Rules Quiz
In a match, a player’s ball came to rest beside some steps attached to a boundary fence. The steps interfered with the player’s swing, so they took free relief before playing their next stroke. What is the ruling?
- The player loses the hole
- There is no penalty
- The player may replace the ball in its original position providing they have not played their next shot. The player receives a two-shot penalty and may continue the hole
Answer is at the end of this newsletter
Backdrop to our 3rd and 5th
Author: The Editor
Most of us have crossed it more times than we can count, but the Thelwall Viaduct remains one of the North West’s great engineering landmarks. Opened in 1963 (northbound) and 1996 (southbound), it carries the M6 over the Manchester Ship Canal and River Mersey, linking Cheshire with Lancashire and forming one of the busiest stretches of motorway in the country.
Built originally for far lighter traffic than it handles today, the viaduct has become famous for its wind closures, bearing repairs, and the occasional epic queue that tests even the calmest driver’s patience. Despite that, it’s an impressive structure: over 4,400 feet long, with sweeping views across the Mersey Valley—if you’re lucky enough to be moving.
Quirky Facts
- When it opened in 1963, it was briefly the longest motorway bridge in Britain
- The original steelwork was made by Dorman Long, the same firm behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge
- It was designed for around 79,000 vehicles a day, today it carries almost double that
- The 2002 bearing failure caused months of disruption and cost £52 million to fix
- High winds can close lanes because the viaduct sits on one of the windiest exposed points on the M6
Here’s a link if you would like more information on the bridge. The photograph below is from an open day when the bridge was opened in 1963.
Winter League – Round 5 (not played)
Reporter: Paul Foster
Friday’s golf conditions could have been best described as orthopedically unsound. A relentless combination of rain, wind, and a general murkiness that transformed the course into something resembling a hippopotamus spa, rather than a place to swing a club. The fairways I believe were fully saturated having finally accepted that drainage is more of a suggestion than a rule. Greens would have been technically present, though indistinguishable from the surrounding countryside and well struck putts would have moved at a lightning pace of approximately zero. Any ball landing anywhere would have plugged so deeply it probably would have had to apply for planning permission. In a rare display of mercy and common sense, thankfully the golf course was closed, saving golfers from sodden shoes, muddy socks, total despair and the need to explain to loved ones why their trousers weighed six kilos. All in all, an excellent day for not playing golf. No shots docked (damn!), no balls lost or drowned and no seniors gone missing in the pond-like bunkers.
In summary: Wind: ‘aggressive’. Rain: ‘unrelenting’. Visibility: ‘optional’. Course status: ‘wisely closed’. Golfers: ‘dry, smug and alive’.
We’ll regroup when the course returns to being grass instead of soup.
Happy Mondays Report – 9 February
Reporter: Steve Bird
The weather greeting us this morning was described by one of my teammates as ‘benign’ and whilst I would normally relate this word to a harmless disease, it also can mean ‘gentle and kindly’ which is exactly how I would describe the 14 souls, comprising 2 teams of 4 and 2 teams of 3, taking part. The course had taken a battering at the end of last week and was still drying out although the upper land was, as always, in good condition.
The winning team with an average score of 25.5 were Messrs Chisnall, Lawless, Bocquet and Rowley with Kevin top scoring for the day with an impressive 29.
Runners up were Messrs Broady, Pickles, Mather and John Bramhall (not to be confused with Steve Bramall) with an average of 22.5.
Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 12 February
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 15 February
Golfing fact
Odds of a Hole-in-One: The average golfer has a 1 in 12,500 chance of hitting a hole-in-one. Coincidentally, exactly the same odds as getting a shot back on your handicap from our current handicap secretary.
Rules Quiz answer
Answer 2 is correct. See Definition of Boundary Object. Any gate, steps, bridge or similar construction used for getting over or through a boundary wall or fence are not part of the boundary object.
Newsletter editor: Ian Goodman
Discover more from Lymm Golf Club Senior Section
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Lymm Golf Club Senior Section 