Blog

It’s day two of the Summer Meeting as I write this missive so we’ll have all the results from that prestigious men’s comp in the next newsletter.

HGC Pro Am 2025

The Pro Am take places next Saturday and there are still team spaces available. If you’ve not played in it before, I urge you to consider doing so as the feedback we get from the event is always so positive.

It’s open to men and ladies and you really don’t need to be an expert golfer to take part. The maximum handicap index for men is 18.4 and for ladies it’s 24.4. If you’re handicap is higher than this, you can still play but you’ll just play off 18.4 / 24.4 on the day. Please contact me if you’d like to know more.

Ladies Away Day at Vicars Cross GC on Thu 3/7/25

The ladies had a fab away day on Thursday at Vicars Cross GC.

The winners with 93 points were Pauline Keeling, Jan Ravenscroft & Jo Bates. One shot back in second place were Sally Blackburn, Caroline Perkin & Sue Broadbent. And in third place, following a card play off, were Corinne Veitch, Min Fishwick & Jane Wilkinson with 90 points.

Caroline Perkin won the longest drive and Pam Dixon the nearest the pin prize.

MCJL here at Hale GC on Sunday 29/6/25

Well done to Jack Hickson for recording 43 points to win the Mid Cheshire Junior League (MCJL) fixture last Sunday by one point. It’s the best 3 stableford scores from 5 to count on the day so you can see from the results below that we also won the team event with 116 points.

It’s been a great season so far with loads of junior section contributing to the team effort. There are two more events to play starting with Wilmslow today (Sunday 6/7/25) so fingers crossed this good form can continue.

Medal 4 (27th & 28th June)

Nigel Taylor rolled back the years to record a nett 60 to win Medal 4 last weekend. Joe Booth was runner up with a nett 63 and Chris Brown finished third with a nett 64. The lowest gross score of the day was 74 and both Dave Smith and Tony Bray recorded that score.

Fraser Gregory shot a nett 62 but unfortunately hasn’t yet played his three qualifying rounds so that score couldn’t count in the competition. 20 players qualifiied for the Medal final which as high a number as I can recall.

Nine and Dine (B9 Reverse Waltz) on 27/06/2025

Congrats to Jan & Chris Ravenscroft and Vicki & Mike Wells for scoring 46 points to win this event from 9 days ago. The runners up were Freda & Ian Hunt and Barbara & Robert Spark with 44 points. Third place went to Richard Jenkins, Lynne Zendra, Linda Pennington & Graham Jones with 43 points.

Senior Stableford 4 B9Y on 25/06/2025

Well done to Bill Harvey for putting down his strimmer, picking up his golf clubs and recording 22 points to win SS4. Martin Oldfield was second with 20 points beating president John Gower-Jones on count back.

On Sunday afternoon, we are delighted to host the Mid Cheshire Junior League (MCJL) comprising of Bramall Park, Ringway, Sandiway, Wilmslow, Hartford and ourselves. 29 junior golfers will take to the fairways and the tee is blocked from 1350 – 1730.

If any of you would like to help and by volunteering to ball spot, that would be great. Please get in touch if so.

Group Bunker Lesson

There is still one space left in Tuesday’s group bunker lesson running from 2pm to 3pm. Please contact me if you’d like more details.

Bell Cup

It was great win for our ladies team on Sunday 22/6 when we beat Blackburn at home. The score was 5:2. So we march on into the next round and we have been drawn at home again, this time against Westhoughton. The date has yet to be confirmed.

Ad Jun Fri 20/6/25

Well done to Seb & Andrew Butterworth for winning Friday’s event with a whopping 26 points and also to Charlie Blake who remains on top in the OoM. The best newcomer award went to Charlie McCann. The rest of the results are below.

The final two events are on Friday 11th July with tee times from 1730 and Friday 5th September with tee times from 1710. Please let me know asap if you’d like to play.

F9Y Stableford (open to ladies & gents) on Fri 20/06/2025

Congrats to Bill Wrigley for winning this event with 21 points. Andrew Fishwick was second with 20 points beating Chris Adams on countback.

Ladies F9 Hole Max Medal on Thu 19/6/25

Congarts to Marie Irwin for inning this comp with a great score of nett 31. Amanda Greaves was second with 34, beating Emma Daynes on countback

MCJL on Sunday 15/6/25

Ahead of Sunday’s home fixture and in our last run out, Hale were the winners at Bramall Park GC by 4 points from Sandiway. Hopefully we can maintain this form….

There are still spaces in the group coaching session on Tues 1/7 where we take on bunker shots. The class runs from 2-3pm. The price will be £20 each if the class is full with 4 people. It will be £25 each if three attend and £30 each if there are just attendees.

If you’re free in the morning of Friday 20/6, why not enter the front nine hole stableford? It’s open to ladies and gents and everyone will play from the yellow tees.

Mixed Centenary

Congrats to Jackie Murphy & Jonny Gray for winning Saturday’s Mixed Centenary with 39 points. Chris Marsh & gents captain Glyn Isaac were runners up with 36 points beating Carolin Perkin & Paul Taylor on countback.

Karl Morris

Thanks to everyone who attended the Karl Morris presentation on Monday. We had over 60 there and the feedback subsequently has been fantastic. Karl is a prominent golf performance coach and he gave us several great takeaways to work on and implement.

Recent Ladies Comps

Congrats to Janet Grant for winning Thursday’s 18 hole stableford and to Irene Kirk for winning the Granny Cup with 34 points.

Jackie Murphy also won the F9 stableford on Thu 12/6 with 23 points, having pointed out in the pro shop beforehand how poorly she was playing! Well done Jackie. Jean green was second with 21 points.

Sue Bromley won the F9 max score medal the previous week (5/6/25) in lousy weather. The other 3 players that completed their nine holes were Jennifer Bradley, Jane Perks and Pat Jefferies. Well done all for battling round!

Seniors Stableford 3

Five players tied on 20 points on Wednesday and following a complex series of card play offs that Chris Adams performed, Nigel Taylor was declared the winner. The club’s president John Gower-Jones was the runner up and Rob Manley & Bob Siddle shared third place.

Medal 3

Alex Mills breezed round in a one over par 71 for a nett 66 the day before his 21st birthday to win Medal 3 on Sat 7th June. Congratulations on both counts Alex! Our secretary Robin Russel-Fisher was second folowing a card play off and Neil Thompson was one shot adrift to finish third.

Summer Party (Fri 6/6/25)

And here’s a essage from the club’s social team

The Summer party was a great success. The Livertones kept the members dancing and singing all evening. We’d like to extend thanks to all members who supported the event. 

This week’s news letter might look a bit different as I have a new method of sending them out – I hope it works!!

There is a front 9 hole singles stableford taking place on Fri 20/6 going live anytime. All players wll be playing from the yellow tees.

MCJL at Sandiway (Sun 1/6/25)

It was a tough, breezy day for our five juniors who played at sandiway on Sunday. The overall winner scored a mighty impressive 44 points. Our junior captain Olly Mills took a break from GCSE revision to record our best score with 35 points. Seb Butterworth & Joe Booth scored 32 points , Ollie Grieves 30 points and Jack Hickson 26 points.

It’s just great that we are regularly getting a full team to compete in these events this year. The next fixture is at Bramhall Park GC on Sun 15/6/25. 

Captain’s Prize (Sat 31/5/25)

Liam Murphy won on saturday with 41 points. I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention that Liam had a golf lesson with me two days earlier! Timothy Kilroe shot 29 points but hasn’t got enough competitive rounds under his belt for hissc ore to count. This meant that Guy Withey finished as runner up also with 39 points. Neil Thompson was third with 38 points.

Liam also won the longest drive on the 10th hole and Danny Fox won the nearest the pin on the 13th.

Best 2 from 3 B9 Stableford (Fri 30/5/25)

Everyone played from the red tees for this event and Jo Egerton, Sally Blackburn & Kerry Gill won with a fabulous total of 44 points. Bill Wrigley, Andrew Fishwick & Ian Hunt were second with 38 points beating Vicki Wells, Pauline Keeling & Mike Wells on countback.

Ladies Comps (Thu 29/5/25)

Caroline Smith won the the Bunty Booth with a great score of 42 points. Sally-Anne Heaford was the runner up with 39 points beating Diana Hogben and Chris Marsh on countback.

In the front nine hole stableford, Jennifer Bradley was the winner with 22 points and Ceri Hyde was second with 17 points.

Ollie Grieves

Junior member Ollie Grieves is pictured below at Carus Green GC just before his game at the recent Faldo Futures Regional Final. Poor Ollie missed out on a trip to the Belfry by just one shot. I have no doubt that he’ll learn from it and bounce back to more success in the future.

There are some spaces left in the nine hole team stableford on Friday afternoon if you fancy giving it a go. If you do, please sign up via Club V1.

Also we still have spaces in the junior comp taking place on Sat 7th June with tee times from 1630. Handicaps are not required for this fun competition. Please let me know via email if you can make it.

Bank Holiday Frolic

Well done to Barbara Spark, Richard Hogben, Robert Spark & Diana Hogben for winning the step-a-side Texas scramble stableford on Monday with 25 points. Jane Perks, Lynette Lodge, Caroline Massey & John Moss were runners up with 24 points. Kate & Antony Morris and Helen & Mark Williams finished third following the card play off.

Performance Coach

Not long until Karl comes to HGC to present to us in the dining room about simple ways to perform better and enjoy your golf more. Over 50 people have signed up thus far so you don’t want to be the one to miss out! It runs from 1900 – 2030 on Monday 9th June and the price of admission is £20

Ladies Comps on Thu 22/5/25

Congrats to Freda Hunt & Rosie Gerrard for winning the R & A Coronation 4somes competition with 40 points. Lynette Lodge & Caroline Massey were second with 38 points.

In the back nine stableford, Kerry Bailey triumphed with a bonkers-ly good score of 28 points!! Lucy Leonard was second with 22 points.

Would you be removing your shoes and socks??

This is where LC Vicky C’s tee shot finished on the 4th hole during the weekend in her Ladies 4somes KO. Probably quite sensibly, Vicky opted not to take on the shot!!

Bringing Guests

Please remember that when you bring a guest or guests, it is your responsibility as to how they dress, how they behave and to ensure thay have the appropriate equipment (for instance, all players must have their own set of clubs). Thank you.

Another great week of weather and a third major championship for Scottie Scheffler, whilst seemingly not even playing that well by his immense standards. What a golfer he is!

Thanks to everyone who turned out for Tuesday morning’s divoting party. Give yourselves a big pat on the back!

Seniors 3 Clubs & a Putter Stableford (21/5/25)

Well done to John Wright for winning this event with 21 points – apparently the other 10 clubs are now on an extended sabatical! John Gower-Jones was runner up with 20 points and Roger Dawson-Smith third with 19.

Message from Ted Shaw

Any men who would like to represent HGC in the Captain’s Matches should add their name to the list on ClubV1 app. You’ll find it under “club teams”.

The first match was a draw vs Wilmslow. It went down to the last match on the 18th green when “rookie” Neil Thompson drained a 5 footer to win his match with partner Chris Ravenscroft. Tense stuff!

The new team pink shirts have been ordered and we’re hoping they’ll be delivered sometime the wc 2/6/25. As soon as they are, we’ll let you know

Karl Morris

Would you like to enjoy your golf more? Would you like to perform better on the golf course? Would you like to improve your golf IQ? If the answer is yes to any of these questions then you need to come along tot he Karl Morris evening here at Hale GC on Monday 9th June. It’s £20 per ticket and the presentation runs from 1900 – 20230. Please book your spot now by contacting me.

Medal 2 (Sat 17/5/25)

Marcus Davies was whinging on Friday evening about his game and then breezed it round in nett 65 to win Medal 2. Great stuff! Peter Atherton wass econd with a nett 68 and Dave McGlennon was third with a nett round of level par.

Junior Stableford on Sat 17/5/25

Joe Booth won Saturday’s front nine junior stableford with 17 points. New junior member Matt McGrail was runner up with 16 and Ollie Grieves finished in third place with 14 points.

Adult Junior on Fri 16/5/25

Well done to Charlie Blake and partner Mark Simmester for winning the event on Friday. Charlie’s father Richard may be keeping the bench warm for the next few comps!!

The event is going from strength to strength with 20 pairs taking part. Thanks to everyone who played. Charlie also leads the OoM after 3 events with another three to play. Results below.

Hale GC Pro Am 2025

We still have four team spaces left for the excellent annual event which is taking place on Sat 12th July. It’s open to ladies & gents, members & non members so there’s no excuse not to get involved.

If you have entered and haven’t yet paid, please could you look at doing so when you are next in the shop. Probably the easiest way to pay is by credit / debit card.

Ladies 9 & 18 hole Max Medals (15/5/25)

Sharon Thorne won the 18 hole max medal with a great nett score of 68. Heather Gilchrist was second with 70 and Jan Ravenscroft third with a 71.

In the front 9 hole comp, Kate Morris kept up her recent good from to win with a nett 32 . There were then four players on nett 33 but Jane Wilkinson finshed as runner up following the card play off and Vicki Wells finished third.

Seniors Stableford 2 (14/5/25)

The clear winner with 21 points was Roger Dawson-Smith. John Bacon was second on 20 points and there was a card play off for third on 19 points with Bill Harvey pipping Mike Bulcock.

It’s a briefer newsletter this week as we look forward to a busy few days ahead with a seniors comp, the two ladies comps , the men’s Medal 2, an adult junior event on Friday and a junior comp on Saturday!

Adult Group Coaching

There is still one space available for the 20/5, the 3/6 is full, there are 2 spaces available for the 17/6 and 3 spaces for the 1/7

There are more details below. There will be a max of 4 pupils per session.

The price will be on a sliding scale. If there are 4 attendees, the price will be £20 each. If there are 3, the price will be £25 each and if there are just two, the price will be £30 each. I will keep anyone who signs up to date with the numbers and if they decide the price isn’t what they want to pay then I understand and will remove them from the session without charge. Hope that sounds fair.

Please let me know if you’d like to sign up. It’s on a first come, first served basis.

DATE	TIMES	TOPIC
Tues 20/5/25	1400 – 1500	Chip it Closer
Tues 3/6/25	1400 – 1500	Make More Putts
Tues 17/6/25	1400 – 1500	Bunkers: Get out Every Time
Tues 1/7/25	1400 – 1500	Full Swing Fundamentals

Reminders

Bell Cup

Congrats to our Bell Cup team who had a fabulous 6-1 victory away against Bolton Old Links in the first round of the Bell Cup on Sunday. 

Men’s 18 hole Stableford

There was a three way tie at the top with 39 points but after the card play off Rob Manley finished as the winner. Freddie Gillan was he runner up and poor David Madeley was pushed into third.

GPS Update

Those of you that use Shotscope devices should know that the back nine course mapping has been updated to reflect the distances to the upper level of the 14th green, rather than those of the combined 5th and 14th greens. Thanks to ian Hunt for taking the lead on this.

Things are getting busy in the golfing world and at HGC so we have a jam packed newsletter this week. We have lots of results, news of future events and various reminders about things. Let’s dive in!

On Friday 30th May, we have a 9 hole best 2 from 3 team stableford open to ladies and gents. It’s going to be played over the back nine and everyone will play from the red tees. Booking for it opens on the 16th May so please look out for it. 30/5

Club V1

Below are a couple of useful things to know, thanks to Ian Hunt for sharing.

Firstyly, if you are part of a team and find that you are unable to play, please make sure that you choose the ‘Withdraw’ option rather than ‘Cancel’ as the latter will remove the entire team from the start sheet – this may not be what you intended!

Secondly, the new touch screen ouside the sec’s office allows you to bring up your profile simply by swiping their club card. This makes it a little easier and quicker when entering a competition or submitting a score.

From the Greenstaff

The gates to access the 3rd tee and leave the 8th green are operational again. The access code is 1903. They will be left unlocked whilst the greenstaff are on site (7am – 3pm) and will be locked outside of these times. So please ensure that after you have passed through them that you lock them again if the time is outside of the hours of 7am to 3pm.

A polite reminder – please will golfers walk round the back of the 2nd tee on the path to park their trolleys between the tees. Thank you.

Please note that there will be a divoting party on Tuesday 20th May from 0800. The tee has been reserved from 0800 – 0930. Please bring a bucket to use for your seed/soil mix.

Seniors F9 Texas Scramble

This took place on Wed 7th may and the winning team with 25 points were Paul Bramwell, Keith Thompson & Nigel Taylor. One point behind in second place were Tony Sampson, Adam Hyde & Mike Bulcock. David Cranmer, Paul Gilbert & Richard Jenkins were third with 23 points.

Frolic

Monday’s bank holiday Frolic was won by Ron Kirk, Fiona Webster and Holly & Jaysen Rowlinson with 42 points. Runners up with 41 points were Barry & Pat Jefferies and Barbara & Robert Spark.

Performance Coaching

I’m really pushing this now as Karl will be here at HGC in less than 5 weeks. He’s a world renowned golf performance coach and he’s coming to our club. If there’s any part of you that wants to play better golf and just as importantly enjoy it more then you need to come along. The event is open to members and non members and will be of use to all golfers be that juniors, seniors, gents or ladies. It will run from 1900 – 2030 on Mon 9th june and the ticket price is £20. Please contact me to reserve your place.

Ladies Exchange Day

Our ladies section gathered in the sunshine at Sandbach Golf Club on 6 May for the Exchange Day. There were 7 teams of 3 playing 18 holes and 3 teams played 9 holes.

The scores of the 9 hole comp were very close but the winners, following a card play off, were Caroline Massey Sally Wright and Helen Redfern.

The outright winners of the 18 hole staableford with 96 points were Clare Withey, Kerry Gill and Pauline Keeling. Jennifer Bradley, Pat Jeffries and Kathleen McNairney were runners up and Wendy Jenkins, Pam Dixon and Mary Cockbain finsihed third.

Jo Bates won Nearest the Pin and Emma Daynes won the Nearest the Gorilla – an unusual spot prize but i like it!

According to Vicki Wells a good day was had by all, our hosts treated us very well and apparently we were ‘delightful guests’! The lady captain Vicky Chamberlain thanked Vicki and Gail Sampson for doing an excellent job of arranging the day out and even sorted out the weather!

Medal 1

Some great scores in medal 1. The winner though with a gross 78 and a nett 64 was Chris Davies. As he explained, that was his best ever round at HGC and in his 70th year – impressive stuff! Jack Wilcox was second with a nett 65 and Antony Morris third with a nett 66. I hope Chris and Jack don’t mind me saying but they have both recently had lessons with me so I’m delighted to have helped them with their golf.

Eleven players recorded twos and Gary Beal bagged two (more on him later)!!

Ladies Comps on Thu 1/5/25

The winners of the 18 hole Austrailian Spoons foursomes competition were Pauline Keeling and Gail Sampson with 43 points. The runners up with 40 points were Rosie Gerrard & Freda Hunt.

Gill Kay won the B9 hole stableford with 21 points beating Helen Redfern on count back.

Wed 30/4/25 F9 Stableford

Well done to Antony Morris for winning this comp with 23 points. Bill Wrigley was second with 22 points and John Wright was one point further back to finish in 3rd spot.

Photos

This weather is proving to be a most welcome tonic and long may it continue. Hats and sun cream are a must at the moment! This week, we have a lots of results to catch up on plus news of some group coaching sessions, more details on Karl Morris’ visit in June (not Noelle’s husband!) and details of a great value electric trolley for sale.

Well done to Ben Fallows for winning the lady captain’s parking space raffle for use on Saturdays – his car must have got used to parking in that section of the car park!!

Archie Preston

Unfortunately we were beaten in our home fixture of the Archie Preston mixed foursomes interclub knockout competition on Sunday. Breightmet prevailed 4:3 with two matches going into extra holes.

Adult Group Coaching Sessions

We’re continuing the popular group sessions from last year with four sessions planned for the coming weeks. The details are below. There will be a max of 4 pupils per session.

The price will be on a sliding scale. If there are 4 attendees, the price will be £20 each. If there are 3, the price will be £25 each and if there are just two, the price will be £30 each. I will keep anyone who signs up to date with the numbers and if they decide the price isn’t what they want to pay then I understand and will remove them from the session without charge. Hope that sounds fair.

Please let me know if you’d like to sign up. It’s on a first come, first served basis.

DATE	TIMES	TOPIC
Tues 20/5/25	1400 – 1500	Chip it Closer
Tues 3/6/25	1400 – 1500	Make More Putts
Tues 17/6/25	1400 – 1500	Bunkers: Get out Every Time
Tues 1/7/25	1400 – 1500	Full Swing Fundamentals

Junior Group Coaching Sessions

Please remember that we run junior group sessions on most Saturdays throughout the season from 1345-1445 . The price per child is £10. Please contact me if you’d like to be added to the designated WhatsApp group.

Captains’ Mixed Foursomes

The day before Ben Fallows & Barbara Spark won this shotgun start competition with 41 stableford points. Dave Smith & Judith Guest were beaten on a card play off to finish in second place. Third spot went to Keith Thompson & Jan Ravenscroft with 40 points. Twos were recorded by Smith & Guest, Fallows & Spark and Long and Marsh.

Ladies Comps

Tracey, Thompson won last week’s 18 hole stableford with 38 points. Helen Williams kept up her recent consistent form to finish as the runner up. Jan ravenscroft was third with 35 points. In the F9 stableford, Jane Wilkinson won with 21 points and Kathleen McNairney was second with 18 points. Diana Harris was beaten on a card play off to finsih in third spot.

The week before Gillian Brogdon, won the 18 hole stableford with a whopping 46 points! Well done Gillian. Kate Morris was the runner up with 40 points and Helen Williams was third with 37 points. In the nine hole stableford, Karen Stockton won with 21 points beating Lucy Leonard on countback. Jackie Murphy was thirdw ith 20 points.

Easter Monday Frolic

The frolic was won by Lisa & Andrew Warnes and caroline & Quentin Smith. Runners up were Gill Kay, Tony Connelly, Graham Jone & Judith Guest

Ex Rental Electric trolley For Sale

I have a Motocaddy M1 elecric trolley with an extended lithium battery for sale at £449. It’s a great trolley and is only just over 12 months old. Please contact me to take a look.

Adult Junior

Well done to Dom Bramhall for winning Friday’s event with 23 points just pipping the McCanns following a card play off. That win also puts him on top of the Order of Merit with four more events to play. Results below.

The next compeition is on Friday 16th May with tee times from 1730. Please contact me to book.

Performance Coach

Why not improve your golf and even your enjoyment of the game with some proven strategies from one of europe’s top performance golf coaches. It will be fun and informative and it’s on our doortseps. Please contact me to book.

Both of my daughters, Sophie & Charlotte, represented Bowdon club in the national final of the girls U16s tournament which was held at the Nottingham hockey centre on Saturday. Unfortunately they lost 6-2 to Southgate hockey club who are based in Enfield but they battled on throughout. And of course it was a great achievement just getting there in the first place. Many thanks to those of you who enquired how they’d got on.

No heartbreak for Rory though on this occassion as he completed the grand slam by winning the Masters on Sunday and became the first ever European to do so. It was truly captivating stuff. I was exhausted yesterday and that was just through watching!!

Lady Captain’s Parking Space

It’s not too late to get your own designated parking space On Saturdays for a year. There are more details below (copied from an email sent out on 3/4/25)

Seniors Best 2 from 4 Stableford

Congrats go to Dave Smith , Captain Glynn & past Johnny Yates for winning Wednesday’s seniors team comp with 38 points. Three teams tied on 37 points so on a card play- off Rob Manley, John Bacon & Keith Thompson finished as runners up. Third place went to Ade Kershaw, Jim Nicholson & Steve Bates.

Spring Stableford

Adam Laitt prepared as only Adam can for Saturday’s Spring stableford by playing practically zero golf and then breezing round in 40 points (or 68 gross in old money!) Great stuff!

Three other players also recorded 40 points and they were Frank McKenna, Richard Hogben and Mike Kirchin. After the card play offs, Frank finished as the runner up and Richard finished in third place.

Ladies 18 and 9 hole Max Score Medals

There was some tremendous scoring in last week’s ladies competitions. Heather Gilchrist won the 18 hole medal with a nett 62 and by only one shot! Jo Egerton was second with a nett 63. Third place went to Di Hogben with a nett 68.

The 9 hole medal was won by Kerry Bailey with a nett 32. Kate Morris was one shot back to finish as the runner up and Jane Wilkinson scored a nett 34 to finish in third spot.

Hole in One!

Congratulations to Janet Grant for recording a hole in one on the 4th hole during her match against High Legh on Monday. Don’t tell anyone but in the excitement no one took a photo so Janet and I re-created the scene on the 9th hole!!

Ollie G

Last week, our very own Ollie Grieves won the Faldo Futures Event at Kirkby Lonsdale GC. He shot a gross 45 against a par of 36 to win by four shots. Well done Ollie, what a great achievement!