Blog

After missing out last year, the Open starts again today from Royal St Georges. Two of our members were down in Kent last week to check out the venue first hand but more on that later.

Pro Am

Twenty three teams took part in Saturday’s Pro Am which proved to be another successful event. Apart from about an hours heavy rain in the afternoon, the weather was kind to us and the course was in immaculate condition – with true, receptive greens.

Olly Smith took advantage of this by going round in an incredible 62 strokes and using just seven of them to play all par threes! Yes you read that correctly – he had three twos and a hole in one… as you do! Olly also helped spearhead the winning team partnered by Mike Kirchin, Chris Brown and Paul Hilton. They recorded a score 119 or 21 under par which was unmatched.

David Rodwell, Howard Gill, Brian Greenbank and their pro Matthew Dixon scored 18 under to finish second. Roger Laitt, Adam Laitt, George Buchan and pro Curtis Hughes were one shot adrift in third whilst Peter Hindle, Neil Thompson, Pete Tukington and pro Jason Dransfield finished fourth with 124.

Second place in the individual professionals’ competition went to Jason Shufflebotham with a 64 and third was Philip Archer with a 65. In total 6 pros finished under par with three pros on level par – I was one of those pros on even par.

Thanks to Dan Huxley and helper Bill from the PGA, Russell and team, Ben and the bar staff for their part in producing such a memorable day. Thanks also to the members for kindly allowing the course to be used throughout the day.

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Ladies Summer Meeting

Well done to Gwynneth Bramwell, Mary Cockbain, Jean Green and Sally Budd for shooting an amazing 85 points last Thursday to win the ladies Summer Meeting. Three points adrift in second place was Jan Ravenscroft, Sue Bryant, Diana Harris and Jennifer Bradley. Ten teams took part and the beautiful weather helped the players enjoy a tasty lunch and a glass of wine (just the one of course!) after play.

R & A 9 Hole Challenge Final

This was staged at Royal St Georges last Saturday. Amanda Greaves and Jane Wilkinson qualified at our events which were held a few months ago. They were both delighted to be playing but somewhat apprehensive about playing golf on such a big stage early on in their golfing journeys. They both sent me lovely emails afterwards telling me about their experiences and so I have quoted them below (I hope you don’t mind Amanda & Jane!!) Well done ladies, you did us proud and what a story to tell!

Here’s part of the message from Amanda:

We got the results through last night and we finished 8^th out of 17 – so we are delighted.  We just didn’t want to score 0.  The winners scored 38 and we scored 32 – which I think is very respectable especially as we were terrified.

We were the highest handicaps by a long way – so they ranged from 2.5 to 46.6 (Me!).  Apart from Jane and I everyone had a handicap 28.5 or less.

You couldn’t see the end of the rough off the tee, so it was fingers crossed and a big drive to try and keep out of it – which we managed on most holes. Apart from me on the first – I was so nervous, and spectators, cameras etc!

I can’t quite believe we did it and were the only ladies team, and only 8 ladies out of 34 competitors!

As everyone told us and in hindsight, we had a great time and everyone was lovely to us, even in the rain.  Anyway thank you for your help and we will let you know if anything comes of our interview on camera about women getting into golf.  R&A are trying to push the development of the sport in terms of 9 hole golf and more women and juniors playing – so we were their ideal story.

And here’s some words from Jane:

We did not feature in the prizes but got a respectable 32 points, the winning team got 37.

Hale Golf Club did get a special mention from the Randa chairman of development that if there was a prize for best turned out team it would go to Hale!!

We were also interviewed by Randa because they were very impressed that both of us got into golf via the very generous temporary  membership initiative Hale Golf Club offered.

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Correction

In last week’s missive, I quoted the incorrect time for this Thursday’s inauguration of new club president Barry Jefferies. The correct start time is 1900. My apologies for any confusion and I hope it’s a good evening for all.

Twos on all the Par Threes

Thanks to Peter Hardern for answering my question of last week about whether anyone had ever scored four twos on the par threes here at HGC (how ironic after Olly Smith’s incredible efforts of Saturday?) by explaining that Oliver Harris had done so. He went on to explain that he was fairly certain that David (Percy) Leese and David Hallworth had also done so. Peter recalls Oliver buying drinks all round after his birdie barrage on the par threes but is not sure of when this happened though.

Photo

We have lots of results and photos again this week which is great. The Covid restrictions have prevented presentations and hence a lack of images for the past 12 – 18 months. Thanks to Sue Bryant, Brian Greenbank, Ian Hunt and Craig Rea for helping to put that right this week.

England v Denmark

As I write this it’s early Wednesday morning on the day England take on Denmark in the semi finals – let’s hope we can ease those years of hurt this time around 🤞 There will be plenty of you down at the club to watch later on and well done to Tracey and the team for giving the marquee a football makeover!

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Summer Meeting

We were worried in the days coming up to last weekend’s men’s Summer Meeting that we might have a problem with thunder and lightning. Thankfully that never happened but unfortunately we did have plenty of rain, especially for those players with morning tee time.

The main event, the Galloway Scratch Challenge Cup, was won by Jonny Gray and James Scott with 151. Richard Duerr was third with 156.

The Walker Trophy, the best 36 hole nett, was won by Nick Horrocks with scores of 63 and 71 to make a 134 (six under par) total. Jonny Gray was second with 135 and Freddie Gillan third with 140.

The MacCaig trophy is presented to the best 18 hole gross score on either day by a player that didn’t win the Galloway, David Smith was the winner with a 75. Adam Laitt was one shot back in second (after a card play off) and Richard Duerr was third.

Mr Captain Johnny Yates won the prize for the Best Nett on Sunday with a 66. Martin Bramwell had a 67 and David Rodwell a 68.

The Arnold Challenge Cup was presented to Andrew Hay who recorded a gross 87. This prize is for the best gross recorded by a player with a handicap of 15 or above. Nigel Taylor and Andrew Gething recorded 88s to finish one shot back.

The Goulty Trophy is presented to the player with the best nett score on day one that is aged 60 or over. Keith Thompson won with a nett 66. John Moss was second with a 68 and Paul Simpson third with a 69.

Finally Keith Thompson was back in the winners circle to win the prize for the best nett on day one, again using that nett 66 to do so. Jonny Gray was beaten on a card play off to finish second and John Moss third with his 68.

Paul Gilbert recorded, in his words, a “proper” hole in one on the eleventh on day one. Also Brian Greenbank recorded three twos on day one with birdies on all the par threes except the second which is mighty impressive too. This got me thinking, is anyone aware of a golfer that has birdied all four during their round? Please let me know if you can think of anyone who fits the bill.

Well done to all the winners, Russell and team for getting the course in great shape and of course to Ian Hunt and Brian Greenbank for working tirelessly to make the event run so smoothly.

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Lady Captain’s Day

The weather was far kinder for this event as sun drenched photos below show. The lady captain Irene Kirk kept the competitors well fed and watered with Pimm’s half way round and a delicious tea after play.

The scoring was excellent with Rosie Gerrard winning the 18 hole stableford competition with 42 points. Clare Withey was second with 39 points and Jan Ravenscroft third with 38 points.

The front nine stableford was won by Joanne Bryant with 21 points. Ann Davies finished second with 18 points on countback meaning Nicola Kitching was in third place.

Gail Sampson won the Nearest the Line prize on the ninth hole with her shot that finished just 8cm away from it. Gilliam Brogdon won the Nearest the Pin prize on the seventh.

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Changing of the Guard

Barbara Grant is retiring as President of HGC shortly and so was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Roger Sheen, the Chair of Council on behalf of all the Council members to show their appreciation for all her input. Barry Jefferies will be inaugurated as the new President on Thursday 22nd July at 1930.

Selfie

Well we have a big few weeks of golf ahead of us here at HGC. On Thursday we have Lady Captain’s Day and the men’s Summer Meeting over the weekend. Then next Thursday, it’s the ladies’ Summer Meeting with the Pro Am on Saturday 10th. As always, I’ll keep you posted here with all the results.

Ping Demo Day

Hot on the heels of the Callaway Demo Day the other week, we have a Ping one lined up for a few weeks time. It’s on Friday 20th August between 1100 and 1600. Spaces will be limited so please contact me to book your slot.

Ladies Results

Congratulations to Gwynneth Bramwell for winning the May Ashton 18 Hole Medal with an excellent nett 67 last week. Emma Daynes was second with a nett 67 beating Gillian Brogdon on a card play off.

The back nine Stableford was won with a whopping tally of 23 points by Sally Wright. Sue Fallows was second with 17.

Chris Marsh and Diana Hogben recorded birdies on the day.

Medal 5

Neil Roberts played magnificently on Saturday to record a superb gross 75 for a nett 61 on Saturday. Mark Haywood and Tom Cressey must have both thought they’d done enough to win coming in with nett 64s but ended up being three shots off the pace. Mark finished second and Tom third. Tom did however have the consolation of shooting the lowest gross of the day with a four over par 74.

It was a good day for twos with fifteen players recording a birdie on a par three.

Overseas Golf

Thanks to Michelle Rea for keeping us posted of golfing excellence abroad by our members!

She explained that Mandy & Paul Gilbert and she & Craig played in the President’s Cup on The Faldo course at Amendoeira golf resort in Portugal ten days or so ago.

Craig finished in second place and also won Nearest the Pin. Mandy won the “Best Ladie” which is Portuguese for Best Lady!!

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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.