Blog

A relatively quiet week before things build up again in September. Remember the club’s Finals Day is on Sunday 18th so if you aren’t competing, why not pop down and watch some of the action?

Bank Holiday Frolic

Wow, what a score by Kathleen McNairney to win the ladies section of yesterday’s individual nine hole stableford. She recorded a whopping 26 points! Gwynneth Bramwell finished second with an equally not too shabby score of 24 points. Tarik Rashid won the men’s competition with 21 points and Martin Bramwell was second with 20 points. The only two of the event was recorded by Dave Smith on the 7th hole.

Ladies Results

Well done to Jennifer Bradley for winning last week’s back nine stableford with 19 points. Kerry Bailey was point adrift to finish as runner up.

The winner of Ladies Medal Trophy Final which was played on Sunday 21st August was won by Anne Webster with a nett 71. Gillian Healey was second with a nett 73.

The winner of the Ladies Stableford Final which was played last Thursday will be announced shortly.

PGA Seniors Championship at Formby GC

One of younger members Ollie Greaves, his father Jon and grandfather John Book (also a member) had a great day out Formby over the weekend to watch the PGA Seniors Championship. Ollie met lots of the players and filled up his autograph book. And he’s come back to WA15 keener than ever 🙂

Just a results round up this week as I’m on hols 🙂 More news next week.

Ladies Invitation Day

The weather wasn’t great but there was a super turnout for this competition last Thursday. The format was teams of four playing stableford with best two scores to count on each hole.

The winners were Vicky Chamberlain & her guest Claire Whitney from Heaton Moor GC and Tracey Thompson & guest Barbara Taylor from Leigh GC. Second place went to the team of Gwynneth Bramwell, Libby Smeathers (Knutsford GC), Louise Gerald and Cindy Fryer (also from Knutsford GC).

The nearest the pin prize went to Tessa Bryant from the RAC GC in Surrey and our very own Gill Kay won the nearest the line prize.

Seniors Stableford 6

Humphrey Grundy rolled in a few putts while rolling back the years to win this event last Wednesday with 20 points. Three players then tied on 19 points with Richard Robinson securing second spot and Bill Wrigley taking third position.

Nine & Dine

Last Friday’s Nine and Dine which was played over the back nine was won by Paul Gilbert, Mandy Gilbert, Philip Long & Terri Broadbent with 50 points. Second spot went Sally Wright, Ann Coulson, Johnny Yates & Al Kenney with 46 points. With the same score but losing out on a card play off were Robert Spark, Barbara Spark, Ian Hunt & Freda Hunt.

Mixed Centenary

Congratulations to Corinne & Andy Veitch for winning Saturday’s mixed centenary mixed foursomes event with an excellent 43 points. Jennifer Alan Bradley finished in second place with 39 points. Vanessa & Peter Veitch also recorded 39 points were beaten into third following a card play off.

This week we have a results round up, news of a cracking deal on a junior set of clubs and information about the divot bag racks that you might have seen on the course. Enjoy the read!

Medal 7

Well done to Danny Fox for winning last weekend’s Medal 7 with an excellent gross 74, nett 64. Second spot went to Phil Hickson with a nett 65 and one shot further adrift was Roger Laitt to secure third place.

Deal of the Week

This a great Lynx set for a junior golfer. The recommended height range is for children that are 54-57″ tall. It consists of a camo style golf bag, a driver, three irons and a putter. The original retail price was £169. They are on sale for this week at £115 which is over 30% off. There’s just the one set so get your skates on!

Lady Captain’s Charity Day

In the extreme heat of last week, Louise Gerald won the 18 hole stableford event with a cracking score of 39 points. Gill Kay and Tiff Fielden finished joint second with 37 points.

Jennifer Bradley played equally well to win the front nine stableford competition with 21 points. Pat Jefferies was one point behind to finish as the runner up.

Senior Summer Scramble B9

Congratulations to Mike Massey, Tony Adamson and Michael Wells for winning last week’s seniors nine hole Texas scramble with 25 points. Bill Wrigley, John Kennedy and Phil Long were runners up with 24 points.

The previous week Richard Robinson won the nine hole stableford with 21 points. He beat Martin Oldfield who had the same score on countback.

Driver vs 3 Wood

Click here to read a great article from Shotscope comparing the pros and cons of hitting a driver versus a three wood from the tee

Divot Bags

In case you are wondering these frames containing divot bags are moved around the course by the greenstaff. When I took this photo the other day they were positioned on the eighth hole.

The idea is that you collect a bag from beside the tee, fill in any divots you find as you play the hole and then leave the bag on the rack which is positioned near the exit point of the green.

Many thanks for your cooperation with this initiative.

We have another round of results this week plus a great deal on a waterproof golf bag.

Away from golf, my family and I were very fortunate to go to the ladies commonwealth hockey final on Sunday at Birmingham University where England won the gold medal by beating Australia. I’ve certainly not seen anyone win a gold medal before so we had a great day out.

Gents Centenary Trophy

Congratulations to Adam Hyde for winning the Centenary Trophy on Saturday with 40 points. Bill Harvey continued his good form and had the same score but was beaten on a card play off so finished in runner’s up spot. John Moss was third with 39 points.

Deal of the Week

This week we have a great value waterproof golf bag on offer. The Powakaddy DriTech bag in black/gun metal/hot pink was £219.99 and for this week only it’s just £150. There’s only one so if you are interested, don’t delay….

Ladies Centenary Trophy & Back Nine Stableford

Well played Tiff Fielden! Last week she won the CentenaryTrophy with a gross 78, nett 69. Gillian brogdon maintained her very good recent form to finish second with a nett 70. Clare Withey finished third with a nett 71.

Kerry Bailey was victorious in the back nine stableford with 20 points. Karen Stockton was second with 19 points.

Gentleman Captain’s Match vs Ringway

Last week the men beat Ringway at Hale GC. Below are photos of gentleman captain David Wainwright with their captain after the match. Plus there’s Ted Shaw retrieving his ball from the hole following his gross two, nett albatross on the 6th hole during the match. Thanks to Danny Fox for sending in these snaps.

We moved into the holiday season so it’s a little quieter at the club but the rain of the last few days will hopefully make parts of the course a little lusher.

In this week’s missive we have the usual results round up and news of the latest offering from Ping, the ChipR. Enjoy!

Nine Hole Stableford

There was a good turnout for the nine hole stableford which was played over the back nine last Saturday morning. Phil Long won the men’s event with 20 stableford points and Tom Sloan was second, having been beaten in a card play off. Tiff Fielden won the ladies event with 19 points and Terri Broadbent finished second and like Tom, she too was beaten via countback.

Gentleman Captain’s Day

Congratulations go to Gillian Brogdon for winning this event last week with a great score of 43 points. Lady captain Judy Pinnington was second with 42 points and Jane Wilkinson was one point further back to take third spot.

Jennifer Bradley won the nine hole competition with 20 points. Caroline Massey was second with 18 points. The whole day went really well and a good time was had by everyone who took part.

The previous week Lynette Lodge won the Hilda Timpson Trophy with a magnificent 65 nett. Gillian Brogdon is clearly in form as she finished runner up, just one shot behind Lynette. Anne Webster was third with 67.

Ping ChipR

We have a demo of the new Ping ChipR which has already proved to be really popular with pre sales. I have had a few goes with it and it feels really good and fosters lots of confidence.

As Ping describe on their website, “the ChipR is fully engineered for golfers who may lack confidence with their traditional wedge and frequently struggle with chip shots. The ChipR combines elements of a putter and a wedge to improve performance around the greens and lower scores without fear of chunking or blading shots”.

Prices start from £149. Click here for more details and please contact me if you like to give it a whirl.

The Callaway fitting van is visiting on Friday so please let me know if you would like to book one of their remaining demo day slots asap.

The rest of this week’s missive cover the men’s, ladies and Nine & Dine results from last week.

Summer Stableford

Well done to Matthew Hodder for shooting an excellent 42 points. Tom Sloan and Al Kenney both scored 41 points but Tom secured second place after a card play off.

It is worth noting that in Medal 6, which took place the previous Saturday, the top three positions were all taken by players in their 80s. In order, they were Bill Harvey, Mike Massey and John Bacon. This week Matthew was the winner and he is aged 15… what a contrast and what a great advert for the game! Many thanks to Ian Goulty and Chris Wood for sharing these observations with me.

Ladies Competitions

The results for last Thursday’s Hilda Timpson Trophy will be announced at tea this Thursday. We do however know that Sue Bromley was the winner of last week’s Max Score Medal with a nett 36 beating Val Nelstrop on a card play off. Wendy Jenkins was third with a nett 37.

Nine & Dine

Well done to Vanessa & Peter veitch and Jennifer & Alan Bradley for winning this best two from four team stableford event on Friday with 45 points. The Adamsons and the Sparks were the runners up with 40 points. Fran Adamson and Jane Bacon won the best newcomer awards.

Thanks to Phil Long for organising and for enjoying the photos that were taken at the presentation afterwards!

Well what an Open! It certainly lived up to it’s big billing based on it being staged for the 150th time. Cameron Smith was superb all round but just a magician with the flat stick. And poor Rory’s majorless run continues – hitting 18 greens in regulation in the final round and not winning must really hurt.

Back at HGC, Roger Sheen has become a big Cam Smith after he drew him in the Open Sweepstake to take the top prize. Plus thanks to Janice Moss for the photo below of the crowds waiting for Tiger on the Friday for what might be his final appearance in the Open at St Andrews… we will see!

Medal 6

Congratulations to full time gardener and part time golfer Bill Harvey for shooting an excellent nett 64 to win Medal 6 at the weekend. Mike Massey and John Bacon both had nett 68s but Mike clinched second place after the card play off.

Ladies

The winners of Ping fourball betterball competition played last week were Jane Wilkinson and Amanda Greaves with a tremendous score of 50 stableford points.  Gill Kay and Mandy Gilbert finished runners up with 45 points.

Well done to Helen Armstrong for winning the nine hole stableford with 20 points. Jackie Murphy was second also with 20 points but lost out on count back. Special mention to Sally-Anne Heaford and Caroline Smith for recording good scores on the day.

Ping Demo Day

Thanks to Oliver Hunt from Ping for running the demo day yesterday in the sweltering heat. Thanks also to the six hardy HGC members who came along to try out and in many cases buy the latest and greatest equipment on offer. It’s a superb service from, in my experience, one of the best manufacturers in the industry.

Bunkers

A few members have mentioned to me recently about the bunkers not being raked properly. Also the rakes have been left in inconsiderate positions. The Greens Committee will be sending out more information in due course on the latter but for the time being, please be courteous and leave the bunkers in good shape when you leave them.

R&A 9H Challenge Final

Here’s a note from Sally Wright after she and Ann Coulson represented Hale GC in the final of the R&A 9 Hole Challenge at St Andrew’s  on the eve of the 150th Open Championship.

They were one of 20 teams from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia & New Zealand & were lucky enough to play holes 1-4 and 14-18 on the Old Course. They came 4th with 34 points only 2 points behind the winners.

Captain Peter Forster, gave them a guided tour of the R&A St Andrew’s clubhouse followed by a celebration dinner there after the competition.  They said their 2 days at St Andrew’s were nerve wracking, truly amazing and an experience they will remember forever!

One of my highlights was driving over the old railway sheds on the 17th Road hole and Ann did the most amazing drive over Grannie Clark’s Wynd on the 18th which was applauded by the onlookers.

Hole in One from Canada

Craig Rea just got a hole in one on the 16th hole at Fernie GC in Canada. He hit a six iron and it took one hop before rolling into the hole. The hole was 164 yards long. He can be seen celebrating the ace with Gwynneth & Martin Bramwell, wife Michele Rea and Andrew Gething. Well done Craig, hope the bar bill wasn’t too pricey!

The greatest show in golf, the Open, starts on Thursday at St Andrews. I’m very excited, how about you?

One or two of you have mentioned that there have been slight adjustments to your handicaps of late and that you weren’t sure why. This link here may help to explain why.

Remember we are hosting a Callaway demo day here on Friday 29th July between the hours of 1100 and 1500. If you would like to see how your clubs compare to their latest models why don’t you book a slot? Please contact me to do so.

The next Nine & Dine takes place on Friday 22nd July. The format will be a mixed betterball stableford with an 85% allowance. The maximum handicaps will be 54 for both gents and ladies. If you’d like to play, please get in touch with Phil Long.

Pro Am 2022

This year’s Pro Am took place on Saturday and both the weather and the course were fabulous. There were some tricky pin positions and the lightning fast greens ensured that the scores wouldn’t be as low as in previous years. We had a full turnout of 24 teams.

Well done to the winners of the team competition who were Jonny Gray, Ian Goulty, Johnny Yates and their pro Matthew Tottey with 124 (16 under). The format is best two from four medal. Second place went to Neil Thompson, Paul Gibbon, Simon Harrison and pro Jason Dransfield who were one shot back. David Rodwell, Brian Greenbank, Howard Gill and pro Matt Dixon were third on 126. In fourth place were the gentleman captain David Wainwright, David Wainwright, Fraser Hickson and I with 127. The other results up to 16th place are displayed below.

In the individual professional event, Tom Metcalfe won with 69. He wasn’t at the presentation because he had a car accident on the way home. Thankfully he’s ok. There were then four pros on level par to share second spot. Again the top two thirds of placings are shown below.

We’ve had lots of positive feedback already about the event and the atmosphere at the club was great all day. I am especially pleased with an email that I received on Monday from a fellow PGA Professional which I would like to share with you. I’ve removed names etc to maintain his privacy. He came for a practice round with his partner the day before the event. As you’ll read, it shows that everyone at the club did a great job of making them feel welcome, which is really satisfying to read.

Richard, I would like to congratulate you on a successful Pro Am last Saturday , unless you actually organise one yourself you would not appreciate all the hard work and planning involved, the day was fantastic and hopefully my team led by XXXX enjoyed it also.

The course was in magnificent condition and the hospitality shown to both XXXX and I on the Friday and again on the Saturday from all the members and staff was heartwarming and a great reflection on all at Hale Golf Club.

I look forward to returning to Hale with some friends for a social visit in the not too distant future as i have told anyone who would listen here at XXXX (the club that he works at) that a visit to your club is a must.

Thanks and Best Wishes

XXXX

Bridgford Trophy & Moir Cup

These events were played last Wednesday and Thursday at the club. Tiff Fielden was the winner of the Moir Cup with a gross total for the two rounds of 167. Chris Marsh took second spot with 168. The winner of the Bridgford was Vanessa Veitch a four under par total of 136 over the two rounds. Again Chris Marsh just missed out, finishing in second place. Chris did get a prize though for the best score on day one. The best score on day two went to Vanessa Veitch. Rosie Gerrard won the most improved player. Thanks also to Rosie for supplying the photos below. Hearty congrats to all the winners.

There was also a max score 18 hole medal played on Thursday. This was won by Amanda Greaves with a nett 68. Jennifer Bradley won the front nine max medal competition with 36. Special mention to Pauline Keeling for playing so well in her first competition.

Australian Spoons North Area Final

Terri Broadbent and Kerry Bailey represented Hale GC in the north area final of the Australian Spoons at the weekend. Terri sent me some great photos of their day, which you can see below. I’ll let Terri take up the story from here

“Kerry and I played in the North Area Final on Saturday, here are some pictures taken at Appleby Golf Course during our round.  It’s a course built on Common Land, so there were plenty of hazards on the course – mainly sheep! A beautiful setting and the greens were fantastic – they are all protected from the sheep and other livestock by electric fencing. We gave it a good go, but sadly finished well down the order. Next year perhaps we will do better……….“

Read all about the Summer Meeting below as we anticipate the ladies Bridgford & Moir Cup and the Pro Am this week.

The 150th Open starts next week at St Andrews and we still have one or two spaces left for the Pro Shop Open Sweepstake so please pop in or email to snag those few spots.

Summer Meeting

We have just had a great weekend of golf. Special thanks to Brian Greenbank, Guy Levers and Ian Hunt behind the scenes making things run smoothly. Thanks also to the greens staff of Rusell, Dave and Phil for getting the course in excellent condition. And now onto the winners….

The winner of Galloway Scratch Challenge Cup was Tony Bray with gross rounds of 75 and 72 for a 152 total. Second place went to Adam Laitt with 154. Freddie Fallows was the winner of the best 36 holes nett prize with a nett 65 on day one followed by a nett 66 on day two for an overall total of 131.

Danny Fox was the winner of the best nett score on day one (Saturday) with a 67 and Neil Thompson was the winner of the best nett on day two with a really low one, 62. Tony Bray also won the Goulty Trophy for the best nett score on day one for players over sixty with his nett 67. Guy Withey won the Arnold Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the best gross score on day one for players with a handicap of 15 or higher, with a nett 69. Adam Laitt also picked up another prize by winning the MacCaig Trophy for the best 18 hole gross score on either day for his 73 on the opening day.

Huge congratulations to all the winners. Many of them can be seen below receiving their prizes from gentleman captain David Wainwright.

Callaway Demo Day

I’m delighted to announce that Callaway are visiting HGC on Friday 29th July from 1100 – 1500. If you are in the market for new clubs, all of their latest equipment will be here for you to try. Please contact me to book an appointment.

The times slots are every 30 mins from 1100 so please let me know your preferred start time and I will do my utmost to accommodate you accordingly.

Ladies Exchange day

Last Thursday, the ladies section held an exchange day with Marple GC, which means Marple came and played at hale whilst our ladies went and played at Marple. By all accounts, both parties had great days out.

The winners of the 18 hole competition were Lynette Lodge, Kathleen McNairney and Mary Cockbain. Runners up were Amanda Greaves, Min Fishwick and Sally Budd. The winners of the 12 hole competition were Ann Davies, Judy Anderson and Sue Fallows.

Thanks go to Anne Webster and Sally Budd for organising.

Well lots of golf is coming up here at the mighty HGC! We have the men’s Summer Meeting this weekend, the ladies Brigford & Moir Cup next Wednesday & Thursday and then the club’s Pro-Am on Saturday 9th July. Busy, busy…..

Ping Demo Day

I have one final space remaining on Tuesday 19th July at 1340 for anyone who is ready to improve their equipment to achieve better golf and have more fun out on the course! Please email me to snag the slot!

Medal 5

Congrats to Jim Nicholson for winning Medal 5 with a nett 66. Adam Hyde had the same nett score but was beaten on a card play off. Dave McGlennon was one shot back to secure third spot.

Lady Captain’s Day

Well done to Sally Budd for winning last week’s 18 hole stableford, her consecutive win, with 38 points. Min Fishwick also had 38 points but was beaten into runner’s up spot following a card play off. Gillian Brogdon was third with 35 points.

In the back nine hole stableford, Jackie Murphy amassed a whopping total of 25 points to win. Second place went to Jennifer Bradley with 22 points and Caroline Smith in her first competition was third with a very creditable 20 points.

The gentleman captain Dave Wainwright can be seen below giving lady captain Judy Pinnington a bouquet of flowers to help celebrate her special day.

Nine & Dine

Well done Gail & Tony Sampson, Kerry Bailey & Phil Long for winning last Friday’s nine & dine waltz with 51 points. The Kirks and the Sparks were second with 47 points.

Putting Stats

As you are probably aware, I love golfing stats regarding performance and here are some beauties! The info is supplied by Trackman. Incidentally the title of this week’s newsletter is a quote from the famous golf coach, Harvey Penwick.

In the graphic below, tour pros “only” make 50% of their putts from 8 feet in tournaments whereas on a flat surface they make 95% from 12 feet. The first number seems low and the second number seems unbelievably high. Just goes to show that the old phrase that the longest walk in golf is from the practice ground to the first tee still holds true!!

There are some great stats in the table below that (apologies that it’s a bit blurred). How about this one? An 18 handicapper from 30 feet is 9x more likely to three putt that hole it. There’s a golfing hashtag that circulates Twitter and I think you can probably see why…. #manageyourexpectations

Par Three Tees

Don’t forget to fill any divots made on the par three teeing grounds with the seed mix which is provided in the green containers. There’s even a handy scoop to help you do so 🙂

Photo

Thanks to Colin Bamford for capturing and forwarding me this snap of a helicopter landing as seen from the 4th fairway.