Blog

What a performance by Xander Schauffele to win the Open at Troon and bag his second major of the year. The course looked magnificient and the weather cooperated by giving us some brutal conditions on the Saturday to see the top players in the world battle with… I think we all quite enjoy seeing that don’t we??!

Group Coaching

There are still one or two spaces left in these coaching sessions (see below) so please let me know if you’d like to join us.

Back 9 Stableford

Freda Hunt on Monday’s back nine stableford with 20 points. John Kennedy was second with 18 points and Janet grant secured third spot with 16 points.

John’s win means that he and Graham jones are leading the order of Merit with two events to play. See the top ten places below. The next dates are Sat 3/8 and Sat 24/8

Medal 5

Congrats to Mike Kirchin for shooting an excellent nett 66 to win Saturday’s Medal 5. Martin Oldfield was one back to secure second spot and George Buchan was third with a nett 66.

Peter Hindle and Dave Smith tied the best gross score of the competition with 78s.

MCJL Junior Open at Astbury GC

Some of our junior section were back at Astbury on Saturday for the MCJL Open. Jack Hickson scored 33 points but also won the nearest the line competition, finishing just 3″ away from it! Junior captain Matthew Hodder recorded 31 points and Louis Wild 27 points.

A few of the juniors are entering other junior opens with Wilmslow being one of them so we wish them well for those events.

May Ashton & Nine Hole Max Medal

Well done to Jo Bryant for winning the May Ashton last Thursday with a nett 71. Diana Hogeb was second with a nett 75 beating Caroline Perkin on a card play off.

Karen Stockton won the front nine hole max medal with a nett 36 beating Sally Wright on a card play off. Pauline Keeling was third with a nett 38.

Senior Stableford 4 B9

On the 17th July, Phil Long recorded 20 points to win the back nine seniors Stableford. Chris Adams was runner up with 18 points and Tony sampson third with 17 points.

Wahoo, the greatest show in golf (the Open) rolls into Troon this week…. and the Pro Shop Open Sweepstake has been drawn! Plus what a super win for Bob MacIntyre in the Scottish Open on Sunday.

In this week’s missive, there is golf news from closer to home to whet your appetite and also details of some upcoming group coaching sessions. Also, booking opens on Sunday at 8pm for the next nine hole stableford which is taking place on Sat 3rd August and a reminder that there are still spaces in Monday’s (the 22nd July) 9 hole stableford so please enter if you can!

Pro Am

23 teams tooks to the golf course for battle for the 2024 HGC Pro Am on Saturday. Each team consisted of three amateurs and a pro. The winning team with 15 under par were Pete Hindle, Pete Turkington , Joe Mills and their pro Sonny Lewis. Second place (and hence Ben’s comedy “long” face on the photo) were gentleman captain Ben Fallows, Nancy Fallows, Alison Booth and their pro Scott Booth. Third place with 12 under were Summer Meeting winner Dave Smith, Glyn Isaac, Andrew Cowan and myself. Neil Thompson’s team finished fourth.

In the individual Pro’s event, Jason Dransfield from Heswall successfully defended the title that he won last year with a gross 66. He’s a fine player and great supporter of the Cheshire & North Wales PGA so his victory was thoroughly deserved. The runner up with a gross 67 was myself, which I was really pleased with. I’d led for most of the day as my team and I had played in the morning but Jason was playing in the penultimate group and came in to beat me by one. Third spot with one under par was shared with Oli Pantoja (who needs no introduction!) and Alistair Waddell from Chorlton-cum-Hardy GC.

So many thanks yous…. to Russ and the greenkeeping team, Ben & the bar & kitchen team, the guys from the PGA Joe and Bill (the starter), all the pros that played and of course everyone who entered to make it another fantastic event.

MCJL

As you’ll see, a strong fish from Hazel Grove meant that we finished second overall following the final Muirfield League MCJL fixture of the year at Astbury GC on Saturday. So it would have been nice to win but Phil Hickson and I are still super proud of the effort from all of the juniors. We started out struggling to get enough players to fill a team early in the season to contending strongly at the end so very well done. 

Adult Junior

Well done to Oscar Davies who’s win on Friday with father Marcus sees him leading the charge to Order of Merit glory and the Claret Jug (beware of imitations!) but Louis Wild is just 2 points back. The final event of the campaign takes place on Friday 6th September with tee times from 17.00 onwards so please let me know if you’d like to play.

Bridgford & Moir

Well done to Mandy Gilbert for winning last week’s Bridgford competition and also for recording the best nett score on the Wednesday of the two day tournament. Janet Grant came second in the Bridgford and third in the Moir Cup. Gill Kay came third in the Bridgford and recorded the best nett score on the Thursday.

Congrats to Tiff Fielden for defending the Moir Cup, which is the gross competition. Kairen Seaton won the most improved player award from day one to day two.

Snips from Greens

Over to Bob Siddle for this update on our local rules……

The eagle eyed amongst you will have seen the amendment to our Permanent Local Rules on the Rules Noticeboard!

The extensive works installing the irrigation system and the current and planned work to alleviate drainage issues means there are several areas of unusually disturbed ground occurring at various points around the course. It is not feasible to mark and maintain white lines to define GUR to all such areas so a temporary amendment to Permanent Local Rule 4. Immovable Obstructions has been introduced which is shown in bold italics below.

These temporary rules will apply until Further Notice.

LR4. Immovable Obstructions (Rule 16.1)

Within the boundaries of the course, all man made fixtures are deemed immovable obstructions. This includes constructed tracks andpaths but excludes tractor marks and drainage channels unless the ball is clearly sitting on exposed gravel, stones or concrete  and/or such clusters of stonework interfere with a player’s stance or the area of his intended swing.

If a fixed sprinkler head, and/or any ground immediately surrounding it which has been significantly disturbed during its installation, is within two club-lengths of the green edge and on a players line, they may also take relief as long as their ball lies on an area cut to fairway height or less and is within two club-lengths of the obstruction. (Model Local Rule F-5.1)

Photos

Thanks for the photos below from Brian Greenbank. Apparently the greenstaff had a sweep in the Euros and Paul & Ben came last so were given the job of cleaning the water pumps, the island and the solar panel of the pond on the 4th/13th!!

The ladies Bridgford is being playing today and tomorrow (it’s Wednesday as I write this), we’ve had the men’s Summer Meeting last weekend and the Pro Am takes place on Saturday so it’s safe to say we’re in the thick of things golf wise… plus the Open starts next week from Troon! Hope you enjoys this week’s round up.

Summer Meeting

Well done to the winners of the various prizes from the men’s summer meeting which took place last weekend. They are as follows:

• Best Nett Saturday – Ian Goulty (nett 66)
• Best Nett Sunday – Al Kenney (nett 69)
• Goulty Trophy. – Ian Goulty (nett 66)
• Walker Trophy. – John Kennedy (nett 70 & 68 for a 138 total)
• Arnold Challenge. – Andrew Hay (gross 84)
• MacCaig Trophy. – John Gray (gross 72)
• Galloway Scratch – David Smith (gross 80 & 74 for a 154 total)

Summer BBQ

Football watching, barbequed food, drinks and rainbows – what else could the attendees want!

Mixed TNC

Thus took place last Thursday and was a great success. It was Howard Gill’s birthday and Play your Cards Right made a comeback! Martin Oldfield was telling jokes and stories as only he can plus Roise Gerrard and Rob Manley were presented with the trophy following thier win in the Mixed Centenary on the 15th June.

Ladies Presentation

Congrats to Clare Withey for winning the 18 hole stableford with 37 points. Pauline Keeling was second with 36 points and Helen Williams was third with 35 points.

Ceri Hyde won the back nine stableford with 20 points. Judith Guest was second with 18 points and Helen Redfern finished in third place with 17 points.

There are one or two spaces left in the Open Sweepstake so please get in touch to secure that you get involved!

Remember if you’d like to book a golf lesson with me, please call, email or just click here to book online.

Invitation Day

Congrats to Jim Nicholson, Will Nicholson, Sam Smith and Nick Buckley for winning Sundy’s Mixed Invitation day with 88 points. Bernie Wilcox, Ismael Mury, Tony Anderson and Simon Stokes were runners up with just one point less. Martin Oldfield won the Nearest the Pin prize on the 4th hole and Sam Smith won the one on the on the 11th.

Open Stableford

Neil Roberts won Saturday’s front nine stableford with a stunning 25 points. Johnny Yates was second with 22 points and Janet Grant third with 21 points.

The date of the next competition is a little experimental and will take place on Monday 22nd July with tee times from 1530 – 1730. Bookings will open for this event on Sunday. If you are able to play early, please do so to enable people who want to play after work the best chance to do so.

MCJL Results from Eaton GC

Another weekend and another great results from our juniors in the latest MCJL event at Eaton GC. Louis Wild scored 38 points to win overall and Ollie Grieves shot the same score to finish as runner up following a card play off. Jach Hickson finished 7th with 34 points and junior captain Matthew Hodder scored 30 points to finish in 10th spot. Thanks to Phil Hickson for acting as junior organiser and chauffeur on the day!!

We remain top of the league with just one more fixture to play on 13th July at Astbury GC. Just one more good result needed to get us over the line!!

Hilda Timpson Salver

Chris Marsh won the Hilda Timpson Salver with a fine score of nett 68. Well done Chris! Rachel McDowell was second with a nett 73 and Kairen Seaton third with a nett 74

Lady Captain’s Day

A great day was had by all last week for the Lady Captain’s Day. There was also some mighty fine scoring…..

Amanda Greves won the 18 hole competition with a whopping 46 points and Wendy Jenkins was second with a non too shabby 44 points! Jane Nicholson won the nine hole comp with an excellent score of 24 points and Ceri Hyde was runner up with 22 points.

The Nearest the Pin prize was won by Vanessa Veitch and the Nearest the Line was won by Jane Nicholson.

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. Before we dive into the recent news, we have a couple of club housekeeping points from the club to get us started.

Green Fees

Please can everyone ensure that their guest green fees are paid before play. Please pay them in the Pro Shop. If the shop is closed, please pay them behind the bar. If that is closed, please email me or call me to arrange payment (email is preferable).

As a reminder, unless at the time of booking you pay by credit card, your green fee will NOT automatically be debited. If in doubt as to whether you have paid or not, please contact me.

Dress Code

Secondly, one or two of the members have recently complained about a decline in the dress standards. Please click here to view the club’s dress code. The main culprits seem to be untucked shirts and non tailored shorts. Please can ALL members adhere to this dress code.

MCJL

We hosted the third round of the Mid Cheshire Junior league on Sunday. The weather was perfect and the course looked great. Furthermore we performed superbly with us taking the first four places in the 23 player field. Joe Booth finished first with an excellent 39 points. Well done to the rest of the team (junior captain Matthew Hodder, Ollie Grieves, Jack Hickson and Louis Wild). We current sit on top of the league and travel to Eaton GC on Saturday for the penultimate event of the season. Keep it up team!!

Bell Cup

On the same day, our ladies Bell cup team faced Heyrose away. Unfortunately we narrowly missing out on a quarter final place by losing 4:3. Bad luck ladies but it bodes well for 2025!

Medal 4

As mentioned in last week’s missive, DaveMcGlennon cleaned up on Saturday winning Medal 4 on countback with a nett 68. He also won the best gross. Plus he and Andrew Fishwick were presented with the Sandiford trophy (the men’s winter foursomes) having beaten Roger Sheen & George Buchan in the final earlier in the year.

Pete Hindle was the runner up in Medal 4 and third place with a nett 70 went to Jim Nicholson.

Adult Junior Comp

Well done to Fraser Gregory for winning Friday’s event with a massive turnout of 16 juniors and invariably one of their parents. Fraser also leads the OoM with two events to. The next event will take place on Fri 12th July with tee times from 1730.

These events have been running for years and almost as a direct consequence of them we have both juniors and parents apply to join the club so they really are a force for good. Thanks to junior organiser Phil Hickson for helping me out with this event and also for doing sterling work on the day we hosted the MCJL. I think Phil has developed a taste for being a starter and fancies the gig at the Open now!!

Nine & Dine

Here’s the photo of Friday’s 9 & dine winners. They score an excellent 43 points.was won by with a great score of 43 points

Lift Off……

This week’s missive is a bit of an epic as I just realised I didn’t upload the one I wrote the other week! Grab a cuppa and start to work your way through it…..

There is still space left in the next nine hole stableford on Sat 29th June. In addition, there are still one or two spaces left in the Pro Am which takes place on Sat 13th July here at HGC. Both events are open to men and ladies.

To enter the nine hole comp, please do so on Club V1. To enter, the Pro Am, please make contact with me.

Medal 4

This was played on Fri 21st and Sat 22nd June. Well played Mr McG! Five twos were recorded which is the most for some time.

1	Dave McGlennon	77 – 9 = 68
2	Peter Hindle	78 – 10 = 68
3	Jim Nicholson	97 – 27 = 70

Nine and Dine on Friday 21st June

1	P. Jefferies / A. Bradley / J. Bradley / B. Jefferies	43
2	I. Hunt / F. Hunt / A. Fishwick / M. Fishwick	39
3	R. Mattocks / A. Mattocks / D. Cockbain / M. Cockbain	37

Ladies Back Nine Medal

Well done to Lynette Lodge for winning Thursday’s comp with 34. Sue Fallows was one shot back to finish as runner up.

The results for the Hilda Timpson Salver will be announced next week.

Ladies Summer Meeting – shotgun start and lunch

Here are the top two team from the ladies summer meeting back on the 13th June.

Ladies Away Day

Thanks to Rosie for this match report from the ladies recent away day at Leigh GC.

24 ladies played at Leigh on a dry day!  The course was in good condition with excellent, very fast greens.  We were very well looked after by their staff, the food was very good and very hot! 

The two nearest pin prizes awarded to Sally Budd and Clare Withey. Second prize on a card play off with 86 points were Clare Withey, Diana Harris, Pat Jefferies and Mary Cockbain.
The winners with 91 points were Irene Kirk, Sue Bryant, Vicki Chamberlain and Pauline Keeling.

Senior Stableford 3 Front Nine on the 16th June

John Kennedy took first prize with 20 points, Roger Mattocks came second with 19 points on a card play off from Jon Cowan. Craig Rae scored the only two of the day on the fourth hole.

Mixed Centenary on the 15th June

1	R. Gerrard / R. Manley	35
2	J. Ravenscroft / C. Ravenscroft	34
3	B. Fallows / N. Fallows	31

Seniors Back Nine Texas Scramble on the 12th June

1	I. Pinnington / A. Kay / R. Manley	21
2	T. Sampson / J. Nicholson / M. Wells	20
3	I. Hunt / B. Harvey / D. Swale	20

Bell Cup

Match report below, courtesy of team captain Sally Wright.

The ladies Bell Cup team played their second round match at home on Sunday against Haydock Park. With the scores level at 3-3 it was down to super sub Tracey (who had only been told she was needed the night before whilst partying at Hale GC!) & she brought home the victory 4-3. We will play Heyrose away in the 3rd round.

Medal 3

Congrats to Paul Simpson for winning with a nett 72, indicationg how challenging the scoring conditions were. Mark Haywood was second and and John Kennedy third, both scored nett 73s. There was just one two recorded over the two days of compettion and that went to Peter Atherton on the 2nd hole.

It should be noted that Maz Lund and Liam Murphy scored a nett 70 and 72 respectively but unfortunately they haven’t yet played the requisite number of competitions so they weren’t eleigible to win a prize.

Ladies Charity Nine Hole Stableford

Well done to Vicky Wells for scoring 19 points to win last Thursday’s competition. Noelle Morris was runner up with 18 points and Ann Coulson third with 17 points. All proceeds went to the lady captain’s charity, Prevent Breast Cancer.

Quote

The Pond on the 4th / 13th Hole

I have been asked to include the relief options for if you hit your ball into the water on the 4th / 13th hole. It is marked as a red penalty area and the rule number is 17.1d. Thankfully the Rules of Golf now has pictures so I have included it and the wording below.

When it is known or virtually certain that a ball is in a red penalty area and the player wishes to take relief, the player has three options, each for one penalty stroke. The player may:

1. Take stroke-and-distance relief by playing a ball from a relief area based on where the previous stroke was made.
2. Take back-on-the-line relief by dropping a ball outside the penalty area, keeping point X between the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped.
3. Take lateral relief (red penalty area only). The reference point for taking relief is point X, and a ball must be dropped in and played from the two club-length relief area, which is no nearer the hole than point X.

Photos

One of the early starters in a recent gents comp sent me these photos… the greenstaff had barely left the premises! Please be courteous to your fellow golfers and leave the bunkers (and the rest of the course for that matter!) neat and tidy.

What a great win at the weekend for father and son combination of Bob and Dougie MacIntyre in the Canadian Open!

This week we have some results of our own and some news of some more group coaching dates.

Also the HGC PGA Pro Am is just around the corner now (on Saturday 13th July). There are still some spots in the morning left so please contact me for more information or to enter this great event.

If you have already entered, please could you look at settling the payment. The entry fee is £240 if all three amateur players are HGC members or £270 if one or more of the amateur players are not HGC members. Thank you.

Group Coaching

Below are the next dates and topics for the group coaching sessions. All with run for an hour from 2pm to 3pm. They are open to ladies and gents. The price is £25 but if you do four in a calendar year, the fifth one is foc! There are a maximum of four per class. If places book up, I’ll put on extra sessions. Please let me know if you’d like to join us.

Hopefully the topics are self explanatory. The exception is probably “Specific Shots on the Course”. This is a little experimental! The idea is that anyone who signs up tells me which shot on the golf course they’re struggling with. We’ll then do our best to recreate it and help you and the rest of the group tackle it with greater confidence.

Mon 10/6/24	Fewer Three Putts
Tues 2/7/24	Improving Impact
Mon 8/7/24	Specific Shots on the Course
Tues 16/7/24	Bunker Shots – What you Need to Know to Escape Every Time

Back Nine Hole Open Stableford

Well done to Martin Oldfield for winning this competition on Sunday with 20 points. Second place went to Tony Sampson with 19 points. Jane Nicholson was third with 18 points beating Bill Harvey on a card play off. The greens staff occasionally allow Bill some time away from working on the course to actually playing on the course!!

Here’s the Order of Merit after four events, John Kennedy remains on top! The next open nine hole stableford will be on Sat 29th June.

Unfortunately there was a mix up about which tees the men should be playing off. After consultation with the comps committee and the captains, we made the decision to allow all the scores to stand. Please accept my apologies for the Pro Shop’s role in this miscommunication.

Ladies Nine Hole Reverse Waltz

On Thursday, in threes, the ladies played a nine hole reverse waltz. Congratulations to the winners who were Emma Daynes, Gail Sampson & Corinne Veitch. The runners up were Sally Budd, Caroline Smith & Kerry Gill.

This week, we look at some results from the last few days and mention about some slightly reduced Pro Shop hours over the next couple of days as I’m away with family and friends for 3 nights.

Guest Green Fees

I just wanted to mention about guest green fees. As a member, when you book a guest to play with you, the system does NOT automatically debit your account.

The system can’t do this as it doesn’t know if your playing 9 or 18 holes, bringing an adult or junior guest etc.

Consequently these are the following ways to pay:

• Pop into the Pro Shop where you can pay using your HGC account, a credit/debit card or cash.
• If the shop is closed, please call into the bar.
• If that is not possible, please email me and I can take the fee from your account.
• At the time you book, there is also an option to pay by credit/debit card. This can be a fast and effective way to pay. The system updates the tee sheet to show that payment has been made. One thing, if you are playing 18 holes (£15 fee), it would be better to pay using one of the other methods as the system will assume you are just playing nine holes (£10 fee).

Finally, it is your responsibility as a member (or as a parent of a junior member) to proactively pay your guest green fee and not be followed up on the matter. Your assistance with this would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me if I can be assist with any matters green fee related.

Frolic

Congrats to Jo Bryant, Graham Bryant, Kerry Gill and Howard Gill for winning bank holiday Monday’s Frolic with 35 points. The Kays and the Hunts were second with 33 points beating the all ladies team of Jo Egerton, Jackie Murphy, Ann Coulson and Caroline Smith on a card play off.

Nine Hole Stableford

Well done Howard Gill for winning on Saturday with 21 points with a birdie – birdie finish! Kairen Seaton was runner up with 20 points. Helen Davies and Gill Kay also scored 20 points but following a card play off, they finished third and fourth respectively.

The top few players in the OoM after three events are listed below. Well done to John Kennedy for leading at this stage.

Order of Merit

NAME	6/4/24	4/5/24	25/5/24	TOTAL
John Kennedy	15	15	18	48
Graham Jones	16	13	17	46
David Rodwell	12	14	17	43
Martin Oldfield	17	12	13	42
Jon Cowan	12	15	14	41
Tiff Fielden	10	15	16	41

Medal 2

The previous weekend Medal 2 was played. The best score of the two days went to Liam Murphy with a nett 68. Unfortunately he had not yet played the required number of qualifying scores to be eligible so his good friend Jack Wilcox took the spoils with a nett 69. Lee Bramley was beaten on countback to finish as runner up and the ever consistent Danny Fox was third.

Pro Shop Opening Hours

As previously mentioned, I’m off for a few days so in my absence, Phil will be looking after the shop. The opening hours will be as follows:

Thu 30/5 0830 – 1400
Fri 31/5. 0900 – 1500
Sat 1/6 0900 – 1500
Sun 2/6 1200 – 1600

It’s Wednesday morning as I write this and the rain is falling, which is just at the right time to help the course as the irrigation work continues.

I was on my golfing travels last week. First of all playing in the PGA Seniors at Moor Park in Hertfordshire. It’s a 54 hole event with approx 250 players taking part and the top 50 and ties make it through to the final round. Alas I missed out by 5 shots – I just struggled a little with a one or two errant shots and the treacherously quick greens.

It was then up to Edinburgh to meet up with some university friends and play at the lovely Archerfield golf courses. What a treat for a couple of days and great fun.

The men’s Medal 2 results from last weekend will be announced at TNC on Thursday so I’ll include those in next week’s missive.

Nine Hole Stablefords

There are two that are fast approaching in the calendar. Please remember that these comps are open to men and ladies.

The first one is on Sat 25th May and the second one is on Sunday 2nd June (with afternoon tee times). Both are available to book onto now on Club V1.

Members’ Group Coaching

We still have some spaces in the chipping / pitching session on Mon 3rd June from 2pm – 3pm. The feedback on the sessions has been really positive so please contact me to enrol.

Nine & Dine

Over to Jo Egerton for the round up of last Friday’s competition

The first 9 and Dine of the year, was a Stand Aside Texas Scramble, 9 teams took part, the weather was glorious and  Ben, Peter and the team provided an excellent supper.

Third place with 25 points was Andrew & Min Fishwick and Anne &Roger Mattocks. Second place with 26 points was Lee Bramley, Graham Jones, Linda Pennington and. Clodagh Cathro. Winning with an impressive 27 points was Joanne &Graham Bryant and Q & Caroline Smith.

The next 9 & Dine, a Stableford waltz will be on Friday the 21st June, with tee times from 4pm to 6pm. The social team look forward to seeing you there.

Well we’ve had a great few days of weather and even seemed to get the rain (Sunday afternoon/evening) when we wanted it. The T-shirts, shorts and sun cream have been in full effect so long may this continue….

Seniors Stableford 2

Well done to John Kennedy for winning Sunday’s back nine stableford with 19 points. There were three players tied on 17, and David Cranmer took second with Rob Manley in third following the card play off. 

Captain’s Prize

The weather was fantastic and the course was in great shape too as gentleman captain ben Fallows laid on a stellar day. Craig Rea was the winner with 36 points. David Smith also scored 36 points but was beaten on a card play off. Graham Jones was third and Chris Wood finished fourth.

Some excellent photos below set the scene so thanks to Ben and Paul Simpson for sharing.

Adult Junior

Oscar Davies and his father Marcus won the adult junior competition on Friday with 18 points. Dylan Gray was second and Louis Wild was third. The next event takes place on Fri 21st June with tee times from 1730. If you’d like to play, please let me know.

Ladies Away Day

Our ladies visited Astbury GC on Wednesday for their exchange day and had a fantastic time as the photos (courtesy of Sue Bryant) show. The Astbury ladies visited us on Thursday and had an equally good day out.

Congrats to the winners of the team competition, Gail Sampson, Helen Davies, Diana Harris and Sally Blackburn. They scored 88 points. Sue Bromley, Vicki Wells, Pat Jefferies and Barbara Spark won the 12 hole competition. The winner of the nearest the pin prize was Rosie Gerrard and Caroline Massey won the nearest the line prize. Well done to Helen Davies and Jan Ravenscroft for organising such a super day out.