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