and Tommy Lawless – 27.8 points per player
Second: Mike Bennett and Les Williams – 27 points per player
Please note: I have not created a Happy Monday booking schedule for this week because Monday 26 August is a bank holiday, and is not usually well supported. If you would like to play on Monday 26, book yourself in this coming Sunday evening.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow evening (Thursday 8 August)
Tomorrow we book the tees for Friday 23 August, which is Chairman’s Day and BBQ, organised by our outgoing chairman, Mike Bennett.
Peter Herrity Trophy
We play for the Peter Herrity Trophy next Friday: 16 August. This is our annual charity competition.
To remind you, the competition is 18 holes, off yellow tees. Entry fee, payable to Steve in the pro’s shop, is £5.
To enter the competition, go the ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main Lymm Golf Club website. Scroll down to “Senior Section Peter Herrity Trophy” on 16 August, and enter the competition.
You must enter the competition online at least a day before you play. If you intend to play, do it now, to avoid the risk of forgetting. As in all LGC online competition entries, you will not be able to enter on the day of play. Cards that have not been entered online will be disqualified, and will not qualify for handicap.
Welcome Russ Jones
Hello Seniors. I’d like to introduce myself to members of the senior section I haven’t met yet. I recently joined after passing my 61st birthday. I’ve already have met some great guys and played in a couple of matches for the section.
I’ve been a member of Lymm GC since 2010 and have enjoyed most of my golf here in that time. I am married to Helen and have a daughter Hannah, both are not golfers, but interested in how I do.
I am a keen Liverpool fan, though don’t get to as many games as I used to, when I had a season ticket. I am an avid follower of Warrington Wolves, as a season ticket holder, and I’m a cyclist when I can fit it in with my golf.
I worked for Guinness as a Quality manager for 30 years and have the tattoos as a memory of some great times with the company.
I look forward to playing and meeting more members as the season progresses.
Thanks, Russ
Mitre Cup
As usual, the senior section got thrashed by the ladies!
Lymm Golf Club Senior Section 