Author: Richard Booth

We still have spaces available in the Pro Shop Christmas draw. The price is £2 for one or six for £10. The prizes are fabulous and are vouchers for the following amounts:

• 1st – £250
• 2nd – £200
• 3rd – £150
• 4th – £100
• 5th – £75
• 6th – £60
• 7th – £50
• 8th – £40
• 9th – £30
• 10th – £25

Please get involved by popping into the shop or replying to this newsletter. Thanks to everyone who has entered already.

Plus the Spurk mats are selling well and we’ve had great feedback on them. Will thinks it’s all down to his appearance in the 30 second explanation video 😁 If you’ve not seen it, please click here and for more details click here. They are priced at £24.99 or £32.49 with a carry case.

Front Nine Stableford with Mulligans

Helen Davies won last Thursday’s competition with 20 points. Gail Sampson finished in second place with 19 points. Each mulligan was priced at £1 with all the proceeds going to charity.

Quiz

The winner’s of last Friday’s Quiz Night were Johnny’s Angels. Well done all and thanks to Tracey for this brilliant photo.

Not too much to report golf wise this week as the heavy rains have just engulfed us. The ladies comp was rained off on Thursday but the dinner the night before still went ahead – you an read about this below.

Plus we have a new mat in stock and we also look at simple but really useful gift idea for that special golfer in your life.

Spurk Mats

We have just taken delivery of a new golf mat, which having just tried it, performs really well. It is compact (approx 12 inches x 4.5 inches) and as you can see from the photos below, it has teeth on the underside of the mat. This keeps it from moving during a shot.

The Spurk mat retails at £24.99 or can be bought with a carry case for £32.49. Click here for to visit their website for more information and please take a look at the video below, with Will taking centre stage.

Ladies Dinner

This took place last week. Not all the winners were able to attend but those that were are photographed below. Anne Webster won the Medal Final, Amanda Greaves won the Secretary’s Prize/Cup, Tiff Fielden was the winner of the birdie tree and the eclectic gross and Terri Broadbent won the eclectic nett.

Dinner was followed by a Ukrainian dance troupe who added colour to what looked like a great evening.

Christmas Present Ideas

How about giving that special person in your life some golf tuition? Vouchers are available from the Pro Shop for exactly what you require – whether it’s a brush up on the range or in the simulator using Trackman or a few holes on the course, we can create the perfect gift for you.

If you’re not sure what might fit the bill, you can just pay for an amount of time and the recipient can decide how they would like to use it.

Please contact us in the shop for more details or reply to this message to book or for further details.

Thanks to those of you who have already purchased some Pro shop Christmas draw tickets. Don’t despair though if you haven’t yet got round to it, there are still plenty to go at! The price is £2 for one or £10 for six. Please pop in or email to take part. Thank you.

PROMOTION: Ping Putters, Hybrids and Driver

Grab a bargain pre Christmas. I have six Ping 2021 putters in stock which I am reducing from £239 to £179 with immediate effect. Also I have some G425 hybrids reduced from £219 to £199 plus a G425 SFT driver which is now at £379 instead of £419. Sorry lefties, they are all right handed ☹ Please hurry though because once they’re gone, they’re gone!!

Bogey 3

Well done to current gentleman captain David Wainwright for winning Bogey 3 at the weekend with a score of three up. Both Danny Fox and Mike Massey recorded the same score but were beaten into second and third spots respectively following a card play off.

Poppy Appeal Nine Hole Stableford

This Poppy Appeal nine hole stableford was a huge success. It was played over two separate days and the club raised a whopping £555 for the Royal British Legion which was fantastic (see the letter below).

The men’s winner was Andrew Gething with 21 points and Min Fishwick won the ladies prize with 19 points. They each received a lovely medal with a poppy etched on to it.

Seniors Bradley 2

John Moss finished on top in a three way tie with 21 points following a card play off to win the Bradley 2 front nine stableford competition in the seniors section last week. Bob Siddle was second and Ian Goulty finished in third place.

Photos

This week sees the second half of the hugely popular Poppy Appeal nine hole competition taking place on Thursday.

Plus in the shop, we have some new ladies and mens winter clothing ranges. These items could make excellent presents or why not just treat yourself?

The Pro Shop Christmas draw has just started. Numbers are £2 each or £10 for six. You can enter in the shop or just reply to this email and we can sort out payment between us.

The ten prizes in the form of Pro Shop credit will be as follows: £250, £200, £150, £100, £75, £60, £50, £40, £30 & £25. 

Junior Awards

On Sunday, we staged the 5th end of season junior awards presentation day. We had 28 golfers play a nine hole competition at 1400 followed by over 50 people dining. We then went through a review of the junior golfing year here at HGC.

First of all we announced the winners of the eight junior competitions, four adult junior events and the Order of Merit.

We also explained that 2022 was the first year we had played in the Mid Cheshire Junior League (MCJL). The four other clubs in our league were Delamere Forest, Styal, Warrington and Bramhall.

We remembered Matthew Hodder for winning the men’s summer stableford competition and we reminded the attendees that six juniors got their WHS handicaps in 2022. They were Ollie Grieves , Rory Hobbs , Alex Keeling , Tommy Lamb , Sam Morris & Caspian Sands.

We also announced the winners of four trophies. Hector Neary and William Meadowcroft won the Best Newcomers awards while Ollie Grieves and Sam Morris won the Improver awards.

Finally, we announced the winners of the four person team competition that had taken place earlier that day. It was a tie at the top with both winning teams scoring 36 points. One team consisted of Charlie Hindle, Peter Hindle, Sam Morris & Noelle Morris. The other team was Caspian Sands, Ian Roebuck, Ollie Grieves and John Book. Well played everyone and bonus points should have been awarded for battling the elements.

Ladies Bonfire Sparkly Better Ball stableford

Congratulations to Min Fishwick, Kathleen McNairney & Ann Mattocks for winning the front nine Bonfire Sparkly Better Ball stableford with 38 points. The runners up were Sally Budd and Vicki Wells who battled round as two player team to get a very creditable 37 points.

As of the 1st November, we have gone onto the use of mats from closely mown areas (fairways and fringes) and electric trolleys must now have winter wheels.

On Sunday, we have the year end junior awards golf day followed by dinner at 1700, which will host approximately 50 juniors, relatives and friends.

It’s a shotgun start at 1400 so there won’t be any tee times available from 1210 to ensure the course is clear. If you want to play during this period that will be fine but please ensure that you leave the course by 1345. Many thanks on behalf of the junior section.

Back Nine Stableford

Well done to Tiff Fielden for winning the ladies nine hole comp on Saturday with 20 points. Ann Coulson was point behind to secure second spot, beating Kerry Gill on a card play off. 

David Rodwell recorded a fine score of 23 points to win the men’s prize. Barry Jefferies was runner up with 22 points. Nick Maxwell was third having been beaten on a card play off by Barry.

There was just one two recorded from the whole field and that was made by Paul Simpson.

Ladies Competitions

Congratulations to Kairen Seaton for winning the 18 hole competition from last week with 40 points. Kerry Gill finished in second place with 38 points.

The back nine stableford was won by Kathleen McNairney with 18 points. Mandy Gilbert also scored 18 points but was beaten into second place after a card play off.

Seniors Texas Scramble

Roger Sheen, Chris Ravenscroft and Glynn Isaac won Wednesday’s nine hole Texas Scramble with 22 points. There were then three teams tied on 21 points and coming second on a card play-off were Ian Hunt, George Buchan and Bill Harvey. Dave Swale, Tony Sampson and Rob Manley finished in third place.  

Happy Halloween!

Thanks to junior member Ollie Grieves for sharing this photo with us. I thought it was excellent and perhaps their new strap line should be #numberonepumpkiningolf 😁

As hopefully you are aware we are currently playing preferred lies. The rule on using mats and winter wheels on electric trolleys will be introduced soon as the weather deteriorates. In the meantime though, if you could start to use your winter wheels anyway, it would help to protect the course that little bit more. Thank you.

Lady and Gentleman Captain Nominates

So Thursday saw the announcement of the captain nominates and they are Roger Laitt and Jan Ravenscroft. They can be seen below with the current captains David Wainwright and Judy Pinnington. I’m sure they’ll do a great job too and we wish them all the very best when they start their duties in March 2023.

Bogey 2

Congratulations to Tony Bray for winning on Saturday with a fantastic score of seven up. John Kennedy finished runner up with four up and Ben Fallows was third with three up.

It was a bumper day for twos with eleven being recorded, two of which were snaffled by Freddie Gillan.

Well done Sally Budd for winning Thursday’s 18 hole max medal competition with a nett 71. Diana Harris, back from her travels down under, won the nine hole max medal with a nett 33. Mandy Gilbert was tow shots adrift to secure the runner’s up spot. It was played over the front nine.

Seniors Bradley 1

Well done to Graham Jones for scoring 21 stableford points to win this event last Wednesday. Eric Healey scored the same but was beaten into second place following a card play off. Ian Macklin finished third with 20 points.

There wasn’t a men’s competition last Saturday but we’re looking forward to Bogey 2 this weekend.

The ladies started out in the fog on Thursday and finished in glorious sunshine for the lady captain vs lady secretary match. The winning team was the lady captain’s side. We have some before and after photos kindly supplied by Terri Broadbent and Tracey Thompson below.

Roll Ups

As a reminder or this might be new information for newer members, the club runs various roll ups during the week. These are exactly what they say on the tin – if the time suits you, just arrive at the first tee ready to play. They are a great opportunity to meet other members and play in a relaxed, fun format.

The days and times are as follows:

• Tuesdays at 1000 – ladies 9 hole roll up
• Tuesdays at 1050 – gents 9 hole roll up followed by lunch
• Tuesdays at 1300 (or 1230 when the clocks go back) – gents 18 hole roll up
• Saturdays at 0830 (when a competition is not scheduled) – gents 18 hole roll up
• Saturdays at 1300 (or 1230 when the clocks go back and again this only takes place when a competition is not scheduled) – gents 18 hole roll up.

A brief missive this week including some results, photos and news of a hundred year anniversary.

Please also note that we’ve been having internet difficulties if you’ve been struggling to get through to either the Pro Shop or the Clubhouse.

Men’s Invitation

There was a good turnout for Saturday’s Invitation. The winners are pictured below and from left to right are Gareth Williams, Andrew Rattray from Mere GC, the gentleman captain David Wainwright, Jason Wright and Brian Greenbank.

Ladies Competitions

Well done to Kerry Gill for winning last Thursday’s 18 hole stableford. Nicola Kitching won the nine event.

Anniversary

The gentleman captain David Wainwright announced at Friday’s hot pot supper that it was the hundredth anniversary of the first. Thanks to Chris Wood for the minutes from the Council meeting on the 6th November 1922 below:

• It was decided that no alteration should be made in the wages of the employees. 
• A Hot Pot Supper was arranged for Dec 13th, the 1st function of the kind in the history of the club. 
• Mr O’Hanlon reported that Mr France had made suggestions as to enlarging the pavilion. Mr Evans offered to have a plan made and the matter was deferred. 

In case, you weren’t aware, we are now playing preferred lies on closely mown areas. It’s Wednesday lunch time as I write this and it’s been bucketing down all morning so we might have a slightly soggy course for a little while.

Bogey 1

Well done to Chris Ravenscroft winning Bogey 1 on Saturday with a good score of three up. Mike Kirchin also recorded the same score but was beaten on count back. Peter Veitch finished in third place.

Seniors Four Clubs & Putter Nine Hole Competition

The seniors took advantage of the new course layout by playing a five club challenge last Wednesday. I’ll let Chris Adams take over from here.

Twenty players took to the sunny fairways, with carefully selected 4 clubs, putter, and many with their pencil bags to enjoy playing the new course from the red tees. On balance looking at the results one might be tempted to ask if we really do need the other 9 clubs? Well played gentlemen with over half the field scoring 15 points or better.

On the first official competition to be played on the new course layout congratulations to Ian Pinnington who won six balls with 20 points on a card playoff (back six) from Tarik (four balls), with Bill Wrigley third on 19 points (two balls). Bill was also the very first player, and only one this morning, to record a competition two on the new fourth hole and wins a further three balls.

Next up is the front nine hole Bradley 1 from the yellow tees on 19 October.

Ladies Autumn Meeting

Last Thursday, the ladies played in their Autumn Meeting which a team competition with a shotgun start followed by lunch. The winning side were Kathleen McNairney, Vanessa Veitch and Freda Hunt. The runners up were Vicki Wells, Rosie Gerrard, Jane Perks and Sue Bromley. Both team are pictured below with lady captain Judy Pinnington.

Ladies Away Weekend

Thanks to Sue Bryant for sending in these snaps of the recent ladies overnight trip. The winning team were Fran Adamson, Gwynneth Bramwell, Kairen Seaton and Linda King. The runners up were Jackie Murphy, Janet Grant, Caroline Perkin & Terri Broadbent. Gwynneth also won the nearest the pin prize. Thanks go to Sue Fallows and Jo Egerton for organising and my apologies if I’ve missed anyone out!

My Golf

Last week, the gentleman captain encouragingly suggested I should write about some of my golfing exploits so here goes. On Monday morning I played in the semi final of the inaugural Cheshire & North Wales PGA Seniors Matchplay Championship at Wilmslow GC and won my match. The final was then played at the same venue in the afternoon and I’m delighted to report that I won that too.

I must admit that it wasn’t a huge field but as they say, a win’s a win 🙂 Here’s a link to the tweet from the PGA. And for those of you who stumbled across this information and reached out to me, thank you for your kind words.

So on Monday, the short 7th / 16th hole, known as Farm, was taken out of action and has been replaced by BollinView / Riverside. These will be the new 4th / 13th holes. Below is a reminder of the other course changes that have been implemented. This information appeared originally in a Greens missive which was sent out last week.

• Ladies 1st and 10th swap around.
• Crowbank becomes the 5th (playing to the front flag) and the 14th (playing to the back flag).

The path to the new holes is only partly finished and Greens ask that all members take care when using the paths in this area.

The transition from the Bollin View / Riverside green to the 5th / 14th tees is via a new grass path, can we ask all members to use this path and not to attempt to walk down the side of the the 3rd / 12th.

New course cards are now available in the Pro shop and next to the PSI terminal outside the Secretary’s Office.

As we have had to redesign the course scorecards to incorporate our new hole we have taken the opportunity to fully review our Local Rules, Course Etiquette and Warnings.

This has lead us to review our Local Rules (LR) to ensure they are up to date and comply fully with the Rules of Golf. Please note therefore that the full wordings of the Club’s Permanent LR will, in future, be posted as a Notice on the Greens Committee Noticeboard. Any Temporary LR (such as the introduction of Winter Play Rules) will also be posted there for the period during which they apply. These will be kept up to date at all times.

Ladies Competitions

Congratulations to Jan Ravenscroft for winning last week’s 18 hole stableford with a cracking score of 40 points. Chris Marsh was four points behind to clinch second spot. The back nine hole stableford was won by Paul Keeling with a whopping 23 points. Jean Green finished as the runner up with 21 points.

Better Mobility in Your Golf Swing

I think we all could all do with a little more of this. Click here to watch a video that contains four exercises that takes two minutes that you can do everyday. I’ve found Fit for Golf to be a good resource for many golf related strength, fitness and health matters.

Shot Scope

I have been using the Shot Scope V3 GPS and shot tracking watch for the last couple of months and have found it really interesting. If you’re a bit of a golf nerd like me, please click here to watch a short video where Peter Finch explains more about it. Many of Shot Scope’s products are on offer at the moment so please let me know if you like me to source one for you. For instance the V3 is now £139.99 instead of £179.99.

Photo

Thanks to David Wells for sending in this atmospheric snap of a misty first hole from last week.