We have 30 people who are current members who have not paid the £25 annual subs yet.
If these are not paid by this Friday your name will no longer be included in the Friday tee times and other booking schedules, and so please pay by this Friday to retain your membership for the next 12 months.
The account for payment is:
Lymm Golf Over 60s 60-20-29 50244779 Ref: Surname
[ Editor’s Note: I do not think that all members of the senior section read the newsletter, in which we have asked for payment of subs several times. Therefore, please spread the word to your regular playing partners, who might be unaware they are about to have their membership suspended, and will be unable to take part in senior section competitions and events. ]
Pick, clean and place on fairways
Until further notice, senior-section competitions are now preferred lie, but on fairways only.
Lunch at our Annual Business Meeting, Friday 18 October
Reporter: Steve Gosling (Treasurer)
We have a total of 53 people listed for the ABM lunch on Friday 18th October
The list will close this Friday (11 October) and so if you want to join, please add your name to the list by this pay the £10
We still have 10 people on the list who have not paid. Please pay immediately to the following account:
Lymm Golf Over 60s 60-20-29 50244779 Ref: Surname
Memorial Trophy, and Round 1 of 10 of the Autumn League, Friday 4 October
Reporter: Peter Willson
Last Friday’s round was a combined competition. The Memorial Trophy does not have divisions, whereas the League has divisions.
Memorial Trophy:
1st – Mervyn Roberts – 30 points 2nd – Martin Franks – 29 points 3rd – Steve Bramall – 28 points
Round 1 of Autumn League – Best 5 from 10 games
Division 1: 1st- Mervyn Roberts – 30 points 2nd – Martin Franks – 29 points 3rd – Arthur Nuttall – 27 points
Division 2 1st – Steve Bramall – 28 points (wins on CPO 13 points over last 6 holes) 2nd – Jeff Chapman – 28 points (11 points over last 6 holes) 3rd – Barry Smith – 26 points (CPO over last 6 holes)
Two’s scored: Jeff Chapman, Martin Franks and Andy Timms
Happy Mondays Comp on Monday 7 October
Reporter: Peter Willson
A dull start but the sun came out half way through the game and it turned quite warm in the sunshine
Game: Team Stableford
16 players – played over 13 holes after uncertainty over number of holes open.
Winners: John Booth, Alan Copeland, Tony Dixon and Steve Gosling – 24.8 points per player
Second: Grahame Bricknell; Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 21.3 ppp
Third: Eric Cox, Les Fecitt and John White – 20.3 ppp
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 10 October)
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 13 October
Llangollen Seniors Day out: Thurs 5th June 2025
Reporter: Grahame Brickell
This year 20 seniors enjoyed a ‘grand day out’ at the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club. Peter Broady and Ron Thornton won the first prize in the Llangollen Senior Open!
Apart from the main Llangollen Open competition, we run a little competition between the Lymm GC visitors.
The committee would like to make it a bigger day out next year. And so if you’d like to join us on 5th June please message me soon through IG and I’ll contact Llangollen as soon as possible to block-book the times. I hope to get times around 11am. Cost will be about £30 to £35. The competition format is 4BBB.
Prostate PSA blood testing day, Saturday 2 November
A reminder from our treasurer, Steve Gosling, that payments are due for both the annual subs (£25) and the ABM lunch (£10) on Friday 18th October.
Subs were due by 1st October, but so far only 41 people have paid out of a membership of around 95. If you do not intend to re-join the senior section for 2024/2025, please inform Steve Gosling.
There are 11 names on the ABM lunch list that still need to pay.
The account for payment is:
Lymm Golf Over 60s 60-20-29 50244779 Ref: Surname
(Please note that this is a different account number to that we use for for the inter-club matches.)
Lymm v Warrington, interclub-friendly
Reporter: Art Laird (CoD)
This was the final Interclub match of the season and we were blessed with dry and fine weather even although the higher holes were rather cool with a biting wind – it was just great to get down to the 11th and even better the 19th!
The course has just had three days of Autumn maintenance making the greens a challenge for most of us – having said that the course overall is very much improved in many ways, clearly some way to go but all credit to the new head greenkeeper Rob Cooper and his team
Peter and I had a tough challenge against the formidable Anthony COD and Andrew Warrington Vice Captain – in spite of the greens treatment Andrew only missed one put to my knowledge – even our banter could not put him off !! We were soundly beaten 4 and 3. Notwithstanding our loss the rest of the team came up trumps and we were only defeated by one game losing 4 1/2 to 3 1/2 – whatever an honourable draw – a very significant improvement over the away Warrington match earlier in the season
The result: Lymm 3.5, Warrington 4.5
Peter Broady and Art Laird – lost 4 and 3 Mervyn Roberts and Alan Ranscombe (PMA) – Halved Dave Craggs and Martin Lowe – won 5 and 4 ( Craggsy could do no wrong! ) Paddy Moran and John Armstrong – won 2 and 1 Grahame Brickell and Phil Perry – lost 3 and 1 Phil Lomas and Peter Wilson – won 3 and 2 Charlie Hill and Dave Meir – lost 5 and 3 Mike Pigott and Steve Gosling – lost 1 down
As usual the lunch provided by Karen and the team was 1st Class and enjoyed by all – the final glass of red slipped down with ease !!
Very many thanks to John for ALL the hard work organising the teams and securing the best ever Captains of the Day throughout the season and of course Steve for managing the ‘readies’ and keeping the ‘elderly’ in line – I for one am voting for John and Steve to remain in charge for at least another season !!
I also had the great pleasure in presenting Paddy Moran the ‘seniors 80th jumper’ – he will achieve that ripe age on October 04 – congratulations and well done !
Bottle-of-wine Competition, Friday 27 October
Reporter: Paul Foster
A chilly start for the Friday bottle of wine competition, however the day turned out to be a sunny day for the players with a late morning tee off.
The cold wind seemed to cause havoc with all 20 entrants, with no one beating their handicap.
I had the pleasure today of playing with new member Howard Jones (no not that one)…who possess a classic text book golf swing, one to look out for in future competitions…his playing handicap of 14 will surely come tumbling down.
So to the results…
In 3rd place was Paul Foster with 26pts
R/Up was Alan Copeland with 27pts
Winner of the day and recipient of a fine bottle of Vintage Châteaux de Latchford was Richard Smyllie with 29pts.
That’s the last of the BOW competitions, as Fridays match against Warrington was the last of these friendlies. The Autumn leagues starts on the 4th October.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 3 October)
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 6th October
Reminders:
Trophies: If you are a trophy holder – listed in newsletter of 4 September 2024 – please ensure you return your trophy to a committee member by 4 October.
Memorial Day: This Friday, 4 October, Memorial Day. It is also round 1 of the Autumn League (best 5 from 10). Please ensure you enter the competition which is open on IG or home page of Lymm GC.
A donation bucket and tot of whiskey will be on the bar.
The memorial trophy is awarded to the player with the highest points (regardless of division) and will be presented at the ABM on 18 October.
Please note an error in last week’s newsletter for the bank account details for you to pay for the lunch at our annual meeting. The account No. is 50… not 59…
The cost is £10.00 and should be paid to:-
Lymm Golf Over 60s 60-20-29 50244779 Ref: ABM-surname
Please note that is not the same account that we use for the inter-club matches.
Seniors subs now due for 2024/25
Reporter: Steve Gosling
As October approaches our season draws to an end and a new one begins with the Autumn series, first match being on Friday 4th October.
This year in order to maintain, and in some cases enhance, the prizes on offer (we have 2 Divisions now) we have increased the annual subs to £25.
How this money will be spent can be seen in the Budget for 2024/25. I’m happy to send a PDF to anyone who would like to see it.
I’m sure you enjoy the friendly competition and social aspect of the Seniors section and our aim is to continue to build on that success during 2024/25.
So please ensure payment of the £25 is made soon to:
Lymm Golf Over 60s
60-20-29 50244779 Ref: (add your surname)
Autumn
With autumn setting in, and the Autumn League approaching, we will see some necessary changes to our Friday competitions, especially when the golf course is deemed no longer WHS-qualifying.
Paul Foster, the man in charge of senior handicaps, explains:
The Autumn League
Reporter: Paul Foster
At the start of the forthcoming Autumn League, we expect to continue to the WHS handicap system, but it is usual that part way through the Autumn League the course stops being playable for a WHS handicap. This is because mats are introduced, and/or winter tees or winter greens are in use.
When WHS handicapping no longer applies, the Senior Section will operate the manual handicap system we used last year. Based on the performance in the previous Friday sessions, a players handicap may be adjusted and a new handicap given for future week’s competitions. Such new handicaps will be available each week on our website: LGCSeniors.com.
This manual system will operate until the WHS system becomes operational again around April 2025, at which time all members will revert back to their WHS handicap.
A minimum of 7 Rounds should be played in the Autumn League. If 6 rounds or less are played, the League will be cancelled.
All Autumn league competitions are scored over 15 holes only. The designated course is the first 15 holes open on that day. (i.e. if hole 13 is closed but all others are open, the competition is played over 1-12, 14-16 for that day).
If less than 15 holes are open, the scores achieved on these days will be pro-rata’d up to 15 holes for the consistency of recording the players league positions in the League. Members may continue to play on to complete 18 holes, if they so wish – but only holes 1 to 15 will be counted, and members should not enter their score for these holes on their card, as to do so will conflict with the WHS evaluation of handicaps.
A sleeve of balls will be awarded to players who score a two on the designated course during the Autumn League. Apart from the overall league prizes and trophies, there will be a small weekly monetary prize (that goes onto your account in the Pro’s shop) for the winner of each division on the day.
We will continue to have 2 divisions, based on a halfway-split of handicaps. Here are division lists:
Interclub-friendly Lymm v Northenden, Friday 20 September
Match Reporter: Phil Ormesher (CoD)
It was an excellent day’s golf. Fine weather and, for me, the course looked and played probably the best it’s been all season.
Judging by the empty plates, lunch was enjoyed by all.
I played with Alan Burton against Martin and John (Northenden’s current president). It was an excellent match; good humoured and ‘nip and tuck’ all the way round until we finally succumbed on the 17th.
Of course, the match was an honourable draw, with the detailed results below:
Phil Ormesher/Alan Burton L 2-1 Mike Pigott/Pete Broady W 1UP Jeff Chapman/Colin Hughes W 5-3 Ian Whitehead/Mike Bennett W 4-3 John White/Mervyn Roberts W 3-2 Paddy Moran/Andrew Cox W 1Up Dave Donnell Jones/Alan Ranscombe L 3-1 John Armstrong/Grahame Brickell L 1 Down
So, overall, a 5 – 3 win for Lymm. Well done everybody.
One highlight of the match was Mike and Pete’s dogged determination to win. They were never ahead throughout the match but played the back nine in a gross 4 under par sealing the win 1 up.
However, the major highlight has to be Colin Hughes’s hole-in-one on the 17th. A most challenging hole at the best of times, so very well done Colin!
Bottle-of-wine Competition, Friday 20 September
Held alongside the Inter-club competition v Northenden taking place
Winner – Keith Melia – 35 points 2nd: Mark Pickles – 32 points 3rd: Alan Copeland – 31 points
The draw for partners and the schedule of games has been made.
Thanks to Russ Jones and John McCue for calculating dates and entering the draw for this competition into the club website. Here is the draw, with all details of partners, rounds and expected play-by dates. If you are entered into the draw, you should see a link to the draw in your ‘Upcoming Competitions’ section on the website.
If any players now cannot make the draw please let me know and I can substitute another player before a 1st round match is played.
Good luck to all contestants.
Interclub friendly versus Leigh, home at Lymm, Friday 13 September
Reporter: Mike Bennett
There is an excellent relationship between our two clubs, and so everybody was looking forward to playing in this fixture.
The match was played in good weather. The course was in excellent condition, which was acknowledged by all Leigh playing members.
All enjoyed the meal and speeches after the match.
The result was: Lymm 5 Leigh 3
Mike Bennett and AndyTimms W 2up Grahame Brickell and Dave Meir W 2up Tommy Lawless and Jeff Chapman W 1 up Russ Jones and Peter Willson W 2 up Peter Broady and Phil Ormisher L John Hayes and Dave Craggs L 3&1 Martin Lowe and Steve Bird W 4 & 3 Ian Whitehead and Alan Ramscombe L 2 & 1
Caricature of Phil ‘Little Voice’ Lomas
Ian Lane at Leigh GC is a talented cartoonist, who remembered Phil Lomas becoming totally submerged in a pond when trying to save his runaway trolley. Ian sent this image to us. I’m not sure if it resembles Phil, but at least Ian remembered the big moustache!
Happy Monday’s Stableford competition – 16th September
Reporter: Peter Willson
A thoroughly damp, dank and misty start which was a little on the chilly side – just as we finished the sun came out, as promised, and the temperature rose with blue skies.
Low scoring all round this week – difficulties seem to have been experienced by many on the greens, with some tricky pin placements:
Game: Team Stableford
7 teams – 22 players
Winners – Steve Barlow, Pete Broady and Ken Narraway – 23.7 points per player
2nd: Dave Craggs, Tony Dixon, Charlie Hill and Ron Thornton – 22.5 ppp
3rd: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail, Les Williams and Richard Yates – 21.8 ppp
Bottle of Wine competition – Friday 13th September
Reporter: Peter Willson
BoW competition held whilst Interclub match against Leigh at Lymm was held.
A dry, sunny day without wind, cool at first. But the rain this week has slowed things up with some mud being picked up on balls on the bottom holes.
Winner: John White – 30 points
2nd: Colin Crail – 28 points – CPO over last 6 holes
3rd Sammy Lee – 28 points
Round 1 of Autumn session & Memorial Trophy game: Friday 4th October
Reporter: Dave Craggs
This will be the first game of the Autumn session, best 5 from 10 scores, so please ensure you enter the competition when it opens to be sure your score is recorded. As in last year’s Autumn League, we will have two divisions.
On the same day we will also be playing for the Memorial Trophy which will be awarded to the player with the most points on the day. There will be shots on the bar after the game together with a donation bucket for donations to our charity Prostrate Cancer. Please ensure you bring some cash and, please, no washers or foreign currency!
Presentation Lunch / Annual Business meeting: Friday 18th October
Reporter: Dave Craggs
The presentation lunch this year will be held on Friday 18th October.
The format will be the same as our previous presentation lunches. The business of the ABM will precede the presentation of our 2024 Trophies to those that triumphed during this season.
No long lists to plough through nor boring monologues – just the usual barrel of laughs and a fitting end to another fabulous season.
We aim to sit down to dinner at 14.00 hours – so please plan to be there before to allow time to enjoy a pre-lunch drink with your friends if you so wish.
A list is now upon the notice board in the locker room. Please get your names down as soon as possible so we can have a clear shot at reckoning the numbers for Karen and her team.
The cost is £10.00 and should be paid to:-
Lymm Golf Over 60s 60-20-29 50244779 Ref: ABM-surname
Please note: this is not the same bank account that we use for interclub competitions.
Tee-Booking Schedule for tomorrow: Thursday 19 September
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 22 September
Please be on time booking your slots. Mondays are becoming more at LGC, therefore please be on the pulse of 20:00.
If you’re unable to book in yourself at 20:00 please ask one of your team to do it for you
The headline this week has to be our winning the Tatton Trophy for the first time since the inception of the Tatton League in 2001, 23 years ago. Our team captain, Bob Mycock, chose to present the trophy, on behalf of the team, to Paddy Moran, citing Paddy as the elder of the team, who is nearing his 80th birthday.
It’s been a long wait.
The Tatton League is a league for senior (over 55) golfers of six golf clubs in and around the historic civil parish of Tatton.
Rob Taylor, my newsletter predecessor, often had to try to make light of our Tatton team regularly coming last. I’m delighted therefore to be able to report that we have dramatically turned things around! And long may it continue. Unusually, since Bob took the captaincy three years ago, Lymm has consistently played a team of low-handicap seniors with a desire to win. Indeed, in every round this year, our average handicap has been by far the lowest of all six clubs. The strategy has worked out. It was good to receive congratulations from the other teams yesterday, including that our efforts this year were “well deserved”.
Thank you to Mike Pigott, our Tatton League vice captain, who has written a 2024-roundup, that I have posted at the end of the newsletter.
Seniors’ Championship, Friday 6th September
Firstly, apologies if I get this report wrong. I have had numerous emails to wade through, due to what Peter Willson describes as ‘gremlins in the system’. Even Fizz, in the pro’s shop, was at odds to explain why last Friday’s comp did not finalise correctly. Peter is standing in for our ‘regular’ comps administrator Paul Foster, who is, yet again, somewhere abroad!
After much toing-and-froing, I can confirm that Mike Pigott is this year’s senior champion.
Apologies to Eric Cox, who was initially posted as the winner of the championship, but in fact came second.
Here is Peter Willson’s report:
Held on a fine dry, breezy day with the temperature rising to 26 deg. C at the finish.
21 players took part on the day – finishing just in time before the Junior’s Fundraising Shotgun Start competition was held at 13.00 hours.
A superb last 6 holes by Mike Pigott who was 2 under gross, including 3 birdies.
Some initial confusion on the published results after a glitch in uploading to the website but fully corrected on Sunday.
Winner: Mike Pigott – 32 points
2nd: Eric Cox – 31 points
3rd: Alan Copeland – 30 points
Congratulations to all who qualified and took part on the day.
Abergele Seniors Open
Reporter: Peter Broady
On a cool overcast but dry day we all set out to play in their Seniors Open Competition. The course was in great condition with fast undulating greens. Sometimes not easy to two putt! We entered 4 teams of 4 balls, best 3 Stableford points to count for each team. We were hopeful to acquire as many points as possible before reaching the notoriously tough 17th and 18th holes.
Unfortunately Ron Thornton was unable to make it on the day. Ron was replaced with a Ghost player to even the teams up for our in-house comp, which we ran alongside the main competition.
The main Competition this year was won with 113points team from Hawarden GC. We all fell short of the target this year, but we all enjoyed the day, and are looking forward to next year.
The winning team in our in-house Competition with 97 points:
Steve Gosling Grahame Brickell Peter Willson Ghost player. (Pete Broady).
If anybody would like to join us next September, I have pre booked 5 tee times from 10.50am onwards. Dates to be confirmed by the Golf club
Interclub friendly, Northenden Away, Monday 9th September
Match Reporter: John Armstrong (CoD)
A day that threatened rain turned out to be OK. The course was in nice condition both fairways and greens. There were several bunkers rated GUR, this is because they have a rolling programme of bunker refurbishment.
There was a high standard of play where Lymm players scoring pars were undone by the opposition doing the same, but with shots awarded through higher hc’s. The honourable draw went to Northenden 6.5 to 1.5. With Bobby boy and Sammy Lee being our only winners. Grahame Brickell and John Woodward getting the half. Most matches were close, Lymm loosing mostly by three holes a match. A fine meal of fish Chips and peas, followed by sticky toffee pudding, went down a treat.
Happy Mondays, 9th September
Reporter: Peter Willson
A dry but breezy day – the promised rain stayed away and rather chilly at first
Game: Team Stableford
5 teams – 17 players
Winners: Pete Broady, Eric Cox and Ron Thornton – 28.7 points per player
Second: Alan Copeland, Steve Gosling, Ray Rigby and Dave Waggitt – 27 ppp
Third: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Richard Yates – 26 ppp.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 12 September)
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 15 September
[ Note: The game we had planned for Monday 23rd will not take place, due to the course being closed for Autumn maintenance. ]
Bottle-of-wine Comps
Reporter: Peter Willson
Friday 30th August
Played whilst Interclub Match vs. Davyhulme being held:
1st Place: Mike Kendal – 34 points 2nd Place: Dave Waggitt – 30 points 3rd Place: Michael John – 29 points
Friday 6th September
Held whilst Seniors Championship took place – only 9 entrants / cards received because of Championship game and some members taking part in the Junior Fundraiser Shotgun start:
Winner: Martin Lowe – 27 points – CPO over last 6 holes 2nd: Alan Ranscombe – 27 points 3rd: Phil Lomas – 26 points
The Tatton League – 2024 Roundup
Reporter: Mike Pigott – Tatton Team Vice Captain
The six rounds of the Tatton League 2024 were held at – in chronological order – Antrobus, Birchwood, Styal, Heyrose, High Legh and Lymm. Four pairs from each club aggregated their better-ball Stableford scores, giving total points for 24 rounds of golf.
This season started in the wet month of April at Antrobus. With a team of Ian Whitehead and Phil Young, Mike Pigott and Dave Meir, Russ Sollitt and Rick Shaw, and Richard Cooper and Martin Franks, Lymm finished runners up with 139 points 5 points behind the home club winners Antrobus.
The second round was at Birchwood, where some alterations to the team were made due to availability and form, with Mike Pigott pairing up with Sam Leach, Rick Shaw with Pete Barrett, Martin Franks with Graham Brickell, and Mark Pickles with club captain Phil Young. Lymm again finished second on the day with 149 points, finishing behind Birchwood who took over the league lead, with Antrobus second and Lymm third.
The third venue was Styal Golf Club and a team of Mike Pigott and Paddy Moran, Mark Pickles and Ian Whitehead, Martin Franks and Richard Cooper and Rick Shaw and Russ Sollitt scoring 139 points and finished in third place, 9 points behind the aggregate leaders Birchwood and 3 points behind Antrobus.
The forth club to host was High Legh on a tough windy wet day in the middle of July. The team had a similar look to it with Mike Pigott and Dave Meir, Russ Sollitt and Rick Shaw, Ian Whitehead and Martin Franks and Mark Pickles with Lymm GC Vice Captain Andy Timms. All four of Lymm’s teams had fantastic scores away from home totalling 157 points finishing only one point behind hosts High Legh, picking up 13 points on Birchwood and 8 points on Antrobus. We were now the leading team.
The next leg of the league was at Heyrose with a very similar looking team of Mike Pigott and Richard Cooper, Martin Franks and Ian Whitehead, Russ Sollitt and Rick Shaw, and Mark Pickles and Andy Timms. It was a low-scoring day in difficult conditions, but Antrobus had an outlier pair scoring 44 points. We finished third behind Antrobus on the day, followed by the home team Heyrose. Birchwood finished last and blew themselves out of contention completely. This result left Antrobus first in the league, 5 points ahead of Lymm but with our home leg to complete the season in early September. High Legh were a further 5 points behind Lymm but it had a feel of a two horse race.
The final Tatton match took place at Lymm, yesterday, Tuesday 10th September on a blustery cloudy day with spells of heavy rain making conditions very difficult for scoring. However, all four pairs got down to the task in hand, posting 4 fantastic fourballs scores, totalling 167 points. Lymm won the day by 15 shots from Heyrose and picked up 24 points on Antrobus. This meant that Lymm won the Tatton League, for the first time in the club’s history by 19 points from Antrobus who had been holders for the previous two years.
Special mention has to go to Dave Meir and Martin Franks who had the best individual score on the day with a phenomenal 49 points.
The team’s thanks go to the Captain Bob Mycock who was there at each game lending his support and to all the players who played and made up a very tight-knit squad.
Here are yesterday’s team results, with the final scores for the year in the last column.
[ Editor’s Note: I would personally like to offer a special ‘thank you’ to Bob, who not only served us well as team captain in the sporting sense, but in doing all the unseen admin in the background, making arrangements with five other golf clubs, and with the managers and caterers of LGC. This year we hosted the sixth of the six rounds, and we were therefore responsible for catering for the end-of-season meal and presentation.
Bob is not new to sports captaincy, having captained Rugby Union teams for the RAF and Joint Services, at the time when Rory Underwood (RAF navigator in strike command) made it into the England national team. ]
Lots of news to get through this week, including no fewer than three inter-club friendly match reports.
We have a busy end-of-season. There will be two more inter-club matches to report next week, and the final round of the Tatton League, which will be played at Lymm next Tuesday (10th September). Most of Lymm’s selected team-of-eight are members of the senior section.
Also next week we will know this year’s seniorchampion (the winner of winners). Our championship is to be played this Friday (6 September). I can already report that Alan Thomas will not be this year’s champion. Unfortunately Alan has had to drop out due to a knee operation. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on the golf course.
Inter-club friendly – Away at Helsby, Monday 26 August
Match Reporter: Alan Burton(CoD)
Lymm came out winners over Helsby in a tight affair. The result was 5-3 to Lymm.
We managed to dodge some surrounding bad weather, and found the course to be in excellent condition. All games were played in the true spirit of golf, and we were all made welcome, finally being sent home full after a fantastic chicken dinner!
Inter-club friendly – Home against Davyhulme, Friday 30 August
Match Reporter: David Cragss (CoD)
What a glorious Summer’s day to play our home game against Davyhulme!
To think the Friday before we had been targeted by Storm Lilian which caused havoc across the region and caused the cancellation of our Chairman’s Day and BBQ. Lilian is the twelfth named storm of the current 12-month cycle, which ends in September. It is the first time there have been that many named storms in a single cycle since the system was introduced by the Met Office in 2015.
The course was obviously quickly cleared and our visitors were very impressed by the standard of the course and greens. Welcome to our new Course Manager and assistant Course Manager who will no doubt make improvements where necessary.
Steve Gosling and I had a very close game playing against Davyhulme’s Seniors Captain Paul Barrett and Mike Pennington and we managed a win on the 18th to secure a halved game.
On the terrace at the end I was becoming anxious as we recorded a half followed by 3 losses and I thought our recent run of matches won was coming to an end. There then followed a flurry of 4 wins from Lymm resulting in a win by Lymm.
The meal of gammon, egg, pineapple, chips and peas followed by apple crumble and custard was a delight, and thanks to Karen and her team were noted.
No joke from me and not allowing Paddy or Bob to step up with a joke I handed over to Peter Monaghan, Davyhulme team organiser to respond with a good joke and to announce the honourable draw.
An excellent day organised as always by John Armstrong who will be missed when he steps down in October. Your Seniors Section Committee need two new members so don’t be shy and put your name on the board in the Clubhouse.
Result:
Dave Craggs & Steve Gosling, Halved Pete Broady & Art Laird, Lost 3 & 2 Russ Jones & Jeff Chapman, Won 1 up Mark Pickles & Martin Lowe, Won 1 up David D Jones & Duncan Clarke, Won 2 & 1 Peter Willson & Paddy Moran, Lost 3 & 2 Bob Mycock & Barry Smith, Won 2 up Alan Burton & Steve Bird, Lost 3 & 2
Team score Lymm 4 ½ Davyhulme 3 ½.
Inter-club friendly away at Bramhall Golf Club – Monday 2 September
Match Reporter: Duncan Clarke (CoD)
On a grey drizzly day, Lymm seniors’ run of good match results came crashing down at the Bramhall on Monday .
The course was magnificently set up and the course layout was beautiful. Fairways were lush and greens fast and true.
The day started well in that all Lymm members turned up on time and ready to go ( well not quite – Sammy give yourself a bit more time next time !!)
Lymm registered just two wins , and the losses were generally not close, except Ian Whitehead and Art Laird who struggled manfully until the final hole .
Notable achievement of the day went to John Armstrong, who closed out his match with Duncan Clarke with two back to back gross birdies .
Catering after the match was simple but of the highest quality, much appreciated by all.
Match scores as follows
Bob Mycock and Alan Burton –Lost 5 & 4 Peter Broady and Martin Lowe –Lost 2 &1 Duncan Clarke and John Armstrong – Won 4 &3 Steve Gosling and Paddy Moran –Lost 4 & 2 Ian Whitehead and Art laird – Lost 1 down John White and Paul Collins -Lost 7 & 6 John Woodward and Mike Pigott –Won 4 & 4 Sammy Lees and Russ Jones – Lost 3 & 2
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 5 September)
Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 8th September
Peter Willson requests that you be quick-off-the-mark for tee booking at 20:00 on Sunday evenings. If you know you’re not going to be able to do the booking at 20:00, please ask another member of your team to do it for you.
Please return trophies in time to be presented on 4 October
Reporter: Dave Craggs
TROPHIES TO BE ENGRAVED CLEANED AND RETURNED TO COMMITTEE MEMBER BY 4th OCTOBER 2024
Autumn Session ( Oct / Dec 2022) – The Fred Johnson Rose Bowl . Winner Paul Foster
Winter Session ( Jan/Mar 2023) The Peter Glover Trophy – Winner (Div 1) Paddy Moran (Div 2) Phil Perry
Winter Knock out ( Oct 2022/ Mar 2023) The Andy Ward Pairs Trophy – Joint Winners – Mark Pickles / Barry Smith
Summer Session ( April 2023 / Sept 2023) The Broady Trophy – Winner (Div1) Paul Collins (Div 2) Ron Thornton
Gordon Wood Trophy – Winner – Mervyn Roberts
The Memorial Trophy – Winner Mervyn Roberts
Peter Herrity Trophy – Winner Mark Pickles
Summer Singles Knock out ( May 2023/ Aug 2023) The Mike Smith Trophy – Winner Stuart Baird
Amendments to the Rules and Strategy Document
Our secretary, Dave Craggs, has amended the Strategy, Rules and Guidelines document, mainly to reflect changes to the Autumn and Winter 5-from-10 playing rules that have been recently sanctioned by the committee.
Andy Ward Pairs Knockout (Autumn/Winter)
If you would like to be included in the pairs knockout (4BBB matchplay), make sure to include your name on the list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Peter Willson will remove the list on Friday 13 September, following which he will draw the pairs.
Welcome to John Woodward
John recently joined our senior section. I played with John today for the first time in a very enjoyable friendly knock (there was no mid-week comp today due to the ladies’ charity day).
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Hello all. I’ve been a member at Lymm since 2007. My eldest son Adam was a junior here, and my youngest son Jack is a member, now playing off around scratch.
I worked as a veterinary surgeon for 42 years, retiring in 2020. I’ve always enjoyed sports, and used to play squash and cricket. I’m now focussing on the golf!
Aside from golf, I train puppies to be guide dogs for the blind. It’s time-consuming, but very rewarding!
Barlow and the Bandits
Steve Barlow, who was in the group behind us today, sent me this photo for some reason! He mentioned something about ‘nice stripes’. Captions welcome. If any good ones are forthcoming, I’ll publish them next week!
The weather got the better of us last Friday, and the Chairman’s Day/BBQ had to be cancelled.
A few of us played on Friday morning, once the wind had subsided, and the green staff had cleared away the worst of the storm damage. I partnered Paul Collins in a very enjoyable match against Steve Barlow and Alan Copeland.
Unsurprisingly, ‘double hot dog and chips’ was on the ‘specials’ menu as we arrived in the clubhouse just in time for lunch. And very nice it was too.
The highlight of the morning for me was watching large groups of swallows and house martins hunting at high speed on the bottom half of the course, particularly around the 13th green and the 14th fairway. The cooler, heavier air and damper weather of recent days causes the swallows to hunt very near to the ground, almost around our feet, because the strata of flies and gnats are a lot lower than when thermals are lifting them. Enjoy the swallows and martins while you can. Within a week or two these remarkable birds will be making the miraculous 6000-mile journey to the southern half of Africa, covering about 200 miles per day. Those that survive will begin returning to breed in April next year, just in time to see Andy Timm’s Captain’s Drive In!
The Duel in the Gloom
The gloomy bank-holiday Monday saw the final of the senior section’s summer knockout. Steve Barlow and Keith Melia went head-to-head for the Mike Smith Plate.
I’ve spoken to both Steve and Keith, who reported that it was a great match, which went down to the final putt on the 18th green.
Congratulations to Keith, who won the day, and will also now qualify to play in the Seniors’ Championship next Friday (6th September).
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 29 August)
Happy Mondays Tee-booking schedule for Sunday 1 September
Away match at Helsby
I have yet to receive a report from the CoD for the away match at Helsby yesterday. If I receive one, I will publish it in next week’s newsletter.
Please remember, if you are nominated as CoD for a home or away match, to send me an email with your report, or message me on the I.G. app or the LGC website messaging system. My email address is in directory on the LGC website.
There were some excellent scores in this year’s Peter Herrity Trophy, and with a large field, a good sum of money raised for this year’s charity (to be decided by the committee).
The winner of the trophy was the on-form Tommy Lawless with 41 points.
In second, also with 41 points, was Peter White.
Peter just missed out on a card play off. Both Tommy and Peter had 22 points on the back nine, and so result was determined by the back six.
The Chairman’s Day competition will be for a bottle of wine. All competitors should enter the competition online by Thursday.
Go to ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the LGC website or I.G. App, and scroll to Senior Section Chairman’s Day.
The BBQ will start at 12:00 and will continue to be served as players finish.
Would you like to join the Senior Section Committee?
If you would like to help out on the committee, please apply by putting your name on the list, with the name of a proposer, on the Seniors’ noticeboard. We now have almost a hundred members in the Senior Section, and with a full calendar of activities, there is a lot of organisation involved.
Committee members generally serve for three years. This year at least two members, including the Chairman, will stand down at the end of the summer season.
Please note that you cannot apply directly for a particular role on the committee. The first stage is to get on on the committee, and then all the roles are decided when the new committee is formed. Each member volunteers for a role. Usually, discussions at the inaugural meeting determine which role is best suited for each individual.
Happy Mondays, 18 August
Team Stableford:
Winners: Pete Broady. Alan Copeland. Kevin Bocquet. 32.6. Points
Second. Tony Lambert. Phil Lomas. Dave Craggs. 29.33 Points.
Third. Mike Bennett. Richard Yates. Les Williams. Tony Dixon. 28.75 Points.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 22 August)
Happy Mondays Tee-booking Schedule for Sunday 25 August
This is the schedule for booking our game on Monday 9th September. However, the teams could be subject to change on the day due to players dropping out to play in an inter-club match at Northenden Golf Club.
Tatton League
Apologies for the late publication of this week’s newsletter, but I have only just returned from a Tatton League match at Heyrose.
Although the senior section is no longer involved in administration of the Tatton League, we do have members in the pool for Tatton League captain Bob Mycock and vice captain Mike Pigott to select from.
The Tatton League has six clubs in it: Lymm, Antrobus, Styal, Heyrose, Birchwood and High Legh. The scoring is the aggregate of 4BBB Stableford points over the season, with four pairs from each club playing in each match.
Today’s team of 8 at Heyrose included Andy Timms, Mark Pickles, Mike Pigott, and Ian Whitehead, all of whom played well in a challenging combination of blustery conditions and hard-bouncy greens.
After 5 matches to date, we are lying in second place, just 5 points behind the leaders Antrobus. However, we are now the only club not to have hosted the Tatton League. We will be hosting the final match on 10th September, when we hope that we can take advantage of the home fixture, and raise the trophy!
We play for the Peter Herrity Trophy on Friday: 16 August. This is our annual charity competition.
To enter the competition, go the ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main Lymm Golf Club website. Scroll down to “Senior Section Peter Herrity Trophy” on 16 August, and enter the competition.
You must enter the competition online at least a day before you play. If you intend to play, and you have not already entered, do so now, to avoid the risk of forgetting. As in all LGC online competitions, you will not be able to enter on the day of play. Cards that have not been entered online will be disqualified from the competition, and will not qualify for handicap.
To remind you, the competition is 18 holes, off yellow tees. Entry fee, payable to Steve in the pro’s shop, is £5.
Enter your score on the I.G. app, and place your completed card into the competition box.
We are expecting Margaret Herrity to present the trophy to the winner, at lunchtime. Therefore, if you post a good score, and think you might be in contention for first place, please stay for the presentation.
2024 Seniors’ Championship, 6 September
We play our Seniors’ Championship on Friday 6 September. Listed below are all seniors who have qualified for this year’s competition. If you are unable to play, please inform Grahame Brickell, who will remove you from the tee-booking schedule.
1 Mike Bennett 2 Steve Bramall 3 Michael John 4 Keith Melia 5 Tommy Lawless 6 Les Williams 7 Pete Broady 8 Arthur Nuttall 9 Trevor Williamson 10 Dave Craggs 11 Peter White 12 Joe Priestner 13 Dave Meir 14 John Booth 15 Martin Franks 16 Eric Cox 17 John Armstrong 18 Mike Pigott 19 Paddy Moran 20 Ron Thornton 21 Grahame Brickell 22 Alan Copeland 23 John White 24 Colin Crail 25 Stuart Baird 26 Art Laird 27 Alan Thomas 28 ? (Mike Smith Trophy winner) 29 ? (Peter Herrity Trophy winner
Interclub friendly at home against Ringway GC
Match Report: David Donnell Jones (CoD)
On Friday, August 9th, Lymm seniors played host to the visiting Ringway team in the latest round of the thrilling Matchplay series.
The morning was greeted with a cloudy, overcast sky, but this did little to diminish the buzz of excitement in the car park as players gathered their gear and exchanged friendly banter.
As the teams took to the course, the Ringway team was full of energy, eager to make their mark. However, as the clouds gave way to brights unshine, it became clear that the day was shifting in Lymm’s favour. One by one, the scores began to tip towards the home team. much to the growing concern of Ringway’s players.
Result:
Jeff Ashurst & David Donnell Jones, Won 1 up
Jeff Chapman & Russ Jones, Won 2 & 1
Phil Ormesher & Sammy Lee, Won 3 & 2
Alan Ranscombe & Arthur Laird, Won 7 & 6
Martin Lowe & Bob Mycock, Halved
Ian Whitehead & Dave Meir, Won 2 & 1
Barry Smith & Trevor Williamson, Won 1 up
Steve Bird & Barrie Simpson, Lost 3 & 2
Team score Lymm 6 ½ Ringway 1 ½.
Among the day’s standout performances were Alan Ranscombe and Arthur Laird, a formidable 7 & 6 victory was the best of the day. Not to be outdone, Jeff Ashurst, produced a putting masterclass. Jeff’s steady hand and keen eye on the greens, delivered a great win in a very close match.
As the match concluded and the sun shone down on the patio, both teams gathered in the clubhouse to enjoy a well-deserved meal. The lively post- match conversations were filled with good – natured banter and detailed breakdowns of the day’s highlights.
All in all, it was a delightful day of golf. As the sun set on a beautiful day at Lymm Golf Club, both teams left with full bellies, satisfied smiles, and Ringway planning their revenge for the next encounter.
Bottle of Wine competition, alongside interclub match with Ringway
Reporter: Peter Willson
Dry breezy day and pleasantly warm
22 cards entered but only 19 players registered via IG site – if you don’t enter via IG you can’t win!
Winner: – Michael John – 35 points
Second: – new member Howard Jones – 33 points
Third: – Joe Priestner – 32 points
Happy Mondays competition – Monday 12th August
Reporter: Peter Willson
A warm start turning into a hot day with a brief shower at first, but cloudy in the main and very humid at 29 deg. C
25 entrants
Game: Team Stableford
We welcomed another new member to the section today – Tony Dixon – and he’s a winner on his 1st outing !!
Winners: Mike Bennett, Tony Dixon, Dave Waggitt, Les Williams – 30 points per player
Second: Colin Chisnall, Alan Copeland, Alan Thomas – 29 ppp
Third: Andrew Cox, Dave Craggs, Bob Mycock, John White – 28.75 ppp
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 15 August)
Friday 30 August: Bottle of Wine competition, alongside our home match against Davyhulme.
Happy Monday’s tee-booking schedule:
Chairman’s Day, Friday 23rd August
If you are staying for food after the Chairman’s Competition (15 holes) a week on Friday, enter your name on the sheet on the seniors’ noticeboard, for catering purposes.
If you are entering the competition, you must pre-register in the normal way. Go to ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on I.G. App or LGC website, and select ‘Senior Section Chairman’s Day’ from the list.
A super summer’s day for the Texas Scramble fun day. A most enjoyable format which takes all the stress out of ‘not letting your team down’
Some great scores in from the 13 teams who participated, with 5 teams finishing under par gross. As usual lots of banter on the patio, especially when Ken Pearce announced his team had scored a net 38 for 15 holes…! After an inspection by Bob Mycock, that score was amended to 49, then when the suspicious card was even more carefully examined, the net score became 53…!
Good to see the half-way house in use, we should support the club and make full use of the facility provided. Paul Collins took full advantage of a voluptuous pork pie on offer, carefully packed into a heat retaining parcel complete with napkin. Paul made sure it was a low calorie pie before devouring it as we were passing ladies’ tee…!
Please check your handicaps before playing; there were a few incorrect ones entered on the score cards.
So to the results…
In 3rd on a cpo was team Ellison, Chapman, Copeland & Pigott scoring a nett 49.
R/Up were team John, Nuttall, Chisnall & Thomas scoring 48.
Winner of the day on a cpo was team Broady (that man again) Hayes, Cox and Meir, scoring 48. Shooting birdies on 4, 10 and 15 and an eagle 2 on the 4th ! Worthy winners indeed.
Happy Mondays – 5 August
Reporter: Peter Willson
A fine but cloudy day which brightened up towards the later stages and became warm at 20 deg.
Game: Team Stableford
5 teams / 15 players
Winners: Steve Barlow, Colin Chisnall, Alan Thomas and Tommy Lawless – 27.8 points per player
Second: Mike Bennett and Les Williams – 27 points per player
Please note: I have not created a Happy Monday booking schedule for this week because Monday 26 August is a bank holiday, and is not usually well supported. If you would like to play on Monday 26, book yourself in this coming Sunday evening.
Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow evening (Thursday 8 August)
Tomorrow we book the tees for Friday 23 August, which is Chairman’s Day and BBQ, organised by our outgoing chairman, Mike Bennett.
Peter Herrity Trophy
We play for the Peter Herrity Trophy next Friday: 16 August. This is our annual charity competition.
To remind you, the competition is 18 holes, off yellow tees. Entry fee, payable to Steve in the pro’s shop, is £5.
To enter the competition, go the ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main Lymm Golf Club website. Scroll down to “Senior Section Peter Herrity Trophy” on 16 August, and enter the competition.
You must enter the competition online at least a day before you play. If you intend to play, do it now, to avoid the risk of forgetting. As in all LGC online competition entries, you will not be able to enter on the day of play. Cards that have not been entered online will be disqualified, and will not qualify for handicap.
Welcome Russ Jones
Hello Seniors. I’d like to introduce myself to members of the senior section I haven’t met yet. I recently joined after passing my 61st birthday. I’ve already have met some great guys and played in a couple of matches for the section.
I’ve been a member of Lymm GC since 2010 and have enjoyed most of my golf here in that time. I am married to Helen and have a daughter Hannah, both are not golfers, but interested in how I do.
I am a keen Liverpool fan, though don’t get to as many games as I used to, when I had a season ticket. I am an avid follower of Warrington Wolves, as a season ticket holder, and I’m a cyclist when I can fit it in with my golf.
I worked for Guinness as a Quality manager for 30 years and have the tattoos as a memory of some great times with the company.
I look forward to playing and meeting more members as the season progresses.
Thanks, Russ
Mitre Cup
As usual, the senior section got thrashed by the ladies!
Lymm Golf Club Senior Section 