My apologies for forgetting to include the results of the Senior Championship in last week’s newsletter. (I did add them a couple of hours after I first published the newsletter, when it was pointed out to me that they were missing.)
Our Champion this year is Martin Franks. Congratulations, Martin!
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)
Tatton League – 2023
Reporter: Tatton League Captain, Bob Mycock
Round 6 and Final Round at Antrobus
Our Team of 4 pairs assembled at Antrobus for the Final Round of the Tatton Trophy. On a Glorious Sunny Day all 4 of our Teams performed with a determination and vigour for Lymm GC to Win the Day, on Antrobus’ own patch. A remarkable effort, not least because Antrobus are the overall Tatton League winners for 2023.
Paddy Moran and Martin France had the Highest Pairs Score of the Day with 44 points and that Old Dog and Stalwart Mike Pigott picked Nearest The Pin (3 inches from the Hole).
Our other pairs’ scores were: Mike Pigott & Sam Leach – 40 pts Bob Mycock & Andy Timms – 36 pts Richard Cooper & Graham Brickell – 36 pts
In Summary, another really good effort from everyone who has taken part this year and we are certainly getting closer to hopefully getting our hands on the Trophy in the near future.
I would like to everyone who has been involved and especially the support from you all, it has been a pleasure to Captain the Team, especially the banter and fun, the most important element of golf for me.
We re-assemble next April for 2024 Tatton…
Friendly match at Home versus Leigh
Match Reporter: Mervyn Roberts(CoD)
Despite negative weather forecasts during the week leading up to the match we were eventually able to entertain our visitors Leigh GC under blue skies and with the sun on our backs. The course and greens were in excellent condition leading into our Finals weekend and a closely fought and enjoyable match ensued.
Of the 8 matches played 5 went to the 18th hole with 2 one hole defeats, a win for Sammy and Pete and 2 halved matches, including a fightback from 3 down with 5 to play by Mervyn and Phil O. Phil Lomas and Jeff Chapman were in inspired form and ran out 6 and 5 winners but unfortunately the other 2 matches ended in defeat such that the overall result was yet another defeat for Lymm Seniors by 5 games to 3.
A special mention must be made for the excellent lunch served up by Karen and her team. The chicken curry and chocolate dessert drew many words of praise including players from Leigh who rated the lunch as very much the best they have had over all the 28 matches they have played this season.
Results:
Steve Gosling / Mike Pigott: Halved John White / Paddy Moran: Lost 1 down Alan Ranscombe / Colin Crail: Lost 4 and 3 Phil Ormisher / Mervyn Roberts: Halved Graham Brickell / Ron Thornton: Lost 1 down Sammy Lee / Peter Broady: Won 1 up Jeff Chapman / Phil Lomas: Won 6 and 5 Arthur Laird / Peter Willson: Lost 3 and 2
Bottle of Wine Competition – 15 September
Competition running alongside the Leigh match:
Number of Entries – 19
Number of wrong handicaps = 4 (21%) – please check your handicaps !!
First – Ken Narraway – 34 points 2nd – Andrew Cox – 33 points – CPO over last 6 holes – 14 points 3rd – John Armstrong – 33 points -CPO last 6 – 11 points
Well done, Ken!
Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 21st September)
This is the tee booking schedule for play on 6 October: our annual Turkey Trot.
If your name is in the left column, please book for your group.
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 11th 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 22nd, 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, 12th 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.
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.
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.
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.
With our resident editor away, it falls to Rob to provide the content….so expect it to long and rambling …with a helping hand to publish it from Steve G (apparently these young ones know how to work these computer things) . Hopefully normal service will be resumed when Mark is back.
Memorial Day Trophy – Friday 4 August 2023
The rain – it did not arrive. The wind – it did not blow. The course remained ambivalent throughout – a little damp in places with patches of Velcro on the greens here and there – but generally . . .well benign I suppose.
And the majority played in exactly the same spirit. Benign. Average, the occasional burst of energy but on the whole neither above nor below. . . . . except for ( and there is always and except for . . .) 4 players. 41 cards returned ergo 10% excelled.
In Third place ( card countback with one other) on 31 points was that stalwart of the greens, Pete Broady. Highly commended. Hauled himself over the par 30 mark.
In second though, cruising by Pete by a full 2 shots, was Lewis Hamilton (sorry – it’s the new buggy -it fools everyone) Alan Thomas ; 33 points.
The overall winner though, way out in front of the howling pack ( OK – stretching the poetic licence a bit here) was none other than The Most Venerated and Honourable ( Keep up, keep up – he is our Club Treasurer you know) Mervyn Roberts with a magical 36.
To the absolute delight of our Treasurer, there were only 2 players who managed to achieve an elusive “2”. A sleeve of the highly sort after and every collector’s dream – three yellow Senior’s logo balls – will go to Phil Lomas and Phil Ormesher.
And the all-important spondoolies collected for our memorial fund? Around the £100 mark – a bit vague, but cash was still trickling into the bucket on Tuesday( from a few who came cashless on the day and others who just – well – decided to give a bit more). We can report – the Treasurer sat on the veranda wall after Tuesday’s Mitre Trophy like the Cheshire cat. Beaming from ear to ear ( he likes money . Our Steve. Oh. He like money , he does).
Peter Herrity Trophy
This Trophy game is still a week or so away . It comes to mind though that many newer members ( and there are a lot of us now) might not have known Peter.
Peter was one of the stalwarts who was a staunch member of the section when it hit the low spots – there was only around 12 paying members – some 8 years ago. Week in week out Peter was there on the first tee spot on 0800 every Friday, queueing up with the rest of us.
Peter had started his career in hairdressing in his hometown of Liverpool – as he often said, “ you need a sense of humour to get by as a man in the hairdressing business where I come from”. True to his beginnings, he had humour in spades. The complete and utter laughing machine. ( Imagine Bob Mycock on steroids – you’re getting close to Peter).
Sadly, after only a few years into a well-earned retirement – just getting into skiing mode ( Spending the Kids Inheritance) Peter was snatched away from us all, far too early, in 2017.
It seems fitting that we use Peter’s memory – a guy who was just so much fun to be around – to raise funds for our one special good deed of the year – collection for our annual charity.
Details of the game ? 18 holes individual Stableford using WHS. This is yet another chance for those that don’t get to put many cards into the system to do a little top-up.
Happy Monday – 7th August
Five intrepid teams took to the now dry fairways to do battle for the gold coins.
A few stats, cos everyone likes stats…!
All teams played the same game – a first I believe.
All cards marked correctly and legible – again a first
Team Willson scored ten points from three players on hole 5
Team Heath had the fewest blobs with only 4 between them over the 45 holes played between them.
So . . .the results were.
Team Willson, Thornton and John White with 24.7 points
Team Fecitt and Boyle with 27 points
Team Chisnall, Thomas and Booth with 28 points
Team Broady, Lomas and Narraway with 28.3 points
Winner on a card playoff with 1 extra point on the back 6 was…
Team Heath, Foster and Rowley also with 28.3 points.
Rowley’s tremendous putt on the 13th proving to be the difference.
Charlie informed us all over a coffee and a tea cake, that this was the first time he has ever won a Happy Monday game….!!
You’ll have to partner Steve Rowley more often…
Mitre Trophy – Tuesday 8 August
Our much-anticipated annual match – Seniors Section V the Ladies Section – kicked off at 11.04 precisely.
New rules again this year – it’s a long-standing tradition that all rules are renegotiated, argued over , horse-traded, bargained down and rehashed every year. Both sides ( ever so politely) trying to broker a more favourable deal to tip the balance in their favour!
The courtesy shots given to the ladies in previous years? Gone.
Straight fight this year. Men off the yellows / ladies off the reds and usual better ball applying ( 85% WHS etc) Seemed fair enough to most observers. Equality reigns supreme these days.
And the numbers lining up? – it could well have been a battle sequence from any blockbuster. There were 13 match tee-times needed this year , which means we put out a record field of 52 players – and both antagonists ( sorry) teams could have managed more!
Our chairman had introduced a whole raft of new prizes this year – Nearest the pin on all 4 Par 3 holes – for both ladies and gents, along with a longest drive (for both obviously) on the 10th.
The highly prized bottles were taken by.
On the 2nd green – Rob Taylor / Helen Weir
On the 5th Green – Mike Pigott/ Chris Armstrong
On the 9th Green – John White and / Margaret Herrity
On the 13th – Art Laird./ Hayley Millman
The longest drive on the 10th hole was taken by Bob Mycock with a tremendous straight drive , down the middle using a 7 iron – or so he was heard telling all on the veranda afterwards.( Parts of this tale this may fall into the category of fake news of course.) Debbie Franks took the Ladies bottle.
As they all gathered for the final unveiling and Prize giving, the noise rose in crescendo 26 ladies trying to talk over 26 senior’s – not sure who won but very terrifying to any lesser mortals who may have wandered by.
Oh? Sorry . You want the final score?
Well, we came second again this year but , Oh!
Was it ever so close.
Men 389 points – ladies 401.
Only 12 points in it which is a vastly better result than we had last year ( the gap was over 50 points in 2022).
In parting, it was reliably reported that Richard Yates was the model of proprietary and an ambassador for us all. A full 15 holes were played without a single bad word passing his lips- – not even one between clenched teeth. Miracles happen out there everyday folks! ( The clenched teeth maybe fake news but the rest is 75% reliable news)
Will we be back next year? Oh yes, We Will!!!!
Interclub Match – Friday 11 August
This Friday sees us at home to Ringway.
Those selected and on the team, have all been told via the WhatsApp system ( well done John for thinking that one up) .
As usual, the rest of us will be playing for a glorious bottle of the best vintage wine from the shelves of none other than our local Aldi – or the committee might even stretch to a (smaller) bottle from Sainsbury’s? Decision pending.
Interclub Match – Tuesday 15 August
Like buses – you don’t see one for a week or so and then along comes two – one after the other.
Those who usually play on a Tuesday might wonder why the course will be eerily quiet next week.
On this coming Tuesday Lymm Seniors are playing Heyrose away ,so the cream of our stable of highly trained athletes will be away in their finery of Royal Blue matching shirts defending the honour of the club.
Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 10 August)
This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 25th August. The competition will be Round 10 of the Summer Series
If your name is in the left column, please book for your group.
Come back Mark…save us from this dribble……
Rob’s amazing fact of the day – All I did was to type” what sort of rubbish would Lymm Senior’s chaps enjoy” into my new ChatGPT google AI writer and . . . . .out came this whole article.
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.
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.
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: 14th 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 10th 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.
