Blog

It’s a quiet one this week, especially after a couple of days of course closures last week which meant the ladies and junior comps scheduled for Saturday had to be cancelled.

Bradley 1

The first seniors nine hole stableford of the winter campaign was able to go ahead though with Bill Dixon scoring an excellent 23 points. John Kennedy was second with 19 and Steve Bates finsihed in third place with 18 points.

Junior Coaching with Will

Will is offering some individual junior lessons on Sunday mornings over the coming months. These will be able to take place whatever the weather as the indoor studio will be available if the weather is inclement.

Please contact Will directly on 07419 350284 for more details or to book.

Golf lessons

Now is a good time to work on your game with less competitive golf on the horizon. We can do that indoors or out depending on what it is you’d like to focus on.

Please click here to access my online diary, call the shop on 0161 249 8427 or email me at richardsboothuk@gmail.com to start making a difference to your game.

Welcome to another one of my weekly missives. I hope you enjoy the read.

It’s a little damp out on the course at the mo so if you weren’t already aware, we are currently playing preferred lies on closely mown areas. Please mark, lift, clean and replace your ball within 6″, no nearer the hole.

Nine & Divine

Well done to Chris Ravenscroft, Lady Captain Jan Ravenscroft, Martin Oldfield & Gillian Brogdan for winning Sunday’s Nine & Divine with 41 points following a card playoff. Pipped into second place were Phil Long, Jo Egerton, Colin Broadbent &Terri Broadbent. 

Ladies Clothing

Please click here, here and here to connect with Annastasia’s instagram feed and see some of the clothing ranges that we have in stock here in the Pro Shop.

Bogey 1

Well done to Neil Thompson for winning Saturday’s first Bogey of the 2023/24 winter campaign with two up. He beat Johnny Yates on a card play off. Chris Hinton finished in third spot with one up. Eight twos were recorded.

Ladies Autumn Open

Another great event took place on Friday and here’s lady captain Jan Ravenscoft with more details:

Thank you to everyone who played and helped in the Ladies Autumn Open on Friday.  We had a great turn out – 114 ladies taking part – and while the weather did not look promising early on, thank goodness it stayed fine and everyone was able to complete their rounds. Hats off too to the greens staff who worked very hard to prepare and mop the course beforehand.

Some very good scores were returned. The winners with 43 points were  Judith Durrant, Tina Moorhouse and Judy Grant from Prestbury Golf club. The runners up with 42 points were Lesley Crossley, Jenny Loughlin and Liz Stein from Mere Golf Club.

A huge thank you to “the Gillians” (Gillian Brogdon and Gillian Healey)  for the hours of planning and organisation on the day …also to the great team of helpers who made things run so smoothly. The occasion was much enjoyed and is almost fully booked again for next year. 

Ladies Thursday Competition

Congrats to Sally Wright for winning the front nine stableford last weeks with 20 points. Lady captain Jan Ravenscroft was runner up with 17 points.

Mushrooms on the Course

Thanks to Jan Ravenscroft for this super photos of mushrooms on the course… in case you’re wondering, the ball was placed on top of the fungii for scale purposes – Jan’s shot didn’t finish there!!

I hope you all enjoyed the Ryder Cup which as ever provided tremendous entertainment and stunning golf. There were a few twists and turns on the final day but a great win for Europe in the end. Playing at home definitely seems to be a big advantage… I wonder if we can buck that trend at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York state in two years time?

Ladies trip to Telford

Over to lady captain Jan Ravenscroft for the run down…

Despite the incessant rain we managed a Ryder Cup style golf competition which continued into the evening with some very creative indoor games!! The US team girls cleaned up on the golf prizes while the Europeans came to the fore in the evening events. Hats off to Mandy Gilbert and Wendy Jenkins who organised everything perfectly… 

The final day of the Ryder Cup and the European win was the perfect backdrop to the whole occasion – a great time had by all as the photos will attest! 

Men’s Invitation

This event was also hit by the pretty miserable weather but most of the field battled on. The winners with 113 points were Peter Hindle, Charlie Hindle, Ed Maule and David Hindle. Runners up were Jonny Gray, Paul Ashling, John Goulden and Johnny Yates with 101 points. Ismael Mury from Ringway won the nearest the pin prize on the 4th and gents captain Roger Laitt won the prize on the 11th.

Ladies Autumn Meeting

Thursday’s shot gun start was won by Sally Budd, Kathleen McNairney, Barbara Spark and Sally Blackburn. The runners up were Mandy Gilbert, Jean Green, Jo Bates and Pat Jefferies.

After the lunch, a flowering planter was presented to Judy Anderson by lady captain Jan Ravenscroft to help her celebrate her special birthday which was on Friday 29th September.

Fashion Evening

The ladies fashion evening last week was a great success and very well supported. Once again Jan Ravenscroft shares the details below

The ladies were treated to a very informative presentation by a local image consultant as to the best colours to wear with their hair colour and complexion. Volunteer models Lisa Warnes and Caroline Smith are pictured below with their personal colour palettes on show.

All the ticket and raffle money went to the Guide Dog Charity together with further contributions from the fashion stall holders … the guide dogs in attendance seemed less interested in the occasion!

The event raised just over £1000 which was amazing. Thanks to everyone who contributed so generously and to the team of helpers for making the evening run so smoothly.

Nine Hole League

Bill Wrigley let me know that Hale finished runners up with 45 points in the nine hole league that was held over the summer months. Hartford were the winners with 50 points. Eight teams took part so well done Hale – Bill is confident we will go one better next season!

As per the club”s recent memo, please sign up for the Nine & Divine on Sun 8th Oct via Club V1. Golf on our wonderful course followed by great food – what’s not too like?!

Shop Talk

I have an ex demo ladies Ping G Le 2 driver which is on sale at a great price of £229. It was originally priced at £349. Please pop in to take a look.

I have just got hold of some great value, simple to use Garmin watches which could make a cracking Christmas or birthday present. They are retailing at just £109.99. Plus in case you weren’t aware, Garmin has now updated Hale’s data following the early season course changes.

Golf Lessons

Please click here to access my online golf lesson diary. It’s so easy and convenient to use.

Greenkeepers Challenge

This fun nine hole team competition was played on saturday and had over 50 players taking part. The winners were Brian Greenbank, head greenkeeper Russell Lewis, Andrew Cowan and David Rodwell with 46 points. Gentleman captain Roger Laitt, Paul Simpson, Johnny Yates andJohn Thorne finished two points in arrears to secure second place.

Business Ladies

Alas Hale’s Business Ladies lost to Hazel Grove in the east Cheshire final on Saturday, which took place at Alsager golf club. The team comprised of Tiff Fielden, Sharon Thorne and Chris Marsh. They were ably assisted by trolley pullers Jo Bryant and Vicky Chamberlain. As Chris explained “it was a great run this year but unfortunately we were beaten on the day, all games were very tight”.

Ladies Club Competitions

Tiff Fielden won the last week’s 18 hole stableford with 32 points and Chris Marsh was second with 28 points.

The winner of last week’s front nine stableford was Karen Stockton with 16 points. Jane Wilkinson (pictured below) was second with 15 points.

So many winners to report and photos to look at in this week’s missive. Please enjoy!

Sunday

Thanks for all the photos sent in by Bob Siddle. Congratulations to all who took part in Finals Day and thanks also to the members who came along to watch and add to the amostphere. Results as follows:

COMPETITION	WINNER(S)	RUNNER(S) UP
Reid Plate	Mike Thompson	Roger Laitt
Bech Cup	Irene Kirk	Gillian Brogdon
Ladies Foursomes	Louise Gerald & Jan Ravenscroft	Tracey Thompson & Kerry Bailey
Gordon Murray Memorial	Claire & Al Makin	Gillian & Eric Healey
Owen Memorial Bowl	Martin Oldfield (winner for the second time!)	Chris Ravenscroft
Scratch Knockout	Peter Hindle	Richard Duerr
Charlton Cup (played on saturday afternoon)	Noelle Morris	Louise Gerald

Medal Final

The men’s Medal Final – Captain’s Cup took place on Saturday, the day before Finals Day. The winner with a cracking nett 66 was ben Fallows. Ben’s son Freddie was second with a nett 69 and Jez Allen finished third with a nett 70.

Rob Manley won the Bentley (the best four nett scores from the eight Medals in 2023) with 281. Second place was shared between John Kennedy and Jonny Gray with nett 285.

Seniors End of Season competitions

There were lots of trophies for the Seniors to play for last Wednesday and the results are as follows:

The Tuttle trophy played over nine holes for the 75 and overs was won by John Munnery with 18 points. Ian Williamson was second. The Timpson which is played over 18 holes and is again for the 75 and overs was won by Peter Veitch with 39 points and that man Martin Oldfield was in the mix again finishing as runner up. The Morren, which is for the more youthful seniors was won by Chris Adams with a whopping 41 points and George Buchan finished as runner up.

In the nine hole Summer Stableford Final which took place the week before Graham Jones was the winner with 21 points and John Johnston finished in second spot.

Hole in One

Well done to Gill Kay for recording an ace on the fourth hole last week…

It’s the men’s Medal Final this Saturday and then Finals Day on Sunday. For the latter, please pop down and support the finalists if you can.

Hale GC Crested Merchandise

We have had a top up of HGC crested items in the shop plus some totally new lines. Take a look below to get a feel for what’s in store… my favourite photo is of course Will modeling the umbrella – some say he’s never looked so good 😉

President’s Prize

It was a hot one for the President’s special day. The golf of Ben Fallows & Noelle Morris matched the temperature as they scored an excellent 40 points. Janet Grant & Dave McGlennon were second with 36 points and Corinne & Andy Veitch third with 34 points.

The winners of the Tote (those that backed Noelle & Ben) were Judy Pinnington, Nancy Fallows, Glyn Isaac and Jo Egerton.

Junior Stableford

Matthew Hodder won Saturday’s nine hole junior stableford with 20 points. Ollie Grieves had the same score but was beaten into second place following a card play off.

Adult Junior

Well done to Lucas Dolce and father Martin for winning Friday’s equally hot final adult junior event of the 2023 campaign. Ollie Grieves & John Book were second.

The Order of Merit was also decided on Friday and this time Ollie was the winner  just pipping William Meadowcroft following a close fought contest throughout the season. Hearty congratulations.

Out of Bounders

Dave McGlennon won the Out of Bounders Duck Hose Trophy on Friday and James Munnery was at the other end of the field! James’ forfeit for this was having to wade out to the duck house to etch Dave’s name onto the plaque. The photo below supplied by Brian Greenbank tells the story…

Ladies Results

Here are the details of the recent ladies competition winners.

The Stableford Final played on the 24^th August – four ladies had 35 points so on a card play off in first place was Diana Hogben, second place Kairen Seaton, third place was Sally Budd and Gill Kay took fourth place. 

The Medal Final played on 31^st August – two lades tied for 1^st and  2^nd place with nett 74s so on a card play off Diana Hogben finished first and Helen Davies second.  Unfortunately Diana had not qualified so the winner was Helen.

The Par Trophy played on the 2^nd September had two ladies tied for first place on plus two so on a card play off in first place was Caroline Perkin and in second place was Min Fishwick .

The nine hole stableford was won by Sally Blackburn with 21 points and in second place was Judith Guest with 19 points and in thirdplace was Caroline Massey, also with 19 points.

Seniors Final

Graham Jones won this event with 21 points. John Johnston had the same score but lost on a card play off to finish as the runner up. Derek Marshall was third with 20 points.

We have lots of photos and action to report this week.

Also a gentle reminder for all players to be vigilant and repair their pitchmarks. A former gents captain was disappointed to have to talk me about this having just come off the course and having recently helped divot the fiarways.

Plus we have a new range of ladies clothing for autumn / winter which is now in store. Great colours so please pop in and take a look.

Medal 8

Robin Russell-Fisher took time away from club secretarial duties to blze round the courseon Saturday in a nett 63. Jim Nicholson was one shot back to finish as runner up. John Thorne recorded a nett 65 to secure third spot. What an excellent day of scoring!

There a few more twos this week with Nigel Taylor securing two of them! So the stage is now set for the Medal Final on Saturday 16th September.

Ladies Results

Karen Stockton won the front nine max medal last week with a nett 36. Pauline Keeling was beaten on a card play off andso finished as the runner up.

Here we have another team match round up from from LC Jan Ravenscroft:

Amazing success for the Business Ladies Team last Sunday who beat Alsager at Heyrose GC in the semi final of the East Cheshire Shield. Congrats to Chris Marsh, Tiff Fielden and Sharon Thorne. Now everything crossed for the final which will be  on Sun  23rd Sept. 

The Handicap B Team unfortunately lost their semi final v Tytherington on Monday this week. A great run though . Picture here with our excellent team organiser  Gwynneth Bramwell and her granddaughter Ella –  our team mascot for the day! 

Seniors Results

In the seniors team matches, they have had a good run of recent form. I understand that they beat the ladies section last Friday to win the Victory Cup

They also beat Ashton on Mersey away with a scoreline of 5:3 and most recently they had a convincing home win against Formby, winning 5 1/2 to a 1/2.

Greenwright Trophy

Last Wednesday we retained the Greenwright Trophy. It was set up last year for the overall winner of the home and away men’s team fixtures with Ringway and is named after both of last years respective captains.

Ollie on Tour

Great to see Ollie Grieves touring the country again playing golf. I’ll let his grandfaher John Book explain:

Just thought that I should let you know that Ollie entered his first ever 18 hole Faldo Juniors competition at Adlington Golf centre, Macclesfield, yesterday, and came 5th in his age group of 11/12 years. There was some exceptional golf played and yet another great learning experience for Ollie.

This was also the first time that Ollie played in a gross strokeplay competition.

Blue Supermoon

Thanks to Sally Wright for these pictues from the other Tuesday of the Blue Supermoon over HGC. Apologies if the quality is not too good after I’ve resized them to be able to include in the newsletter.

Everyone’s Favourite Chauffeur

Al Kenney was spotted moonlighting at Mandy & Paul Gilbert’s daughter’s wedding…

There are spaces available in Sunday’s Nine and Divine. It’s a Mixed fourball betterball competition with tee times between 1030 and 1130 followed bly lunch. Please sign up on Club V1 if you’d like to play.

We have lots of photos in this week and they really lift the newsletter so a big thank you to all contributors, this week and in previous weeks.Please keep ’em coming!

Bank Holiday Back 9 Frolic

We had a high turnout of 47 players for Monday’s Frolic. Jackie Murphy won the ladies first prize with 21 points and Gill Kay was second with 20 points. The winner of the men’s Comp was Brian Greenbank on 21 points with John Johnston on 19 points.

Medal 7

Congratulations to Matthew Hodder for recording an excellent nett 66 on Saturday to win Medal 7. David Wainwright was one shot back to finish as runner up. As was Ben Fallows but he lost out on the card play off to finish in third spot.

Ladies Results

Well done to Irene Kirk for winning the Centenary Trophy with a nett 73 back in early August. Vicky Chamberlain finished as runner up with a nett 74, beating Mandy Gilbert on a card play off.

Caroline massey won last Thursday’s back nine stableford with 19 points. Jane perks finised in second place with 16 points.

Here’s a message from lady captain Jan Ravenscroft regarding some of our ladies teams:

It’s always good to pass on some good news …I am delighted to announce that our Handicap B Ladies Team have made it through to the semi-final of the East Cheshire Shield which is some task (over 32 teams enter). They beat Davenport GC at Dunham Forest. The semi final will be next Mon 4th Sept vs Tytherington but played at Ringway.

Not only that but our Business Ladies Team (Chris Marsh, Sally Budd and Vicky Chamberlain) are also through to the semis and will be playing Alsager at Heyrose next Sun 3rd Sept. They beat Prestbury in the quarter finals which was a great result.

Good luck to all our Hale Ladies!

Hole in One!

Eric Healey recorded a hole in one on Tuesday on the 11th hole. He and wife Gillian were playing Sally Budd & gentleman captain Roger Laitt in the semi final of the Gordon Murray Memorial Salvers (mixed knockout). The Healeys won the match 3&2 and here are the photos to mark the occasion.

Men vs Stockport

Thanks to Roger Sheen for this photo which shows the luxurious travel conditions in the men’s team bus coming back from their recent away match at Stockport GC!!

More results from the last seven days to catch up in this week’s missive.

Plus good news for those of you that own a Garmin DMD (Distance Measuring Device) – they have (finally!) updated their system and so if you update your device, it will show the new par three 4th and 13th holes plus some of the other recent course changes.

Mixed Centenary Trophy

The winners of the Mixed Centenary Trophy played on Saturday were the gentleman captain Roger Laitt and his partner Noelle Morris with 38 points. Just missing out, and in second place on a count back, were Andrew Hay and Nicola Kitching.

I’m not entirely sure why Ben Fallows has the trophy on his head but thanks to Rosie Gerrard for sending in the photo – Ben may not agree!!

Ladies Invitation Day

Here are the results from the highly successful Ladies Invitation Day which took place last Thursday. It was a shotgun start and 48 ladies played. 

First Prize went to Gillian Healey, Di Barnett, Vicki Wells & D Morello. Gillian Brogdon, Sue Howarth, Corinne Veitch & Liz Halstead finsihed as runners up whilst third place went to Jane Perks, Denise Brigham, Vicky Chamberlain &  C Whitney.

The Nearest the Pin was won by Caroline Perkin and the Nearest the Line prize went to Noelle Morris.

As lady captain jan ravenscroft commented “it was a fabulous day beautifully organised by Gill Kay and Tracey Thompson… from the Pimms / elderflower spritz and cake on the terrace to the  excellent evening meal provided by Peter and staff .”

Senior Stableford 6

Congrats to Peter Veitch for winning Wednesday’s back nine Seniors Stableford with 20 points. Mike Massey finished in second place having lost out on a card play off. Ian Macklin was third with 19 points.

The weather has been kinder to us recently so we’ve managed to get lots of golf played in the last seven days or so – here’s a bit of a recap….

Men’s Centenary Trophy

Well done to Bill Dixon for winning Saturday’s comp with a fine score of 41 points. Danny Fox was the runner up with 39 points and Jez Allen third with 38 points.

Very noteable mentions go to Jack Wilcox, Rory Hobbs and Joe Bluer (forgive me if I’ve missed others) for great scores that unfortunately were not able to count in the prizes. This was because they hadn’t played the minimum requirements of 54 holes of competitive golf in qualiftying competitions in the last 12 months. I have little doubt that there names will be appearing near the top of the leaderboard again very soon.

Six twos were recorded on the day.

Lady Captan’s Charity Day

A great day was had by all and here’s our lady captain Jan Ravenscroft’s account of proceedings:

All the money from entrants into the 18 and 9 -hole stableford competitions went towards the Guide Dog fund raiser.

The winner of the 18 holes was Emma Daynes (36 points). Second place went to Louise Gerald (35 points) and third place was Gwynneth Bramwell (31 points)

The winner of the 9- hole was Pauline Keeling with 21 points. Second was Jane Nicholson (20 points) and third Sue Fallows (with 19 points)

In the evening, the ladies were treated to a most inspirational and engaging presentation by 3 guests from the Guide Dog Charity. Sara-Jane, Mary and Christine arrived with their beautiful canines Woodford, Chelsea and lively 13 – week old Labrador puppy, Caspar.

Their enthusiasm was so infectious. Heartfelt thanks to the many ladies who attended ‘Tea’ and generously supported the raffle.

Thanks also to the many members who have so kindly made personal donations to the cause. In total for the day we raised just over £800 – amazing!

Seniors Stableford 5

With an excellent 22 points, John Johnston recorded his second first place of the Summer to win Seniors Stableford 5. A tie on 21 points meant a card play-off was necessary, with Graham Jones taking second spot and John Kennedy being pushed into third spot.

Wilmslow Ladies Summer Open

Thanks to Jo Egerton for this write up and photo following some great performances from some of our lady members.

This week saw a number of women play at The Wilmslow in their summer open. Forty two teams entered the competition with all the Hale ladies performing well.

In first place, with a score of 93 points was Jo Bryant, Jo Egerton, Angela Morris (Prestbury) and Noelle Morris. It was a real team effort with all members working well together.

Second place went to Tiff Fielden, Louise Gerald, Chris Marsh and Maxine Rowlands (Ellesmere) with an admirable 87. An amazing score as two of the team play off single figures.

It was a fabulous day, the course was in great shape and all the teams  played well. Well done to the Hale Ladies!