Lymm Golf Club Senior Section

Summer League Round 8 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

It ain’t half hot mum…!

Only 6 players beat par on Friday. Well, It was I believe like playing on the runway at terminal 2 at Manchester, all wearing Benny Hill shorts and silly hats, you know it makes sense to cover up… and slap on the sun cream…

44 hot and bothered entries for round eight of the Summer league, which is now starting to take its final shape. N,n,n,n,n 19 from players from division 1, and 25 from division 2.

No 2s recorded, Mr Gosling is well pleased again!

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Dave Meir with 33pts
R/up – Peter White with 30pts on a CPO
3rd – Paddy Moran (that man again) with 30pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Stuart Baird with 33pts
R/up – Dave Craggs with 32pts on a CPO
3rd – Bob Ellison with 32pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, followed now by newcomer Colin Royle, and Paddy Moran. Clear leader in division two is still our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Stuart Baird, then Barry Smith.

A great run of 9 consecutive pars from Mike Pigott. One ‘keep a six off your card’ from the 1st division: Martin Franks. No-one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ from the 2nd division.

Senior Friday competitions in Ig have been tweaked, such that, all rounds from now on, will not require an NS to be entered for the last 3 holes.

Happy Mondays – 23 June

Reporter Paul Foster

The Four Seasons…!

What a difference a day makes…Play started in the wind and rain, with players donning winter hats (Dave Waggitt’s luminescent hat taking the silly hat award) and coats, with umbrellas a plenty. Not a good day for scoring.

Six teams, consisting of 20 hardy souls, battled through to compete for the gold coins. A really tight battle ensued, with first to fourth places separated by an average of just 0.66 points per person.

Winner of the day were team Craggs, Foster and Narraway, beating by a solitary point that well know solicitor’s firm Copeland, Cox, Lomas & Lee.

Top dog was Steve Rowley with an excellent 34pts. Funnies: from 10 yards, Dave Craggs managed to hit flush, slap bang in the middle the 150yd marker post on the 14th, Dave’s ball rebounded no less than 60 yards back towards the tee he had just left…! Tony Dixon drove into the fairway bunker on the 8th, and played an excellent shot towards the green. His playing partners could not find the ball, until Tony checked the hole, and it was there! A great eagle 2!

By the size of the poop splashed all over Paul Foster’s bag, we have a Pterodactyl soaring above the trees above the 10th hole.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 26 June)

The tee-booking schedule tomorrow is for the Gordon Wood Trophy, an 18-hole competition for Senior Section members only.

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 29 June

Senior’s Calendar

Check the Seniors’ noticeboard for entry sheets for:

The Mitre Cup (Seniors v Ladies) on Tuesday 12 August.

Seniors v Juniors on Wednesday 20 August.

Dave Craggs has updated the Seniors’ Calendar. (See the ‘Senior Section Calendar’ tab.)

Please note that we have moved round 10 of the summer league to 18 July, because it conflicted with the Captain’s Charity Day on 4 July (with a shotgun start at 13:00. 4 July will be a fun comp for the seniors.

BBQ on Friday

If you are attending the Seniors’ BBQ on Friday, please make sure that you have money in your bar account beforehand. Karen will be taking £5 from all names on the list on Friday morning.

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 in October.

The end of our financial year sees a number of our 10 elected members completing their term in office.

We therefore have a seats to fill at this year’s Annual Business Meeting which is on the 17th of October (concurrent with the Presentation Lunch).

We need volunteers now please! A list asking for nominations will be pinned onto the Senior’s Notice Board in the Locker room.

If you would like to give something back to the Senior’s by joining the Committee, please: Add your name to the list, or speak to any member of the existing Committee, or e-mail/ phone the chairman, John Armstrong.

If more applications are received than seats available voting papers will be prepared, and a run off will be held at the ABM.

The closing date for applications is the 15th of October (2 days before the ABM)

Many thanks,
Dave Craggs, Secretary to the Gents Seniors committee.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Firstly, my apologies to Grahame Brickell and all who played at Lllangollen on Thursday 5 June for not including Grahame’s report in last week’s newsletter. Grahame had sent the report in good time, but I missed it off my list of items to include.

To my amazement, Grahame’s report is written in near-intelligible English! Here it is below, without any edits, just to prove that Grahame can communicate effectively in his second language (his first language being Brickellish: ?? && * HAGW pp, c b4 peops + mp 6t, 2 squids Brx ..).

Vale of Llangollen Golf Club – Seniors Open, 5 June

23 Lymm Seniors + 1 invited guest battled the rain & rush hour on the 56 & headed into mid wales last thursday. Low and behold as we passed the ‘Welcome to Wales’ sign the rain stopped, the clouds parted and blue sky was to be seen.. a good omen for the day ahead!
Ok there was a light shower as we downed bacon sarnies & coffee with the more adventurous among us going for a full Welsh fry up l!

So the sun shone, not like back at home & the course was in fine fettle and the majority of the pairs finished on or around par. Mr Treasurer, Steve Gosling, and his partner, the invited guest (Jeff Acton) managed to secure 3rd place prize in the overall comp with 41 points and hence also grabbed our own seniors pot of £15 each followed by Duncan C & our own Welsh man, Les Williams on 39 points raking in £9 each .

Some fine after the game nosh was enjoyed by the majority .. with also a good show of hands to return next year.. can we make it to 28 or even 32?
Drop me a text if u fancy it and i’ll add your name to the list for confirmation when date & times come out in November.. Grahame ..

[ Editor’s note. The Brickellish convention of a two-dot ellipsis rather than the three dots of English grammar is interesting. Perhaps it’s the energy-saving future! ]

Please support Mr Captain, Andy Timms, on Captain’s Charity Day, Friday 4 July

As you’ll know, one of the obligations of the LGC Captain is to raise money for his chosen charity. One of the most effective ways of doing this is the Captain’s Charity Day. In the four years that I’ve been at LGC I’ve participated in two Captain’s Charity Days, but unfortunately I will be travelling back from a week’s holiday on Friday 4 July, much as I would have liked to support my good friend Andy.

Although Andy rarely plays in the Friday competitions, I’m sure that most of you know him well. He is very involved with the Senior Section; he’s on the Seniors’ committee, and represents us to the main committee.

Please join a team, or raise your own team. The event is open to members and non-members. I don’t doubt there’ll be good prizes for the day! I played in a team raised by Grahame Brickell three years ago, and (if my memory serves me) we won second prize.

The cost is £180 per team. Shotgun start at 13:00, with team registration from 11:30, at which time the clubhouse will be open for hot drinks and breakfast orders.

• Format – Team of four, any combination of gents and ladies.
• 85% handicap allowance, best two scores to count on each hole.
• Prizes for nearest the pin on all par 3 holes and the longest drive.
• Beat-the-pro prize on the 13th hole
• Buffet and prize-giving presentation from 18:00
• Mr Captain’s chosen charity is Warrington Foodbank

You can register your team here, in ‘Upcoming Competitions’ on the main LGC website.

Interclub-friendly, Lymm v Northenden, Friday 13 June

Match Reporter: David Donnell-Jones (CoD)

On a dry and bright morning, the visiting Northenden team assembled early in the car park, ready for a competitive days golf. The fine weather set the tone for an enjoyable morning on the course.

After the match, both teams were treated to a delicious lunch provided by Karen, Josh and Lindsey.

A brief recap of the day’s proceedings followed, with the team Captain’s offering his reflections on the day’s events. In an effort to avoid overshadowing Craggzy’s joke from the previous week’s encounter at Hale, the Lymm Captain’s joke was met with a polite silence! 

The day concluded with the announcement of a convincing 6½ to 1½ victory to Lymm. A big thank you to Graham, as always, for assembling such a dynamic Lymm team.

Notable performances:
Andrew Cox & Jeff Chapman won 5 & 4
Trevor Williamson & Ian Goodman won 4 & 2

You have to laugh!

Reporter: Mark Pickles

I was there at the Hale match a few weeks ago, when Craggzy managed only 2-out-of-10 on the laughometer, but apparently David Donnell-Jones’ attempt last Friday at being Lymm’s stand-up comic supremo was even worse!

No fewer than three Senior-Section members – Alan Burton, Paddy Moran and Paul Collins – have approached me since last Friday to say that I need to mention David’s joke failure in the newsletter. Poor David. And to think that Alan Burton is one of David’s close friends!

I would have expected David to be a natural-born comedian. He is surely one of the most jovial characters in the senior section, the kind of person you would expect to be sacked from a funeral directors’ firm for laughing too much!

Paddy Moran on the other hand, who often looks deadly serious, and whom I could imagine driving a hearse, managed 9-out-10 on the laughometer for his Irish joke at Sale GC this year. It’s the way he tells ’em!

Pairs Betterball Competition held on Friday 13th June

Reporter: Peter Willson

A change of competition whilst the Interclub game vs. Northenden was being held 

A fine dry, but breezy day. Thirteen pairs of players took part. 

A close run affair with only 5 points separating the first 5 teams 

Winners: John Mather and Barrie Simpson – 40 points – please see Mr. Treasurer for your prize of a sleeve of balls 

Second: Dave Craggs and Peter White – 39 points 

Third: Alister Cook and Richard Yates – 38 points 

[ Editor’s Note: John Mather is not a member of the Senior Section. ]

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 19 June)

Happy Mondays Game

Match Reporter: Peter Willson

Another dry and part sun / part cloud day, pleasantly warm with a moderate breeze

Game: Team Stableford
18 players – in 6 groups

Winners: Dave Blackledge, Pete Broady and Dave Waggitt – 95 points or 31.7 ppp
Second: Mike Bennett and Richard Yates – 61 points or 30.5 ppp
Third: Steve Bird, Alan Copeland, Steve Gosling and Peter Willson – 115 points or 28.7 ppp

Highest Individual Score: Dave Waggitt – 36 points

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 22 June

Interclub Matches Update

Reporter: Grahame Brickell

We are now halfway through the season of friendly matches (10 played). We have won four of the five home matches, but we have lost all the away matches! We need to do better in the second half, starting at Daveyhulme, and then on to Leigh and Warrington.

Thankfully we have been blessed with mainly fine weather (apart from at Sale GC). Let’s hope it continues.

So far out of the 60 players ‘registered’ to participate, 46 have done so, with Messrs Gosling (played 8) Willson (7) Craggs & Roberts (6 each) topping the matches played leader board. We have some members who are not responding to the poll requests. If you are not interested in playing, message me and I will remove you from the WattsApp group.

Thank you to all those who have played so far and will hopefully continue.

Enjoy the summer. Keep swinging and if the sun’s out, cover up!

Brx.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Round 7 – Summer League – Friday 6th June

Reporter: Peter Willson

In the absence of our esteemed scorer and talented wordsmith, Paul Foster, who is out of the country (again), an abbreviated report of the Summer League Round 7 

Division 1

Winner: Tony Dixon- 33 points
2nd: Arthur Nuttall – 32 points CPO
3rd: Paddy Moran – 32 points 

Division 2

Winner: Sammy Lee – 31 points – on only his second turn out this session
2nd: Steve Bird – 28 points CPO
3rd: Phil Ormesher – 28 points 

2’s
Alan Copeland, Paddy Moran, and Colin Royle

Division league tables will be calculated and updated by Paul on his return next week.

Interclub friendly, away at Hale, Wednesday 4 June

Match Reporter: Dave Craggs (CoD)

Our return away match with Hale GC is always eagerly awaited not only for the golf but also the dining experience, and we were not disappointed.

Sorry to say the result of the match was not as satisfying. We started the day with a slight trauma as the first team had set off and we had a panic as one of the team (no name no shame) had not arrived. We phoned him, and apparently he was at work!

Thank you to Steve Gosling who rang around and found a replacement. Many thanks to Mark Pickles who lives fairly close to Hale, and fortunately made the tee within 10 minutes of the phone call!

Our home game with Lymm resulted in a win for Lymm 4-3 but on their course the result was reversed and Lymm lost 5-2.

Paddy Moran and Mervyn Roberts won convincingly 8 & 6 and the other winners were Steve Gosling and Peter Willson.

Weather was kind to us and overall a very enjoyable day.

[ Editor’s Note: Craggzy attempted a joke, but it only got 2/10 on the laughometer! ]

Happy Mondays Game

Reporter: Peter Willson

A cloudy and at times a chilly morning but it stayed dry 

Game: Team Stableford 

5 Teams – 15 players 

Winners: Steve Gosling and Alan Thomas – 58 points of 29 ppp 

Second: Pete Broady, Sammy Lee, John Mather and Steve Rowley – 28.7 ppp

Highest Individual score – Steve Gosling – 33 points 

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 11 June)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 15 June

Fun competition this Friday – 13 June

While a senior team plays an interclub friendly against Northenden on Friday, the rest of us will, for a change, play a pairs betterball (4BBB) competition with two sleeves of balls for the winning pair. Best Stableford score from the pair for each hole to be recorded on the card.

Seniors BBQ – Reminder

As noted in last week’s newsletter, we are having a BBQ and social gathering on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name as soon as possible if you intend to join us, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Welcome Ian Goodman to the Senior Section

I met Ian for the first time at the away match at Hale last week. I was paired with him in fact, and enjoyed his company. I asked him if he could introduce himself to the Senior Section.

About me

I joined Lymm GC on the 1^st of April this year after playing Society golf on and off for quite a few years.  I made a great decision to join the Senior Section and have already made my mark playing for the team.  Played three, lost three.

I was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire from a line of Scotsmen (so being ‘careful with money’ is in my DNA).  Highlights of my school years were being the singer in a punk band and getting trapped underground for 24 hours in a flooding pothole in the Yorkshire Dales.

My late father played golf off 3 at Southerness (a tough links course in the Southwest of Scotland) but unfortunately his golfing ability didn’t make it into my DNA.  I was a member at Woodsome Hall Golf Club in Huddersfield from the age of nine but gave up when I went to Lancaster University and discovered other less wholesome diversions.  I graduated with a degree in politics and philosophy, but most importantly met my future wife (Dianne) whilst “studying”.  Dianne is a Warrington girl and spent most of her early life in the Ship Inn at Walton (because her mum and dad ran it, not because she had a drink problem).  We’ve been happily married for 42 years now and have a son, daughter and two grandchildren, both girls.  My daughter is following the family tradition and currently lives over a bar in Manchester which her fiancée owns.

After passing basic military training while in the Territorial Army my original plan was to go into the army as a young officer, but a change of heart meant I went into financial services instead.  I started with the Bradford & Bingley Building Society as a trainee and worked my way steadily up the ladder managing branches in Beverley, Hull, Warrington and Wigan.  My first area role was looking after the branch network across Merseyside and Northern Ireland when the troubles were still on (in both places!). I then moved around the banking sector, working for several major banks, ending my career in consultancy work for the Co-op bank.

My last (and most enjoyable) job before retiring earlier this year was as a supervisor at Citizens Advice in Warrington. 

I had an unexpected and inconvenient heart attack / double bypass a couple of years ago but I’m fighting fit again now and still on the long journey towards my first hole in one (a par on the 16th would do).

I’m looking forward to meeting even more of the colourful characters in the Seniors Section and, if they’ll keep letting me wear the shirt, maybe even winning a match for the team.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League – Round 6 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Not such a good day for golf this week, with just 3 players beating their hcap. Why so hard this week compared to last week? Oh, the joys of golf!

43 entries for round six of the Summer league. 19 players in Division 1, and 24 in division 2.

Just one 2 recorded, Colin Royle on the 2nd hole. See the man who now has his own car parking space for your balls.

[ Please note that there were four 2s recorded in Round 5 of the league. I missed them in last week’s report because, for some reason, they were not automatically collated by the I.G. app. The 2s in Round 4 were: Paul Collins, Tony Dixon, Michael John and Phil Lomas. ]

Division 1 Results:

Winner – PC (again) Paul Collins with an excellent 34 pts (you’re getting as boring as Pete ‘down the middle’ Broady now, PC)

R/up – Colin Royle with 31pts

3rd – Dave Meir with 30pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:

Winner – Richard Yates with 31pts

R/up – Joe Priestner (again) with 30pts on a CPO

3rd – Steve Bird with 30pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, followed by Colin Royle, with Pete Broady in 3rd place.

Still leader in division two, and still our favourite, Joe Priestner, followed by Barry Smith then Graham Sweeney.

A remarkable start from Stuart White, missed a 6-foot putt on the 1st for a par and chipped to a millimetre on the 2nd, but didn’t fall in. Would have been 9 points after 2 holes…(took me 10 holes to get to 9pts)…

Once again, no one managed a ‘keep a six off your card’, and in the 2nd division, no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’.

Please ensure you put your correct playing hcap on your card, and ensure your score in Ig is the same as shown on your scorecard. Makes my life much easier.

Happy Mondays Game – 2 June

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry, sunny day with a gentle breeze – the course has greened up significantly after the recent rains and the mad bounces from the parched earth have reduced.

Game : Team Stableford (as ever)
7 teams / 23 players

Winners: just as several players were waiting with anticipation along came ‘those tail end Charlies’ to scoop the gold coins – as is often the case:

First: Mike Bennett, Colin Crail, Rob Taylor and Rich Yates = 111 points or 27.7 points per player.

Second: Pete Broady, Alan Copeland and Phil Lomas = 80 points / 26.7 ppp

Highest Individual score – Phil Lomas – 35 points. Second Tony Dixon – 34 points

Tee-booking Schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 5 June)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 8 June

Seniors BBQ – Reminder

As noted in last week’s newsletter, we are having a BBQ and social gathering on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name if you intend to join us, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Llangollen Senior Open

Tomorrow, 24 of us are heading to the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club for the senior open (4BBB). We’ll report on the event in next week’s newsletter. Grahame Brickell has managed to book six consecutive tee times, starting at 11:00.

Be aware of speeding restrictions on your drive to Llangollen. There are long sections of dual-carriageway and single-carriageway with 50 mph restrictions, monitored by average-speed cameras over several miles. Three years ago, one of our members received two speeding tickets, one for drive to Llangollen, and one for the return home to Cheshire!

Please note that none of the staff at Llangollen speak English. But do not worry; if you can understand Brickellish (i.e. if you can understand Grahame Brickell’s text messages) you’re halfway to understanding Welsh. Brickellish and Welsh are closely related languages. Furthermore, Grahame himself will be on hand to translate.

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Apologies for my causing some confusion in last week’s newsletter. I headlined the away-match report for Ringway with ‘away match report for Hale‘. I have now corrected it.

***

Our Secretary, Dave Craggs, has updated the senior calendar (see the Senior-Section Calendar tab). This includes a date change for the next Tatton Match (away at High Legh, on 12 June), a date change for the Hinson Cup, a date change for the Mitre Cup, a provisional date for a ‘Seniors versus Juniors’ match, and a date set for a ‘Seniors BBQ’.

The Seniors BBQ will be on Friday 27 June, after Round 9 of the summer league, starting at 12:00, at a subsidised cost of £5.00 per person. Dave has put list on the Seniors’ noticeboard. Please add your name if you intend to join us for this social event, to give us an idea of numbers to cater for.

Summer League Round 5 of 10 – Friday 23 May

Match Reporter: Paul Foster

A good day for golf apparently, with 14 players playing to, or beating their hcap. Lots of docked handicaps in WHS!

Forty two entry’s for round five of the Summer league, the half way point.

Twenty one players from each division.

No 2s recorded; Mr Gosling is well pleased.

[ Update, Thursday 29 May: There were in fact 4 x 2s. For some reason the IG app did not record them automatically.

2s scored by Paul Collins, Tony Dixon, Michael John and Phil Lomas. ]

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Colin Crail with 31pts on a CPO
R/up – Duncan Clarke with 31pts
3rd – Michael John with 30pts on a CPO

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Barry Smith with 39pts
R/up – Joe Priestner with 34pts
3rd – Stuart Baird with 33pts

Still leader in division one is PC Collins, still followed Ian Whitehead, Dave Meir and Paddy Moran.

Leader in division two is still our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Graham Sweeney and now Stuart Baird. Joe is the only player under par in either division.

A remarkable card from Barry Smith, 14pts after just 4 holes, 27 pts on the front 9. Barry who plays off 24, was just 3 over par gross after 9 holes.

Top 6 placings on Friday were all 2nd division players.

No one managed a ‘keep a six off your card’, and no one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’ either.

One instance of a NS (not started) instead of a NR (no return) entered on a hole played. Make sure you enter the correct abbreviation.

Tatton League Match Report – 21 May, Styal Golf Club

Reporter: Mike Pigott – Tatton Team Captain

The course at Styal was very dry and fast, and the white tees made it a very tricky prospect. A minimum target of 36 away points per pair looked a difficult task, but Lymm performed very well, getting a great start with Martin Franks and Mark Pickles with 41 points, placing them second overall. This was well backed up by Ian Whitehead and Colin Royle with 38 points, followed by Mike Pigott and Richard Copper, and Russ Sollitt and Rich Shaw, both pairs scoring 36 points.

Birchwood is now lead with 314 points, High Legh 310 points, Lymm 309 points, Heyrose 307 points, Antrobus 295 points, and Styal 289 points. (Birchwood and Styal have now played their home matches.)

Lymm were able to boast all three nearest-the-pin prizes: Richard Cooper (hole 11), Mark Pickles (hole 14) and Rick Shaw (Hole 4), and so the wine store is now building up!

Well done team. The next fixture is at High Legh on 12 June, followed by Antrobus on 16 July.  

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 29 May)

Tee-booking schedule for Sunday 1 June

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

I do not seem to have a report in my Inbox for last Friday’s 15-hole Bottle-of-Wine competition. However, you can see the results here on the main LGC website. Arthur Nuttall takes the bottle with 33 points, beating (near-teetotal) Bob Ellison on a CPO. Duncan Clarke came in third with 32 points. And I should mention that my good friend and fellow Yorkshireman Dave Waggitt came in fourth with 31 points. (Two days before, I had marked Dave’s card in the midweek comp, in which he posted an all-time record of 10 blobs!)

We have had a very active seniors’ week since the previous newsletter. I have received no fewer than three reports of interclub friendlies since last Wednesday. Furthermore, I returned home just over an hour ago through rush-hour traffic from Styal Golf Club, which today hosted this month’s Tatton League competition.

I think that Tatton captain Mike Pigott is pleased with Lymm’s performance today. He will write a report which I will publish in next week’s newsletter. Five of today’s eight-man team were LGC Senior Section members. I don’t want to steal Mike’s thunder, but suffice it to say that his steady strategy for attempting to retain the Tatton Trophy seems to be on plan. (Lymm GC won the Tatton Trophy last year for the first time since its inception, which I think was about 20 years ago.)

Match Report for Away Match at Ringway, Wednesday 14 May

Match Reporter: Russ Jones (CoD)

It was a hectic start to the day for some, as the traffic on the motorway and roads to Ringway were extremely busy.

A clear sky and a slight cool breeze welcomed us to the first tee. Then the sun shone warm and bright for the rest of the round.

The welcome from the Ringway team was very nice. The course played hard and fast (although “not as fast as Lymm”, was the comment from Hale members who played in the Open at Lymm the day before).

Cumberland sausage and mash was served afterwards. Very tasty and, served with a smile, but that was the end of the pleasantries, as we were comprehensively beaten 6 ½ v 1 ½

Russ Jones (CoD)/Grahame Brickell Won 4&3
Alan Burton/ Jeff Ashurst Lost 4&3
Captain/Jeff Chapman Lost 6&5
Charlie Hill/Mervyn Roberts Halved
Ian Whitehead/Peter Broady Lost 3&2
John Armstrong/Phil Lomas Lost 5&4
Koos Alders/Steve Gosling Lost 5&4
Paul Collins/Steve Barlow Lost 3&2

Thanks to Grahame for helping me get through my first Captain of the Day. I hope the team responds better if I’m ever asked to do it again!!

[ Editor’s Note: Well done Russ. You played a captain’s innings at least! ]

Match Report for Home Match against Bramhall – Friday 16 May

Match Reporter: John Armstrong (CoD)

A fine sunny day saw a magnificent home win for Lymm. Unsure whether this was down to the inspired team selection by Grahame Brickell or the management skills of the CoD John Armstrong! Or maybe just luck. However we won 5 games to three.

The winners were:
Mike Bennett and Phil Perry
Paddy Moran and Alan Ranscombe
Paul Collins and Jeff Ashurst
Dave Craggs and Barry Smith
Mervyn Roberts and Colin Hughes

The also rans were:
John Armstrong and Ian Goodman
Grahame Brickell and Mike Pigott
Steve Gosling and Jeff Chapman

Sandwiches, salad and chips were served afterwards: a change from our usual fare, but sufficient for a hot day and the reciprocal of the food we received at the away match.

Match Report for Home Match against Huyton and Prescot – Monday 19 May

Match Report: Steve Gosling (CoD)

The long awaited day finally arrived on Monday when 12 of Lymm’s finest turned up to play the re-arranged match.

A cloudy start and all matches apart from one were closely contested. By the time we got to the finish, the day heated up… as did the golf!

In our match we headed down the 16 one shot down, only to see our opponents hit a drive and a 3 wood and land pin high to claim a 4 net 3… Not even our par was good enough!

In the end everybody has a good day, great meal of gammon, egg, peas and chips and friendly banter in the club house

The result was a loss 4 1/2 to 1 1/2

Well done to Trevor Williamson and Mark Lyons for their victory

On to Sale next…

[ Editor’s Note: Seems to me like we were robbed by lawless visitors from Merseyside.]

Happy Mondays – 19 May

Reporter: Peter Willson

A dry day with some cloud cover and a slightly chilly day after the glorious hot blue sky days we’ve had for the past couple of weeks. 

Game: Team Stableford
16 players – 4 teams 

A confession to those present at the end: your organiser cannot add up (at first) – a recalculation of the scores means that the (only) 4-ball came out on top.

Winners: Les Fecitt, Tony Lambert, Phill Perry and Peter Willson – 113 points / 28.3 points per player.

2 teams in joint 2nd – Eric Cox, Tony Dixon and John Hayes also Charlie Hill, Phil Lomas and Steve Rowley – both teams had 82 points or 27.3 ppp

Highest Individual score – Les Fecitt – 31 points. Two players on 30 points – John Hayes and Steve Rowley

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 22 May)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 25 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Summer League – Round 4 of 10

Reporter: Paul Foster

Good to return to the seniors league competition on a hot and sunny early summer’s day, with the ball bouncing a long way down the fairway (if you managed to hit the fairway that is). Still noticed a few members without a silly hat, you know the phrase gentlemen from Sid the seagull, slip, slop, slap, you know it makes sense…

Forty six entry’s for the forth round of the Summer league, 22 players from Division 1 and 24 players from Division 2.

Two 2s recorded, Paddy Moran & Colin Royal (with a 2 on the par 4 11th !!)

Division 1 Results:
Winner – Paddy Moran with 34pts on a CPO
R/up – Dave Meir with 34pts
3rd – Colin Royle with 33pts

Division 2 Results:
Winner – Alan Copeland with 34pts
R/up – Jeff Chapman with 33pts
3rd – Graham Sweeney with 32pts

Early leader in the 1st division is PC Collins, closely followed Ian Whitehead, Dave Meir and Paddy Moran.

Leader in the 2nd division is our favourite Joe Priestner, followed by Graham Sweeney and Alan Copeland, these three are the only players under par from both divisions.

Please check your WHS hcap for next week, makes my job a lot easier if all players put on their card their correct hcap.

Just three cards marked incorrectly (as usual entering the gross and nett score under column ‘A’ and entering the stableford points scored in column ‘B’, instead of the ‘Points’ column), and a new one on me this week, putting the gross score and stableford points scored in the ‘points’ column, and only for the back 6 holes. It’s the same players every week, so I think I’ve gone as far as I can with this. No more about it from me..!

One ‘keep a six off your card’, Duncan Clarke in the 1st division.

No one managed a ‘keep a seven off your card’, in the 2nd division.

49 cards handed in, 46 entered into Ig, remember playmates, players not entering their scores into Ig will NOT be in the competition.

Inter-club Senior Friendly, Lymm vs Hale – Friday 2^nd May

Reporter: Mr Captain, Andy Timms (CoD)

Another dry and sunny day greeted the two teams, with Hale our visitors for the day. Speaking with their captain, I learnt that they have been struggling to get the numbers to put teams out, hence the reduction to 7-pairs match. However they said that for the Lymm game they were over subscribed and would have been able to fill the extra game if needed. I think we can take as a compliment for our course and team.

The matches themselves were all played in a good spirit and were rounded off by an excellent fish and chip lunch, so a good day had by all. 

The results, a positive one for the home side, with Lymm coming out 4-3 winners overall. Individual match results below :

Captain & Peter Willson – Lost 5&4
Andrew Cox & Barry Smith – Won 1 up
Tommy Lawless & Dave Craggs – Lost 2&1
Russ Jones & Stephen Bird – Won 2&1
Richard Smyllie & Sammy Lee – Won 4 & 2
Mark Lyons & Mervyn Roberts – Lost 3&1
Grahame Brickell & Phil Lomas – Won 3&1

Overall Result – Lymm 4 – 3 Hale

Inter-club Senior friendly, Lymm V Helsby, Monday 12 May

Reporter: Pete Broady (CoD)

The day started with the prospect of thunder and lighting in the afternoon.
Thankfully the day turned out to be dry, although hot and humid.

As the results show some very close fought matches.

RESULTS.
 Broady+Bramall: Match Halved
Mr. Captain + Ashurst: Match Halved.
 Smyllie+ Perry:  Match.  Halved.
 Jones + Willson:  Match.  Halved.
 Collins+Whitehead: Won.  2 up.
 Meir + Bird: Won 3+2.
 Lawless+Craggs: Won 4+3.
Armstrong +Gosling: Lost 5+3.

Overall result: Lymm 5 – 3 Helsby.

Good to hear great remarks about our course and, after the match, the steak pie, followed by Danish cheesecake.

Look forward to playing the return match at Helsby in August.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 15 May)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 18 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Bottle of Wine Competition – Friday 2 May

Reporter: Paul Foster

A marvellous early summer day, little cloud, and a full sun all round, hope you all slapped on the sun cream and donned a silly hat?

Winner of the wine of the day was Joe Priestner, with a tremendous 36 points over the 15 holes. Joe is another one saying goodbye to his present hcap!

This week 13 players beat their hcap.

Runners up were Ken Pearce, Michael John, Andrew Ransom & Koos Alders, all with 34 pts.

Notables:

35 entered their scores into Ig. Just 2 incorrectly marked cards, one with nett score added in column ‘A’, and the other had Stableford points entered in the ‘B’ column. All the rest were blob on! Well done boys.

Don’t forget to enter NS (Not Started) for holes 16, 17 & 18. Do not enter NR (No Return) for holes 16, 17, and 18, because the WHS will assume that you played them, and had a bad score. This will result in an incorrect adjustment to your handicap.

Dave Meir had two 2s and 4 birdies in total.

Mark Pickles had the lowest gross overall, with 65.

Lowest gross front 9 were Koos Alders & Mark Pickles with 37.

Well done also to Mike Bennett, Howard Jones, Dave Waggitt who scored only +3 over par on the back 6 holes.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 8 May)

Happy Mondays

There was no Happy Mondays competition this week, due to the bank holiday. And no tee-booking is necessary this Sunday because there is another bank holiday Monday on May 26.

Interclub-friendly against Hale on Friday 2 May

I have not a received match report. If I receive one before next Wednesday, I will publish it in next week’s newsletter.

Newsletter Editor – Mark Pickles

Another shorter newsletter this week, largely because there is no report for the match against Huyton and Prescot last Friday. The H & P team failed to turn up, somehow thinking the match was to be played on the following Monday!

Friday Bottle of Wine Competition

Reporter: Paul Foster

A marvellous late Spring day, light cloud, an intermittent coolish breeze, and a relatively empty course. What’s not to like…?

Winner of the wine of the day was Steve ‘the actor’ Barlow, with a tremendous 36 points over the 15 holes, and the only one to beat his hcap. Say goodbye to playing off 16 Steve!

Runners up were Colin Royle, Arthur Nuttall & Bob Ellison, all with 29 pts.

Notables:
23 entered the BOW competition
22 entered their scores into Ig
2 incorrect hcaps entered on the card
2 incorrectly marked cards

All the rest were blob on..!!

Happy Mondays Report

Reporter: Peter Willson

A lovely late Spring day – blue skies, no wind, ground firm – so why did the majority of us score so poorly? Not many excuses can be found.

Game : Team Stableford

6 teams – 19 players.

Winners: Mike Bennett, Pete Broady, Ken Pearce and Ken Rigby – 116 points or 29 ppp
2nd: Phil Perry and John White  – 47 points or 23.5 PPP

High Score of the day – it’s that man again – Pete Broady with 33 individual Stableford points.

Tatton League

Reporter: Mike Pigott (Team Captain)

The first round of the Tatton League took place on Monday 28 April at Birchwood, in glorious sunshine.

Lymm Seniors, the holders, picked from their tried and tested squad from the last few years, plus four or five new additions who are available for selection.

Mike Pigott and Dave Meir finished with 38 points, after a sticky patch in the middle of the round, following by Ian Whitehead and Colin Royle, also with 38 points. Third home were the reliable pair of Andy Timms (Club Captain) and Mark Pickles, again with 38 points. The last pair, Richard Cooper and Steve Gosling excelled themselves with 44 points. A great debut for Steve, who said, “I enjoyed playing with Richard today”. Who wouldn’t, the way Richard plays!

Dave Meir and Richard Cooper won nearest the pin prizes, and Richard and Steve missed out on the best score on a back-nine card playoff.

Scores after Round 1 of 6:

High Legh: 163 points
Birchwood: 159 points
Lymm: 158 points
Heyrose: 157 points
Antrobus: 151 points
Styal: 145 points.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 1 May)

Happy Mondays Tee-Booking Schedule for Sunday 4 May

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles

Apart from the tee-booking schedules, there is not much to report this week, due to the lack of senior-section golfing events over the Easter holiday period.

However, congratulations are due to Pete Broady, who came second in the Saturday competition (Stableford), in a field of about 150 players.

For anyone interested in nature, I heard a Cetti’s warbler today by the 6th tee, the same place I frequently heard one last year. It’s a rare bird that I will report to Brian Ankers, who monitors the birdlife on Lymm Golf Club, and puts up the nest boxes, and is connected with a network of ornithologists throughout the region. Brian writes the ‘Wildlife Report’ on the main LGC website. Here is the song of the Cetti’s warbler on YouTube. It is very distinctive, and very loud. Other summer visitors I have heard (but not yet seen) are whitethroats and chiffchaffs. I have yet to see a swallow at Lymm this year, but I’m sure we’ll start to see them any day soon, as they arrive back from South Africa to the place where they were born.

Tee-booking schedule for tomorrow (Thursday 24 April)

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 27 April

Newsletter Editor: Mark Pickles