Unless you have a preliminary bye, please remember to play the preliminary round of the summer knockout by 3 May.
Annual Business Meeting – Election of Committee Members.
Reporter: Dave Craggs
Whilst this may seem an early request we would like all members to give some thought to putting their names forward to join the Seniors Committee
The end of our financial year sees a small number of our 9 elected members completing their term in office .
We therefore have a few seats to fill at this year’s Annual Business Meeting which is on the 18th of October (concurrent with the Presentation Lunch) .
We need volunteers now please!
A list asking for nominations will be pinned on Friday onto the Senior’s Notice Board in the Locker room. (Statutory rule)
The suspension of the rule for seconders has been made permanent and the Guidance Notes and Rules have been amended accordingly. (Statutory rule)
If you would like to give something back to the Senior’s by joining the Committee, please either.
Add your name to the list.
Speak to any member of the existing Committee or
e-mail/ phone the chairman, Mike Bennett, if you can’t get down to the club in person.
If more applications are received than seats available voting papers will be prepared, and a runoff will be held at the ABM.
The closing date for applications is the 16th of October ( 2 days before the ABM)
Many thanks
Dave Craggs, Secretary to the Gents Seniors committee.
Winner John Armstrong 36pts R/Up Mike Pigott 33pts CPO 3rd Dave Meir 33pts
Div 2 Steve Bramall 36pts R/Up Bob Ellison 35pts CPO 3rd Mervyn Roberts 35pts
2s recorded were: Tommy Lawless Mike Pigott x 2 Grahame Brickell Dave Meir
Tee Booking Schedule for Tomorrow (Thursday 25 April)
Results from the Happy Monday’s – 22nd April
Reporter: Peter Willson
A goodly turnout – on what didn’t promise to be a good morning – 22 players / 7 Teams. Drizzle at 1st but mainly dry until the end
Game – the infamous Yellow Ball. Some really good scores, in-fact some very impressive one’s – the best team score on a single hole was 14 points on the 9th, which was aided by one player – new joiner Alan Copeland chipping in for 8 points. This feat was matched twice by Les Fecitt scoring 2 x birdies both for 8 points courtesy of the Yellow Ball bonus
Winners: Alan Copeland, Steve Gosling and co-opted player Ray Rigby – 101 points
2nd on a CPO : Pete Broady, Les Fecitt and John White – 98 points
3rd: Steve Bramall, Colin Chisnall and Alan Thomas – 98 points
Tee Booking Schedule for Happy Mondays – Sunday 28 April
The golfing gods are still keeping us in winter conditions, and extremely wet winter conditions at that.
Last Friday’s comp was over 11 holes: 13, 10, 11, and 2 to 9.
Although we entered our results into the IG app, there are of course still no WHS handicap adjustments.
I have updated the leader boards page. Martin Franks (31 points) and Paddy Moran (33 points) continue their superb winter form, topping Division 1. And our Division-2 specialist, Michael John (31 points), maintains his seemingly unassailable lead.
Mark Pickles, yours truly, is on particularly bad form (22 points), and has booked a putting lesson!
Update 18 April: I now have the results (based on card play off) for last Friday:
1st Div Winner Arthur Nuttal with 38pts R/up Paddy Moran with 33pts 3rd place Paul Lennie with 31 pts
2nd Div Winner Eric Cox with 33pts R/up Mike Bennett with 33pts 3rd place Mike Kendal with 33pts
Three 2s today Andrew Cox on the 2nd John Armstrong on the 5th Paul Foster on the 9th
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 17 April)
The match on 3rd May will be a bottle-of-wine competition, due to our home match against Hale GC seniors.
Happy Mondays Booking for Sunday 21 April
Here is the booking schedule supplied by Peter Willson for play on 3 May. In order to maintain maximum confusion, and to eschew popularity, Peter, bless him, has decided on yet another 3-ball comp (‘Waltz’) for the four-man teams:
Summer Knockout Matches
Peter Willson tells me that there have been some queries regarding the number of holes rules for the Summer Knockout competition, and has asked me to clarify it in this newsletter.
Our knockouts are played over 18 holes, where possible. If the course has limited holes open due to weather conditions, players should play the number of holes open on the day.
Do you have any news to report?
We all have interests outside of golf. I’m invariably fascinated by the activities that my playing partners pursue in their retirement. I reported a two weeks ago on Charlie Heath’s passion for boating. I’d like to do a feature on the pastimes of another of my fellow Yorkshiremen, Dave Waggitt, if he approves.
And did you know that Duncan Clarke is an aspiring artist?
Stockton Heath Festival 2024
Did you know that Dave Craggs is the organiser of the Stockton Heath Festival (first week of July)? Here is the festival’s shiny new website:
I will certainly be attending some of the events, not least because Dave has suggested I exhibit-for-sale one or two of my paintings in the arts festival. I have submitted these two, oil-on-canvas, 70cm x 60cm framed. A bargain at £400 each, with 20% going to the Stockton Heath festival charity.
Rough sea and arctic ternsMorning surf – North Sea
It has certainly been a record-breaking autumn, winter and early spring, with more rainfall than any of us can remember. And it’s looking like we will see record-breaking delays to the start of the season. The Gents’ Spring Medal, scheduled for Saturday 20 April, has already had to be cancelled (a four-man team event is now scheduled for April 20).
Other golf clubs are also struggling to get their courses summer-ready, hence the postponement of our first two away inter-club matches (Warrington and Leigh), causing a headache for John Armstrong to rearrange things.
Michael John has certainly been breaking the records. He is by far the youngest senior in our history to graduate from Division 1 to Division 2. And in his first league game in Div 2 – using his generous WHS handicap – he posted the lowest ever Div 2 gross score, resulting in a mighty 44 points for 15 holes! Michael was an incredible 12 points clear of the runner-up, Mike Bennett.
However, Div 2 players need not fear Michael running away with the Div 2 league trophy. He’s got his eyes on bigger prizes. Our baby-faced bandit tells us that he’s going to skip the Senior Friday comps in order to conserve his handicap for the Saturday white-tee comps.
There were some excellent Div 1 scores on Friday, all based on WHS handicap, which were not adjusted because we were playing off mats on the winter course.
Division 1:
1st Martin Franks: 38 points (beating Dave Meir on CPO) 2nd Dave Meir: 38 points 3rd Paddy Moran: 36 points.
Division 2: 1st Michael John: 44 points 2nd Mike Bennett: 32 points 3rd Eric Cox: 32 points.
See the Leader Boards page for full results of Round 1 of 9.
2024 Calendar Updated
I have now updated the Senior Section Calendar page with an updated spreadsheet provided by Dave Craggs. This is the reflect changes to dates for inter club matches, namely Warrington away now 21/6/24 and Leigh away 24/6/24.
Tee-Booking Schedule for Tomorrow (11 April)
Happy Mondays Tee Booking
Peter Willson has asked me to include the Happy Monday tee booking schedules in the weekly newsletter. Therefore, expect to see following kind of booking list every week. The booking for Mondays is done at 8pm on Sunday evenings two weeks in advance.
Strategy, Rules and Guidelines document up-revised
The Committee have updated our LGC Senior Section – Strategy, Rules and Guidelines document which has now been placed on this website. A hard copy will be placed on the Seniors Notice Board in the plastic folder provided. The document will be further updated prior to the Winter session.
Tee-booking schedule for today (Thursday 4 April)
Charlie’s Voyage
Yesterday I arrived safely into Doncaster Boat Club with fellow Yorkshireman Charlie Heath. Charlie sends his thanks to Bob and Paddy for their invaluable help on the ascent to east Lancashire. LGC seniors really is about, as we say in our rules, friendship and camaraderie!
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, including, at times, the hard work. I learned a lot about the fascinating history of the canals, some built in the late 1700s. They are of course the first infrastructure for moving large quantities of materials and goods without which there could have been no Industrial Revolution.
Here are a few snaps:
Early start from Skipton, in order to avoid nuisance day-trippers zig-zagging across the canal !
The beauty of God’s Own County
Entering the Bingley Five-Rise Locks, which had celebrated its 250th anniversary just a few days ago. The Five Rise is the steepest staircase of locks in the UK.
With a 62-foot boat in a 62-foot max length lock, Charlie had to use all his boatsmanship experience, not least because some of the lock gates were leaking badly.
Phew! Safely out of the Five Rise, but the steep and notorious Bingley Three Rise to follow, again with leaky gates
Entering Leeds (my home town), which is obviously the end of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Always a relief apparently, because we passed through some of the roughest areas of Leeds. Charlie was actually glad of the rain on this day, because it deters the scumbags from coming out to attack passing boats with stones.
Fortunately the River Aire was not quite in flood (although “Amber” level: “proceed with caution”) We passed through Leeds lock into the Aire, and cruised through Leeds.
Early start from Lemonroyd on the Aire and Calder Navigation Canal. An RSPB nature reserve neighbours the canal. I set off at 5am with my torch into the reserve (a former open-cast coal mine), and saw amazingly rich birdlife, including bittern, black-necked grebe (extremely rare) and a barn owl hunting in the half light. The crew is reduced to just the two of us now, Charlie and me. All the locks and swing bridges are electro-hydraulic from Leeds.
I have developed a huge respect for Charlie in the past week. He’s a true friend for life. It’s amazing where senior golf can take us, hey!
Our Summer session of best 5 games from 9 commences on Friday 5th April 2024. (The usual 10 league games is not possible due to other games in the calendar.)
The Seniors’ Committee have agreed to adopting the new WHS handicap system which is explained below.
Regards the cut off point for the 2 divisions, the average exact WHS handicap for the seniors is 17.7, Committee therefore proposes Div 1 is for exact handicaps of 18 and below, and Div 2 exact handicaps of 19 and above.
Committee members will be available to assist anyone who has any difficulties with this new system on Friday 5th April.
Wishing all our members and families a very happy Easter.
The new WHS system – How it affects the Senior Section
Reporter Dave Craggs
We are to reset seniors section members handicaps to their WHS course handicap ready for the start of the summer session. Members without a WHS handicap will be assigned their current seniors handicap until such time as they get a WHS handicap index.
One of the major changes introduced with the new World Handicap System (WHS) is the option to submit scores for rounds played less than 18 holes. The EGU encourage all golfers to submit scores for all rounds of golf played. Under WHS you can submit General Play scores to count towards your Handicap Index by completing a card, using the IG app or My England Golf App if you are registered.
Just a reminder of the procedure required to enter scores in the seasonal leagues from April going forwards.
On Friday morning, enter your name on the start sheet provided outside the pro shop, Fiz or Steve will then pre-register your name ready for you to enter your scores after completion of your round.
Alternatively, if the Pro shop is already open, just pop inside and let Steve or Fiz know that you are playing in the competition.
Either way, you must formally register BEFORE you tee off for your round of golf.
Please exchange scorecards with your playing partners.
Ensure you clearly identify your name / handicap index / course handicap / playing handicap / start time and which tees you are using. (Typically Yellow)
Ensure you are on the first tee in plenty of time for your allotted tee time. The target is to leave the first tee at the designated time and not tee off at the designated time.
It is the players responsibility to enter their score – this can be done via the IG App (the latest version is 2.4.9). The score must be entered immediately following completion of the round.
In IG the steps to enter your score are as follows:-
In the App, press “Competitions”
Select the competition for that day
Enter your score for each hole played
Select “finalise” once all 15 holes have been entered
The completed (and signed) card must be deposited in the seniors box on the table outside the pro shop as usual.
If you decide to play all 18 holes on any particular day, you should NOT enter the scores for 16, 17 or 18 on your scorecard or into the computer / App at the end of the round, as the competition will be specifically set up for 15 holes only.
Your Handicap Index will be updated at the end of each day. This means that when you open the IG or My England Golf apps the following day and click on My WHS Index, you will see the results from your seniors round. This information can also be seen on the club website, under the “My Golf” menu by clicking on “My rounds” to see all your rounds and “Handicap record” to see your last 20 rounds.
Report for Round 7 of the Winter League
Reporter: Peter Willson
48 entries – 23 in Division 1 and 25 in Division 2
Played over 10 holes only.
The day was dry, cool wind, 10 deg. C and the course continues to dry out.
All main green in play, no temporaries, but a little bumpy after the Spring maintenance and over-dressing programme
Scores – rounded up to 15 holes Stableford points
Division 1
Winner – Dave Meir – 33 points
Second – Steve Barlow – 30 points (CPO over last 6 holes)
Third – Grahame Brickell – 30 points
Division 2
Winner – John Booth – 36 points
Second – Bob Ellison – 35 points
Third – Steve Bramall – 33 points (CPO over last 6 holes)
2’s – only 1 this week – John Hayes on the 9th
Final Results for the Winter League
Reporter: Peter Willson
Weather curtailed League this year.
Only 7 Rounds played because of a full course closure one week and 2 rounds with temporary greens
14 players have qualified for the end-of-season Championship game.
A different winner for each of round with no one winning more than one round
2’s prizes – 17 sleeves of balls won
Division 1
Joint Winners – Paul Lennie and Dave Meir with 156 points each over the 5 Rounds
Paul led for many of the League rounds – but a fighting final round by Dave enabled him to catch Paul
Third Place – Mark Pickles – 152 points
Division 2
Winner – Steve Bramall – 158 points
Joint Second – 3 players – Dave Craggs, Keith Melia and Joe Priestner – 151 points each
See Leader Boards page for results.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (28 March)
“Ay-up love”
Reporter: Mark Pickles
At the time you are reading this, I should be somewhere in East Lancashire, having relieved Bob Mycock of his crewing duties on Charlie Heath’s narrowboat.
Pictured below are the Skipper and two crew, plus Paddy Moran, who kindly gave up his Sunday to help Charlie up the notorious ‘Wigan flight’ of 21 locks. Apparently it was hard work!
I’ve spoken to Charlie a few times. Although he runs a tight ship, he says that Bob is happy enough with the teetotal life onboard, going to bed at 9pm and rising at 5am. Charlie says that Bob is in his element: “he sits quietly on the bow, contemplating nature and writing poetry”.
I’m hoping to return from Doncaster by train next Wednesday. If I’m a day late, I’ll create next week’s newsletter on Thursday.
Mother Nature dealt us another blow as Round 7 had to be declared Null and Void. Although there were 10 holes open, 4 of them were on temporary greens.
The weather was fair with high clouds, the overnight rain had passed, and the temperature was 10 deg. C with light breeze
As is the case when a Round has to be cancelled a Bottle of Wine was the prize this week
Winner with an impressive 29 points over the 10 holes – Steve Bird
Second: Alan Thomas – 26 points and
Third: Bob Ellison – 25 points (on a CPO down to the last 2 holes)
Next Week – is Round 8 from 8 due to the League being reduced from the usual 10 rounds, because of the saturated ground conditions over the past weeks
It’s “still all to play for” – in both Divisions 1 and 2
Tee-booking Schedule for Tomorrow (Thursday 21 March)
A cold day only 5 degrees but it felt much colder with the stiff Easterly breeze.
47 entrants and at least 5 NR’s
Division 1 – 27 entries. Division 2 – 20 entries
Only 3 players bettered their handicaps this week, with 31 players in the “no change” zone and 13 playing worse than their handicaps
Handicaps – only 2 incorrect handicaps used and corrected this week. There will be 9 handicap changes next time – please check your handicaps before Friday’s game
Three 2’s scored this week – Tommy Lawless – 9th , Paddy Moran – 13th and Ian Whitehead – 5th
Division 1 – Winner this week is Peter White with 32 points followed by Tommy Lawless with 31 and Colin Crail on 30.
The Division 1 leader is still Paul Lennie with Dave Meir and Mark Pickles following 4 points behind. Andrew Cox and Mike Pigott are a further 5 points back
Division 2 – Winner this week is “Super” Joe Priestner with 31 points followed by Keith Melia and Peter Willson with 30 points
Steve Bramall maintains his position on the top of the pile but his lead has been cut to 1 point by Joe Priestner. John Higgins is a further 5 points back
Only 2 rounds to go and it’s still all to play for !
Happy Mondays – 11th March
Reporter: Peter Willson
Game – Best 2 from 3 or Best 3 from 4
Played over 14 holes – 9th closed for new bunker build .
6 teams – 19 players
Weather – dry, no wind, cloudy and 6 deg. C
Winners: Steve Gosling, Mark Pickles and Dave Waggitt: +11 (11 points better than level 2’s)
Men’s Committee Annual Business Meeting – Thursday, 7pm
LGC main committee will hold its business meeting tomorrow at 7pm. Please try to attend if you can. Its own rules stipulate that at least 30 members attend in order to form a quorum, but last year that number was not reached, making it impossible to ratify the measures.
The main men’s committee supports our senior section committee, with Andy Timms representing us. The whole club benefits from the work of the men’s committee. If you can attend tomorrow, it would be much appreciated.
Mike Smith Plate
The entry sheet for the Mike Smith Plate – Summer Individual Knock-out is now on the seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name if you wish to compete.
Peter Willson will take the list down on Friday 5th April in order to do the draw.
No booking schedule for tomorrow
Grahame Brickell informs me that he does not need to do a booking schedule for tomorrow, because Friday 29th March is Good Friday.
Goodbye Charlie
Charlie Heath, my best friend at LGC, is leaving us for pastures new, although many of us are hoping he will return to LGC occasionally to play as a guest.
Charlie and his partner Irene will be spending much of their time in Charlie’s native Doncaster, on Charlie’s super new narrowboat, to be moored in a marina at Doncaster. Charlie will be rejoining his old club: Doncaster Golf Club. However, Charlie and Irene will continue to be based in Cronton (on the Cheshire/Merseyside border).
I’m sure everyone in the senior section wishes Charlie well in his new adventure, and I know that I will be far from the only LGC senior to miss him!
The day started with a light drizzle which by the time 8.00 am arrived it had turned into steady light rain and increasing windy gusts.
3 groups / 10 brave souls started out in the rain but only got to the 4th, 3rd and 2nd holes before deciding it was too wet. Many other players arrived, most doing a circuit of the car park, before heading home for some warmth and drier conditions.
The round was declared null and void due to no players completing the minimum required 9 holes
On a lighter note several of us retired to the clubhouse to seek shelter and a bit of heat.
It was a pleasure to see Dave Meir armed with a bottle of Bushmills finest whiskey in honour of his “significant birthday” – we toasted his health and then we also retired defeated by rain as well.
Perhaps next week we will get the chance to play Round 6 after 2 false starts.
Still 3 rounds to go of the 8 Rounds available following the extension to the number of League games due to the atrocious weather in February
Happy Mondays
Reporter: Peter Willson
A remarkably Spring-like day after a chilly start with a slight frost. Blue skies, no wind and the course continues to dry out
Game – Team Stableford
18 players – 5 teams
The Winners – Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Les Williams – 23 points per player (Nobody was more surprised than this trio – who didn’t expect to win)
2nd – Steve Barlow, Steve Bramall, Dave Craggs and Peter Willson – 22.3 points per player
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (7th March)
Navy-blue team shirts
For all who have put their name in the list for interclub matches, please remember that you will need a team shirt in order to be selected. Please order as soon as possible from Steve in the Pro’s shop. Steve needs at least 6 orders before he can justify getting the shirts made up with the LGC logo.
There was much to discuss at the committee meeting last Friday, not least handicapping, and how best to align with the new – and more flexible – WHS handicapping scheme when it is introduced in April.
Both Paul Foster and Andy Timms have done a lot of research and thinking on how best to move forward. Andy – who represents the seniors on the main LGC men’s committee – and Paul have had discussions and communication with, variously, John McCue, English Golf Union, Cheshire Golf, and Steve and Fizz in the Pro’s shop. (Fizz is on the main LGC handicap committee, and has agreed to help the senior section to transition to WHS.)
Andy Timms has received agreement from English Golf, Cheshire Golf, and LGC to allow us to submit our scorecards for 15 holes (or less) in the main golf season (as determined by LGC).
The senior committee voted unanimously to move senior handicapping over to WHS from April. However, with Paul Foster being away on holiday last Friday, we were unable to ratify the details. Full details will follow in the weeks to come, including the possibility of allowing the ‘bottle of wine’ competitions (on interclub-match days) to be included for registration of WHS handicap.
The Winter League
Due to yet more rain last week, and the playable holes reduced to eight, last Friday’s match did not quality for the winter league, which would have reduced the league to the best 5 from 7.
However, the committee have decided to extend the winter league until the end of March (it was due to finish in mid March), which means the league will be 5 best from 9.
The reason we have done this is because we do not want to start the seniors’ summer league (due to start in mid March) until April, by which time we will have introduced the WHS handicapping for 15 holes.
Due to this extended winter league, the summer league will likely be reduced to the best 5 from 9.
Bottle of Wine Comp – Friday 23 Feb
Reporter: Peter Willson
Winner Jeff Chapman – 19 points Second place Steve Gosling – 18 points (CPO over last 1 hole – 3 points) Third place Sammy Lee – 18 points
Notes Only 8 holes open – 1 on temporary green – Round declared VOID
6 teams – 20 players – Game: Yellow Ball played over 11 holes – 9th out of commission for construction of new bunkers
Nobody lost their Yellow Ball
Winners: – Steve Barlow; Dave Craggs; Charlie Hill and John White – 90 points 2nd – Tommy Lawless; Phil Perry and Alan Thomas – 86 points
Please note that next Monday’s competition (4th March) is cancelled due to repairs to the bollard system on the main drive.
Signing-up time
With the main season just a month away, do not forget to sign up to the interclub matches and the summer knockout (Mike Smith Trophy).
For those who have not played in the interclub matches before, please note that you will need a navy-blue LGC shirt. Speak to John Armstrong for details.
Senior Section Calendar
Dave Craggs has updated the senior section calendar. I have put the new spreadsheet on the calendar tab. Dave is also working on updating the senior-section rules, in time for the main season and our move to WHS.
Lymm Golf Club Senior Section 