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

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

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

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

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

Interclub Friendly at Home versus Sale, 21st July

Match Reporter: Mike Pigott

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

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

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

The overall result was Lymm 5.5, Sale 2.5.

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

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

Happy Mondays – 24th July

Reporter: Peter Willson

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

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 27 July) 

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

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

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Last Friday was the penultimate round of the Summer League.

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

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

Date played: 14^th July 2023

Game Played: Round 9 – Summer League  

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

2’s recorded
None

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

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

Notes:

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

Happy Mondays – 17 July

Reporter: Peter Willson

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

4 x 4 man teams took part in Team Stableford:

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

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

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

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

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 20 July) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Captain’s Charity Day

Reporter: Andy Timms

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

Senior Open at Padeswood and Buckley – 4th July

Reporter: John Hayes

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

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

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

Interclub Match, Away at Davyhulme

Match Reporter: Mike Bennett

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

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

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

Tatton League – Away at Styal 11th July

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

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

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

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

Happy Mondays – 10 July

Reporter: Paul Foster

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

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

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

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

The Mitre Cup

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

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

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 13 July) 

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

28th July is our annual Gordon Wood Trophy.

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

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

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

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

Match Report for 23 June, Round 8 of Summer League

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

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

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

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

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

The Mitre Cup

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

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

Hopefully both teams will get 26 players.

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

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

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

Happy Mondays

Reporter: Peter Willson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Mondays Calendar

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

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 6 July) 

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

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

Reporter: Phil Ormesher

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

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

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

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

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

The Hinson Cup – Wednesday 12 July 2023

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

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

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that call you Hobgoblin and sweet Puck,
You do their work, and they shall have good luck:
Are not you he?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2, Scene 1

The author of confusion rules in the LGC Senior Section in these longest days of the year. Peter Willson tells me that he had not reported the correct Division 2 scores last week for the Friday league, and so the Leader Board was incorrect. I think I have now corrected it, showing the top four places in each division.

Both leagues are fairly close run. Just below the top four places after 8 rounds are the following names:

Division 1: 5th, Martin Franks (153 points), 6th= John Hayes (150 points), 6th= Mike Bennett (150 points), 8th Phil Lomas (149 points).

Division 2: 5th= George Clark (149 points), 5th= Stuart Baird (149 points), 7th= Rob Taylor (143 points), 7th= Phil Blake (143 points).

With only two more league matches to go, I think all these players have a realistic chance to win their respective division of the league, by overtaking the top four in each division who are named on the Leader Boards (see here).

***

Note: I am awaiting the Match Report for Round 8 from Peter Willson. I will publish it in next week’s newsletter. I think Peter sent me the wrong attachment in error.

Alas, we now come to more midsummer madness:

Happy Mondays – 26th June 2023

Reporter: Peter Willson

Another “Senior’s Shambles”. It actually was but it was supposed to be a Yellow Ball competition and 3 of the 5 teams played that format. 

Unfortunately the other 2 teams were ruled out for playing a different game!

Results:
1st: Paul Collins, Graham Utton and Peter Willson – 38.3 points
2nd – John Boyle, Ron Thornton and Phil Lomas – 34.7 points
3rd – Richard Yates, Mike Bennett, Colin Crail and Ken Pearce – 30 points

Next week 3rd July – is down as the real Shambles format 

Rules: Use the best and worst individual Stableford score from your team add them together and that’s your team score. 

Consensus seems to be building that we only use “Team Stableford” as our game as we, as a group, seem to have problems in remembering which game we’re playing when the teams are sent out 2 weeks in advance.

The Hinson Cup – Wednesday 12 July 2023

The Hinson Cup is a club competition for all male seniors (55+) of LGC.

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

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 29 June) 

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 14th July, Round 9 of 10 of the summer league. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Please note there is no senior league for June 30 and and July 7, due to other reserved activities at LGC. Book your own tee times if you fancy playing a friendly game on those dates. There are still slots available.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Match Report for 16th June – Round 7 of Summer League

Date played: 16th June 2023
Game played: Round 7 – Summer Session  
Number of cards submitted: 30 – Division 1, 20 players. Division 2, 10 players.
2’s recorded: 3

Division 1:                       
Winner: Peter White – 34 points (on CPO)
2nd= David Waggitt  – 34 points
Paul Collins – 34 points

Division 2:
Winner: Rob Taylor – 33 points
2nd: Alister Cook – 31 points
3rd: Ken Pearce – 29 points

Notes:
Course very dry and running – played over 15 holes. Sunshine cool breeze at first but heated up to 29 deg. C at finish

Handicaps – New handicaps this week ! 5 incorrectly entered on cards – but corrected. Please check your new handicaps

Scores entered – 6 cards with incorrect scores some due to old handicaps being used, and others due to poor maths.

Happy Mondays 19th June

It has been good to see Andy Howarth visit us from Malaga, and play as a guest in the Monday competition.

Thirteen intrepid golfers set out – although in true Seniors style there was a degree of confusion as to which game we were playing – it was that old favourite: Team Stableford

Results :
1st with 31 points – Phil Perry, Alan Thomas, John Booth and Dave Waggitt
2nd – 26 points – Pete Broady, Steve Barlow and Peter Willson
3rd – 25.3 points – Ken Narraway, Eric Cox and John Boyle
4th – 22.3 points – Mike Bennett, Bob Mycock and Andy Howarth

Tatton League – Away at Birchwood 15th June

Reporter: Bob Mycock

Lymm had a tough day at Birchwood for Round 3 of the Tatton League, with the four teams posting 35, 34, 34, and 32. This means we have slipped from our second place, but the next round is at Styal, where we did well last year.

At least Mark Pickles collected a bottle of wine for one of the spot prizes: nearest-the-pin-in-2 on the longest Par 4.

Senior Summer League on 7th July

There has been some confusion as to whether or not we can play the summer league on Friday 7th July, which is Captain’s Charity Day.

David Craggs has just informed me this morning (22 June) he will not be doing a draw for tomorrow. If would like to play on 7th July, please make your own booking. There will be no league game on the 7th.

My nephew breaking records at Lord’s

There is only one Middlesex CCC supporter I know of in the senior section (Andy Timms), but some of you know that I keenly follow the progress of Middlesex top-order batsman Max Holden, who is my nephew (sister’s son).

In the T20 Vitality Blast against Kent last week, Max scored 121 not out off 59 balls, despite not starting until half-way through the Power Play (batting at number 4). This is the highest ever individual T20 score at Lord’s (by any team), and the fast ever individual T20 century at Lord’s (by any team). It’s the second highest Middlesex-player T20 score on any ground. Here is a compilation of his boundaries on YouTube.

Max is an enthusiastic (left-handed golfer), and full member of a London golf club, but does not get much chance to play. I intend to play with him for the first time when this cricket season is over.

Middlesex comes to Old Trafford in early September to play Lancashire in the County Championship. I will certainly be going to watch!

Here is a portrait painting I did of Max (about 60cm x 40 cm) when he joined the Middlesex Academy 11 years ago, age 14.

I have stopped doing portraits now, and am working (from my studio near Altrincham) on a massive panoramic city scene of Manchester.

Send me your news!

If you have anything that you think might interest your friends in the senior section, please to send me material.

Tomorrow I am giving some training to Rob Taylor and Steve Gosling on how to create and publish this newsletter and manage the website. And so I look forward to having Rob and Steve as guest editors. I’m sure they will come up with some fresh ideas!

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

David Craggs, Captain of the Day at Hale last Wednesday, was hoping to build on Captain Paddy’s success of the week before.

It has been reported to me that whilst Dave Cragg’s joke was certainly the longest on record, and it elicited a loud response, most of the sound came from groans rather than laughs!

Here is Dave’s report:

Return Away Match at Hale, Wednesday 7th June

Captain’s Report: David Craggs

The only cloud appearing on the day was the result.

The weather was a touch nippy for the first few holes but soon warmed up with a cloudless blue sky. The course was in excellent condition and the greens watered by hand were very fast.  A few changes to the par 3’s  since last year challenged both teams.

As always the glorious 12^th hole (left) was the signature hole.

The game finished and we had a fine dining meal and an attempt at a joke by me which was probably rated the longest this season to date.

At home against Hale in May Lymm lost 4.5 :3.5 and we faired even worse playing away with Hale winning 6:2.

Our worthy two winning pairs were Paul Collins/ Mark Marsland and Paddy Moran/Duncan Clarke.

Must try and do better against our next opponents Davyhulme away game on Monday 10^th July.

Match Report for 9th June: Round 6 of the Summer League

Date played: 9th June 2023
Game played: Round 6 – Summer Session  
Number of cards submitted: 33 – Division 1, 19 players. Division 2, 18 players.
2’s recorded: 0

Division 1:                       
Winner: Paul Collins – 31 points
2nd: Paul Foster  – 30 points
3rd: David Waggitt – 30 points

Division 2:
Winner: George Clark – 36 points (on CPO of last six holes)
2nd: Eric Cox – 36 points
3rd: Alan Ranscombe – 32 points

Notes:
Course very dry and running – played over 15 holes. Sunshine cool breeze at first but hotted up to 24 deg C at finish. Handicaps – All correct this week !

Disruptions to the Seniors’ (Friday) Summer League in June and July

Reporter: David Craggs

It is noted on the booking sheet for 30/6/23 that Green Golf Events Tour starts from 8.32 am (31 tee times) so it has been decided that round 9 of the Summer 5 from 10 game cannot be played.  If anybody wants to play prior to 8.32 am you can book yourself in.

Friday 7/7/23 is Captains day so again no game can be played.

Friday 14/7/23 Rylands Golf day shot gun start at 10.56 am and course has  to be cleared by 12.45pm.  On this day  we can all play the round 9 of the Summer 5 from 10 game but if the last teams to tee off have to leave the course before finishing hole 15 their scores will be rounded up to 15 holes?

Friday 21/7/23 play round 10 of the summer 5 from 10.

Handicaps

Bob Mycock and Paddy Moran of the handicap subcommittee will be meeting this afternoon to review handicaps. Therefore, please check your latest handicap before you next play in a seniors’ event. I will update the handicaps page on this website as soon as I receive the new list from Bob.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

We live in strange times. Bob Mycock came to Lymm Golf Club on Monday specifically to practise!

Eric Harper’s Funeral

Eric Harper’s funeral will take place at 11:20 on Friday 16th June at Walton Lea Crematorium, Warrington.

Members of the senior section who knew Eric well will be attending the funeral.

Eric’s funeral coincides with our morning bookings for Round 7 of the summer league on Friday 16th June. However, the committee has decided that if anyone wants to attend Eric’s funeral, and yet wants to play in Round 7, they can play in the afternoon. Simply cross your name off the morning booking, and choose any time you want to play in the afternoon. The seniors’ competition box will remain on the table outside the pro’s shop until evening.

Match Report for 2 June: Round 5 of the Summer League

Date played: 2nd June 2023
Game played: Round 5 – Summer Session  
Number of cards submitted: 36 – Division, 23 players. Division 2, 13 players.
2’s recorded: Phil Blake; Mark Marsland; Mike Pigott x 2; Steve Barlow; Mark Pickles

Division 1:                       
Winner: Phil Lomas – 39 points
2nd: Mark Marsland  – 35 points
3rd: Mike Pigott – 33 points

Division 2:
Winner: Colin Chisnall – 35 points
2nd: Ken Pearce – 33 points
3rd: Phil Blake – 32 points

Notes:
Course dry and running – played over 15 holes. Sunshine cool breeze at first but warmer at finish 21 deg C.

Handicaps on cards all correct this week!

Handicaps

The handicap sub-committee will meet next week to review handicaps. I will update the Handicaps page of this website following the review.

There have recently been some complaints, comments and suggestions going around the senior section on the subject of handicaps.

The seniors’ handicapping is based on a system created by our secretary Rob Taylor in the early days of the senior section.

Although Bob Mycock now chairs the handicap sub-committee, Rob still takes an interest and advises. Following some recent contention, Rob has examined the cases, and assures us: “The system is sound and all decisions are definitely statistically based and can stand any scrutiny”.

Therefore, if you feel the handicapping systems is unfair, and is not promoting the interests and goals of the senior section, please approach Rob Taylor, who will gladly show you the spreadsheet that is being used, and why your senior handicap is what it is.

However, at the last committee meeting (last Friday), our chairman Mike Bennett said we will review the handicapping system at the end of this season, and we will try to ensure the membership is in general agreement.

The simplest-sounding solution is ‘WHS’, but, for whatever reason, many senior members have not maintained their WHS, and others self-identify with a curiously low-to-medium WHS handicap that does not correspond to the cards submitted in the winter and summer leagues over the past 12 months.

Tee Booking Schedule tomorrow (Thursday 8th June)

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 23rd June, Round 8 of 10 of the summer league. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Paddy Moran (CoD) more than delivered on his promises with a record-breaking honourable draw at home against High Legh last Friday:
7 wins for Lymm.

I was a proud member of the team, although Paddy gave me a mild bollocking for not being present at his pre-match speech to the team (I was on the practice ground, attempting to recover form with my irons!). I did however hear reports from fellow team members that Paddy’s early-morning speech was truly inspirational, and was somewhat akin to Shakespeare’s redaction of Henry V’s Saint-Crispin’s-day speech at Agincourt:

“Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words…

“And senior golfers of Lymm now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That played with us against High Legh upon Captain Patrick’s day.”

In all seriousness, it was a very enjoyable and very competitive day. John Armstrong did his best to match our handicaps with opposition handicaps as closely as possible. All but one of the matches were very close. And so perhaps it was indeed the influence and the competitive spirit of of our PE-teacher-in-residence that gave us the necessary edge. None of us wanted to report back to ‘Sir’ that we’d lost our match!

Here is Paddy’s report, including all the names of those who fought with us on that unforgettable day:

Interclub Match versus High Legh, Home at Lymm, 26 May 2023

Captain’s Report: Paddy Moran

The sun shone. The course was in great nick as Andrew our Chair of Green was playing the High Legh Course Manager and had no option but to pull out all the stops! Karen and her staff as usual provided an excellent meal. Visitors were very impressed both by the course and the catering. John Armstrong provided me with a fine body of men, and after a rousing pre-match speech – reminiscent of when I Captained Lymm Rugby Club – we set out to do battle.

A very impressive 7-1 Honourable Win (just a little dig at Bob) makes me the most successful CoD.

Mick Pigott / Paddy Moran won 2/1
Stuart Baird / Steve Barlow won 1up
Jeff Ashurst / Steve Gosling won 1up
Andy Timms / John Armstrong won 3/1
John Higgins / Richard Yates lost 3/2
Paul Lennie / Grahame Brickell won 5/1
Mark Pickles / Mervyn Roberts won 2up
Andrew Cox / Peter Willson won 3/2

Excellent, men. Well done!

My post-match joke was better than Bob’s of course. But an ex-friend of mine, Peter 2ll’s, intimated that Bob got a slightly louder response. I have booked Peter an appointment with Amplifon.

Watkins 2:
Well done Colin Hughes and Michael John!

The senior section’s bogey golfers are giving the younger guys a run for their money in the Saturday comps off the white tees.

Colin Hughes came in with the best net score of the day, winning the Watkins Round 2 competition (medal), with 91 net 67.

Michael John came fourth, putting him in the prize money for the third consecutive week, with 88 net 69.

And just as impressive on Saturday was Peter Broady, who came 10th. I know that Peter is not yet quite fighting fit from his recent knee op. It is great to see him beginning to return to where he was a year ago.

Individual Stableford, 26th May, alongside High Legh Match

Only a superb 37 points over 15 holes by David Meir (12) last Friday denied Peter Broady (15) a bottle of plonk in the Friday individual Stableford:

Cards submitted: 24.

Weather: Light breeze, some cloud but lots of sun late morning. Eventually 18 deg. C.

Winner: David Meir, 37 points
Second: Peter Broady, 33 points
Third: Paul Wright, 32 points

Bottle of wine goes to Dave.

Tee Booking Schedule tomorrow (Thursday 2nd June)

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 16th June, Round 7 of 10 of the summer league. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

The funeral of Eric Harper

I have just been informed that the funeral of Eric will take place on Friday 16th June. Details to follow next week.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Well done Michael John, on winning the Gents’ Spring Meeting on Saturday 20th May by a clear 3 shots!

Michael reports that his golf has come on “leaps and bounds” since he’s stopped “competing in the seniors”. The Spring Meeting was indeed a fruitful meeting of the recent logarithmic growth of Michael’s WHS handicap and a subsequent run of good form.

Michael’s first place follows on from Michael’s 3rd place in last week’s Saturday competition (the Watkins Cup round 1). He is the current leader of LGC’s Order of Merit.

And well done to Mike Pigott, who also had a good day on Saturday. Mike has usurped our own Steve Gosling from the top of the Hole-in-One list, a position that Steve had held since last August:

Mike’s Hole-in-One was a perfectly executed shot: one bounce and in:

Interclub Match versus Bramhall, Home at Lymm, 19 May 2023

Captain’s Report: Steve Gosling

The morning did not start well as we had rain for the first 7 holes before it brightened up and clothes dried off.

During those first few holes if you were in the rough ( as I frequently was) you got soaked from the long grass.

Results were an improvement on recent matches (Bob’s captaincy excluded) but we continued our run of honourable draws, i.e. we lost again

Steve Gosling / Mark Marsland – Loss
John White/ David Craggs – Loss
Bob Mycock / Pete Broady – Loss
Mark Pickles / Ken Narraway – Loss
Peter Willison / John Higgins – Win
Mike Pigott/ Grahame Brickell – Half
Paul Collins / John Haynes – Win
Barry Smith / Phil Lomas – Win

Learnings from the day……
Must play from the 10th tee , we appear to win matches from there
All jokes are old ones ….if you have been around as long as some of our members!

Comedy Rankings?

Steve Gosling’s joke – as Captain of the Day – met with a few laughs, a few groans, and a chorus of, “the old ones are the best, Steve!”

However, Steve is by no means the worst stand-up comedian in the senior section. Currently, that title goes to Mark Pickles, yours truly, whose joke at Northenden last year met with almost no laughs, although, to be fair, Dave Craggs’ phone went off just before I was about to deliver the punchline!

I admire anyone who knows he is not a natural-born comedian, but stands up and gives it a go in any case!

Today, by far the funniest after-match speaker in the senior section is Bob Mycock, or at least that’s what Bob Mycock tells me. (I wasn’t there for his last Captain-of-the-Day speech and ‘mermaid’ joke, but he assures me that it ‘brought the house down’.)

However, this coming Friday, at a home match against High Legh, our Captain of the Day will be Paddy Moran. I know Paddy very well, and although we’ve had a lot of good laughs over the last two years, I’ve never pictured him as a stand-up comedian. Nevertheless, Paddy tells me that he is “much funnier than Mycock, and without any of the smut”.

I’m looking forward to the match this Friday (I’m in the team), not least for Paddy’s speech. Did you know that Paddy’s son – who started out as a teacher of French and Spanish – changed career and is now a professional stand-up comedian?!!!

Individual Stableford, 19th May, alongside Bramhall Match

14 cards submitted. Light breeze, rain for the first 6 holes then cloudy but sunny spells. Temperature rose to 18 deg. C.

Winner: Andrew Cox – 30 points
Second: Rob Taylor- 29 points
=Third: Eric Cox and Joe Priestner – 28 points

Andrew receives a bottle of wine.

Interclub Match versus Ringway at Ringway – Wednesday 17th March

Captain’s Report: Trevor Williamson

A glorious day at Ringway today. We all agreed that the score didn’t matter – win, lose, or draw, the opportunity to play on such a good course, in great condition, on such a fine day, was all that mattered. Good job, because we lost 6 1/2  to 1 1/2!! 

Congratulations go to Peter Wilson/Richard Yates, David Meir/Steve Gosling, Andy Timms/John White, who managed to halve their matches.  The other pairings fared less well.  

Andrew Cox/Trevor Williamson, Steve Barlow/Jeff Ashurst, Mike Bennett/Grahame Brickell, Paul Lennie/Barry Smith, Sammy Lee/ Melvyn Roberts, all promise to do better next time, 

Home advantage, where local knowledge, especially on the greens, was the deciding factor.

We hope to demonstrate this in the return leg at Lymm, in June. Turning round a 5 match deficit will be a bit of a challenge, but like the miracle at Jericho, those involved today share a belief it is possible, if selected! 

Tee Booking Schedule tomorrow (Thursday 25th May)

This is the tee booking schedule for play on Friday 9th June, Round 6 of 10 of the summer league. If your name is in the left column, please book for your group. 

Happy Mondays – 22 May

Reporter: Steve Gosling

An assortments of shorts and white legs arrived early on Monday, 6 teams went out for a Team Stableford in the sunshine.

Scooping the cash this week was Phil (four point) Perry and Steve Gosling
A respectable 30.5 average

Second place with an average of 28 were Bob Mycock, Charlie Heath and Phil Lomas

Third with 27.3 , Eric Cox, Pete Broady and Paul Foster

Consensus going forward was to use Senior Handicap and not WHS for the Monday comp, as it’s over 15 holes and WHS for many is outdated with very few 18 hole cards being submitted.

Eric Harper

I was informed today that Eric Harper passed away yesterday. This is indeed sad news for our senior section, and perhaps someone in our section who knew Eric well will send condolences on behalf of us all to his loved ones. I will report further next week, as appropriate.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles