Peter Broady organised his annual trip for 12 to Abergele last week, at the Abergele Senior Open (4-man teams). I was delighted to be included, having made it into the event as a reserve.

I like golfing in Wales. Did you know that the Welsh language was invented in 1928 by a dyslexic English sheep farmer in Wrexham? This is why Welsh is so easy to learn. It is simply the English words spelled backwards, but with a few spelling variations, such as the letter ‘K’ becomes ‘LL’, and where there are two adjoining vowels in a word, such as ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘ou’, etc. the spelling changes to ‘Y’.

Therefore “Leek soup for dinner” becomes ‘Llyl pys rof rennid’. Next time you go to Wales, try it on the natives. The only exception to the rules above is the word ‘jellyfish’, which translates into Welsh as Pysgodyn wibli wobli. (If you don’t believe me, look it up!)

Back in England, Lymm’s senior away team is still on wibbly wobbly form, but showing small signs of improvement, as Phil Ormersher will explain in his CoD piece for the match at Northenden Golf Club.

Well done to Martin Franks, who is this year’s Senior Champion!

Senior Championship – 8 September 2023

Winner: Martin Franks – 35 points  (CPO over last 6 holes -16 points)

Second:  Paul Foster – 35 points  (CPO over last 6 holes -14 points)

Third: Steve Gosling – 35 points (CPO over last 6 holes -11 points)

Individual Stableford – 8 September 2023

Winner: Steve ‘Bandit’ Barlow – 32 points                                                    
Second: Bob Ellison – 31 points                                                        
Third: Dave Craggs  – 30 points  

Abergele’s Party

Event Reporter: Peter Broady

Three teams of four entered the Abergele Seniors Open competition. On a hot and very humid day with the occasional spots of rain, we all set off on the parkland course. Once again the course was in good condition.

Due to the recent weather conditions it paid to stay on the fairways as the first cut to rough was very thick with clover. It took some getting out of.

The Halfway house was welcomed by us all, supplying us with tea/coffee and cakes. And of course a rest from the heat.

We had our own little competition between our selves and the winning team taking the money with 98 points where.
            Grahame Brickell
            John Armstrong
            Andrew Cox
            Ken Narraway

Both runner-up teams had 97 points each, a close fought battle. All agreed a good day out.

I have booked four tee times for next year in their Seniors Open Competition 5th September 2024. (Thursday). If anybody is interested in playing in this competition please email/text me so I can put your name on the list. Thanks.

Pete Broady

Captain of the day’s report – Northenden v Lymm 11^th September 2023

Match Reporter: Phil Ormesher

A bright start to the day combined with coffee, tea and biscuits in their super ‘newish’ club house.

So down to the first tee, but only three players until 1 minute before tee time the fourth player appeared.  It turns out he was cooking sausage rolls which he brought with him and offered to share.  How’s that for hospitality!

The match progressed well with just a little rain towards the end of the match but nothing significant.  With various thumbs up and down shown from other Lymm players as we went round it did seem that we were in with a chance of a win.  I was hopeful.

On the last few holes we had a helicopter circulating for about 15 minutes.  Very annoying.  Rumour had it that it was the paparazzi expecting to gain an exclusive on an unexpected win for Lymm, but it turns out it was the police attending an ‘event’ on the nearby River Mersey.

The lunch, fish and chips followed by ice cream, was excellent.

Thanks were given by Northenden Club Captain, Paul Johnson, in what was his last event as Captain. Paul took the opportunity to highlight the achievement of Steve ‘Chipper’ Barlow who holed a 50-foot (or was it yards?) chip to halve the match.

Sadly, Steve’s efforts were in vain as Lymm achieved two wins and 2 halves resulting in a 5 – 3 win for Northenden.  Not a bad result but closer than the overall score would indicate  

We pay Northenden again, at home, on the 22^nd, so hopefully we can have our revenge.

Thanks to all who played and mustered applause for my joke and not forgetting John Armstrong who does all the organising and Steve Gosling who is the ‘money man’ – time consuming roles often overlooked.

Phil Ormesher, 12^th September 2023

Happy Mondays

The results of this Monday’s competition were:

1st Les Williams, Richard Yates, 55 points
2nd Charlie Heath, Grahame Brickell , David Waggitt, 54 points
3rd Les Fecitt, Alan Thomas, Colin Chisnall, 50 points.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 14th September) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 29nd September. We have a home match against Warrington. The rest of the field plays for a bottle of wine.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Let us headline this week with our victory against Davyhulme last Friday. It was of course Davyhulme’s first senior-team visit to Lymm. They are a friendly bunch and all the visitors that I spoke to enjoyed their visit. See Art Laird’s captain-of-the-day report below.

I was on the Lymm team versus Davyhulme, and therefore heard Art’s speech. I have to say that he got huge laughs by telling a non-joke about a man and his wife driving their ball into a pond. As we awaited the punchline, Art simply said, “that’s it; that’s the joke”. For a few seconds, everyone look at each other bemused, and inevitably everyone suddenly burst out laughing!

Unfortunately, on Monday, at the inter-club match at Bramhall, we suffered a whitewash, although some of the matches were very close.

Mark Pickles and John Armstrong were one-up after 8 holes, and looked certain to be two-up at the turn, as John had hit a great drive and then an equally impressive 5 wood onto the green of a long par 4 in which he had a shot to his handicap. On arriving at the green, John, who had been playing a ‘Wilson’ ball, then decided to putt his opponent’s ‘Callaway’ ball which was further away from the hole. We lost the hole we were set to win, making the score level.

A few holes later, John, who was by now playing a ‘Srixon’, decided to play an approach shot with his opponent’s ‘Callaway’ ball, assuring me he’d played a ‘Srixon’.

“Should have gone to Specsavers” 😉

Interclub Friendly Match – Home versus Davyhulme – Friday 1st September

Reporter: Arthur Laird (CoD)

It was just great to have very fine weather for a change considering the ‘summer washout’
Most of the Davyhulme team arrived early to avoid traffic and were keen to get on with the job! Plenty of coffee and banter before the match.
In spite of a slow start on the first we made good headway. All enjoyed the course which was in great condition particularly the greens – no excuses for missing putts. Many thanks to the green staff and to Andrew Cox and his team of seniors volunteers – just great.
All teams were in by 1 pm (4 hours) and the results were collated.

Never mind the ‘honourable draw’, it was a great win for LYMM: 5 – 3 Victory

Art Laird and Mike Bennett – Won 3+1
Dave Craggs and Sammy Lee – Lost 5+4
Andy Timms and Mark Pickles – Won 7+5
Phil Ormesher and Paul Lennie – Lost 4+3
John Higgins and Steve Gosling -Won 2+1
Jeff Ashurst and Phil Lomas – Won 1 up
Mervin Roberts and Pete Broady – Lost 5+4
Mark Marsland and Alan Ranscombe – Won 2+1

The lunch swilled by copious quantities of beer and wine was excellent and well done to Karen and staff Nettie, Josh and India.

As always the speeches were well received and a great day was had by all

Art Laird

Interclub Friendly Match – Away versus Bramhall – Monday 4th September

Reporter: Andy Timms (CoD)

The sun was shining on a glorious day as our team assembled at Bramhall in an attempt to break our away duck for the first time this season.

However the signs didn’t look that auspicious when the usually super organised Steve Gosling arrived on time but on opening the boot of his car discovered he’d left his golf clubs behind !!

A frantic dash ensued and thankfully he made it back in time (just) with all his gear.
Unfortunately the tone for the day was set, and although a few matches managed to get all the way to the 18th, none of us managed to come out with a victory, leaving the result a somewhat ignominious 8-0 thrashing.

On the plus side, Bramhall lived up to its fine reputation with the course in absolutely superb condition and I’m sure those that played will be looking forward to the potential opportunity to go back next year.

Match results :
Peter Broady & Arthur Laird – Lost 5&3
Peter Wilson & Phil Lomas – Lost 1dn
Andy Timms & Mike Pigott – Lost 2dn
Grahame Brickell & Steve Gosling – Lost 4&3
Andrew Cox & Mike Bennett – Lost 2&1
John Armstrong & Mark Pickles – Lost 5&4
Phil Ormesher & Duncan Clarke – Lost 1dn
Phil Perry & Ron Thornton – Lost 4&3

Andy

The Seniors’ Champion of Champions – 8th September

The Champions competition this Friday will be played off our senior handicaps, and over 15 holes, as stated in the Senior Section rules.

Following Round 10 of the Summer League, Bob Mycock has done a handicap review. Therefore, if you are in the Champion’s competition on Friday, please make sure you check your senior handicap before marking your card.

Anyone who does not want to compete with senior handicaps is welcome not to compete.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 7th September) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 22nd September. We have a home match against Northenden. The rest of the field plays for a bottle of wine.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Lost and Found?

Pitch-mark Repairer
Last Friday, Bob Ellison lost a pitch-mark repairer which he hopes that someone has picked up. Bob says: ” [it’s a] black pitch repairer, which l have had for a long time and it has great sentimental value”. 

Pink Castle Tee
Dave Waggitt lost a pink castle tee on the 6th hole on Friday 1st September.

Dave has informed Steve and Fizz in the pro’s shop, but as yet no-one has handed in the tee. The value of a pink castle tee is only a few pence, but as Dave, a Yorkshireman, pointed out to me, the one he lost was the last one in the packet, and if no-one hands it in he will need to buy a whole new pack.

Following a high-scoring 10th round of the Summer League (see the match report below) the two winners are:

Division 1: Paul Collins
Division 2: Ron Thornton

Well done Paul and Ron!

And here is a screenshot of the top third of the table.

Match Report for 25th August – Round 10 of Summer League

Game Played: Round 10 – Summer League  

Number of cards submitted                 
Division 1 – 17 players
Division 2 – 21 players

2’s recorded
Dave Meir and Arthur Nuttall

Division 1:                       
Winner: Paul Collins (on CPO) – 36 points
2nd: Steve Barlow – 36 points
3rd=: Bob Ellison – 34 points

Division 2: 
Winner: Colin Hughes  – 37 points
2nd=: Ken Pearce  – 36 points
2nd=: Colin Chisnall – 36 points

Notes:

Played over 15 holes. Breezy, cloudy and dull then sunny spells light later. Cool – 18 deg. C

Colin Hughes, as winner in Division 2 last Friday, qualifies for the Senior Champion competition on 8th September.

The Mike Smith Trophy (Summer Individual Knockout)

Reporter: Rob Taylor

Well, the long journey that started all those months ago, as we emerged from Winter/ Spring, has come to an end.

A huge number of Matches have been played, lots of tears shed, lots of punching the air ( quietly, while your opponent wasn’t looking) and we have, at last, a worthy winner – our Champion of the fisticuffs and stresses of the knock-out arena.

Whom might this Knight of the Realm be?

None other than . . .

Stuart Baird

And Tommy Lawless came runner up. The trophy will be presented to Stu at the next Presentation day scheduled for the 20th October 2023, after our Friday game on that day – along with the magnificent cash prizes for both the winner and the runner up of course..

Interclub Friendly Match – Away at Helsby

Reporter: Grahame Brickell (CoD)

Despite the good camaraderie / banter .. led by messrs Mycock & Pigott in the visitors camp during the pre match coffee .. and talks of a 1st away win of the season, and despite having thrashed Helsby in the home fixture early in the season, it was not to be!

Messrs McGuigan ( and that man Mycock again) saved a complete whitewash with a halved match. Two other matches were lost 1 down, the other defeats were more hefty!

Still despite a couple of heavy ‘summer’ downpours, spirits were lifted with a good plateful of chicken & something pie & chips, followed by a brownie & ice cream.

Course generally in good nick, some of the tees wouldn’t go amiss with a team of volunteer divot fillers getting to grips with them.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 31st August) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 15th September. We have a home match against Leigh, therefore the rest of the field plays for a bottle of wine.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

PSA Testing at Lymm – 4th November

Phil Ormesher has supplied the attached Word document, detailing the PSA testing at Lymm, including how to book if you are interested.

And here is a link to the NHS page explaining the current NHS policy on PSA testing, and another NHS page explaining the pros and cons for PSA testing.

Classical Music Recital at Sale (‘The Avenue’ Church) –
Sunday 3rd September, 3pm

I know there are a few members of the senior section who enjoy classical music, including John Hayes, a musician (tuba) and singer (bass), whom I have seen twice performing at sell-out venues with the Altrincham Choral Society.

This coming Sunday (3rd September), my other half, Alison Farshi (pianist), will be performing with Vivian Chasey (violin, formerly of BBC Philharmonic) and Bethan Roberts (oboe, Hallé Orchestra) some lovely and lively pieces, including a sublime Mozart sonata for violin and piano (A Major, K526).

Tickets available on the door, £10 for adults, £2 for under 19s.

I have listened to Alison practicing at home for the past two months (in between breaks from her new pastime of golf!), including rehearsals with Viv and Bethan. I can promise a quality performance!

Sunday 3rd September, 3pm, The Avenue Church, Sale, M33 4PL.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

This Friday (25 August) will see the last round of the summer league of best 5 out of 10 rounds. The following players in are contention to become a champion of the summer league. This year, for the first time, there will be two champions, one for each division. (Division 1 coloured pink, and Division 2 coloured blue.)

New Seniors’ Memorial Bench Monitor

Reporter: David Craggs

The Committee would like to thank Andrew Ransom, who has for the last 6 years, maintained the bench and surround area adjacent to the 14th tee.

I have now now taken on this task and had my first day in the sunshine tidying up the area. With the help of Peter Willson the memorial bench is being adapted to house some new brass plaques.

Andrew and Michael John also maintained the rockery and I am sure you will agree the rockery is a focal point outside the clubhouse.

Peter Herrity Trophy – Played Friday 18 August

The Peter Herrity Trophy was a WHS qualifying competition (18 holes off the yellow tees). It as a dull and breezy day, although there was perhaps a bit more run on the ball than in recent weeks. The full results can be see here on the main LGC website.

First: Mark Pickles (on card play off), 40 points
Second: Sammy Lee, 40 points
Third: Ken Narraway, 39 points

Well done especially to Ken, who celebrated his 80th birthday on the day of the competition! And thank you, Ken, for the shots of whisky!

Happy Mondays – 21st August

Reporter: Peter Willson

It was a “Yellow Ball” or it was for most of the 6 teams – 19 players – who took part. 1 team decided to only record 2 of their 3 scores per hole 

Results 

1st – Pete Broady, Paddy Moran, Dave Waggitt – 112 points
2nd – Colin Chisnall, Sammy Lee, Alan Thomas – 106 points
3rd – Charlie Heath, Ken Narraway, John White – 101 points
4th – Eric Cox, Les Fecitt, Steve Gosling, Peter Willson – 130 points divided 4; times 3 = 98 points
5th – John Booth, Tony Lambert, Phil Perry – 91 points
6th – Mike Bennett, Les Williams, Richard Yates – 91 points 

The Seniors’ Champion of Champions – 8th September

The Seniors’ Champions day competition will take place on Friday 8th September. Therefore, if you have qualified for the Champions competition, please book the date in your calendar.

Qualification for the championship includes all Div 1 and Div 2 winners for any Friday of the summer league, and winners of the other competitions, such as the knockouts and the trophies.

Here are the qualifiers to date, in alphabetical order. Please note that after round 10 of 10 of the summer league, there could potentially be two more qualifiers (one from each division):

1 Stuart Baird
2 Mike Bennett
3 John Boyle
4 Colin Chisnall
5 George Clark
6 Paul Collins
7 Les Fecitt
8 Paul Foster
9 Martin Franks
10 Steve Gosling
11 John Hayes
12 Charlie Heath
13 Michael John
14 Sammy Lee
15 Phil Lomas
16 Paddy Moran
17 Bob Mycock
18 Arthur Nuttall
19 Phil Perry
20 Mark Pickles
21 Alan Ranscombe
22 Andrew Ransom
23 Mervyn Roberts
24 Barry Smith
25 Alan Thomas
26 Ron Thornton
27 Peter White
28 John White
29 Jim Wilson
30 Richard Yates

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 23rd August) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 8th September.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

As noted, 8th September is the Champions competition, whose qualifiers will be the first out, due to the course being closed to us for a shotgun start at 13:00. We should have more than enough time for this 15-hole competition. But, as always, try to keep up with the game in front.

The names in yellow are ‘ghosts’, two of whose slots might be needed if the last game of the summer league yields two more qualifiers. Those out from 08:24 onwards will play for a bottle of wine.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

A lengthy newsletter this week, with several contributors. We include a job advert for secretary of the senior section: Rob Taylor will step down in October after a long and dutiful tenure, which goes back to the very foundation of Lymm’s senior section. Of course, the few seniors who love to complain are welcome to apply, but we won’t hold our breath. According to Isaac Newton’s first law of inaction: those who complain the most are likely to do the least.

Well, there are only 2 weeks remaining of summer, according to the (arbitrary) date of 1st September that the meteorologists insist is the first day of autumn.

The summer weather since June has not been great for golf, and even worse for cricket, including the new franchise of ‘The Hundred’ (eight city-based teams of English and international players), which takes place throughout August, the idea being that the loud music, fireworks, smoke-bombs and flame throwers attracts new audiences including families whose schoolkids are on their summer break. Sadly, The Hundred has been severely disrupted by the rain so far, with some matches being cancelled, and others reduced to as little as 40 balls per innings.

My nephew Max Holden (Middlesex top-order batsman) was selected by ‘Manchester Originals’, whose captain is Jos Buttler. In the first match against ‘Welsh Fire’ at Cardiff, Max and Jos (pictured left) both scored 37, and coincidentally, both off 18 balls. Here are the highlights on YouTube (the Manchester innings begins at about 6 mins 30 seconds into the video).

My wife and I went to watch Max last Monday at Old Trafford, but he was out first ball, attempting a reverse sweep. That’s cricket!

Cricket was my first sport in my youth. I played as an all-rounder for various teams, including Leeds District Colts. My golf back then was limited to bashing it around the municipal courses of Leeds with my brother, always fighting a massive block. (As all former cricketers who now play golf will testify, a straight drive in cricket converts to a massive block in golf!)

Here I am at Headingley in 1977, age 16. I hope I’m still recognisable enough to pick out on the back row!

Peter Herrity Trophy, this Friday!

Reporter: Rob Taylor

It’s our annual Charity game ( in support of Prostate Cancer Support). We usually charge £2.50 for this game but as we could not play it last year (half the course was closed due to the irrigation failure), the senior section still paid out an equal amount out of our funds. The small charity we support relies a lot on our donation. So this year we are asking for £5.00 entry fee.

Fee must be paid IN CASH when you get in and register with the Pro shop.

18 holes, WHS, Yellow tees,  95%.

As the Wednesdays comp, a form will be stuck to the table for the early birds. Put your name down as registration. If you do not pre-register, Steve and Fizz are not allowed to enter you into this WHS-qualifying competition.

Happy Mondays – 14 August

Charlie Heath reports that only 10 turned up on Monday, which is not surprising in view of heavy rain forecast.

The game was ‘Shambles’ and Charlie Heath was on the winning team with Charlie Hill and John Booth, amassing an impressive 57 points!

In 2nd was Eric Cox and Tommy Lawless with 46 points. In 3rd was Alan Thomas and Colin Chisnall with 45 points.

In 4th was Dave Waggitt, Steve Barlow, and John White who decided after 9 holes it was too wet to play golf. According to reports, Steve said, “this is the weather for highway robbery, and so I think I’ll go home and get my mask”. And Dave said, “this is the weather for scouring the rough for lost golf balls, and so I think I’ll go home and get my ferret”. And so Mr White was left isolated while Messrs Barlow and Waggitt had a profitable afternoon doing their thing: banditry and ferreting for golf balls.

Unfortunately Waggitt, Barlow and White forgot to pay their £1 competition fee. Charlie Heath is on the debt-recovery case.

Inter-club Friendly Match, Home versus Ringway

Reporter: Mike Bennett

Lymm lost match  6-2, which was only slightly better than when we played them away, when we we lost 6.5 to 1.5

Bob Mycock & Mike Bennett. Lost
Steve Gosling & Pete Broady.  Lost
Phil Ormesher & Jeff Ashurst.  Lost 
Paul Collins & John Armstrong.  Won
Dave Meir & Mark  Marsland.  Lost 
Dave Craggs & Phil Lomas.  Won
Rob Taylor & Richard Yates.  Lost
Peter Wilson & Ron Thornton.  Lost

We all had a good day’s golf, despite losing.

Ringway thought the course was in great condition and the food was excellent.

Inter-club Friendly Match, 15 August, Away at Heyrose

Reporter: Steve Gosling

The match Vs Heyrose lived up to expectations.
The rain stayed away. The course was playing long with no run on the fairways, and Lymm were giving the opposition a net 76 shots !

So it was no surprise that only one match went to the 18th hole , we had one victory, plenty finishing before the 14th hole and even a “dog license” ( and that was not the worst score).

So our away form continues , an honourable draw (7-1) to Heyrose was the end outcome.

Any Timms & Paul Lennie.       Loss 5/3
Steve Gosling & John Armstrong    Loss 8/6
Rob Taylor & Jeff Chapmam.   Loss 6/3
Steve Barlow & Pete Broady   Win. 6/5
Phil Lomas & John Higgins   Loss 5/4
Dave Craggs & Sammy Lee   Loss 7/6
Ron Thornton & Paul Collins. 2 Down
Arthur Laird & Michael John. Loss. 2/1

So on to the next match !

Wanted! Secretary

Due to an upcoming retirement , a vacancy for the position of Secretary to the Senior’s Section Committee will soon become available – starting date will be in October 2023.

The Committee meets bi-monthly and transacts all the business needed for the running of the Senior’s Section.

The Secretary is  focussed on organising  and documenting these 6 meetings a year. Simplistically , the role revolves around :

• Taking the action notes at each Committee meeting.
• Produce a set of  formal minutes ( templated format – fill in the boxes), 
• Distribute these minutes to all the members and finally, a week or so before the next meeting due date,
• Write up  and send out the agenda ( again a template) – and on it goes.

Applicants will need to be able to demonstrate:

• The ability to read ( up to year 3 skill level minimum)
• The ability to write ( at least legible enough to read your own notes)
• The ability to stay awake for short periods. (Up to an hour usually – without nodding off).
• Look good in a mini skirt . ( Sorry. Editorial copy error)

Hours are– not very many, and the salary is  . . . competitive  (Actually – there isn’t one – honestly . None at all. Nothing. Nada. )

Please apply to the Chairman Mike Bennett. If you prefer  e-mail:  bennett10@aol.com. Or better still, sidle up to him or any other committee member in the car park and whisper in their ear.

Seriously everyone – this section doesn’t run without volunteers. Time perhaps to consider giving a little bit back?? The clock is counting down.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 17th August) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 1st September. We have a home match against Davyhulme. The rest of the field plays for a bottle of wine.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

New Member

Steve Gosling informs me that we have a new member of the senior section: Robert Wooldridge. I’ll ask Robert if he can send a photo and a short self-introduction for next week’s newsletter.

Bob Ellison’s round with a 39 handicapper

Reporter: Bob Ellison

Last Friday I started off in a four ball, on the 2nd tee, I noticed we were being followed by a two ball. Graham Utton and a gentleman from the Emerald Isle, the one and only John Boyle. So I decided to drop back.

John was struggling up to the 3rd tee, where is your battery for your trolley? The reply came “it must be in my garage, I thought the trolley was hard to push”.

On the round went, with John playing very steadily as I was marking his card off 39!!!!!

John is this handicap correct? “I am not sure”, have you checked it from the list on the Seniors Notice Board? “Where is that, I have never seen it”

It turned out he should have played off 31 not 39. The next time anyone is playing with John, will you please show him the Seniors Notice Board?

I have been playing golf for over 50 years and this was one of my most enjoyable games. Chatting with John after, with his pint of Guinness, “what else”. Whether you played well or badly, this is what golf is all about. A lovely golf course, a very well organised section and delightful company. Thank you Graham and John.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

The peak of the summer-holiday season does not feel very summery! Apparently the jet stream over the Atlantic has set itself at a far more southerly latitude than in most summers, and has stubbornly refused to go back up north. Unfortunately the unsettled weather seems set to continue until mid August.

Gordon Wood Trophy – Friday 28 July 2023

The weather was fairly benign, although felt somewhat autumnal with damp air and a cool breeze. There was not much run on the ball due to all the recent rain.

In first place was Mervyn Roberts with 39 points.
Runner-up: John Armstrong with 38 points.
Third: Mark Pickles with 37 points.

Well done Mervyn, who will receive the trophy at the Seniors’ annual meeting. Prize money will go into Pro’s shop.

42 players entered. You can see the full results list on the main LGC website:

There was some confusion on competition fees. Steve and Fizz were under the impression that they were supposed to collect £2 from all competitors, but in fact the prize funds come out of the senior section funds. If you paid £2, Steve or Fizz will reimburse you.

Senior’s Memorial Day Game – Friday 4th August

Reporter: Rob Taylor

This Friday we will hold our annual Memorial Game. There are two reasons we hold this every year.

• To remember all our friends who we played with over the years who have sadly gone before us. We usually give special mention to those who died in since the last time this was played. This time it will be , Gerald Latham and Eric Harper.
• To garner funds into our kitty to pay for the maintainance of the current bench and to save towards the next bench. Any surplus ( when the kitty is full) will roll over into our annual Charity Donation – The Prostate Cancer Support Charity represented by Phil Ormesher.

The game is a standard, individual, 15 hole stableford playing off the yellow tees using your current senior’s handicap. All cards to be put into the box as usual.

There will be a tray of shots available on the bar (courtesy of the committee) so please help yourselves and, as you “down it”, take a moment to reflect.

Please – also – bring some hard cash/ filthy lucre. There will be a bucket on the bar clearly marked ” SENIORS MEMORIAL DAY”. We would like it to rattle ( or even shuffle if notes find their way in) by the end of the day.

We only “do” charity twice a year ( the other is the Peter Herrity Trophy) so DIG DEEP!”

The Mitre Cup – Next Tuesday, 8th August

Next Tuesday we play for the Mitre Cup, which is an annual match between the senior section and the ladies’ section. The match will be played over 15 holes with the highest score of each pair per hole counting towards an aggregated total for each team.

The men will play off the white tees and the ladies red. Handicaps will be 85%. No extra shots to be given to the ladies this year. There will be a bottle of wine for both the men and the ladies for nearest the pin on each of the par threes.

This will also be a prize for the longest drive on the 10th.

Here is the start sheet. Please check your WHS handicaps on the day. Our chairman Mike Bennett is the event organiser, and so direct any questions you might have to Mike.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 3 August) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 18th August. The competition will be Peter Herrity Trophy, played over 18 holes (yellow tees), and counts as a qualifier for WHS handicap.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

This Friday (28th July) we play for the Gordon Wood Trophy, a WHS-qualifying competition held just for members of the senior section.

If you are playing on Friday, inform the Pro’s shop before you start. Steve or Fizz will then put you on the competition system in order that you can enter your score at the end of your round, either on your phone (using the I.G. app) or on the computer in the snooker room.

If you are an early starter, and arrive before the Pro’s shop is open, append your name to the list that I will leave on the table outside the Pro’s shop.

As current holder of the trophy, I can report that it is a very large and unsightly rose bowl with a wire-mesh lid. Perhaps the idea is to obscure it with roses? At the time of writing the trophy is in my garage, where it is home to a huge arachnid that I have named ‘Gary the Garage Spider’. I guess he thinks that the wire mesh gives him a head start in building a fresh web every evening.

Good news from the interclub-friendly last Friday, as captain-of-the-day Mike Pigott reports below.

Interclub Friendly at Home versus Sale, 21st July

Match Reporter: Mike Pigott

With the forecast giving wind and rain we were very lucky to avoid most of the heavy rain which made its way to Hoylake and Old Trafford so the match went ahead in acceptable conditions.

Sale fielded a strong team with some low handicap players at the top of the order and higher handicaps down the order.
Lymm’s captain for the day Mike Pigott and partner Barry McGuigan lost the top match 3 and 2 sharing six birdies in a hard fought match and when the second game consisting of John Armstrong IV and Phil Perry also lost 4 and 2 things started to look very ominous despite the rallying calls given before tee off time.

The rest of the team answered the captain’s demands and with wins for Andy Timms and Duncan Clarke (3 and 2), Paul Lennie and Paul Collins (5 and 4), Ron Thornton and Peter Broady (4 and 3), Dave Craggs and Sammy Lee (3 and 2) and Colin Hughes and Ken Pearce (6 and 5) backed up by a half from Steve Gosling and Peter Wilson, the only ones to actually play the 18th competively.

The overall result was Lymm 5.5, Sale 2.5.

When Ken Pearce and Colin Hughes and their opponents finally returned to the clubhouse we all moved into the dining room and had a fabulous meal of steak pie, chips, veg and gravy followed by the hottest apple pie every produced.

The greens staff and catering staff were thanked by both captains and finally the teams were treated to an original joke not one from the 1900’s.

Happy Mondays – 24th July

Reporter: Peter Willson

A sort of Happy Mondays competition. Only 7 player’s turned out this morning, and so the decision was made to abort the planned competition and go for an individual Stableford score
The winner:  Dave Waggitt with 35 points gained through really solid play

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 27 July) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 11th August. The competition will be individual Stableford for a bottle of wine, due to our interclub match versus Ringway.

If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Last Friday was the penultimate round of the Summer League.

I have updated the Leader Boards, showing the top four of each division. However, conceivably a surprise winner for each winner division could come from further down the table. Therefore, as we approach round 10 of 10 of the Summer League, I have taken a screenshot of Peter Willson’s spreadsheet, showing the top third of the table. Note that the table is ordered by points, and contains players in both divisions.

Match Report for 14th July – Round 9 of Summer League

Date played: 14^th July 2023

Game Played: Round 9 – Summer League  

Number of cards submitted                 
Division 1 – 20 players
Division 2 – 11 players

2’s recorded
None

Division 1:                       
Winner: Steve Gosling (on CPO) – 35 points
2nd: Paul Collins – 35 points
3rd=: Paul Foster – 31 points

Division 2: 
Winner: Richard Yates (on CPO) – 30 points
2nd=: Jeff Chapman  – 30 points
2nd=: Sammy Lee – 30 points

Notes:

Played over 15 holes. Breezy, cloudy and dull with drizzle then light rain from 10^th hole onwards. Cool temperatures.

Happy Mondays – 17 July

Reporter: Peter Willson

In spite of towering black thunder clouds all around we managed to stay pretty dry with the exception of one brief shower. Pleasantly warm at 18 deg. C – moderate breeze

4 x 4 man teams took part in Team Stableford:

1st place – Pete Broady; Paddy Moran; Ron Thornton & John White – 116 points / 29 per player

2nd – Eric Cox, Charlie Hill, Dave Waggitt & Peter Willson – 111 points / 27.8 per player

3rd – John Booth, Phil Lomas, Ken Narraway & Ken Pearce – 104 points / 25.5 per player

4th – Colin Chisnall, Les Fecitt, Phil Perry & Alan Thomas – 101 points / 25.3 per player.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 20 July) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 4th August. The competition will be our Memorial Day game.

The If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Although the summer league has been interrupted by the LGC events calendar, several members of our senior section have had successes in other competitions.

Congratulations to Peter White, who, last Saturday, won the Watkins Cup (4) with a net 63. I was honoured to mark his card, which included five consecutive pars on the first five holes: remarkable off a playing handicap of 21! With 4-over gross on the front nine, Peter kept his nerve and steadily negotiated the back nine to post 84 gross.

Congratulations also to Mike Pigott, who (with Jeff Acton) won the Senior Open 4BBB at Astbury Golf Club (near Congleton) in June with 45 points, each collecting a £100 voucher.

At the Senior Open at Padeswood and Buckley on Tuesday 4th July, the organiser John Hayes made sure that our seniors had a winner 😉 See John’s report below.

We also had successes in the Captain’s Charity Day, as reported here by Andy Timms, whose team beat about twenty other teams in the field:

Captain’s Charity Day

Reporter: Andy Timms

I am happy to report that a team of four of our seniors, namely Grahame Brickell, Andy Timms, Paddy Moran and Paul Lennie were victorious at the Captain’s Charity Day last Friday with a score of 95 points. Everyone contributed to some degree, with the highlight being Paul’s sand save birdie 4 for 4 points on 15. Victory was all the sweeter for Paul and Andy in particular who finished runners up last year with 92 pts in a team that also included Phil Young. Who should be runner up with 92 pts this year? Phil Young again, unlucky Mr. Vice Captain!

Senior Open at Padeswood and Buckley – 4th July

Reporter: John Hayes

Twenty one of our intrepid senior section plus the youthful Bob Mycock played in this competition last Tuesday.

The course was in magnificent condition which, allied to the good fine weather, made for a great day of golf. The greens were top class even if they were found to be extremely quick by most of us.

Besides the main competition run by P&B, we had our own internal competition based on the same scorecard. The best card on the day was scored by Colin Crail and Richard Yates with 37 points, handicaps based on 85% of the course handicap. In second place on 36 points was Grahame Brickell and young Bob Mycock and in third, Peter Willson and John White with 35 points. Congratulations to them all. The consensus view around the bar at the end was that we should enter this competition again next year.

Interclub Match, Away at Davyhulme

Match Reporter: Mike Bennett

The result of the above match was as follows:
Davyhulme 6 Lymm 2

Mike Bennett and Barry Smith halved
Paddy Moran and Mervyn Roberts lost one down
Mark Pickles and Phil Lomas lost three down
John Hayes and David Craggs lost three and one
Stewart Baird and Phil Ormesher halved
Phil Perry and Arthur Laird lost 4 and 2
Sammy Lee and Jeff Ashurst lost 4 and 3
Mark Marsland and Steve Gosling won 2 up.

The course was in good condition and the company was great. We had a very good meal. All of us got caught in the rain later on during the round, however it was a very enjoyable day apart from the result.

Tatton League – Away at Styal 11th July

Conditions were tough at Styal off the white tees, following the recent heavy rain. The weather was pleasant when we set off, but squally conditions came with the dark rain clouds about midday. The teams were Pickles and Timms, Broady and Meir, Cooper and Brickell, Pigott and Moran.

Lymm came equal third with 145 points: 34, 35, 36, and 40 points, Mike Pigott and Paddy Moran achieving an outstanding 40 points .

Lymm’s Richard Cooper collected a prize for ‘nearest the pin in 2’ on a par 4.

Our current overall standing is 4th out of 6. See the ‘Tatton League’ page.

Happy Mondays – 10 July

Reporter: Paul Foster

Four teams reported for action, with the now obligatory confusion of which format to play. Three teams played best 2 from 3, and one team played team Stableford! After much head scratching and rubbing of chins, best 2 from 3 won the day.

In 4th place were Steve ‘the actor’ Barlow, Dave ‘wiggle’ Waggitt and ‘Big’ Ken Pearce with a commendable 66 points.

In 3rd place were Eric Cox, Graham Utton and Peter Willson, with 68 points.
Runners up after a card play off we’re Ken Narroway, Paul Foster and Charlie Heath with 70pts

Winners on the day were Tommy Lawless, John Boyle and Les Fecitt also with 70pts.
HOWEVER……team Fecitt handed their signed card in showing 68pts, upon inspection of their card, it was noted team Fecitt had ‘done’ themselves out of 2 points on hole 6. As we are all jolly fair boys the card checker revised their card, which meant they pipped team Narroway. Les ‘the honest man’ Fecitt very generously split the winnings with team Narroway. So we all went home happy.

The Mitre Cup

As published last week, this annual competition between the ladies and the senior men will take place on Tuesday the 8th of August.

Mike Bennett has told the ladies that he will try to raise a team of 26 players. At the time of writing, I believe we are still short? We really would like to raise a full complement. If you are interested, please add your name to the list on the Seniors’ noticeboard.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 13 July) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 28th July. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

28th July is our annual Gordon Wood Trophy.

The Gordon Wood Trophy is played over 18 holes, on the yellow tees. Inform the Pro’s shop that you are playing, and after round, enter it on the IG computer system. The competition is Stableford using WHS handicap, with no handicap reduction.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

My apologies for not putting the Round 8 report on the newsletter last week, which was due to a mix up with email attachments.

Round 8 was played on Friday 23 June, and the winners were John Hayes in Division 1 with 36 points, and John Boyle in Division 2, also with 36 points. It was a high scoring day, with no less than six Division 1 players on 32 points (for third place)!

Match Report for 23 June, Round 8 of Summer League

Date played: 23rd June 2023
Game played: Round 8 – Summer Session  
Number of cards submitted: 33 – Division 1, 21 players. Division 2, 18 players.
2’s recorded: 1

Division 1:                       
Winner: John Hayes – 36 points
2nd: David Meir  – 35 points
3rd=: David Waggitt – 32 points (on CPO)

Division 2: 
Winner: John Boyle – 36 points
2nd: Joe Priestner – 34 points
3rd: George Clarke – 33 points

Notes:
Course very dry and running – played over 15 holes. Cloudy and dull at first but heated up to 25 deg. C at finish.

Peter reports several incorrect handicaps again. Please check your senior handicap on this website, or on the seniors’ noticeboard.

The Mitre Cup

The annual competition between the ladies and the senior men will take place on Tuesday the 8th of August.

The first tee time is 11:04, and we have 13 tee times, therefore 26 players are required. However, the exact number of matches played will depend on the response from each team.

Hopefully both teams will get 26 players.

This is very popular competition that has been notably enjoyed by all the participants in recent years.

A list will go up on the notice board this Friday. Put your name on the list if you would like to be one of the 26 players.

Our Chairman Mike Bennett will be the seniors’ organiser for this competition. 

Happy Mondays

Reporter: Peter Willson

The format on Monday was ‘Shambles’. In this format the highest score and the lowest score of the group (of 3 or 4) are added for each hole.

Shambles is a new format for us and all the players I spoke to found it an entertaining game. It meant that all the players had to try and  ensure they came in with a score on every hole and avoid the dreaded Zero points for the team. Many thanks to Phil Perry for suggesting this game.

Three groups comprising 11 golfers set out in overcast and chilly conditions – the cloud increased and the wind strengthened and by the time the last group reached the 10th hole we were thoroughly soaked to the skin. 

Winners: Steve Gosling, Dave Waggitt and Phil Perry – 55 points

2nd: Charlie Heath, Charlie Hill, Alan Thomas and Colin Chisnall – 53 points 

3rd: Les Fecitt, John Boyle, John White and Peter Willson – 50 points 

I think we’re going to do it again in future weeks.

Happy Mondays Calendar

Peter Willson has asked me to remove the calendar from the Happy Mondays page. Going forward, Peter will inform all participants by email of the format to be played, including from time to time the new format of Shambles.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 July) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 21st July. It will be a ‘bottle of wine’ competition, running alongside our friendly match against Sale. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Phil Ormersher’s advice on how not to clean your electric trolley!

Reporter: Phil Ormesher

After a rather muddy winter I decided to lighten the load on my Powakaddy by scraping the mud off and giving it a wash.  Using a soap and sponge I washed it down and then gently ran a hose over it to rinse it.  No Jetwash, just a hose.  Big mistake.

After washing it I put it back in the garage and went away to play golf in Portugal.

A week or so later I ventured onto Lymm GC with my nice clean trolley only to discover it had gone from whisper quiet to sounding more like a coffee grinder in full flow!

On Steve’s recommendation I took it into MBM Golf in Ashton-on-Mersey who informed me that the motor on my 3 year old trolley was shot.  Apparently they are ‘showerproof’ not waterproof.  Daft, I think, for such a thing as an electric golf trolley used in UK weather, but apparently true.

MBM replaced the motor, lightened my wallet by £120, and all is now quiet. So put up with that muddy trolley or be very careful if you wash it.  By the way, if you do need trolley repairs, I was impressed with MBM.

The Hinson Cup – Wednesday 12 July 2023

Just another reminder of the upcoming Hinson Cup: a club competition for all male seniors (55+) of LGC, which takes place a week today.

The competition is 18 holes off white tees, and is WHS qualifying. Book your own tee time, and inform Steve or Fizz in the Pro’s shop before you play your round that you want to be entered into the competition. Let’s hope that a member of our section lifts the cup!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles