Out with the old and in with the old

Reporter: Ian Goodman

Your new committee: a much better-looking line-up this year, I’m sure we can all agree.

Firstly though, a massive thank you to our departing committee members: John Armstrong, Mark Pickles, Steve Gosling and Peter Willlllson for all their hard work, patience and creativity during their terms of office. A very hard act to follow!

Left to right in the photograph above:

• Grahame Brickell (old boy) – Inter Club Competitions Officer
• Dave Craggs (old boy) – Secretary
• Paul (the axeman) Foster (old boy) – Handicap Secretary
• Les Williams (new boy) – Chairman
• Mike Kendal (old boy) – Friday Booking Secretary
• Ian Goodman (new boy) – Communications Officer
• Mervyn Roberts (new boy) – Treasurer & Membership Secretary
• Ian Smith (new boy) – Competitions Secretary
• Steve Bird (old boy) – Monday Booking Secretary (Editor’s note: Steve was away on holiday when the photograph above was taken. See Happy Mondays report below for a mugshot))
• Maintenance Managers – Grahame Brickell (rockery) and Dave Craggs (memorial bench)

Please feel free to buttonhole any of the above with your suggestions on how we can make our Seniors Section even stronger and better than it already is. Contact details for all your committee are in the directory on the club website.

Hawkstone Park – 21 &22 July 2026

Reporter: Les Williams

For the past five years we have run a trip to Hawkstone park, consisting of one round of golf on the Hawkstone course, playing in pairs for the Hawkstone Trophy. Day two is a four man team event on the championship course. The cost is £225 per person and includes golf, bed, breakfast and evening meal. We have two vacancies for next year, anyone interested please contact Les Williams. £45 secures your place with the balance due by the end of June 2026

Seniors Christmas Lunch – Friday 12 December

A quick reminder that our Christmas lunch will be held on the above date. Further details to follow. The cost will be a scrooge-pleasing £20 which includes subsidised entry to the free raffle. A list will go up on the Seniors noticeboard shortly for all those who wish to attend. An occasion not to be missed!

Round 5 Autumn League

Reporter: Paul Foster

Members were treated to a truly delightful Autumn day on the Royal Lymm Golf Course, with relatively warm air, a shroud of grey clouds keeping the sun at bay, and the trees showing off their finest seasonal colours. The benign conditions and shortened course brought out some equally fine golf. Many players found their rhythm, with accurate drives, sharp iron play and confident putting, leading to many excellent scores, thirteen players equalling or beating their handicap. The friendly spirit of competition was matched only by the good humour and camaraderie both on the course and in the clubhouse, that makes our seniors section so enjoyable.

Competitors on the day – 40, 16 from the 1^st division and 24 from the 2^nd division.

Three players put the wrong handicap on their scorecard, this is slowly reducing, hope to achieve all correct hcaps by round 10.

Eleven handicaps have changed for round 6, so carefully check your handicap please.

Lowest gross of the day goes to Mark ‘the spurk mat specialist’ Pickles at 2 over gross, and Mark kept a 6 off his card. Russ Jones had a poor start to the round scoring 5 points in the first 5 holes, then treated his playing partners to some scintillating golf, playing the last 12 holes in 1 under par gross, scoring 28 points!! Andrew Ransom scored the only 5 pointer of the day, scoring 12 points on holes 9 to 11.

Three 2s scored today, Michael John, Tony Dixon and a tremendous 2 from Andrew Ransom.

Results:

• Division 1 winner: Mark Pickles with 34pts
• R/up: Russ Jones with 33pts on a CPO
• 3^rd: Michael John with 33pts

• Division 2 winner: Ian Goodman with 36pts
• R/up: Dave Craggs with 35pts
• 3^rd: Phil Ormesher with 33pts

Leader boards

Happy Mondays – 3 November

Reporter: Steve Bird

Severe overnight rain and continuing showers left the ground very heavy with standing water on some greens. Many players withdrew leaving a mere three teams starting and only two completing the full 15 holes. The winning team of Alan Copeland, Steve Bird and Dave Craggs (pictured) scored a commendable 94 points averaging 31.3 pp. Dave scored 34 points, but the top scorer of the day was Steve Bramall with 36 points. Full marks to Steve and the rest of his team, Messrs Broady, Hill and White for turning out and completing the full 15 on such a soggy day.

Autumn Rules – clarification

Author: Paul Foster

This is a really Important Notice about the temporary Senior’s rule
The seemingly never-ending recent fall of leaves coupled with the soggy conditions means that balls are being lost in the fairways with horrendous regularity, which is slowing play to a painful pace. The pace only hurt a bit before the leaves started falling – now it’s really painful.

The committee has ruled that if you and your playing partners all agree that the ball finished “somewhere on the fairway, round about here” but it looks hopeless – leaves abound, and you are sinking into the mud and somebody has probably stood on the missing ball already. Throw down your trusty mat, place a fresh ball on it, and play on – NO PENALTY. If however, you hit your ball into any trees area and can’t be found in leaves, then, if no provisional ball has been played, no score. Simples…!

If you bang one out of bounds or into the rough where tigers live – then take your medicine like a man – when in doubt, playing a provisional ball should always be the order of the day. The leaves don’t care where they land, fairway or in the bush. Your chances of finding your family heirloom in the rough are somewhat limited. Take out provisional insurance – you know you should. Don’t forget, we should make an extra effort to track each other’s shots, particularly off the tee.

The Autumn league competition is scored over 15 holes only. The designated course is the first 15 holes open on the day (i.e. if hole 13 is closed but all others are open, the competition is played over 1-12, 14-16 for that day). For rounds where there are less than 15 holes open the scores achieved on the day will be pro-rated up to 15 holes (for consistency of recording the player’s league positions in that session).

On the bright side – even on temporary greens, “2”s still count!

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 November)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 9 November