Blog

Hope everyone is remaining fit and well during this first week of lockdown 2.0 There’s been some lovely days which would have been great for golf but I hope you’ve managed to get out for a walk and some fresh air instead.

I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to seeing an autumnal Masters. Let’s hope Rory can sneak up on the outside to bag his grand slam. Plus I wonder how Bryson will go on in his attempt to overpower Augusta with his incredible length.

With that in mind, for those of who who have entered the Masters Sweepstake back in March, I will be doing the random draw on Wednesday and will let you know who your players are shortly afterwards via email.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

Well it’s certainly been a year of firsts so in that spirit, we are going to start the Pro Shop Christmas Draw remotely! Who knows what the take up will be so we’ll need to announce what the prizes will be nearer the day of the draw. Rest assured, we will pay out at least 80% of the takings to the winners in the form of Pro Shop credit. That way you can spend your ill gotten gains on whatever you please 😀

If you’d like to have a go, just email me explaining how many numbers you would like – if you have any favourite numbers you can even include those and I’ll try and bagsy them for you 🤞

The price will be £2 for one number or £10 for six numbers. You can pay by bank transfer (I’ll send you my details after you’ve emailed me) or I can just put it on your Pro Shop account and you can then settle up with me post lockdown.

Thanks as ever for your support and custom.

Srixon Free Christmas Ball Personalisation

Retail

During lockdown, we are still able to get many golf products and have indeed being doing so for some of the members. So if there is anything that you need or want to source as a Christmas present, please consider using the Pro Shop. All we ask is the opportunity to source products. If we can’t or can’t do it at a good enough price, we’ll let you know within 24 hours so that you know where you’re up to and you can then access the items from elsewhere.

Shopping local is important during these difficult Covid times. Plus remember should anything go wrong with one of your purchases, it is very straightforward to bring itback to to the shop and where possible we’ll try and lend you an alternative to tide you over until things get sorted out.

Give a Garmin…

It’s Thursday morning as I write and we’re just over ten hours into Lockdown 2.0. Such a shame that you the members can’t use the club’s excellent facilities for the next four weeks but hopefully when we return the health of the nation will be in much better shape.

Not surprisingly, it was a full start sheet yesterday in the autumn sunshine as many of the members tried to squeeze in their last rounds while they could.

I will keep in touch over the break with my weekly missives. I hope that during this time you all stay safe and well. One bit of good news though on the golf front is that the Masters starts next Thursday 😀⛳

Thursday Stableford

The inaugural Thursday 9 hole stableford for men and ladies took place last week. Yet again the weather was shocking so unfortunately the ladies comp was cancelled. Some of the men battled on and it was Brian Greenbank who ended up being the inner with 19 points. Martin Oldfield was beaten into second place on countback. Tom Sloan (who wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t mention him 😉) finished in third place with 18 points.

Seniors 9 Hole Stableford

First of all, a big thank you must go to Chris Adams and Ian Hunt for all their hard work pulling together working handicaps for this first competition at Hale GC using the new World Handicap Scheme (WHS).

It was an excellent turnout on Wednesday with 42 seniors taking part. Roger Mattocks finished on top with an excellent score of 22 points. Second place went to Bob Cooke with 20 points and Martin Oldfield was third also with 20 points.

Christmas Present Ideas

These Hale GC crested water bottles can be personalised with up to 10 characters and are available in three colours: black, grey or navy. They come in a nice presentation box as you can see and keep drinks hot for 12 hours or cold for 24 hours. They have a leak proof, screw top lid and cost £19. Orders must be received by 4th December so that they’ll be ready to collect in time for Christmas. Please click on the link below to order yours….

Photo Round Up

Bogey 2

Well it was another awful day on Saturday for a Bogey! This time it was Bogey 2. Well done to Alex Mills for battling round in a tremendous five up to take top spot. . Peter Veitch was second with two up edging Roger Flint into third place via a card play off.

Use of Mats

Hopefully you saw the note which was sent out recently by the Greens Committee regarding the use of mats over the forthcoming winter months. If not here it is again for your perusal.

You may have seen that the club’s ‘Course Status’ bulletin has been updated to mandate the use of fairway mats in all forms of play with immediate effect. As in previous years, this measure has been brought in to help protect the course from excessive damage during the winter months.

The use of mats is compliant with CONGU guidance on ‘Qualifying Scores’ and the new WHS ‘Acceptable Scores’ rules which come into play on November 2nd. The following local rule is now in force:

“When a player’s ball lies in a part of the general area cut to fairway height or less and a putter is not being used for the stroke, the ball must be lifted, placed on and played from an Astroturf, or similar type of mat. The mat must be placed as near as possible to where the ball originally lay, and the ball must be placed on the mat. The ball may be cleaned when lifted.

If a ball when placed rolls off the mat, the player must try to place it a second time. If the ball again does not stay on the mat, the mat must be moved to the nearest spot, not nearer the hole, where the ball will come to rest on the mat when placed. If the player accidentally causes the ball on the mat to move before a stroke is made, there is no penalty and the ball must be placed again on the mat.

If a tee is used to secure the mat into the ground, the ball must not be placed on the tee.”

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Mixed Foursomes Knockout

Congratulations to Tony Bray & Vicky Chamberlain for beating Eric & Gillian Healey on the 18th hole on Wednesday of last week to win the mixed foursomes knockout competition.

Ladies Stablefords

Well done to Helen Davies for winning the 18 hole ladies stableford last week with 30 points. Tracey Thompson was second with 28 points.

Thirty six ladies played in the nine hole stableford which was played over the back nine. Well done to Clare Withey for winning with her score of 18 points. Gwynneth Bramwell beat Pat Jefferies on a card play off to secure second spot with 15 points.

Online Top Ups

You can now top up your Hale GC swipe card online. Please click on the download button below to get instructions as to how to do this.

Drug Testing anyone?

Cannaray is now the PGA’s exclusive CBD partner and I have some of their products in stock.

What is CBD? CBD is an acronym for cannabidiol. The highest concentration of CBD can be found in the plant Cannabis sativa, which contains over 113 different types of phytocannabinoids, or plant-based cannabinoids. CBD is associated with the positive therapeutic properties of cannabis, and none of the more negative properties that can cause intoxicating or psychoactive effects.

Click here to read about some of CBD’s possible uses.

Volunteering on the 12th

Thanks to Sue Bryant for sending in these photos of some of our hardy members grafting on a Sunday morning. And of course thanks to them for putting in their valuable time to this project.

After a bit of a blip 10 days or so ago, the recent fair weather continues which has meant lots of golf still taking place. The competition results from the last seven days are summarised below.

Mens and Ladies Saturday 9 Hole Stableford

We had a tremendous turnout for the inaugural nine hole stableford on Saturday, with close to 100 players taking part. The gents and ladies were able to play in groups together or in single sex groups and two competitions were held concurrently.

Mandy Gilbert finished on top of the leader board of the ladies event with a whopping 22 points. Well played Mandy and that reduces her handicap to 14.8. Helen Allott and Gill Kay both scored 18 points but Helen took second place following the card play off.

On the men’s side, Alex Mills won with 19 points so another one of our younger players developing into a very tidy golfer. There was then a real log jam with ten players who scoring 18 points. Roger Mattocks clearly had the strongest finish to his nine as he finished second after the card play off and Peter Hindle was third.

Ladies Stablefords

Well done Diana Hogben who won Thursday’s 18 hole stableford with 35 points. It’s pleasing to see that Nancy Fallows and Diana Harris, two of our newer members, finished in second and third place both with 33 points.

There was a big field of 25 for the nine hole competition. Sharon Thorne who had played on the preceding Saturday who with an excellent 20 points. Kathleen McNairney finished second with 18 points.

Owen Knockout

Congratulations to Roger Laitt for beating Roger Lamb on Sunday to win the Owen, the men’s matchplay competition. I looked at Roger L’s route to the final and he had to beat some very good and in form players to get there so he’s clearly played well throughout the competition.

Mixed Knockout

The final between Tony Bray & Vicky Chamberlain and Eric & Gillian Healey takes place this afternoon (it’s Wednesday morning as I write this) so good luck to both pairs. The result will follow in next week’s missive.

Turkey Trot

The ladies competition had to be cancelled due to the weather on Thursday but the ladies 9 hole open Turkey Trot went ahead on Friday. This was despite spells of heavy rain and even some hail, as the photos below show. It was a great event with lots of teams taking part. Special thanks to Gillian Brogdon and Gillian Healey for all their hard work arranging the competition both beforehand and on the day.

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Seniors

Congratulations to Andrew Fishwick for winning last week’s nine hole winter stableford with 18 points. Bernie Wilcox was second with 17 points.

It was remiss of me not to mention the winners of the seniors competition in September so here goes, better late than never! Andrew Fishwick won the Morren Trophy with 40 points, Roger Fielding won the Timpson Trophy with 36 points and John Moss was the winner of the 9 hole Tuttle Trophy. Congratulations to you all.

Photos

Thanks to Andrew Page for these lovely autumnal photos from the course during his recent Sunday morning game.

Course Information

Preferred lies are now in operation.

Bogey 1

The first Bogey of the winter campaign took place on Friday and Saturday. The weather on Saturday was appalling but many of the golfers battled round which was truly a tremendous effort.

Joe Mills was the winner with five up and put it down to have played several times in Wales over the summer with equally terrible weather! Jonny Gray was the last out and had to contend with near flooded greens but despite that scored three up. Ian Ponter was third having lost to Jonny on count back. The CSS was 68.

Lady Captain vs Lady Secretary

The annual match between LC’s team and LS’s team took place on Thursday. The format was fourball betterball over nine holes and 52 ladies took part, which was a great turn out. It ended up being a draw which meant all the players could enjoy their harvest lunch equally 😃

Winter Golf

Oh no, it’s that time of year again ☹, preferred lies are now in operation. The use of mats will follow in due course.

New Mens FJ Clothing In Store

Please pop into check out the latest Autumn / Winter styles from FootJoy. The photos below give a teaser of some of the styles that are now available.

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Gentleman Captain’s Challenge

Junior captain Charlie Hindle and partner Alex Mills stormed to victory in Sunday’s gentleman Captain’s Challenge. Bad luck captain Jonny and Jonny Gray who took the defeat in their stride. As the photo below shows, all four of them had a great time.

Work on the First Hole

The mound on the right hand side of the first has been re-contoured and trees have been planted in the Out of Bounds area by Sharman’s field. Both changes will add definition to the hole when they’ve had time to bed in. Well done as always to Russ, Dave and Ben for continuing their hard work of maintaining and improving the course.

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Last week was a much quieter week on the golf course compared to recent times with no gents or ladies competitions taking place.

However the ladies did have an exchange day with Wilmslow GC. They came here on Thursday of last week and 45 of our ladies went to Wilmslow on the day before.

A fun competition was played with nine teams of three playing 18 holes and six teams playing 9 holes. The winners of the 18 hole competition were Claire Makin, Emma Daynes & Sally Wright who scored 81 points. Mandy Gilbert, Helen Davies & Wendy Jenkins were second with 76 points.

The 9 hole competition was won by Jean Green, Vicky Wells & Jane Wilkinson with 33 points on count back meaning Judy Anderson, Judy Pinnington & Moya Malthouse were pipped at the post and had to settle for second place.

Autumn Skies

Thanks to Sue Bryant for these great photos which she took out on the course recently.

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Al hits 60

Al Kenney recently had a significant birthday. Here’s a photo of his golf themed birthday muffins with a little something to help wash them down, lovingly made by his daughter Hannah.

This week’s missive is a bumper read (hence the headline) catching up on lots of results and other news. And what about Bryson’s US Open victory at Winged Foot hey? As a result, Ben Hogan style flat caps, single length irons with grips as thick as cricket bat handles and protein shakes are now selling fast from the Pro Shop… 😂

Medal Final

Congratulations to Jonny Gray for winning Saturday’s Medal Final with an excellent 65. His gross score of 75 was also the lowest of the competition on a day that many found scoring difficult. This was reflected in the CSS rising to 70, two higher than the SSS. Commiserations to Bill Dixon who was just one behind with a nett 66. George Rowland was third with a nett 68.

Ping Demos

For just a couple of weeks, I have lots of Ping demos in store with many different options for you to try. There are mens and ladies drivers, woods, hybrids and wedges – there’s even some left handed items. Please pop in to take a look before the Ping ASM has to take them back.

Ladies Competition Results

Lady captain Irene Kirk romped home to victory in the 18 hole Par with a cracking score of four up. Congratulations LC! Second place went to Louise Gerald with her score of one up.

Eighteen ladies played in the nine hole stableford which was a very good turn out. Vicki Wells finished as the winner with her score of seventeen points. Second place went to Lynette Lodge, just nudging Gail Sampson into third on account of a card play off.

Clothing Sale

The clothing sale has been going well. I have both men’s and ladies’ items. More ladies items were added at the weekend so please take a fresh look when you are passing.

Adult Junior

Well done to Ben & Chris Hinton for winning Friday’s Adult Junior competition. Sadly because of Covid, the season was condensed from the usual five events to just one so winning the claret jug (beware of imitations!!) was based on just one event. The Hintons scored 21 stableford points over the nine holes from the forward tees to gain top spot. Second place was shared between Jack & Phil Hickson and Marcus & Neil Thompson with 20 points.

We had a great turn out of seventeen pairs and many stayed for drinks and a bite to eat afterwards. I always say this but these are truly great events which the players involed love. In fact, it’s often tricky to tell who has the broadest grins at the end of the rounds – the experienced adult golfers or the newbie juniors 😀

Junior Stableford

Dan Turkington scored 19 points to win Tuesday’s nine hole stableford. Well played Dan. Charlie Hindle finished runner up. Ten juniors took part.

Titleist Tour Speed

Titleist have launched a new golf ball, the Tour Speed. Click here to read more.

Titleist now provide seven different models for you to choose from which can be a little bewildering when trying to select the best ball for your game. However their ball fitting link (you can find it here) is very simple and helps you to narrow it down with just a few clicks.

Ladies Away Win

Thanks to Jim Mossop for sending in the following prose and photo.

“A rapturous, spontaneous ovation greeted four Hale Ladies as they arrived in the marquee to join the double birthday celebrations of Andrew Kay and Keith Thompson on Thursday. Word that they had won the prestigious Prestbury Ladies Open Fourball Am Am Stableford had preceded them. Step forward Sally Wright, Tracey Thompson, Mandy Gilbert and Gill Kay. Our Gentleman Captain, Johnny Yates, was soon on his feet to add to the congratulations. What was already a joyful birthday dinner soared to another level when the enchanting quartet took their places. They have decided not to give up their amateur status.”

Gentleman Captain’s Challenge

The other Sunday saw a special Captain’s Challenge – a putting competition with Andrew Richards and John Acratopulo.  Unfortunately “the Best Putter In The Club” wasn’t quite in the groove (he’d not putted for 5 years!) so Andrew and gentleman captain Jonny were defeated!

Further afield, we have the US Open to look forward to this week at Winged Foot. Whilst back here at Hale, we have the men’s Medal Final on Saturday and hopefully a continuation of this great weather 🌞

We had a fantastic turnout for the President’s prize on Saturday with 40 pairs taking part. The winners were Gwynneth Bramwell and Paul Simpson who scored an excellent 39 points. Second place went to Caroline Perkin and Paul Taylor with 37 points.

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Briggs Trophy

Congratulations go to Claire Makin for finishing second out of forty six entrants in the Briggs trophy which was played last week at Mere GC. This is one of the premier strokeplay competitions for ladies in Cheshire. She scored an excellent nett 74 having never played the course before.

Fungus

I was sent in several photos last week of this incredible fungus /mushroom growing short of the seventh green. The second photo it next to a scorecard for scale.

Medal 8

Congratulations to Dave Madeley for winning Saturday’s Medal 8 with a nett 66 and reducing his handicap to 13.6. Ben Fallows and Chris Ravenscroft both had 67s but Ben finished second following the card play off. Al Makin had the best gross of the day with a 74. The CSS was 69.

Best Two from Three

The ladies played a nine hole threeball betterball competition last Thursday followed by lunch. They had a great turnout with 17 teams taking part. The winners on countback with 42 points were Corinne Veitch, Min Fishwick and Kathleen McNairney. Second place went to Janet Grant, Vanessa Veitch and Vicki Wells.

Seniors Summer Stableford Final

Well done to Roger Mattocks for winning this event with 19 points. The ever consistent Barry Jefferies was one point behind in second place.

Next week it’s the Timpson Trophy and the Seniors AGM on Wednesday the 16th.

Junior Stableford

Angus Morris won Tuesday’s junior stableford with a great score of 20 points and reduced his handicap to 35.2 in the process. Second place was shared between Dan Turkington and Isaac Povey, playing in his first competition, with 15 points.

Retail Therapy

I’ve just got in a good selection of waterproof junior Adidas CP Traxion golf shoes in sizes UK 3 up to UK 6. They are great value at £40 per pair.

Some of you have already enjoyed the benefits of 25% off the ladies summer clothing but there are still lots of items left so why swing by to take a look.

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