Author: Richard Booth

Well done to Jon Rahm for being the first ever Spaniard to win the US Open. I kept my eyes propped open with matchsticks to see him birdie the 17th but had to to then retire whilst he went onto birdie the 18th as well. He was by far the most impressive golfer on the back nine and this win catapults him into a different league of golfers.

Well done to England for qualifying last night for the last 16 of the Euros without conceding a goal. It looks like next Tuesday will be stiff competition but on the plus side, if you’ve no interest in the “beautiful game” then the course is likely to be pretty quiet!

Open Sweepstake

So the US Open is no more but the good news is that the next major is the Open Championship from Royal St Georges in Kent in July. To mark this occasion, the Pro Shop’s Open Sweepstake returns. Tickets are £5 for one go or £10 for three goes. Prizes are for your player finishing in the top three overall and also for the best and worst score of each of the four tournament days.

Please enter in the Pro Shop or drop me a line and I’ll allocate you some spots and you can pay me when you’re next at the club. Good luck!

Match of Champions

On Saturday, a fun match was played when the current gentleman captain Johnny Yates’ side took on the previous gents captain Chris Wood’s side. Johnny’s team was victorious on the day. As you can see below, the main purpose of the day was to present prizes that have been won over the last 18 months or so that because of Covid restrictions were never formally presented. Hence this most photo packed newsletter that I think we’ve ever done!

Well done to Ian Hunt and captain Johnny for working tirelessly before and during the proceedings to ensure it all ran smoothly.

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Adult Junior

The turnout was lower than usual for Saturday’s Adult Junior competition, perhaps Friday evenings are the way forward? Despite that, the winning score of 23 points for Sam Morris and Dan Turkington was superb so well played gents.

Handicap Information

We’ve prepared WHS charts now for the front nine, back nine and 18 holes from the blue tees, the men’s tees of the day and the red tees which are now on display in the window next to the first door into the clubhouse (as per the photo below). This should help you work out handicap allowances for any friendly or knockout matches you might be involved in.

Medal 4

The scoring was hot in Medal 4 which took place on the 11th June. Tony Sampson burned the course up with a gross 80 and a nett 64 to win by one stroke from Jez Allen. Roger Sheen finished third with a nett 67. Brian Greenbank scored the lowest gross of the day with a 73. Well played all!

Ascot Day Stableford

Congratulations to Tiff Fielden for scoring an excellent 39 points to win the 18 hole Stableford. Freda Hunt was pipped into second place with 37 points but did win the Granny Cup so well played.

Diana Harris won the nine hole stableford with 20 points and Val Nelstrop was second with 19 points.

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Seniors Stableford 3

Well done to Graham Jones for getting back into the winners circle on the 16th June by winning the third stableford of the season with 21 points. John Bacon finished one point behind in second place.

Just a short memo to explain that we have Callaway demo day here at Hale GC on Wednesday 16th June. We’ve had a couple of late cancellations so if you’d like to come along and be fitted by Tom, one of Callaway’s expert fitters without any fee then please email me asap to secure your place. Thank you.

Things are still busy meaning I’m a little late with this missive so it’s a bit of a catch up edition. Hope you enjoy the news from recent weeks.

Professional Golf

Well done to nineteen year old Yuka Saso for winning the US Open in San Francisco at the weekend and becoming the first Filipino to win a major championship.

And what about Jon Rahm having to withdraw from the Memorial tournament on the PGA Tour with a six shot lead after being told he had tested positive for Covid… that must have been hard to take.

Gentleman Captain’s Day

Back at Hale, Alex Halliwell stepped in at the last minute to join Sean Dwyer and Paul Bramwell and win the Gentleman Captain’s Day team event on Sunday with 86 points. The experienced group of John Bacon, Keith Thompson and Rob Manley finished in second place with 81 points.

Ladies Results Round Up

Congrats to Mandy Gilbert and Gill Kay for winning the Ping 4 ball better ball competition on the 3rd June with 43 points. Lady captain Irene Kirk and Gillian Brogdon were two points behind in second place. Rosemary Bowden won the back nine stableford with 17 points.

On Thu 10th June, Pat Jefferies played great to shoot a nett 69 and win the Centenary trophy. Poor Janet Grant had the same nett score but was beaten on countback. Kerry Bailey won the front nine hole stableford with a very good 21 points.

Father’s day items

Don’t forget Father’s Day is a week on Sunday so why not pop in the shop to buy that super special man in your life with some golf gear? Some suggestions:

• Golf Balls
• Hale GC crested golf balls, polo shirt, sweater, headcovers, towel, cap etc
• Shoes
• Golf glove
• Lessons eg. 45 minute lesson or an on-course playing lesson
• Brolly
• Driver
• Electric trolley

There are lots of options so why not pop in and chat with Phil, Will or I for some inspiration?

Ping Demos

I have lots more men’s Ping demos than usual as I have borrowed my Ping ASM’s supply until the 22nd June. I have right and left hand drivers, fairways, hybrids and crossovers. Please pop in to discuss how they could help you improve your game.

Cheshire Junior Team Championship

Over half term, Charlie Hindle, Alex Mills and Dan Turkington took part in this event at Lymm GC. It’s the first time we’ve been able to field a team in this competition for some time so the boys did well by finishing 14th out of the 26 teams that entered. Alex even had the pleasure of playing with the step son of a very famous local Ryder Cup golfer – I’ll let you ask Alex to find out the details!

Frolic

Well done to Mandy & Paul Gilbert, Tiff Fielden and Bob Cooke for winning the end of May bank holiday Frolic with 51 points. In second place, on the same score but beaten on a card play off, were Pam & Bill Dixon and Gillian & Eric Healey.

Just a quick (and a little belated) round up this week as it’s been another hectic one at the club.

I’m writing this from our family holiday cottage in Amble in Northumberland. The weather thankfully is dry (not too much sun… yet 🤞) and we’re all looking forward to exploring the regions beautiful beaches and scenery over the coming days.

USPGA Championship

There were thumbs up all round 👍🏻 as Phil Mickelson won the USPGA Championship on Sunday on the brutally difficult but beautiful Kiawah Island golf course. He managed his game far more successfully than Brooks Koepka seems to manage his disdain of Bryson DeChambeau on social media but I guess that’s another story…

Ladies Results

Well done to Caroline Massey for winning Thursday’s Max Score Medal. Nicola Kitching won the 9 hole stableford with 18 points. Chris Marsh won the Alt Day Max Medal with a stunning nett 65.

The previous week, Tiff Fielden won the 18 hole Par and Min Fishwick won the 9 hole stableford with an excellent 20 points.

Other Results

The scoring in Medal 3 on Saturday 22nd May as very good. Lee Bramley was delighted to win with a nett 63 beating Alex Mills by just one stroke.

Dan Turkington won Tuesday‘s 9 hole stableford with a level par score of 18 points.

Matches

We’ve even managed some club matches recently with the men taking on the Police on Wednesday.

Plus the ladies advanced into the next round of the Bell Cup by beating Birchwood GC away from home. The score was an emphatic 5:2. Their next opponents will be Davenport or Shaw Hill.

On Monday, the members were of course allowed back inside their fabulous clubhouse after what seems like a very long absence so I think we should all raise a glass to that!

In this week’s missive, we have a few results to catch up on, some photos and some other top quality items! Please enjoy…

Medal 2

Congratulations to Andrew Warnes for winning Medal 2 on Saturday with a fine nett score of 66. Charlie Hindle was second having lost on a card play off. Tony Bray, George Buchan and Neil Thompson were joint third just one shot back. Eleven twos were recorded during the competition.

Coronation Foursomes and Nine Hole Stableford

The ladies Coronation Foursomes was won last week by Caroline Massey and Ceri Hyde with an excellent 37 points. Sally Wright and Clare Withey finished in second place with 33 points.

The nine hole stableford was won by Joanne Bryant with 17 points. Second place was shared between Emma Daynes and Karen Stockton with 16 points.

Seniors Stableford 2

George Buchan won the second Seniors Stableford competition of the series with 19 points last Wednesday. Phil Long was second and Richard Robinson third, both scoring 18 points.

Nine and Dine

Congratulations to Jane Perks, Roger O’Brien, Clare and Guy Withey for winning this event on Friday with a huge total of 45 points. Lady Captain Irene Kirk, Ron Kirk, John Gower-Jones and Judy Anderson were in second place with 39 points. The format was stableford four ball with the best ladies score and the best gents score counting on each hole.

All enjoyed the excellent Nine and Dine Dinner so thanks to Ben and his team. Thanks also go to Andy Veitch for his excellent organisation and Ian Hunt setting up the competition on Club V1.

Sunday Trading

Please note the Pro Shop has been open seven days a week since lockdown was lifted so that means Sundays too! It’s been open from 0800 – 1400 on Sundays so please pop in and support the initiative so that Phil, Will and I are able to continue the trial.

Hale GC Pro Am 2021

There are still one or two morning spaces available for teams in this years event which takes place on Saturday 10th July. If you’ve entered before you know what a good day it is and if you haven’t you’re missing out – either way, please contact me to secure your place.

Thought for the Week

In an effort to keep play moving and be considerate to our fellow golfers, we all need to move quickly between shots, be ready to play when it’s our turn (or even before if playing “Ready Golf”) and take just enough time over the shot to give it our full attention (that doesn’t require six or seven complete practice swings btw). I think the quote below sums it all up nicely…

Play quickly but don’t hurry.

The Joys of Junior Golf

Good Weather for Ducks

Well the mixed up weather continues with Medal 2 being postponed on Saturday due to relentless rain.

The Bunty Booth stableford took place though two days earlier with Clare Withey winning with 36 points. Mandy Gilbert and Tracey Thompson both scored 34 points but Mandy came second on a card play off.

In the nine hole stableford, the excellent scoring continued with Amanda Greaves winning with 23 points. Vicki Wells and Ceri Hyde finished joint second just one point adrift of Amanda.

Callaway Demo Day

Expert club fitter Tom Gradwell is coming along with his masses of Callaway demo equipment to HGC on Wednesday 16th June. Please contact me if you would like to book a slot. Spaces are sure to be limited so please only fix an appointment if you are serious about upgrading your equipment.

Members Guest Green Fees

I have mentioned this before but it is worth repeating… when you book a members guest in online, the booking system DOES NOT debit your HGC Members (gold swipe card) account. You do get the option to pay using your credit card if you wish.

So please let myself, Will or Phil in the Pro Shop know before (preferably) or after you play. Just pop your head round the door or send me an email explaining that you are about to bring (or have had) a guest and that you would like me to debit the amount from your HGC Members account. Thank you.

Bad Weather Policy

We’re coming to that time of year where we are more likely to encounter storms so please familiarise yourself with the club’s safety procedure.

Al Fresco Dining

Many thanks to Jane Perks for sharing these photos with me of some of our lady members enjoying their time together whilst dining on the terrace.

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As I write this the sun in shining and the Seniors are playing their first match for sometime. It’s a home tie versus Davyhulme so thankfully things continue to edge their way back to normality.

However just a couple of days ago, the weather was atrocious for the bank holiday Monday Frolic. It still went ahead though with ten intrepid teams braving the elements. Sensibly it was reduced to nine holes. I think the photo below of Kerry Bailey taken by her sister Tracey Thompson sums things up nicely – dreadful weather but with a great big smile!

The winners were Min and Andrew Fishwick with a cracking score of 26 points. Tracey and Keith Thompson were one point adrift in second place. Well done to everyone who took part – I was walking the dog whilst it was going on an that was bad enough!

Lady Captain’s Charity Day

This took place last Thursday and lots of money was made for Maggie’s charity which as great. On the golf front, the scoring was uber good with Jan Ravenscroft scoring an excellent 40 stableford points to win the 18 hole competition. Tracey Thompson was second again with 37 points. The nine hole competition was won by Jane Wilkinson with a fantastic 25 points (I’m sure the ladies handicap committee will be running their hands!). Second place went to her friend and fellow new lady member Amanda Greaves who scored 20 points.

Photo

I forgot to share this photo the other week after taking it but I think it’s definitely a good one to include despite it being a little tardy? Here’s Peter Crawford posing with some of the enormous logs that had been chopped down from the course a few days earlier.

Another busy week of competitive golf is summarised below along with a cautionary message from long standing member Mike Massey.

R & A 9 Holer

We ran the second mens and ladies R & A 9 hole stableford on Saturday. The scoring was very good in both sections.

Andrew Hay won the men’s event with 22 points (apologies Andrew for the pun-tastic headline – I couldn’t help myself!!) and John Kennedy was second with 20 points. Rookie Jo Egerton (Jo joined the club last year and I think we can safely say that she has got the golfing bug) won the ladies section with 21 points pipping Sharon Thorne into second place by a couple of points.

Seniors Stableford

Wednesday’s Seniors Stableford was won by a thrilled Graham Jones who did an excellent score of 22 points. Rob Manley was second with 20 points. Bill Harvey took some time away from working on the course to actually playing on it and in doing secured 19 points to finish in third spot.

Nine & Dine

The Nine & Dine took place on Friday and was organised by Jean Green. Jean did a great despite being understandably emotional as her first grandchild, a baby boy, had been born earlier that day. Congratulations grandma Jean!

The format was teams of four (two men and two ladies) and one stableford score counted on the first hole, two on the second, three on the third, back to one on the fourth and so on. The winners were Jennifer & Alan Bradley and Corinne & Andy Veitch with 44 points. Team Thompson / Dixon was was in second place with 42 points. The golf was of course followed by a lovely meal prepared by Peter, Danny and the rest of the team.

Ladies Spring Meeting

The ladies Spring Meeting took place last week and was a team event, again played in lovely sunny weather. Eighteen teams took part and the winners were Gwynneth Bramwell, Pam Dixon, Amanda Greaves & Jane Wilkinson with 44.75 points. Lady captain Irene Kirk, Nancy Fallows and Jo Bryant were pipped into second place by just 0.75 of a point!

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Golf Lesson or Club Fitting

If you would like me to help you improve your game then you can book an appointment with me online by clicking here. You can of course if you prefer just pop into the shop or call me on 0161 249 8427.

Wilson Cheshire & North Wales PGA Championship

I played in this event at Knutsford GC last week and am delighted to report that I was joint winner of the Seniors section with Tony Stevens and Alan Gibson. Rhodri Fieldhouse won the main event with an excellent 66. It’s been a while since I last played Knutsford and I really enjoyed going back there.

As you know with club and family commitments. playing golf for me has to come down the pecking order but given the opportunity, I still love to play and to secure a win was a great thrill. Turning 50 clearly has some advantages!

Mike Massey

Mike popped in to the shop on Wednesday to chat with Will and I. We had been completely unaware of his eye operation until he talked us through it. What a horrendous incident. Below is a message he typed out that he wanted to share with his fellow members of Hale GC.

Many of you probably know that I picked up a amoeba eye infection whilst gardening causing the loss of my eye. A twig scraped my eyeball and stupidly I scraped a soil covered gardening glove under my glasses.

My recommendation is to always wear goggles when doing something close to where your eyes could come into contact with anything. Even when a golf ball, with a mind of it’s own, veers off line and is lost in a thicket or bush, it should be left to it’s own devices – don’t poke around anything trying to find it. Think leylandii on the 7th / 16th.

I’m sure that we all send Mike our best wishes and hope to see him out on the golf course again very soon.

As you can see things are getting closer to normal with more and more competitions and events to report on.

This week, I also write about the distances on the practice ground and the HGC Pro Am which takes place in July. Enjoy!

Results Round Up

On Wednesday, the first nine hole Seniors Stableford of the 2021 campaign took place. There are two divisions and Cliff Wright won the under 75s with 20 points. Tom Sloan was one behind to finish second. In the 75 and overs, Roger Fielding finished in top spot having scored 19 points. Jay White was second with 18 points.

Well done to Alex Mills for winning Medal on Saturday with an excellent nett 66. Consequently his handicap has been felled to 14. Neil Thompson was second with a 68 and Simon Wallwork was third with a 69. Nine twos were recorded.

Congratulations to Jan Ravenscroft for winning the ladies 18 hole Par competition last Thursday with a fine score of one up. Louise Gerald was runner up with her score of one down. Jennifer Bradley won the nine hole stableford which was played over the back nine on the same day with 19 points and rookie member Jo Bryant finished second with 18 points.

Dan Turkington won the first junior competition of the 2021 campaign with 21 points. This was a nine hole event played over the front nine. Junior captain Charlie Hindle was second with 19 points. Ed Lythgoe had to borrow some clubs to take part due to a slight domestic logistical problem and so did very well to come in third with 16 points.

Previous Results

In my missive last week, I managed to omit some results so my apologies. David Wainwright won the Spring Stableford with 40 points. Another David, Mr Cockbain was one point behind in second place.

On the ladies side of things, Corrine Veitch won the 18 hole stableford which took place on the 8th April with 32 points. Tracey Thompson had the same score but was beaten on countback. Mary Cockbain won the nine hole stableford with a cracking points tally of 21. Noelle Morris was one point adrift to secure second place.

Pro Am 2021

Would you like to enter this great event which is now in it’s 10 year since it was reinstated into the club’s calendar in 2011? The date is Saturday 10th July 2021 and it’s open to ladies and men. The price to enter is £220 for a team of all Hale members or £250 if there are one or more guests in the team.

The ever popular afternoon spaces have all been taken but there are still five tee times available in the morning before the event is maxed out at 24 teams.

It’s a great day to be a part of, just ask anyone who’s played in previous year. If you like to enter, please contact me.

Range Distances

I sent this sketch of the range distances out last summer and as one or two people have been asking again, I thought it was time to include it again in the newsletter. It shows the distances to the seven flags on the range, measured from between the second and third mats on the lower tee. I hope my drawing makes sense!

Photo

Thanks to Bob Siddle for this photo of volunteer HGC members clearing debris from the site of the new 4th green. As is so often the case here at Hale, it was a great turn out of hard workers so thank you to you all.

Well as ever the Masters delivered with the first ever male Japanese Major winner, Hideki Matsuyama, claiming the green jacket. His ten under par total was enough to win by one shot from Will Zalatoris.

Hideki’s career has been an interesting journey. A few years ago, the 29 year old rose to number two in the world rankings but since then putting problems had prompted a tumble down the rankings. Ninety-two winless tournaments followed and he was 25th in the world heading into the Masters last week….. but what a way to put an end to that streak!

We had all high hopes for Justin Rose but after his magnificent first round he was always treading water or sliding backwards.

The big winner in the Pro Shop’s Masters Sweepstake was John Book who had Matsuyama and ended up bagging £97.50 of credit to spend. Thanks as always to everyone who entered.

New Recruit

Phil and I were delighted to welcome Will Lord to the Pro Shop team on Monday. He’s a 3 handicapper from Ringway (well you can’t win them all 😉) and turns 19 very shortly. Please pop in and say hello.

Now that the Pro Shop team has grown, we’re be running an experiment for the next 2 or 3 months and will open for seven days per week. Over the last few years we’ve been open six days per week but we’re going to try opening on Sundays until 2pm and see how it works out.

As I’m sure you’ll appreciate for a small business and especially in these Covid times, it has to make sense financially to do so. Consequently I’ll sit down and look at the figures in June or July and see if the shop has made enough profit to cover the staff costs and go from there.

I’m super keen for us to offer you the members the best service possible so please support us and help make the Sunday opening trial a big success.

Rules Reminder

It’s been over two years since the rules of golf modernisation came into operation. Since then we’ve had the new World Handicapping Scheme (WHS) and one or two other huge changes in everyday life. So the lady captain asked me to send her the handout that the Greens Committee created which details the “20 Most Important Changes” to enable her to share it with the ladies section as a bit of a reminder. It struck me as such a good idea that I have piggy backed on her idea and included it in this week’s newsletter. Please click here for a refresher.

Archie Preston

Well done to the 14 person Hale team that beat High Legh Golf Club away in their first match of the season. It comprises of seven matches of mixed foursomes and the overall score was 5:2. The draw for the next round will take pace at the end of April. Interestingly High Legh fielded two juniors, their captain and vice captain, so perhaps we could deepen our selection policy for future matches.

Blossom

Thanks to Jane Perks for sending in this lovely photo of the damson blossom by the fifth tee.