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.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles