First-4-Golf

Now I could get quite used to this!

A walk into the clubhouse last Saturday morning and yet another array of sparkling tumblers containing the amber liquid. Another hole in one.

Following Brian Davies’s achievement two weeks ago, Haydn Davies (no relation) was playing in a social fourball with his brother Peter and two colleagues when , selecting a five iron, he neatly holed out from the tee on the 190 yards seventeenth hole to claim the fifth hole in one in his career. I can hardly wait for tomorrow!

Ten year old Ellie Waters, a junior member at Wrexham qualified last Sunday for the Welsh Mini Masters which will be held at Celtic Manor on the 26^th October. She follows in the footsteps of Chloe Williams, Lucie Jones and Thomas Williams who have all achieved corresponding achievements at a similar age.

The featured event of this week’s contribution is the Carlsberg Lager Day at Wrexham which was sponsored by the Wrexham County Borough Council and is now in its thirty first year of tenure. The event remains as popular as ever and attracted a large field of players from many of the surrounding clubs in the area.

Winners of the sponsor’s prize were David Wright and B Johnson of Clays with 40 points followed by G Parry and R Boyce of Brackenwood with 38. The best gross, excepting the major prize winners, were C Stotty and J Jones of Helsby with a gross 72.

The nearest the pin on then10th hole went to S Pape of Vicars Cross, Chester and on the 17th hole, to G Parry of Brackenwood.

Outright winners of the Lager Trophy were the Wrexham players Jamie Durkin and Kevin Matthias playing off scratch and one respectively. They handed in 45 points from a gross score on 62, ten under the par for the course. Second came E B Smith and J Griffiths of the Vale of Llangollen with 41 followed by L Highton of Clays playing with Gary Murt of Wrexham who scored 40.

The prizes were firstly presented by the Wrexham captain, Keith Miller, who then deferred to the Deputy Mayor of WCBC, Councillor Ian Roberts, who presented the runners up prizes followed by the Deputy Mayoress, Mrs. Hilary Roberts, who presented the Lager trophy to the winners.

The Vale of Llangollen ably hosted the Welsh Boys’ team championships last Thursday and Friday when the eight counties of the Principality played a practice round on Thursday and thirty six holes on Friday.

Following the morning foursomes, all played as stroke play, Gwent were leading followed by Flintshire just two strokes in arrears, but a sterling display in the afternoon by the Flintshire boys saw them prevail with two shots to spare over Gwent with Dyfed in third place.

The competition was something of a swan song for Flintshire Junior Organiser John Roberts of Mold who has assembled an excellent team of youngsters at his home club and thoroughly deserved the victory with his young team

Young Greg Purdie of Llangollen playing in the singles for Denbighshire off five handicap was paired with talented Oliver Mottram of Glamorgan off scratch, and proceeded to hand in a 75 against Oliver’s 76. Just an example of the quality of play in this event.

Awards were presented by Llangollen Captain Mr. Delwyn Williams in the presence of Mr. Ted Lloyd, President of the Golf Union of Wales.

Still with Llangollen, the veterans played their weekly match, on this occasion against Helsby, at Helsby, and managed a draw, six matches all.

The Denbighshire Golfing Union Scratch team played Caernarfonshire at Clays last Sunday fielding a team comprising Alyn Torrence, Rod Fieldhouse, Josh Green, Andrew Evans, Steven Rowley, Tom Partridge, Chris Platt and Iain Hayes.

A rather shaky start in the morning foursomes which the home team lost 3 – 1 meant an uphill climb in the singles despite win s for Alyn Torrence, Rod Fieldhouse Chris Platt and a half from Steve Rowley.

The final score was 7 ½ to 4 ½ in favour of Caernarfonshire which meant that they won the North Wales Inter County championships for the third year in succession.

Clays golf club played their President’s Day last Saturday when incumbent Roger Hudson hosted the event. Eighty two members contested the competition which was won by D Palferman with 38 points from K L Roberts on 36 and then T Cheeseborough on 35.

Kim Harcombe took the ladies prize with 34 points from second placed S Roscoe with 29. The Seniors’ prize was won by Fred Court with 35 followed by B Downes on 33 and then W Kelleher on 28.

J Roycroft won the junior category with 40 points followed by S Felgate on 38. The nearest the pin on the fifth hole went to M D Jones , the mens’ longest drive to G Jones and the ladies’ longest drive to Kim Harcombe.

The Senior’s played a Stableford event last Tuesday which resulted in a win for Gordon Roberts with 36 points from Harold Hughes on 35 and Michael Griffiths with 32. The individual Stableford played two days later featured a win for Cliff Davies with 40 points from Peter Almond on 39 and Mike Turner on 37. The seniors also won their match against Old Padeswood by seven matches to three.

Ladies’ President at Wrexham golf club, Mrs. Mary Potts played the competitive element of her President’s day last Tuesday following torrential rain on the original occasion when play was cancelled. Winner of the Ladies President’s Cup was Pam Valentine with a gross 77. Play in the Silver division was led by Hazel Parry with 82 – 8- 74 followed by Shirley Williams, 74, and Jean Sawford with 76.  The Bronze division went to Eileen Jackson with 104 – 31 – 73 followed by Jo Davies with net 73 and then Della Evans with 74. Audrey Smith took the back nine competition from runner up Greta Jones.

The Dodd Bowl round two featured a win for Jane O’ Sullivan with net 70 from Dorne Tym on 71 and Eileen Jackson on 73. The cumulative scores from both rounds saw Jean Sawford capitalize of her four shot advantage form the first round to win by one stroke on 141 from Jane O’ Sullivan on 142 and then Shirley Williams on 143.

The Denbighshire Seniors’ team travel to Holyhead next Tuesday for their match against Anglesey and play Brecon and Radnor two weeks later at the Vale of Llangollen.

The Denbighshire Golfing Union Seniors’ Championships were held at Wrexham Golf Club last Thursday with a field of fifty or so players over the age of fifty five years of age. Originally played only as a net championship, over the last twelve years it has included a gross prize as well with both titles, gross and net, being eagerly contested by members of all the clubs in the Union.

County Secretary David Ethelston thoughtfully put the players out in handicap ascending order with the lowest handicaps out first, and not one player intentionally playing with a member of his own golf club.

Many of the present County Seniors squad were present on the day and expectations were running high that one of the squad would feature in the final reckoning.

Eventually a card with 74 gross found its way on to the pile in the name of Gary Roberts of Rhos on Sea who is a regular in the team. This was not to be surpassed all day and he took the gross prize by two clear strokes.

Terry McDermott of the home club had only dropped five of his eighteen strokes on the front nine holes and was going along in fine style until an untidy 7 on the short 14^th hole rather blotted his copy book. Tim Gorin of Ruthin Pwllglas was also making a good day of it, as was R Paul Williams of Wrexham who was playing very steady golf off 11 handicap.

The eventual winner was Paul with 77 – 11 – 66 from Tim on 68 net and Terry on 69, the prizes being presented by Tony Harcombe of Clays golf club who is this years County Captain.

DGU Handicap Winners 2010

From the left; “Jim Johnson, President of Wrexham golf club; David Ethelston, Secretary of the D.G.U.; Gary Roberts, Rhos on Sea Golf club, gross Champion; R Paul Williams, Wrexham Golf Club, Net Champion; Tony Harcombe, Captain of the D.G.U.

A busy Sunday followed with the playing of the Ted Clutton Am- Am for no less than forty teams of four who occupied the course for the full day. The promised rain held off and the day passed quite smoothly with little in the way of hold ups on the golf course. Winners were one of the teams from Mold Golf club which comprised R Trinick, M Connah, T Cooper and L Locket. They handed in 87 points with a back nine of 44 points to win from second placed Wrexham team of Alan Merrill, Steve Lloyd, Steve Owens and Andrew Jones who had a similar score but a back nine of 43.

With a score of 86 points, the team comprising Brian Leach, Alan Guest, Karl Griffiths and G Williams occupied third place, with John Sellwood, Andy Purdy, Paul Harry and Craig Matthews, also of the home club, in fourth position with 84.

The ladies played their first round of their Dodd Bowl last Tuesday which resulted in a clear advantage for Jean Sawford who returned an excellent 85 – 20 – 65 to lead by four clear strokes from Mary Clark on 91 – 22 – 69 and, in turn, Shirley Williams with 86 – 17 – 69.

The Vale of Llangollen Veterans played their Open competition at the beginning of the week and Terry Mc Dermott featured yet again in partnership with Cyril Belton, also of Wrexham in winning the event with 46 points with a 24 point back nine holes score.

Second came E Barr and S Gregory from Bidston with a similar score, but only 22 on the home holes. Third place was obtained with a 44 point card from K Reeman and D Handley of Sandiway followed in fourth place by G Taylor of Shrewsbury and B Walford of Abergele with the better of two 42 point offerings. Fifth were L Fenton of Maesdu and W Rogers of Hoylake with the other 42 point card to complete the list of prizewinners.

Clays golf club Seniors team played an away match at Denbigh and lost by 6½ to 3½ and followed their trip played a Seniors’ Stableford which was won by the pairing of Andy Mitchell and Steve Beech with 46 points. Second in line were Noel Jones and Eifion Jenkins with yet another 46 with Geoff Morris and Brian Downes third with 43.

The Ladies Played their Stableford event which featured a win for Jane Bell with 39 points from Rosalind Carman on 32 and Diane Dare with 31. Their August medal saw Anne Richards return net 69 to win from Valerie Jervis on 81 and Rosalind Carman on 83.

The Seniors’ Texas Scramble witnessed a win for Nigel Moore, Mike Hollins and Colin Brown with a score of 59.6 followed by Frank Harrington, Richard Key and Alwyn Williams with 64.5 and then Brian Felgate, Roger Hudson and Noel Jones with 67.1 for third place.

The August Friday medal was won by Richard Ackersley on a net 62 from Dafydd Jones on 66 and Phil Dunning on 68. The Shop Stableford played last Saturday went to Danny Williams with 41 points followed by Neil Sanger on 40 and Ian Barwood with 39.

The Junior Summer league played the following day went to Lee James with 37 Stableford points with Sam Felgate in second place with 36.

Wrexham host the Carlsberg Lager day this Wednesday, with the Golf Union of Wales Youth Team Championships held at the Vale of Llangollen on Friday with teams registering from noon on Thursday.

Watching the U.S. PGA from Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, over the weekend, it brings home to us the huge differences between us normal club golfers and the elite of the game. Just looking at the layout of this famous course on the banks of Lake Michigan it is almost inconceivable to go around that course, from those tees, in anything resembling our handicap.

With par four holes of 509 yards and the seventeenth par three at 258 yards, we just do not have the power or technique to even approach the greens in regulation figures, even if the holes were in a straight line as the crow flies. American golfer Zac Johnson, not known for his length on the course, found the par four eighteenth fifty yards out of reach and throughout the round had to rely on his short game and excellent putting to complete the event just three strokes off the pace.

It was interesting to watch Bubba Watson, the young left handed American, who tied for the lead with Martin Kaymer of Germany before Kaymer won the play off; he was immensely long off the tee and was one of the few on the Saturday, when the wind was more benign, to reach the par five 628 yards twelfth hole in two shots with a three hundred and seventy one yards drive and then a four iron to the right of the green, but pin high! Peter Alliss would be coining some superlatives had he been commentating on the event I bet.

The par threes along the lake side were invariably  played over open water or a cliff hanging down to the waters edge with a pure carry from tee to green and a very limited bale out area. I dread to think how many balls we would lose. Just as it is a given fact that the Augusta National course, with its sloping, lightning fast greens would just permit a scratch player to break ninety on a good day, so it was conceivable that Whistling Straits fell into the same category. Keep practicing!

Walking into the clubhouse after Saturday morning’s golf, it was a pleasant surprise to see tumblers of whisky laid out for the fortunate few who arrived in time to sample the good fortune of a hole in one. This week’s skilful player was Brian Davies, husband of Ladies’ Captain Anne Davies, who had holed out on the tenth hole with a seven wood. Chatting away, Brian had failed to see the ball drop into the hole until advised to “get his money ready” by his band of playing partners. A nice tradition; long may it continue.

Brian would have me point out that he was down the grip on the seven wood!

The Wrexham scratch team qualified for the Golf Union of Wales Team Championships held at Borth and Ynyslas last weekend and drew Whitchurch, Cardiff, in the first round. The team was managed by Jack Gittins and captained by Kevin Matthias and comprised Jamie Durkin, Rod Fieldhouse, Andy Bostock, Rhys Millington and Sam Higgins.

The Whitchurch team were losing finalists last year but the Wrexham team disposed of them by 4 to 1 in what was to prove to be the toughest half of the draw. In the meantime, Royal St. Davids, Harlech had beaten St. Pierre, Chepstow in the other match and were duly beaten by the Wrexham team by three matches to two in the next round.

Rod Fieldhouse won four of the last six holes to win his match and Andy Bostock came back from four down by winning five of the last six holes to win his game.

Rhys Millington was playing out at number one in the team and produced first class golf all week to win all of his matches to date.

Their quarter final was against the much fancied Vale of Glamorgan but they too fell to excellent golf by three games to two. On to the semi final against Newport who were sailing through their previous matches aided and abetted by Welsh international and anchor man, Joe Vickery, previous winner of the Clwyd Championships.

Despite Rhys Millington winning his match on the 21^st hole, Wrexham were defeated by three matches to two to the eventual winners who comfortably beat Conwy in the final by four to one.

I am indebted to R. Paul Williams, Wrexham’s Match and Handicap chairman for a comprehensive report on the event.

Last Monday was the occasion of the Wrexham Junior Captain’s Day medal which witnessed a win for Jack Waters with 83 – 20 – 63 from Callum Gaughran on 96 – 28 – 68 and James Adamson with 94 – 24 – 70. Matthew Waters was in fourth place with 91 – 19 – 72 with Junior Captain Mike Peters reclining in fifth place with 82 – 8 – 74.

Sam Postle recoded 108 – 40 – 68 to win his division from Jack Hughes on 102 – 32 – 70

The Denbighshire seniors played Caernarfonshire at Abergele last Thursday and faced an immensely strong peninsular team which included ex Welsh International John Roger Jones and Aled Rees. The home team comprised Dave Hart and Neil Purdie of Llangollen; John Hughes, John Lewis and Tim Gorin of Ruthin Pwllglas; David Jones and Mike Lowe of Wrexham; George Smith of Chirk and Eric Howells and John Kenny of Denbigh. Despite our best efforts, Caernarfonshire proved just too strong and Denbighshire lost by three matches to two

The Vale of Llangollen veterans played a match against Chester Curzon at Llangollen and emerged the winners by 6 ½ to 5 ½ showing a change of fortune following one or two disappointing results just recently.

Clays Golf Club played a Ladies Stableford which resulted in a win for Jane Bell with 39 points from Rosalind Carman on 32 and then Diane Dare with 31.

The Seniors’ Open played on 12^th August was won by J Bostock and J Evans with 40 points with Andrew Mitchell and Graham Stokes in second place with 39. Neil Sanger and R Jarvis were in third place with 37. Larry Birch took the nearest the pin on the 5^th hole and L Highton was nearest the pin in two strokes of the 11th hole. Two players, D Gallimore and W Hewitt scored the only birdie of the day and shared five dozen golf balls between them.

The Shop Sunday Stableford was won by Grant Jones with and excellent 46 points off a handicap of 22 followed by Colin Bryan on 40 and Josh Green on 38.

The Ladies’ August medal was won by Anne Richards with net 69 from Valerie Jervis on 81 and then Rosalind Carman with 83.

Too late for this week, the Denbighshire Golfing Union’s Seniors’ Championships takes place at Wrexham Golf Club on Thursday, a report on which will be next week.

The Vale of Llangollen juniors enjoyed the playing of the “Coleman Cup” last week. Donated by our Llangollen veterans’ press Officer Phil Coleman, a substantial percentage of the junior members turned out to support the event and had an excellent day. Played as a medal scoring competition, the winner was George T. Richards with 88 – 23 – 65 who had a five stroke advantage over second placed Connor Monk on 82 – 12 – 70 and a further two over Jake R. Purdie who returned 80 – 8 – 72.

With junior golfers rapidly improving, especially during the long summer holiday from school, their handicaps come tumbling down the more they play and practice.

Fortunately the trend of a few years ago whereby parents deposited their children at the golf club as early as eight o’clock in the morning with lunch money, and instructions to “behave themselves”, seems by and large to have disappeared as parents have become more enlightened as to the problems of secretaries of clubs whose day did not revolve around looking after small persons, and constantly checking on their whereabouts in the club.

Llangollen veterans played against Hawkestone Park last week hosted by the Shropshire club, and finished the day one point in arrears with a match result of 5 ½ to 4 ½           .

Clays golf club have enjoyed a first week of activity at their “just your putter” golf course which is gaining popularity as a taster for future players. They have not neglected their members though as the results of last week’s activities demonstrates.

Starting with the Hall of Fame qualifier played last Tuesday, the winner was Tony Jackson with 41 Stableford points from Gerry Wooster on 40 and Seniors’ Captain, Bob Brown, in third place with 39.

The gentlemen  and ladies played the shop Stableford last Sunday which witnessed a win for Rhys Millington on 37 points from Terence Bull on 37 and Allan Caples with 36, whilst the Texas Scramble in teams of three, organized by the Ladies’ Captain and Seniors’ Captain, resulted in a win for Shirley Roberts, Ray Martin and Roger Hudson with 59.8. Second came Lesley Holland, Frank Carrol and John Hughes with 62.5 followed by Val Jervis, Reg Peacock and Mike Hollins with 63.6 and then, in fourth place, Jane Bell, Terry Jackson and Janet Johnson with 65.3.

Ernest Williams won the Seniors’ medal with 83 – 17 – 66 from second placed Ray Martin, 77 – 9 – 68, and then Don Wraight with 79 – 10 – 69

Alwyn Williams won the second division with 92 – 25 – 67 from Bob Brown on 92 – 23 – 69 and then Brian Mercer who scored 92 – 21 – 71.

Derek Lyon informs me that Ernie had a great eagle two on the par four 14th hole by holing out an eight iron from the fairway following an excellent drive.

The Club August medal was won by Richard Evans with 74 – 11 – 63 from Paul fell on 71 – 6 – 65 and then Kevin Scaiffe with 72 – 7- 65 .

Ernie was on form again with his second division win with 84 – 16 – 68, beating Ian Samuels, 86 – 17 – 69 and Tim Lloyd, 82 – 13 – 69. Note that Ernie is now playing off 16 as a result of his Seniors’ victory.

The third division went the way of Dillwyn Jones with 86 – 18 – 68 followed by Mark P Jones on 93 – 24 – 69 and then Neil Sanger with 92 – 22 – 70.

The Junior medal played last Sunday resulted in a win for Louis Gray with 69 – 8 – 61 from Sam Felgate with 89 – 26 – 63 and then James Wilkinson who scored 95 – 29 – 66.

Wrexham golf club held their President’s Day last Saturday with a field of over one hundred and seventy ladies and gentlemen contesting the event. Played off random starting times with ladies and gentlemen players moving off in any combination, the event was an Individual Stableford off full handicap with the last starting times out at 3,15 p.m. to enable Match and Handicap to determine the winners ready for the prize presentation at 8.00 p.m.

Early starter Barry Wright soon set the pace with a 42 point card, only for it to be equalled by Kin Kwok Lee a little later, but it was left to Craig Paul Matthews to win the President’s prize with an excellent 43 points off 20 handicap which saw him drop two strokes from his handicap.

Janet Sharley took the ladies prize with 39 points, just beating Jacqueline L. Williams by the single point with Jane Mullett Prandle in third place on 37

The Club President Mr. Jim Johnson was delighted to see just under one hundred members supporting the evening function at a time when so many are away on holiday, so through this report he would like to thank all who expressed their good wishes by greetings cards and personal comments, and to the jazz trio “Tribeca” who entertained with standards and classics throughout the evening.

On a day which drew together the very best of the North Wales Under 13 and Under 15 golfers to Wrexham Golf Club for their annual championships, twelve year old Thomas Williams of the home club drew on all his reserves to win both competitions with gross scores of 77 and 72 for a total of 149.

The Under 13’s play just eighteen holes as befits their years, but the under 15’s play a further eighteen for a thirty six holes event at both scratch and net levels.

By lunchtime, Thomas was aware that he had done something special by handing in the best morning gross of 77 to win the Under 13 title, only for him to go out again in the afternoon and return a score some five strokes better for a 72, and the Under 15 championship as well.

His total of 149 led Keiron Robinson of Anglesey Golf Club by four shots and Danny Reeves of Old Padeswood in third place by a further stroke.

Runner up in the Under 13’s was Daniel Lloyd of Wrexham with 81, the net prize going to Will. J. Edwards of Pennant Park golf club with 99 – 28 – 71 from Lewis MacKenzie of Wrexham on 96 – 25 – 71, the rank order being decided on the back nine holes.

Daniel’s score was sufficient to win the Under 15’s net award with 70 + 65 for 135. Harri O. Jones of Abergele golf club came second in this category with 72 + 64  -136, with Luke A. Wilson in third place with 70 + 67 for 137.

Starting at 9.00 a.m. in the morning, the final cards were handed in by 7.40 p.m. after the 36 holes Under 15 event. In the absence of Bill Jones of Llangefni, the North Wales Counties Golf Association, the event was run by Randall Richards of Golf Union Wales and the Anglesey Golf Union and prizes were presented by Colin Sheldon, President of the Association in the presence of Ted Lloyd, Golf Union Wales President, and Jim Johnson, the President of the host club with Elizabeth Urain of Anglesey as recorder and results Officer, and Bruce Carlyle as starter for the day.

The event was sponsored by Dwyfor Coffee of Nevin, and appreciation was expressed at the presentation for their generous involvement in the event.

Our attention is now drawn to the Welsh Boys under 13 and 15 and, simultaneously, the Welsh Under 16 girls to be held at Abergele on August 19th. won the longest drive and A Cartwright took the nearest the pin on the 12th Hole.

At the other end of the maturity spectrum we have the wonderful achievement of  eighty two year old Nev Rawcliffe who played in a Veterans match for the Vale of Llangollen and had his second hole in one on the 10th hole at Padeswood and Buckley to help his team to an away win by six matches to four.. He had his first hole in one in Kilkenny, Ireland “sometime in the eighties” but on this occasion went home clutching a dozen golf balls –well done.

Andy Harris of the Wrexham County Borough Council Leisure department informs me that there are still some places left in the Carlsberg Lager day to be held in Wrexham golf club on Wednesday 25th August and forms for entry can be obtained from club secretaries or the Wrexham web site www.wrexham.gov.uk or Andy direct on 01691 778666.

Clays golf club enjoyed a very busy few days just recently as the following results will indicate. The Clays Carlsberg Day resulted in a win for Jamie Seddon with 40 points, helped no doubt by an eagle 2 on the par four 7th hole which is stroke index one. second came Richard Ackersley with 38 points followed by club captain Howard Lloyd on 36; Alex Mansley with 36 and A. Almond with 35. Richard

In the Senior medal, Ray Martin again reaffirmed his consistency with 77 – 9 – 68 from Don Wraight on 79 – 10 – 69 and Mike carding with 83 – 13 – 70 Den Murphy was in fourth place with Derek Lyon fifth and Eifion Wyn Jenkins in sixth

The Club Championships took place over the last weekend and witnessed a win for Mike Evans with a gross 133 (67 + 66) followed By Andy Evans on 137 (66+71) and then Rhys Millington in third place with 140 (68 + 72).

The Ladies’ champion was Joanne Beddows with 149 (78 + 71)

Winner of the Rowland Cup for the best net score was Andy Matthews playing off 10 handicap with a net 131 followed by Mike Evans, 133; and Nigel Davies and Rhys Millington in joint third place.

The Ladies’ Harcombe Trophy for the best net score went to Kim Harcombe with net 151.

The Seniors’ Trophy played on Tuesday of last week resulted in a win for Tony Jackson with net 65 from Frank Carroll on 68 and then Gordon Roberts with 70.

The Seniors’ Individual Stableford which was played last Thursday went to Vinny Simpson on 37 points from Reg Taylor on 36 and then Brian Felgate with 36

Next Monday Clays golf club open their latest venture at their Golf Union of Wales “Centre of Excellence” in Wrexham when  their “Just your Putter” course takes off at a launch which will be attended by local civic and golfing dignitaries alike.

The idea is first class in its simplicity in that the designers have replicated nine of the most famous holes on the most famous courses such as Augusta, Carnoustie,

 St. Andrews and Celtic Manor. The composite group have three Welsh courses, two from America and one each from England, Scotland, Ireland and Spain.

 The model greens are essentially to attract younger players into the game, and this they will do with the clever introduction of bright colours and striking materials designed to engage with the younger player. Each area is landscaped in the style of where the holes come from and they are anything from a par three to a par five, all designed to be played with “just a Putter”

The holes vary in length from forty to fifty yards in length and the whole venture has been backed by the Ryder Cup Wales Legacy Fund who gave a contribution of £40,000 towards the project.

 Fund Chairman, John Jermine of Radyr, himself an ex Welsh International golfer, is pleased with the novel innovation that the venture offers and is looking forwards to trying out the course himself. He will also be presenting a commemorative plaque to the golf club to mark the occasion.

The same day, Wrexham Golf Club host the North Wales Under 13 and Under 15 Boys’ championships which allows for eighteen holes for the younger players and thirty six holes for the older golfers. North Wales secretary Bill Jones of Llangefni, Anglesey, has reported much enthusiasm for the event and we all hope that the weather is more stable than of late.

Last Wednesday the club hosted the annual Nightingale House Hospice Charity Am Am competition with a full field of fourballs contesting the event. Golfers mixed into any combination of players and kept a wary eye out for the sudden squalls that were prevalent throughout the day.

Winners with a very commendable score of 97 Stableford points were M H Financial Planning who won the Thermofix Trophy presnted by Trefor and Alan Roberts of Thermofix. The team was led by club member Mark Holdcroft with his brother Chris included in the fourball.

Second came Bryan Neale’s team with 93 points with R P Williams’s team in third place with 92. Rob Price of Price Bros, Upholsterers, was fourth with 90.

The Ladies team was led by Pam Valentine with 84, and the best score on the par three holes was won by the Ellesmere 41 club with 27 points.

The par five section went to Team Tycon with 19 points, and the nearest the pin competition on the 10^th hole was won by Wendy Roberts for the ladies, and Ken Davies for the gentlemen.

The Denbighshire Golfing Union scratch team has experienced mixed fortunes just lately when they halved their first match against Caernarfonshire at St Deiniol golf course in Bangor.

This undulating course is a test in calm weather, but the windy conditions certainly placed the home team in the favorite’s enclosure. They justified this opinion by scoring well in the foursomes to come in 2-2 against a strong Denbighshire team. The visitors played exceptionally well in the afternoon singles, but a combination of local knowledge and steady golf saw the home side hold on for an afternoon score on 4-4 giving a drawn match at 6 points each.

A July visit to Rhosneigr to the Anglesey Golf Club met with the same set of conditions and another home advantage with course knowledge. The golf course is quite unusual in that we play the first few holes on parkland layout and terrain, and then go under a tunnel to the rather less well maintained holes which are affected by the battering of the Irish sea and the one time presence of sheep.

Back through the tunnel for the closing holes and to the sanctuary of the clubhouse.

Anglesey led the morning foursomes by 2 ½ to 1 ½  and maintained their form to ease their way ahead in the afternoon singles to win by 5 games to 3.

The overall score for the day was a win for Anglesey by 7 ½ to 4 ½            and a mere one point out of a possible four for the DGU team as a result of the first two matches.

Last Sunday the team entertained Anglesey at Abergele golf club, but due to my unavoidable absence, the results will have to wait until next week.

The team comprised Alyn Torrence, the County Champion, from the Plassey; Chris Platt, Tom  Partridge and Mark Jones from the Vale of Llangollen; Rod Fieldhouse and Kevin Matthias of Wrexham and Josh Lloyd and Iain Hayes, the scratch team manager, of Abergele.

Last year’s Junior captain at Wrexham golf club, Sam Higgins, traveled to Peterstone Lakes in South Wales to take part in the South Wales Boys’ scratch competition. This is a hotly contested event with the majority of the present Welsh Boys team resident in the South Wales counties with Glamorgan especially well represented.

The event requires a thirty six holes qualifying event with the top sixteen playing off in match play. Sam qualified for the match play rounds with a thirty six holes total representing two over par gross. Sailing through the first two rounds, he beat Adam Tuft in the semi finals and just narrowly lost to eventual winner Oliver Lewis in a hotly contested final. He is playing in the Welsh Boys championships at Pyle and Kenfig golf club with results not yet to hand.

The County Boys played their match against Caernarfonshire at Chirk Golf and Country club and held the visitors to a 2-2 morning foursomes before losing the singles by 4 ½ to 3 ½  for a match deficit of 5 ½ to 6 ½ .

 The Junior league at present is led by Denbigh with 547 points from Clays on 560; Abergele on 564 with Old Colwyn sharing that score. Wrexham are next with 567 followed by Plassey on 576 and then Llangollen with 594.

The recent round held at Ruthin Pwllglas saw Wrexham lead with 263 from Denbigh on 265; Abergele and Clays level on 272 with Old Colwyn on 275. Plassey recorded 285, Llangollen on 288 and Rhos on Sea on 290.

In a period of seven days when we experienced at least three changes of season, culminating in floods of biblical proportions last Tuesday, golf seemed to have continued with the “business as usual” sign still standing.

However, some events suffered as a result of the weather, disappointingly the Ladies’ President’s Day at Wrexham which was terminated when the golf course became unplayable due to flooded greens. For those of you familiar with this course, the ninth green seems to be the benchmark for playability, especially as it can be viewed with great clarity from the Dining Room window. Thus, standing in the dry, the powers that be can make a value judgement as to whether play should, or should not, continue.

Ladies’ President, Mrs. Mary Potts, hosted her day in her usual calm manner, continuing with the evening reception with the competition being rescheduled for another day.

On July 7^th, the club played their Seniors’ Shield and Veterans’ Cup for players aged firstly over 55, and in the second instance, over 65. The rules permit a veteran to win both, but a senior only within his age range.

Winner of the Seniors’ Shield came Peter Brand with 85 – 20 – 65 with R. Alun Morgan taking the Veterans’ Cup with his return of 83 – 17 – 66.

Testimony to the popularity of this age range of players, no less than one hundred and eight competitors contested the event.

Last weekend was the occasion of the thirty six holes Scratch Cup accompanied by the Weiner Cup for the best net scores over the distance. Winner of the Scratch was Paul Lloyd with a score of a five over par 145 followed by Andy Bostock with 147.

With net rounds of 69 and 66 the Weiner Cup went to David Phillips on 135 on a count back over the last eighteen holes over Paul James who returned net scores of 63 and 72, his 72 losing out to David’s 66.

The Ladies’ Invitation Day was played as a Greensome Stableford and featured Jean Sawford and Sue Goodyer of Eaton golf club in the winner’s enclosure with 41 points and a 22 point back nine holes. Second came the Ladies’ captain, Mrs. Ann Davies with Mrs. Cora Ellis of the Vale of Llangollen golf club with the same score but just 20 on the back nine. Third went to Sue Bannister with Maura Murphy on 40 points

The contents of the ball sweep went to Jean Sawford and Sue Goodyer who recorded a birdie on the short tenth hole.

Clays Golf club played their Shop Sunday Stroke play event ten days ago with the winner on net 66 being Brian Johnston followed by Kenny Hughes with 67 and then Reg Peacock on 68.

The same day was played the junior medal which witnessed a win for Tom Gledhill with 94 – 30 – 64 followed by Louis Gray on 75 – 10 – 65 and then Paul McCaffrey in third place with 72 – 7 – 65.

The Ladies’ July medal completed the play on this Sunday with a win for Pauline Peacock who scored 95 – 23 – 72 followed by Anne Richards on 89 – 17 – 72 and then Carol Ann Lee with 86 – 12 – 74.

The following day the Clays Seniors’ team played Aldersey Green whilst other senior members played an Individual Kitty competition. The match was won by Clays by eight games to two and Graham Stokes won the Kitty event with 37 points from Brian Mercer on 35, Steve Beech on 35 and Peter Almond on yet another 35 with 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th all separated on the back six holes.

Anne Richards won the June Stableford and the Powell’s Trophy with an undisclosed score, whilst the ladies played against Chirk in the Border Challenge and lost by a

3½ to 1½ margin.

Moving on, the Seniors were out in force again for their Yellow Ball event played in teams of four. Winners were Peter Lynch, Andrew Mitchell, Tom Mara and Cliff Davies with 151 points

Second on 146 came Ken Lawrence, Den Horton, Gordon Roberts and Bill Hughes. Twenty seven members took part whist others played away at the Pennant Park Open event.

Ladies’ captain, Jeanette Williams hosted her competition resulting in a win for Jane Bell with 33 points from Diane Dare on 32 points and Kim Harcombe with 31.

The longest ladies drive was recorded by Ann Richards, with Shirley Roberts gaining the nearest the pin, and Sandra Gittins winning the guest prize with 30 points. Shirley also took the prize for the 28 – 36 handicap range with 30 points

Howard Lloyd, club captain, also enjoyed his day with a plethora of different prizes available to be contested. The longest drive on the eighth hole was won by Andy Evans with his brother Michael Evans recording two birdies and winning the nearest the pin on the twelfth hole.

Mike Williams won the guest prize with 30 points and the Seniors’ prize went to Bill Duncan with 37 points

The winner of the main event was Lee Darlington with 42 points from second placed Geoff Bassett with 40, and then Mike Evans with 39.

Last Sunday the Stroke play went to Kevin Dennis Jones with net 67 from second placed Stuart Rogers on 68, a score repeated by Mike Healey and Phil Jones for third and fourth places respectively.

Bradley Edge won the Junior Summer Stableford league event with 43 points from Jack Cade on 40, Patrick McHugh, also on 40, and James Wilkinson on 37.

Today is Wednesday, and the Nightingale Hospice Charity Am Am is well under way at Wrexham golf club, albeit in squally condition and a steady breeze across the golf course.

Wrexham golf club’s fifteen year old junior lady Chloe Williams, daughter of club professional Paul Williams, has just returned with her father from her recent venture into the field of the European Girls’ Team Championships in which she, along with Kelly Miller, Katie Bradbury and Miriam Hassan represented Wales at the Aalborg golf club in Denmark.

The week commenced with two stroke play rounds with the best three scores out of four to count. Out of the nineteen European teams competing, the top eight qualify for the top flight of match play rounds, the next eight for the second flight of match play and the last three merely accept positions seventeen, eighteen and nineteen in the rank order.

Played on a very difficult course in high winds, Chloe returned the best aggregate of the Welsh team despite scoring rounds of +9 and +7. The team qualified in sixteenth position to enter into the second flight of the match play games.

Playing against Germany, Wales lost by 2½  to ½ with Chloe gaining the solitary half after being two down with three to play.

The next match, against Holland, saw Wales lose the first game by 3 and 2 until Katie Bradbury restored the balance with a 4 and 3 win with Chloe out in the last match.

After fifteen holes she found herself three down but squared the match by the final hole and then won on the twentieth hole to ensure Wales won the match by 2 and 1.

The final game was against Italy who fielded a team of girls with handicaps from +3 to scratch. All three games went to the closing holes but Wales went down 3 – 0.

We finished 14^th out of the nineteen countries competing without the services of top Welsh girl golfer Amy Boulden of Maesdu who has now been elevated to full international status.

This result was the best Welsh result for the last four years and confirms the advantages of the coaching schemes now in place for young golfers.

Nearer home I am indebted to Phil Coleman who diligently reports on the Vale of Llangollen veterans who this week played against Mile End, Oswestry, in the first leg of the Coleman Cup (presented by the aforementioned P.C.).

Despite playing himself, Phil reported a loss by eight matches to two with the Llangollen players returning just one winner and two halved games.

Their fortunes were no better when they played Oswestry in the second leg of the Eifion Davies Memorial Trophy having lost the first leg 8 games to 4. They remained consistent however and lost this weeks leg by the same margin giving an overall Trophy score of 16 to 8 in favour of the Shropshire club.

Clays golf club seniors enjoyed a Texas Scramble last Tuesday with many of the usual players away at an Open meeting at Ruthin Pwllglas.

“Mr. Consistency” Ray Martin partnered Joe White and Graham Stokes to 60 points followed by Dave Talbot, Cliff Davies and Reg Taylor to 60.2 for second place with Roy Williams, Nigel Moore and Frank Carroll in third place with 62.1.

Thursday was the day of the Individual Stableford which went the way of G Stokes with a creditable 43 points from W Duncan on 40, J Hughes with 39 and then E Jenkins on 38. The event attracted twenty five seniors whist 24 traveled to Ellesmere Port to play in a match which they eventually lost by 8 games to 4.

The Ladies’ Stableford resulted in a win for Lesley Holland with 20 points from Christine Bowman on 16.

The Shop Saturday Stableford was won by Gareth Parry on 43 points from second placed David Parry on 38 and Louis Gray in third spot with another 38 point card.

The following day witnessed the playing of the Sunday Strokeplay in which Brian Johnston handed in his medal score of 74 – 8 – 66 to win by one stroke from Kenny Hughes on net 67 and Reg Peacock in third place on 68.

The junior medal went to Tom Gledhill with net 64 from Louis Gray, 65, and Paul McCaffrey with another 65.

The Ladies’ July medal was won by Pauline Peacock on net 72 from Anne Richards with 72 and Carol Ann Lee with 74.

Wrexham golf club ladies played their Caldecott Pattison Salver as a medal last Tuesday. Winner of the Silver division was Jean A. Jones with net 71 from Gwen Griffith on 72. The Bronze division went to Sandie Reddington with net 71 from second placed June Roberts with net 76.

Jean was the overall winner and receives the Caldecott- Pattison Salver on Finals day in September.

Running concurrently with this event was then Caldecott Stableford through two handicap divisions. Winner of the Silver division was Janet Pritchard with an excellent 45 points from Dorothy Davies on 38. The Bronze division went to Ladies’ Captain Ann Davies with Pat Purdy as runner up on 37 points, the overall winner being Janet with her score of 45 points.

Last Saturday the men played for the Crowe and Leader Cups in an event that enables all to compete for the Crowe Cup, but only players who have not won a Board Competition are eligible for the Leader Cup.

The Crowe Cup was presented many years ago by the established wholesale Fruit and Vegetable distributor F. F. Crowe who counts as one of his descendants the film actor, Australian, Russell Crowe.

The Leader Cup was presented in the fifties by the Wrexham Leader whose offices stood at the time in Caxton Place, Wrexham, before being cruelly destroyed by fire some time later.

I well remember delivering my hand written Athletics copy there to the late Ron Chaloner in 1964 following the County Sports at the Barracks Field in Hightown, and in later years at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay.

Enough of reminiscing! The winner of the Crowe and the Leader Cups was retired Premiership referee John Walter Lloyd who handed in 74 – 11 – 63, a first class score considering how hard and fast the golf course has become through lack of rain. Runner up in both cups was equally competent Ken Bayley with 83 – 20 – 63 who ranked second by just 0.5 of a shot on the computer in calculating back nine scores. Neither of these gentlemen had won a Board event in the past, so making them eligible for both trophies.

This Saturday is played the thirty six holes Scratch Cup with the Weiner Cup for net scores running concurrently with it. The event was changed from Sunday to Saturday because of the final day of the Open Championships from St Andrews, and the thought that most players would wish to watch the afternoon play on television.

Starting this week with Phil Coleman’s veterans’ results from the Vale of Llangollen, it would appear that they experienced mixed fortunes in their two recent outings with a win against Helsby by 8 ½  to 3 ½ at home, but a loss against Hawkestone Park, also at home, by 6 matches to 4. The section, started by Frank Ellis, father of past secretary Terry Ellis, is one of the most competitively successful sections at this level in the immediate locality, many of their matches being established as long ago as thirty years and still going strong.

Derek Lyon at Clays supplies results and commentary to the extent that he makes my bit a lot easier, and this week is no exception.  Commencing with the Seniors’ Individual Stableford played just a week ago; I am delighted to report that the winner, with 43 points, was Derek himself; well done! Second came D N Murphy with 35 followed by Ray Martin on 34 and then Bill Duncan on another 34.

Now I have no intention of gilding the lily, but Ray Martin has been for some considerable time one of the most consistent players off his nine handicap that I can remember; look who beat him by nine points!!

Seniors Open Day played at Old Padeswood golf club on 1^st July attracted the attention of many of Clays seniors to this very hospitable Flintshire Club.

D.G.U. County Captain Tony Harcombe played with Stewart Poole to a point equalling best card of the day, just losing out in the final reckoning to A Litherland and D Munro of Bromborough who won the event on the back nine holes.

Tony Morgan and Douglas Walker of Wrexham Golf club came in at 6^th place with 43 points to complete the local involvement in the event.

The club July medal was played on Saturday 3^rd July with a competition scratch score of 69 for the men and 70 for the ladies.

Winner of Division 1 was Graham David Jones with 75 – 11 – 64 from second placed David Parry on 75 – 9 – 66. Scott Anderson was in third place with 72 – 6 – 66.

The second division went to Michael Eaton who returned a card reading 78 – 13 – 65. Bill Kelleher was in second place with 80 – 14- 66 with Michael McHugh third in the group with 83 – 17 – 66.

Rob Condren scored a neat 87 – 19 – 68 to win the third division. He was followed by Ernest Williams with 89 – 19 – 70 and then Nigel Harris on 91 – 20 – 71.

Highlight of the week was the playing of the County Captain’s Day on Sunday with Tony Harcombe as host.

Local knowledge had a huge input into the results as the first four pairs were from Clays golf club. Winners with 43 points were Colin Bryan and Paul W. Jones from Mark Jones and Phil Jones who submitted the best of three 41 point cards. Third came Rob Mathieson and Gareth Roberts followed by Howard Lloyd and Phil Davies in fourth place.

From Denbigh golf club came the fifth pairing of E Pierce and M O Griffiths who handed in 40 points, a score replicated by Reg Peacock and Gareth Parry of Clays with N M Jones and D Masters of Rhos on Sea in seventh place with yet another 40.

Wrexham hosted a couple of prestigious events for their junior section last week commencing with the Junior Centenary Cup which was won by Morgan Davies with 97 – 36 – 61.

Sam Higgins, last years junior captain won the Graham Williams Trophy with 74 – 5 – 69.

The ladies played their GUW medal through two handicap divisions with Janet Pritchard leading the way in the Silver division with her score of 88 – 20 – 68. Second came Cynthia Davies with 91 – 19 – 72 with Beverley Lloyd Jones in third place with 92 – 18 – 74.

The Bronze division was won by Janet Sharley with 96 – 27 – 69. She was followed by Gayle Elson on 92 – 23 – 69 and Jacqueline L. Williams on 96 – 25 – 71.

Mrs. Ann Davies, Ladies’ Captain, held the competition of her Captain’s Day on 29^th June following a rain soaked attempt on 8^th June when the celebrations went ahead but not the golf.

Winning the Ladies’ Captain’s prize was Glenys Wynne with 41 points in a card play off against Angela Miller, wife of Keith Miller the club Captain. The back nine holes event for veteran ladies was won by Freda Darlington with a level par 18 points.

The silver division was won by Dorothy Davies on 38 points followed by Monica Jones on 38 and then Carole Jones on the same numbers. Angela won the Bronze division with her 41 point card hotly pursued by June Roberts on 38 and Sandie Reddington on 37.

The club hosts a busy weekend with the Crowe and Leader Cups on Saturday and the Derby Cups on Sunday.

The DGU Championships were held ten days ago. Chirk is an excellent venue for such an event with its inherent length and degree of difficulty to test all abilities. A partially disappointing field of twenty nine players competed in the thirty six holes event which encompassed the Youths’ event as well as the Mens.

After the morning round, Alyn Torrance of the Plassey led the defending champion Rod Fieldhouse of Wrexham by a single stroke but in the afternoon Rod reversed the situation, again by a single stroke, for them to complete the thirty six holes of normal play on equal numbers of 147 gross. A sudden death play off over holes ten and eighteen resulted in solid par fours on the tenth only for Alyn to place his second shot on the par four eighteenth inside that of Rod and succeed to hole the vital putt for a birdie three and the Championship. Third place was Tom Partridge of the Vale of Llangollen on 149 followed by Josh Green of Clays in fourth place on 150.

As the competition runs a “one prize” rule, other prizes were awarded to Jerome den Dubbleden of the Moss Valley for his morning round of 77; Lewis Morgan of Clays for his afternoon round with a 76 and to Sam Higgins of Wrexham for the best thirty six holes net score of 151 as a result of a count back.

Thanks are directed to all the volunteers of Chirk golf club led by Terry Dodd the DGU Vice captain whose home club this is.

Earlier in the month, Wrexham played their Kenyon Cup qualifier which required eight top scorers to move into match play rounds with the final to be contested on Finals Day in late September. Leading qualifier was Andy Wynne with 75 – 11 – 64 followed by second placed Ian Johnson on 82 – 16 – 66, Andrew Harrington with 76 – 10 – 66; Dewi Sides with 72 – 6 – 66; his brother Malcolm Sides on 74 – 7 – 67; Paul Hogan with 78 – 10 – 68; Richard Derosa on 87 – 19 – 68 and in eighth place, Andrew Jones with his score of 79 – 11 – 68. The pattern of the draw places first against eighth, second against seventh and so on down the list.

The G.M.Crewe trophy is played in memory of auctioneer and developer Geoff Crewe who passed away in the eighties. A past captain of the club he was a very effective Greens chairman for many years. Winner of the competition, which is traditionally played mid week to enable all to compete, was past Captain Alan Scarratt who returned an excellent 75 – 10 – 65 followed by Graham Wright on 85 – 19 – 66. Sandwiched between these two scores came Chris Corcoran who plays off twenty five, but with an event upper handicap limit of twenty, his score of 90 – 25 – 65 was unfortunately discounted.

A week ago was the occasion of the 2010 Captain’s Day when incumbent Keith Miller hosted the day. In blazing sunshine the competition was won by Cliff Hopley with 75 – 10 – 65 to win by two shots from Dean Mullock on 77 – 10 – 67 and Mark Jeremy Williams who returned 76 – 9 – 67. The best senior golfer was Haydn Jones with

88 – 19 – 69, and the best gross of the day went to Andrew Shaunessey with a 74.

Wrexham’s Open week was initiated for the Centenary year of 2006 and has enjoyed excellent support and popularity ever since. The week starts with the Ladies’ Centenary Cup played as an individual medal. The 2010 winner with 96 – 26 – 70, and the result of a count back over the back nine holes was Ladies’ Vice captain, Janet Brunyee followed by Jackie L Williams who returned 95 – 25 – 70. Rita parry Tunnah was in third place with 88 – 17 – 71.

Monday’s event featured an Am Am event for any combination of players. The winners from Vicar’s Cross, Chester were J Evans, S Challinor, C Gillam and G Gillam with 91 points. Second came a Wrexham quartet of M Lowe, D Lowe, C Whire and D O’Hare with 90 points whist third place was won by R Williams, G Jones, D Jones and S Evans of the home club with 89.

Wednesday’s better ball Stableford event was won by the home pairing of Barry Stevens and Paul James with 45 points, one point better than runners up Chris Davies and Glyn Williams on 44. D Johnston and J Travis of Todmordon golf club were in third place with the better of two 41 point cards the other, for fourth place, going to father and son combination of Carl and Charlie White, also of Wrexham.

The hugely popular seniors’ open day on Thursday attracted a full field from start to finish, and a spread of prizes across many clubs in the North West. Winners from Northenden, near Sale, Manchester, were T Spencer and M Saxon with 48 points. Second came S Challinor and J Evans of Vicars Cross with 46 followed by Gil Hunt and Derek Colllis of Wrexham with 45. B Allanson and A Mallon of Upton by Chester were fourth with 45, and then came G Heggarty and S Jones of Bromborough, and D Williams and T beaver of Bromborough, both pairs on 44 points.

Teams of four of any combination of partners played the Am Am of Friday which resulted in a win for Wrexham’s captain Keith Miller partnered by his wife Angela with Andy Moth and Andrea Vaughan – Smith on 83 points. Second were Mike Norton with Helen Milner, Andy Povah and Mary Clarke for 82, a score repeated by third placed Phil Tunnah, Rita Parry, Peter Brand and Janet Brand. Alan Howells, Joan Hacking, Susan Jones and Peter Jones of Abergele were fourth with 79.

The final event of the week was the Mens’ Centenary Cup played on Saturday and only for home based players, not an Open event. With a score of net 66, the winner was Huw Gryffydd Williams on 86 0 20 0 66 from Dewi Sides who returned 71 – 5 – 66 to occupy the runner up spot. Dewi also had the best gross of the day and won the division one medal which was run concurrently with Cup. Second division winner was Steve Kavanagh with 68 from Andrew Harrington on similar figures whist the third division went to veteran golfer Ron Jackson with 67 in celebration of just passing his seventy fifth birthday. Brian Moffat was in second place with another 67 net score card.

Huw Gryffydd Williams also won the fourth division with his aforementioned score and he in turn was followed by Colin Coulbourn on 67.

Wrexham Junior lady Chloe Williams, daughter of club professional Paul Williams scored a 73 gross, net 70 to lead the qualifiers in the North East Wales Schools event played at Rhuddlan just three weeks ago, and in the County Girls’ championships played at Llangollen she handed in a level par gross to win the event with club mate India Friswell second on six over par

Wrexham’s junior team won the DGU round two of the Junior League played at Denbigh with five scores to count from six players, all net scores to count, not gross. The team managed net 263 followed by Denbigh on 265, Clays on 263 and Clays and Abergele tying on 265 for equal fourth place. Star player on the day for Wrexham was young Thomas Williams who handed in 71 – 9 – 62 to record the lowest net score of the event with last years junior captain, Sam Higgins scoring 70 for the lowest gross score.

The Vale of Llangollen veterans section played three recent matches against local clubs, recording a loss to Chester by 8 matches to 4, a win against Henlle Park by 6 ½ to 3 ½ and a loss to Caldy at Caldy for the second leg of the Caldy Shield by 7 – 3. The club did however win the shield as a result of a heavy win earlier in the season by 8 ½ to 1 ½      which balanced out at 11 ½ to 8 ½ overall.

My thanks to Derek Lyon of Clays who has armed me with no less than eleven A4 pages of results going back four weeks. Sheer lack of space concentrates my attention on the recent performances with apologies to earlier competition winners.

Clays seniors played against Ellesmere Port at home and won by the healthy margin of 9 matches to 2.

The club are staging a special Open golf event to co-incide with the Proclamation of the Wrexham and District National Eisteddfod of Wales for 2011. Teams of four can play on Wednesday 30^th June for £15.00 per person in what can only be described as excellent value for money. Contact Clays on 01978 661406 for information.

The seniors’ Stableford played on 22^nd June resulted in a win for Bill Kelleher on 40 points from Geoff Morris on 39 and then Harold Hughes on 37. The Saturday Shop Stableford witnessed success for Tim Lloyd with 40 points from Vic Mohun on 39 and Martin D Jones on 38.

The Tom and Kathleen Jones Trophy saw James Lee hand in 42 points from Peter Lynch on 39 and Michael Healey in third place on 38.

Finally this week our congratulations to sixteen year old Jessica Jones who played the Conway club last Monday in a scratch match and secured a hole in one on the second hole of play by using her rescue metal to good effect. A six handicapper, she plays alongside Chloe Williams in all the prestigious events on the Girls’ calendar, usually accompanied by India Friswell who also plays off six. Jessica is off to Scotland next week and Chloe is playing in the European Girls Championships at the same time.