Rules Quiz
In stroke play, a player playing from the teeing area misses the ball completely. They push the tee farther into the ground and then play the ball. What is the ruling?
- There is no penalty
- The player’s next shot is his second stroke
- The player gets one penalty stroke
Answer is at the end of this newsletter
Seniors’ Winter Pairs Knockout 2025
Reporter – Martin Franks
Fine conditions made a pleasant change for the Seniors’ Betterball final played over 13 holes between Franks & Ranscombe and Pickles & Copeland. A very competitive match with never more than one hole in it was played to a high standard with a combined betterball score of 1 over par gross, which included gross birdies by Mark Pickles on the 6th and Martin Franks on the 8th.
Alan Ranscombe, who had bemoaned his play during the round, came good when it really mattered, as he’d done in previous rounds, with gross pars on 12 and 13 to seal a 2-hole win for him and Martin Franks.
(Editor’s note: Congratulations Martin and Alan. Solid golf throughout the competition. Well played also to Mark and Alan C for reaching the final).
Golf fact
Mary Queen of Scots may have invented the idea of the caddie. She played golf in the 1500’s and had a military cadet carry her clubs, possibly the origin of the word “caddie.”
Golf shot of the day – Koos Alders – 11th hole, second shot
Author: Ian Goodman. Photographs and AI Steve Barlow
Having scored 21 points on the front nine, our very own flying Dutchman decided to open up the green on the 11th by hitting his tee-shot towards the tree at the top of the bank on the 10th hole. Few of us would have had the imagination to try that. To make it even harder on himself, he opted to use the hosel of his five iron rather than the face of the club. Golfing genius! Having achieved his objective, Koos had to be hoisted into position on the precipitous bank by his two playing partners in order to play his second shot. By this time word of Koos’s audacious strategy had reached the clubhouse and a small crowd gathered to see what he would do next (see photograph below).
Following some uncharacteristically mediocre short play, Koos left the green with a well-earned six.
Winter League – Round 9
Reporter: Paul Foster
Early starters in the penultimate round were greeted with classic ‘British Spring’ conditions – steady rain, soggy fairways, only 8 holes open, and all on winter greens. It makes you question your life choices. A number of canny souls quickly decided being at home was the better option and pulled out. As the morning went on, the weather mysteriously improved for the later golfers, who enjoyed much drier conditions. The result? Record low numbers for the winter league with the field considerably smaller than usual. Those who did battle the elements deserve credit – if not for their scoring, then certainly for their commitment to keeping round 9 alive. Or at least for keeping the bar busy afterwards!
The entertainment continued in the car park, where I witnessed a small gathering of ‘experienced’ golfers in deep conversation – or at least attempting to be. With hearing aids at varying levels of effectiveness, the discussion quickly turned into a full volume exchange of shouts. “Where’s your card?”; “Eh?”; “Flat white for me“; “I haven’t seen him”. Several minutes passed with each gentleman confidently replying to questions that nobody asked. At one point three different conversations were happening simultaneously, none of which appeared to be related. Eventually everyone seemed satisfied that something important had been communicated, and they all retired to the bar for a bottle of red wine, (you know who you are). Great being a member of the seniors!
Just 6 players from the 1st division, and 13 players in the 2nd division.
No 2’s scored today.
All handicaps entered were correct for the first time ever, and all but 1 card was meticulously completed, well done all.
Results
Division 1
| Winner | Arthur Nuttall | 27 points |
| Runner up | Paul Foster | 26 points |
| 3rd place | Paul Collins | 21 points (CPO) |
Division 2
| Winner | Alan Ranscombe | 27 points (CPO) |
| Runner up | Richard Yates | 27 points |
| 3rd place | Steve Bird | 26 points (with a 5 pointer on the 3rd) |
Going into the final round of the winter league:
Steve Gosling still leads the 1st division followed by Paddy Moran and Paul Foster.
Mervyn Roberts still leads the 2nd division, followed by Paul Keenan and Barry Smith.
Happy Mondays Report – 9 March
Reporter: Peter Willson
A chilly grey and gloomy day with little bit of mist to start – however the rain held off and the skies lightened somewhat.
5 teams – 18 players – 3 x 4 players; 2 x 3 players
Good ol’ Team Stableford format
Winners: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Rich Yates – 77 points in total – 25.7 points per player.
Yes, they did again; last out and most of the other competitors waiting in the clubhouse with bated breath for their card! But through a “schoolboy” accounting error all was nearly lost. A swift re-count and the spoils were theirs to take home (again!).
In second place: Kevin Bocquet, Dave Craggs and John Hayes – 75 points or 25 points per player.
Highest Individual scores – Mike Bennett – 30 points and Steve Bramall – 29 points. Mr Handicap Secretary – I draw your attention 🙂
Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 12 March
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 15 March
Rules Quiz answer
Answer 1 is correct. There is no penalty. See Rule 6.2b(6). If a player’s ball in play lies in the teeing area, they may lift or move the ball without penalty and play it from a tee or the ground anywhere in the teeing area.
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 
Hello to you, the editor. As someone who was there when this newsletter was first mooted and then continued to edit it and write for it for more years than I can remember, I want to voice my appreciation and congratulations. The change over from the weekly e-mail to the “new fangled” web site bridged the gap from small low budget stuff into a much more dynamic ( and a lot easier to handle) system. This is now reaching maturity but still continues to evolve. Since you took over it has moved the weekly blurb up even another gear. Balancing regular articles with scores with personal stories – grand stuff. It seems at times a heavy workload – churning it out every week after week – but there are many out there who appreciate it – they may not say so but, I promise you, miss an issue and your ears will burn. Keep it going – Its unique amongst all the golf clubs that I know of. Lymm would not be the same without it. Many thanks Rob Taylor
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rob. that’s much appreciated. The job’s made a lot easier by the volunteers who, every week, write the content I publish. I enjoy adding the odd bit and it’s really no chore. My thanks to those who went before me who have provided a great template to work from.
LikeLike