First-4-Golf

The seventy two holes Clwyd championship, now in its twenty third year as a major North Wales event took place last weekend at Prestatyn on Saturday and Wrexham on Sunday.  The venues alternate each year with Wrexham hosting the second day on even years and Prestatyn on the odd years.
Prestatyn is hosting the Golf Union of Wales Stroke play championship on the 26^th and 27^th May, and if the wind blows as strongly as it did last Saturday, the players will need to be on top form to handle the conditions. It was obvious that the modern high flying drivers with their “rainbow” trajectory off the tee peg were not always the flavour of the month as the wind swept balls into exaggerated flights as a result of the sheer height of the shot.
The persimmon or laminated drivers of the seventies and eighties had a much better flight for windy conditions in that from a lower tee peg, the driven ball climbed late in its trajectory and landed very softly, albeit some fifty to sixty yards behind the distances of modern clubs.

The morning started very blustery, got worse around lunchtime and calmed down towards the early evening, so all players had a rough patch and a relatively calm period in their thirty six holes of play. The best gross scores for the day added together establish the winner of the Jubilee Trophy in Prestatyn, and the following day, the best thirty six holes winner is awarded the Egerton Vase from the Wrexham Club.

Following the first round we had only three sub 70 rounds from the elite field of seventy two players, a 69 from Jack Bush of Morlais Castle, a 67 from Craig Melding of Neath and a further 67 from Will Jones of Oswestry. Rod Fieldhouse of Wrexham put together a 72 and Kevin Matthias and Alyn Torrence both recorded 75’s with Gareth Evans of Wrexham splitting the difference with a 74.
The afternoon round saw Will Jones consolidate his play with a 69 with Alex Baker of Vale of Glamorgan adding a 67 to his morning 72 and Craig Melding hand in a 73 as his contribution to the day.

The 36 holes total and the Jubilee Trophy went to Will Jones with 136 followed by Alex Baker on 139 and then Craig Melding in third place with 140. The three leaders were playing off +1; 1; and +1. Remember the name of Otto Mand of Greenmeadows who had scored 74 – 70 for a 144.

Sunday at Wrexham and the wind had scarcely abated overnight with the first tee taking the brunt of the weather.
Will Jones played very steadily for a pair of 73’s to record 146 and a four round total of 282, and in the thirty six holes Egerton Vase, Nick Lofthouse assembled a 70 – 75 whilst Otto Mand produced the best golf of the day to record 69- 74 and win the hundred year old trophy for the first time with a 143 total.

The Clwyd champion for 2012 was Will Jones of Oswestry with 282 from second placed Nick Lofthouse of Conway on 287, equal second with Otto Mand who also returned 287.

As event co-ordinator may I thank all who helped in the production of the event this year with special reference to the captains of both clubs, Mr Phil Round of Prestatyn and Mr Colin Graham of Wrexham who presented the respective awards appertaining to each club; to the invaluable work done on the computer by Tony Brunyee and Bob Minson, and to starter Jack Gittins at Wrexham on the 10^th tee along with championship secretary John V. Williams of Prestatyn  and the professional greens and catering staff of both clubs along with the club Professionals who manned their shops all day long, not forgetting the solitary referee Maurice Berg of Abergele who was on hand at both clubs for the duration of the championships.

On the domestic front, Wrexham played the qualifier of the Hospital Cup which required four men and four ladies to go forwards to the match play rounds with the final being played on Finals Day in late September. Leading men were Ian Davies with 72 – 6- 66 followed by Tony Darlington with exactly the same numbers; club captain Colin Graham with 80 – 12- 68 and Phil Thomas on 74 – 6 – 68.
The lady qualifiers were Janet Brunyee who returned 96 – 25 – 71; Dorne Tym, 86 – 14 – 72; Monica Jones with 95 – 18 – 77 and Gayle Elson who handed in 97 – 20 – 77.
The draw will match ladies against gentlemen with a courtesy stroke for the lady after the handicap differential has been resolved.

The ladies also played their medal final which on this occasion was won by Janet Brand with 82 – 14 – 68. The runner up was Shirley Williams on 87 – 17 – 70.

A Ladies’ Stableford event running concurrently with the medal final was won by Lady President Hazel Parry with 32 points from second placed Anne Morgan, also with 32.

The Vale of Llangollen veterans played a home match against Padeswood and Buckley and won by seven games to three, and in their Monsanto Cup, the winner was John Molyneaux with 96 – 28 – 68. Second came David A. Wright with 83 – 13 – 70 and then Bill Matthews on 85 – 14 – 71.

Clays golf club played their Ladies monthly medal in which Shirley Roberts led the field with 108 – 34 – 74. She was followed by Ann Lee on 86 – 12 – 74 and Sheila Roscoe with 105 – 31 – 74.
The seniors played an Individual Stableford last Thursday which witnessed a win for Maelor Davies on 36 points as a result of a count back with second placed Bob Jarvis on another 36 point card. Mike Hollings was in third place with 35 points and then came Bill Kelleher with 34 to complete the leading four scores on the day.
The seniors then played Old Padeswood away at Old Padeswood and lost by five matches to two but the Denbighshire Golfing Union team secured a 5 ½ to 2 ½ win at Denbigh last Sunday afternoon.

The ladies Stableford played last Wednesday was won by Anne Richards with 41 points from second placed Diane dare on 36 and Shirley Roberts with 35. The juniors Summer Stableford was won by Tom Davies with 42 points followed by Garret Healey on 42 and Pranav Majumdar on 40.

The Shop Stroke play went to Paul Venn with 85 – 18 – 67 from second placed Noel Popplewell on 77 – 6 – 71 and then Tim Broster with exactly the same numbers for third place resulting in a card play off, and the evidence of a less good back nine holes f0r Tim.

Golfing purists all over the country must have been cringing as they viewed the closing stages of the Quail Hollow Championships from Charlotte, Carolina, U.S.A. when they saw the attire of the eventual winner Rickie Fowler who was clad from head to foot (including shoes) in fluorescent orange. From his baseball cap to his feet, the contrast between the green sward of a perfectly presented golf course and his electrifying outfit was indeed a culture shock.
He represents a younger hardcore of American golfers who have emerged these last twelve months bursting with talent, as witnessed by the win of Bubba Watson in the April Masters, and the recent victory by Hunter Mahan, but with little regard for the sartorial traditions of the game.
What used to be an excuse for wearing gardening trousers in the fifties, with trouser bottoms tucked into socks in bad weather, and flat caps of dubious vintage and Fairisle cardigans developed into a game played in purposely designed golf wear which displayed the fashion of the time.

Who can forget the Pringle diamond pattern fronted jumpers as worn by Nick Faldo in the eighties and nineties, and the check trousers of outrageous designs of the same era with flares that could accommodate the family cat and her litter of kittens.

It would appear that golfers now employ fashion advisers, usually attached to the sponsors, who “kit out” their player before he makes a move out doors, everything needing to be suitably logo marked and more vivid than any other competitor.
Sunglasses worn upside down on the back of the cap are also obligatory, probably in case they meet each other on the golf course.

Even Gary Player, whose all black outfits were immediately recognisable on the course, must sit bemused by the surge of Technicolor combinations which make Ian Poulter look conservative by comparison.  We anxiously await the demands of our junior golfers when birthday and Christmas gifts are being considered.

The Clwyd Championships start on Saturday at Prestatyn when seventy two golfers tee off from two tees for thirty six holes before moving to Wrexham on Sunday for the concluding thirty six in an event which has grown in strength since its inception nearly thirty years ago.

Prestatyn provides the Jubilee Trophy for their element of the event, and Wrexham the Egerton Vase for their share of the proceedings. The eventual winner accepts the Clwyd Trophy for his seventy two holes achievements, the presentations taking place at Wrexham by the captains of the respective clubs. Holder Joe Vickery of Newport is making a return visit, but past winner on two occasions Rhys Pugh, is at college in America and will not be competing this year. You will recall Rhys’s excellent Walker Cup debut last year when he took a maximum four points out of four from the American team.

Meanwhile, nearer home, the Vale of Llangollen veterans eventually played their match with Lady partners which had been deferred due to adverse conditions on the golf course. Winners were Don Finlay and Frances Reeve with 33 points from second placed Roy Ankers and Sheila Walsh on the same figures but a less good back nine holes.
Scoring 32 points came John Ormrod and Kath Delaney for the third placed spot.

Wrexham ladies played their Golf Union of Wales medal and Foundation Pin through two handicap divisions with the Silver going to Jane Mullett Prandle with 89 – 16 – 73. She was followed by Shelagh Jones with 91 – 18 – 73, an equal score, but ranked on back nine proficiency.

The Bronze division went to Jo Davies with 94 – 21 – 73 followed by Kath Norman on 99 – 21 – 78. The overall winner was Jane with her superior net 73 from the twenty nine ladies who contested the event.

Clays certainly had a busy Bank Holiday with competitions on most days. The Seniors’ kitty competition went to Stewart Poole, Larry Birch and Jim Murphy with 77 points from second placed trio comprising Bill Parry, Tony Owens and Tom McGrady on 75. The seniors’ medal was played through two handicap divisions with Don Wraight leading the first division with 75 – 11 – 64. He was followed by Bill Hughes on 85 – 18 – 67 and Peter Almond with 86 – 18 – 68.

The second division went the way of Steve Monk with 88 – 24 – 64 with Raymond Jones handing in 91 – 24 – 67 for second place. Third came Richard Key on 90 – 20 – 70.

The club monthly medal, played through three divisions, witnessed a win in the first division for Ian Connell with 75 – 10 – 65. He in turn was followed by Paul R Williams with 75 – 7 – 68 and then David Parry with 78 – 9 -69. The second division went to David Mark Pritchard with 81 – 15 – 66 with Ian Samuel in hot pursuit with 85 – 16 – 69 and Sean Brimlow third with 83 – 14 – 69
Division three  saw Frank Steele lead the field with 85 – 18 – 67 from Lakis Nuttal on 89 – 21 – 68 and James Falcus with 90 – 21 – 69.
The Shop Stableford played last Sunday went  to David Parry with 45 points from second placed David Lang on 41 and Paul Fell on 38.

The Junior medal saw James Falcus take the honours with 85 – 21 – 64 followed by Jordan Pearson on 77 – 11 – 66 and Jack Cade on 90 – 22 – 68.

The poor weather threw arrangements for the current rounds of honours boards’ events at Wrexham into disarray last Sunday as it was the closing date for the rounds of this stage of the match play events, and torrential rain imposed itself on players who had arranged last minute matches to comply with the rules of the competitions.

Although the golf course remained open for play, perhaps as a concession to the golfers, it nevertheless presented an impossible challenge to play in such dreadful conditions. As a consequence, several competitors chose to forfeit the chance to proceed in their chosen events as the club rules, established very many years ago, clearly stipulate that if the round is not played by the specific date, then both parties forfeit the opportunity to play further.

With four weeks between rounds, it perhaps is a lesson to us all to play as early in the round dates as possible and so avoid the possibility of forfeit.

The preceding day was the occasion of the May medal played in April due to fixture congestion.  Played as a straight competition regardless of handicap groups, it featured a win for Sean Price with 83 – 16 – 67 from second placed Tony Phillips with 74 – 6 – 68 and Peter Horsley with 75 – 6 – 69. Ashley Griffiths was in fourth place with 70 – 1 – 69.

One hundred and forty seven players took part with the competition scratch score materialising at one over par 71.

The ladies played their Australian Spoons event last Tuesday which required a pairs format scored as a better ball Stableford. Winners were Pam Valentine andAnne Robertswith 30 points from second placed Wendy Roberts and Shelagh Jones with 27.

It is quite ironic that the four ladies named above have all just returned from a visit to the Masters inAugusta, an experience which obviously stood them in good stead judging by their current form. In the individual event which ran concurrently with the Spoons, Monica Jones returned 33 points with Freda Darlington runner up with 29.

The veteran players of the Vale of Llangollen visited Henlle golf club for their recent match, but lost by a margin of six matches to four, and the date for the Veterans v. Ladies has been deferred yet again due to conditions on the golf course.

My thanks toDerek Lyonfor his latest information  about the competitions at Clays golf centre which this week commences with the Seniors individual Stableford which was won by Richard Key with 37 points from second placed Eifion Jenkins on 36. Third came Stuart Miles with 35 points.

Richard featured again two days later in the competition for teams of four with the best two scores on the front nine and the best three on the back nine to count. Richard was playing with John Kelty, Maelor Davies and Harold Hughes for a total of 93 points.
Second came Tony Harcombe, Noel Jones,Fred Courtand Stewart Poole with 92.

Our best wishes go to Ray Martin a stalwart of the Seniors section who is recovering from illness; we wish him a safe and complete recovery and hope that he will be back on the course as soon as possible.

The Junior Summer Stableford went to Daniel Ramsay with 46 points from James Falcus with 36 and Tom Gledhill on 34. The Shop Stableford was won by David Lang with 43 points from second placed Graham Davidson Clarke on 38 and then Stephen Jones on 35.

A ladies stroke play event was scored as a medal and played over two days, the 22^nd April, and the 25^th April with each day attracting its own competition scratch score.

Leading division one was Tracy Meynell-Smith with 96 – 16 – 80 from second placed Anne Richards on 96 – 16 – 80 and Ann Lee on 96 – 11 – 85. Division two went to Diane Dare with 100 – 24 – 76 from second placed Pauline Peacock on 100 – 23 – 77.

The Shop Stableford played on 28^th April resulted in a win for David Mark Pritchard with 39 points from P. Wallace Jones on 39 and John  Scott on the same numbers.

Broadening our scope just a little it was good to read that Amy Boulden of Maesdu had won the Helen Holm Scottish Ladies’ Open Stroke play event, and Rhys Enoch gained five points out of five for Europe in the Sir Michael Bonallack trophy versusAsialast weekend, a strong start for our amateur Welsh golfers.

Amy had also won the Leverett Trophy with Wrexham’s Chloe Williams in second place making it a Wales one two with some excellent scoring – Boulden setting up victory with an opening 64 to finish two shots clear with Chloe in turn four shots clear of the third placed player.

Next weekend is the occasion of the Clwyd Trophy with seventy two players taking part at Prestatyn on Saturday and Wrexham on Sunday.

Wrexham golf club have produced two histories of the club in the last seventeen years, the first, written byEricRoom, retired Classics master atGroveParkBoysGrammar School, was published in 1994/5 and contained all the up to date information available at that time to make a very interesting read indeed. The second was produced in 2007, one year after the club centenary and contained much of the former publication as well as all the events of the centenary year with accompanying photographs. The earlier, dark blue, history also included a photograph of one of our members who, in the 1950’s swept the board of all the major trophies in the club and was pictured on Finals Day with no less than the five silver cups, so cancelling out the possibility of shaking hands with anyone who mattered.

Last Sunday, now in his very late seventies, Oscar Wyn Jones won the Past Captains day with 37 points and stood amazed at his achievement, especially when reminded of his glittering performances of over fifty years previously. He was followed in the Individual Stableford event by Fred Whitehead with 36 points from third placed Mike Norton on the same figures but a less good back nine holes.

At the evening meal supported by all the players, thanks were expressed to Paul Williams, club professional for contributing a dozen balls to the association to be used as prizes. Paul was recently captain of the P.G.A. North Western region and is a welcome addition to our group. Oscar now holds the Past captains’ Cup, presented by Mrs Mary Roberts in memory of her husband Ken who was our 1984 captain.

The Seniors Open occupied our attention last Thursday when a very full field on players took to the golf course. Winners were Phil Tunnah and Keith Forrester of Wrexham with 41 points from second placed E. McFarren and L. Davy ofGrangeParkwith 40.

Oscar Wyn Jones and Dave Ellis were third with 39; a score replicated by fourth placed I. Vernon and J Cook of Vicars Cross and David Nigel Jones and Rob Huxley of Wrexham for fifth place. The best visitors score, excepting the previously named players, was tendered by P Craven and S Benison of Runcorn with 39 points.

Last Saturday was the occasion of the Golf Union of Wales handicap team championship qualifier in which two teams of four qualify to play in the area finals at a later date.

Leading qualifiers were Andrew Jones with 42 points from Simon Parkinson, 40; Stephen Wright, 39 andPhil Thomas, 38, who will comprise the “A” team. The “B” team will consist of Martin Davies, 38; Mike Hamer, 38; Ashley Griffiths, 37 and Stuart Fisher, also on 37.

Andrew Charles Davies will be reserve for the A team and Dennis Humphries for the B team.

The Captain’s Drive in medal featured a win for Chris Jones with 74 – 12 – 62 followed byGareth Joneson 79 – 14 – 65 and then Paul Minson on 81 – 16 – 65. Craig Williams was in fourth place with 82 – 15 – 67.

The ladies played their Crowther Cup qualifier last Tuesday which required four players from each of the two handicap divisions. Leading players in the Silver division were Shelagh Jones with net 71 followed by Jacque Williams on 73, Janet Brand, 73 and Sue Lightwood on 75.

The Bronze division was led by Janet Brunyee on 75 followed by Pat Whitehead on 79, Ann Davies, 80 and Jo Davies on 81.

The phrase “ many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip” can easily be translated into “ many a slip ‘twixt phone and pen” because, despite Phil Coleman carefully informing me of the results of the Vale of Llangollen veterans recent matches against both Caldy and Shrewsbury as being  wins, I translated them into losses by seven matches to three.

The classicists amongst our readers will recognise “mea culpa” as being “my fault”, so please accept an apology herewith. In the meantime, the veterans’ match against the Ladies has been rescheduled for Monday 30^th April.

Clays golf club played an April Stableford in which Peter Almond took the honours with 38 points from second placed  Stewart Poole on 35 and Malcolm Williams on 34.

On Friday April 20^th the annual Past captains/ presidents competition took place at Gorsty Hill golf club nearCrewe with nineteen members contesting the event which was followed by a meal in the clubhouse following play. Winner was Richard Key on 37 points from second placed Rob Simms on 36 and Ron Roberts on 32.

The J.C.B. qualifier witnessed a win for James Falcus on net 67 from second placed Lee Fereday on 68 and Andrew Jones on the same numbers

The Shop Stableford of last Sunday went the way of David Lang on 43 points from Graham Davidson- Clarke on 38 and Stephen Jones on 35.

Entries are now closed for the 2012 Clwyd championships to be held at Prestatyn and Wrexham as a seventy two holes Golf Union of Wales merit award event. Seventy two players will compete in the two day even on the 12^th and 13^th May with play being at the Prestatyn club on the first day. The handicap ranges of those who will take part are between 5 and plus 2.

My friendBarrieis a member of the Vale of Llangollen golf club and related to me by marriage; my son andBarrie’s daughter will celebrate their twenty fifth wedding anniversary in October, andBarrieplays golf every Tuesday morning with three of his veteran friends from the club. We have both been successfully treated at Broad green Cardiac centre in Liverpool for similar ailments, so it was with some concern that his friends witnessed him feeling nauseous and collapsing to the ground after playing his tee shot on a long par four hole.

The club office were excellent, and decided that it was not a good idea to allow an ambulance on to the course because of the possibility of it getting bogged down in the soft ground, so they phoned for the Air ambulance in the form of a helicopter to transport Barrie to hospital.

Upon its arrival, and with the paramedics now in full control of the situation,Barrie’s partners busied themselves taking pictures of the helicopter on their mobile phones, and just asBarriewas lifted on board amid the clatter of helicopter blades, a plaintive voice was heard from within the aircraft, “did anyone get my ball?”

I am delighted to report thatBarriespent the night under observation, and is now at home looking forwards to his next game with his colleagues. Get well soon!

Our Llangollen press Officer , Phil Coleman reports on the latest of the Sunday morning Draw for partners event which this week attracted fifty nine members down to the course at 8.00 a.m. for the draw at 8.15.

With the leading four pairs all recording 32 points, Phil went to great pains to impress upon me the diligence with which the cards were scrutinised to establish the rank order when all had been gathered in.

Winners were Jonathan Tweedie and Derek Skinner followed by Gareth Edwards and Dennis (Sunbank) Jones with Phil Gee and Wyn Jones in third place. Fourth were Barry Brand and Ben Swire, all of the above recording the aforementioned thirty two points.

The tee pegs for the least good score went to Del Williams and Gareth Austin with 22 points and forty five golf balls found their was into the bag of Tony Mash who scooped all the balls in the quest for birdie twos as he was the only player to record an approved two during the competition.

Wrexham also played their Sunday league event last Sunday morning and featured a win for Richard Rawlings, the club treasurer, partnered by Paul Hogan our press officer to a 42 point card score. Second came Mike Fellowes and Danny Moore with 41 and they in turn were followed by Mike Darlington and Les Shoemark with 40. John Hogan and Clive Griffiths were in fourth place with another forty point card.

Now firmly established in the history books, the final two rounds of the World Accenture Match play from Dove mountain in Arizona which featured a win for Hunter Mahan in favour of Rory McIlroy who was the excellent runner up, also meant that Luke Donald maintained his position at the top of the world rankings with McIlroy second and Lee Wertwood in third place.

The course itself is a marvel of irrigation and horticulture as it is a swathe of green fairways and greens planted firmly in the most barren desert terrain that could be thought possible. The aerial view from Snoopy, the airship transmitting the overhead shots for CBS, gave an impression of a Martian landscape for miles around with dots of green for the tees and strips of green sward for the fairways and greens.

Mahan was a worthy winner as his statistics placed him well ahead of the field in terms of birdies scored during the week and he was never behind in the final which ended on the seventeenth green.

Meanwhile, Clays golf club hosted a seniors’ better ball Stableford a week last Tuesday with the results just being a little too late for last weeks issue. Mike Carding and Graham Stokes amassed 50 points to win by just two from Nigel Moore and Ernie Williams with 48. Roy Jones and Peter Lynch were third with 47 with Maelor Davies andDerek Lyonfourth on 46.

Two days later the club hosted a seniors’ Stableford team competition for teams of three. Results show a win for Ernie Williams, Peter Fey and Peter Frazer with 87 points followed by Keith Jones, Barry Evans and Neil Sanger with 78, a score repeated by third placed Bill Hughes, Steve Monk and Joe White.

Stewart Poole, Frank Carroll and Harold Hughes were in fourth place with 74 and they in turn were followed by Tony Jackson, Maelor Davies and Ray Martin on 72.

The Senior section initiated a new competition called the “Nearly St David’s Day” event, the trophy being presented by Roy Jones, a past Clays senior’s captain. The inaugural winner was John Kelty with 42 points followed by Peter Frazer on 40 and Ernest Williams, also on 40 points.

The trophy was presented at the conclusion of the event by seniors’ captain, Colin Brown.

Television has a lot to answer for, sometimes good, sometimes not so good.
Sunday evening and the occasion of the Northern Trust Open from the renowned Riviera Club inLos Angelesrevealed a side of the game that is not to be emulated under any circumstances. The act of a player spitting on the golf course.

A couple of years ago Tiger Woods caused outrage by spitting on the putting green during the closing holes of one of his many championships, and the reporting the following day throughout America stated in no uncertain terms that this was behaviour not to be condoned in any way.

Keegan Bradley was closing his final round out in contention with Phil Mickelson and Bill Haas, the three eventually being involved in a three way tie which Haas won at the second extra hole, but it was the conduct of Bradley that raised the ire of commentators on both sides of the Atlantic both for his painfully slow pre – shot routine before playing his shots, and for his too frequent spitting on to the fairways and approaches.

Dennis Pugh, the much respected Sky pundit and players’ coach was loud in his condemnation of both aspects, mentioning how ill mannered the duration of his routine was with scant disregard for his fellow golfers, and the deplorable habit of spitting on a carefully manicured golf course. This was echoed by Nick Faldo, commentating for CBS inAmerica, and has evoked criticism in our national press already this week. It has been suggested that US Tour commissioner Tim Finchem take action against the perpetrators of the disgusting habit.

Away from the media hype covering the Rivieraclub, and nearer home, Clays golf club played a Seniors Yellow ball competition on 20^th February which resulted in a win for Tony Harcombe, Eifion Jenkins, Mike Hollings and Den Murphy with 173 Stableford points. Second group in the frame were Maelor Davies, Barry Dare, Irwin Elkin and Joe White with 171 followed by Stewart Poole, Noel Jones, Richard Key and Harold Hughes on 167.

A couple of days previously forty six players took to the course for a better ball Stableford in teams of four with the best two scores on each hole to count. Winners were Peter Lynch, John Kelty, Ray Jones and Phil Hughes with 91 points. Second came Ray Martin, Tom Mara and Brian Jones who played as a three ball and amassed 92 points. In third place were Graham Stokes, Tony Owens, Barry Dare and Peter Frazer with 90.

Peter Lynch enjoyed the bragging rights for a hole in one on the par three second hole and Brian Jones for holing out with a full three wood from 160 yards on the par four 7^th hole for an eagle two.

The ladies played their Wednesday Winter league in which the honours fell to Diane Dare with 37 points from second placed Shirley Roberts on 36 and Jane Bell with 31.

The Saturday gentlemens’ winter league was this week won by Paul Jeffs with 43 points followed by second placed Ernest Williams on 39 and Mark Bebb with the same numbers.

The Vale of Llangollen suffered as the thaw took a grip on the course and produced a very soggy links which it was deemed unplayable for last Sunday’s draw for partners competition, but, not to be out done, Phil Coleman informed me of the Seniors Individual Stableford played over eighteen holes mid week that witnessed a win for Bernard Owen with 46 points from second placed John McKay on 38 and then David A. Wright with the better of two 37 point cards, the fourth placed offering belonging to Brian Gresty with Gordon Jones coming in fifth with 36.

Wrexham Ladies played a three ball Am Am last Tuesday which featured a win for Mair Williams, Ann Davies and Pat Whitehead with 60 points. In second place with the same score but a less good closing holes sequence came Sue Banister, Janet Brunyee, the lady captain, and Della Evans.

Our sympathies this week are extended to Denbighshire Golfing Union secretary David Ethelston, also President of the Vale of Llangollen, who suffered the loss of his wife Bobbie just one week ago, and to Wrexham member David Ellis whose wife Pat passed away just ten days ago. Pat was a staunch member of the club and will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

This will be the third consecutive week that I have introduced my notes with a weather report, but such is the nature of this game that we enjoy that adverse conditions at the weekend can influence our mood for a whole week or even longer if conditions demand course closure for various reasons.

It would appear that temperatures have risen significantly these last few days and are now fluctuating between two and nine degrees Celsius. This in itself is good news because hand warmers and gloves are OK but warmer weather does improve the golf, of that there is little doubt.

The Vale of Llangollen, still having to contend with ground frost, played their Sunday morning draw for partners event with no less that fifty four members taking to the golf course. Played this week over just twelve holes due to the conditions, it featured a win for Gareth Austin and Ian Faulkner with 36b points from second placed Dennis (Sunbank) Jones and Sean Broe with the better of two 34 point cards. Tom Williams and John Wakelin owned the third placed card of 34, the rank order being decided on the scores of the concluding six holes of play. Brian Dolomore and Rob Bagnall were in fourth place with their card reading 33 points.

The tee pegs went the way of Mike Heyhurst and Dai Thomas with a quite good 25 points, but remembering the eight inch frost holes which do tend to help the putting along a little bit.

There were seven birdie twos during the course of the morning, but those valiant efforts were placed firmly in the shade by the hole in one gained by Tom Williams on the eighteenth hole. As an aside, if you are going to have a hole in one anywhere in the county, the eighteenth at Llangollen must be the best place of all, overlooked as it is by the large windows of the clubhouse and the waiting players en route to the first tee.

The Wrexham players who participate in the Sunday morning league again witnessed the steady form of Ian Darlington who registered his fourth win in five occasions by partnering Stan Rogers to victory with 44 points. Second came club Treasurer Richard Rawlings andJohn Williamswith 43 followed by Mike Fellowes and his son Duncan with 42. John Hogan was drawn with his son Paul to occupy fourth place with 38. Paul, who is our reporter for these encounters, divulged that Ian Darlington is going on holiday for a week, so giving the others an opportunity for success.

Clays golf club, as reported byDerek Lyon, played a Mexican Texas scramble in which teams of four contested the event. Winners were Reg Taylor, Tony Owens, Maelor Davies and Harold Hughes with 61.7 net from second placed Stewart Poole, Noel Jones, Brian Mercer and Tony Harcombe on 62.5

Malcolm Williams, Bill Parry and Mike Hollins played as a three ball and, with mathematical adjustments due to being one short in number, took third place with 62.6

The seniors played a Stableford with teams of three with the best two scores to count. Winners were Andrew Mitchell, John Kelty and Tony Owens with 82 points, a score repeated by runners up Stewart Poole, Peter Almond andFred Courtfor second place.

The Saturday Winter league went to Mike D. Jones with 40 points from second placed Neil Gledhill on 38 and M.K. Jones with another 38 point card.

Yet again we have managed to compact about three seasons of the year into the last seven days with the exception of the snow that has plagued the South East of the country to such devastating effect. Frost really is the bane of the journeyman golfer as it affects everything that we do, coupled with the freezing fingers and ice cold equipment, it makes the game a little less attractive than sitting in front of the fire watching TV.

Despite the adverse conditions the Wrexham club played an Individual Stableford last Wednesday with prizes being awarded to the top ten players regardless of division status in handicapping terms. Overall winner was Brian Bell with 42 points for a creditable win by three points from second placed Les Shoemark whose thirty nine points were equalled by David Furmston and Lawson Hill. John Walter Lloyd was in fifth place with 38 followed by Frank Williams, 36; Tom Jeffreys, 36; Stan Rogers, 36; John Dutton, 36 and Alan Prandle on yet another 36 point card to complete the list of prize winners.

Last Saturday’s event, played along the same lines, witnessed a win for Mike Parsons with 40 points from second placed Phil Nicholls on 38 and Stan Rogers with 36, a score replicated by Maelor Gittins for fourth position Jonathan Davies was fifth to conclude the list of prize winners on the day. Many of the players played just nine holes, so bad were the conditions and several went home with their cards in their pockets, so suffering disqualification for non return of score cards.

The ladies played a nine holes back nine three ball event utilising Am Am scoring off 7/8 handicap allowance. Winning three ball were Mair Williams, Tessa Hughes and Linda Mellor on 39 points, from the second group comprising Janet Lloyd, Jean Jones and Eileen Graham on 37. Twenty three ladies contested the event.

The Sunday league was again the keenly contested issue of the last four weeks with Danny Moore and John Hogan gaining 41 points to secure victory over Les Shoemark and Alan Merrill on 38 points. Mike Darlington and Duncan Fellowes were third with 37 points followed by prolific winner Ian Darlington and Paul Hogan, our press officer, in fourth place with 33.

The Vale of Llangollen were restricted to eleven holes of play last Sunday because of the severe frost, but forty nine players turned up for the draw for partners to proceed with the morning’s event. Winners were Ian Harrison and David Condren with the better of two 34 point cards, Tony Mash and Charles Benson signing the other one for second place

Third came Wyn Jones and Steve Jones with 32 with our press officer, Phil Coleman partnering Geoff Keenan into fourth place with a similar score.

The tee pegs went to Paul Jones and Neil A. Jones with 25 points, remembering that the players were playing on eight inch frost holes. Carl Schleising won the only prize for his solitary birdie two on the sixth hole and went home with thirty golf balls.

The Veterans’ played an individual Stableford which was won by Gordon Jones with 50 points, again remembering the frost holes. John T. Hughes was in second place with 49 with John Firth third with 46.

Clays meanwhile played three events over the last few days starting with a seniors’ individual Stableford which was won by Bill Hughes with 38 points on count back from Bill Parry, with Fred Court in third place with 36.

The Seniors’ winter medal was played last Thursday and played through two handicap divisions. The first division went to Stewart Poole with 39 points from second placed Tony Harcombe on 38 and Tony Owens on 36. The second division was won by club Vice captain, Bob Brown with 40 points from Lewis Edward Bush on 39 and Raymond Jones on 37.

The club Monthly medal was played through three divisions with Graham David Jones winning the first division with 83 – 10 – 73 followed by Stephen Hart on 85 – 10 – 75 and Paul fell with 82 – 7 – 75. The second division was won by Gareth Roberts the club captain with 83 – 13 – 70 followed by Michael Scott Carnell with 89 – 16 – 73 and Harold Bryn Hughes with 91 – 16 – 75. The Third handicap group went to Keith Foster with 90 – 19 – 71 from second placed Peter fey on 92 – 20 – 72 and then Mark Bebb with 95 – 22 – 73.

Well, it’s been a rather Mickey Mouse week with ground varying between rock hard and just about playable, and scores in our winter competitions improved slightly on last week when hard frost was the winner on most occasions. Even so, talking to Phil Coleman of the Vale of Llangollen golf club, their Sunday morning “draw for partners” again suffered due to the course lying in the lee shade of theBerwynMountains. With absolutely no hope even of weak sunlight, frost holes of eight inches diameter were the order of the day.

Played as usual as a thirteen holes better ball Stableford and starting from three tees, the event attracted fifty two members willing to brave the elements and enjoy the morning for what it was.

Winning pair this week were Jonathan Tweedie and Eugene Jones with 37 points from second placed Ian Faulkner and Warren Davies with a similar score. Back five holes reckoning revealed fifteen points for the winners and fourteen for the runners up to establish the rank order beyond doubt. Carl Schleising and Gary Tweedie were third with the better of two 36 point cards, the fourth position going the way of Cliff Thomas and Gareth Edwards, this time the back five reading 14 and 13 respectively.

The tee pegs this week went to John Hallowell and Mike Ashworth who is the Match Secretary for the Veterans’ section, and they gained just 19 points. In all there were three birdie twos recorded, same as last week, and the same number, fifteen balls, were awarded to the winners for their efforts.

Wrexham contested their fourth week of their Winter league, and again it featured a win for Ian Darlington who has been in the leading pair for the last three weeks. This week, partnering Danny Moore, they gained a creditable 43 points to lead by three from Mike Fellowes and our press officer for the event, Paul Hogan.

Paul’s father John Hogan and Dave Muir came in third with 38, followed by Ian’s son Daniel Darlington with Duncan Fellowes, Mike’s son, in fourth place with 37.

This father /son situation has occurred for many years now and long may it continue as they are all staunch supporters of the club.

A week last Sunday the Junior Stableford witnessed a win for Lewis Mackenzie with 38 points for a convincing win over jack waters on 32 and Scott Anderson on 30. Lucy Jones was in fourth place with 28 points followed by Rob Keenan and Rhian Barton sharing 22 points apiece.

The Ladies played a nine holes Canadian Greensome last Tuesday which was won by June Roberts and Pat Whitehead with 20 points. Janet Lloyd and Jean Jones were runners up with 17 points with a total of eighteen ladies contesting the event.

Clays report as ever is provided by the enthusiastic ex President of the club Derek Lyonand by chance I am delighted to write, he partnered Stewart Poole in winning the Seniors’ pairs better ball competition of 26^th January by helping to hand in a card reading 44 points, winning on the back nine from Reg Taylor and Cliff Davies who amassed the same score. John Hughes and Richard Key were third on 43 followed by Tom Mara and Keith Jones in fourth place on 41.

The seniors’ kitty competition was played in teams of three and was won by Brian Jones, Harold Hughes and Richard Key with 88 points. Second came John Hughes, Maelor Davies and Eifion Jenkins with 82 points.

The ladies’ Wednesday winter league played last Wednesday saw Anne Richards lead with 39 points from second placed Sheila Roscoe on 34 and third placed Diane Dare on 30. The Shop Stroke play went to Gareth Parry with 81 – 16 – 65 followed by Mark Bebb with 87 – 22 – 65 and Geoff Bassett with 97 – 21 – 66

Finally this week, the Sunday shop Stableford went to Gareth Parry with 41 points, repeating his success of the previous day, followed by Grant Jones with 39 and then Patrick McHugh on another 39 point card.

The Golf Union of Wales newsletter published last week informs us that Amy Boulden of Maesdu golf club, Llandudno has been selected for the Curtis Cup squad for the next match against USA. Eighteen year old Amy played as a fourteen year old in the Welsh Ladies team championships at Wrexham in 2008 and impressed everyone who witnessed her performance with her cool temperament and poise. She has had significant successes since that time becoming a full Welsh international and played in the junior Solheim cup last year against the USA.

The next Curtis Cup match will be played from the 8^th to the 10^th June at Nairn golf club in Scotland. The players will be watched by team captain Tegwen Matthews and the international selection panel when they take part in a three day trial over the Nairn links from 23 rd to 25^th March

Better weather I’m sure that you will agree, but the high winds certainly played havoc with the scores of club competitions. Wind has a devastating effect in that for a right handed player, wind from the left to the right of the golf course can be a nightmare in shot making terms. Most right hander’s have a propensity to move the ball from left to right in the air during flight. If this flight can be reproduced on a regular basis, and moves about the same distance off centre each time, then we refer to it as a “fade”. There is a fine margin of error between that stroke and a more powerful movement to the right, usually with the ball landing in the right hand rough, which on this occasion is referred to as a “slice”, caused by the club face contacting the ball when it is usually facing about one o’clock relative to a twelve a clock desired direction. And then there’s the descending angle of the swing…but that another long story.

Suffice to say, the faders and slicers had an interesting weekend as the winds persevered over the two days, a fact highlighted by Phil Coleman of the Vale of Llangollen golf club when he reported the Sunday morning Draw for Partners results which involved no less than fifty seven players.

With scores reflecting the conditions somewhat, the winners were J T Hughes and Bill Matthews with just 32 points compared with about 37 of last week. Trefor Jones and Phil Jones came in second with 30 from third placed Neil A. Jones and Malcolm Delaney, the newly installed club captain, on 28. Barry Pearce and Del Williams submitted identical numbers but suffered as a result of a card scrutiny over the closing five holes.

The tee pegs went to Frank Owen and Dave Dermott with 18 points whereas the tee pegs are usually worthy of about 24. Three players achieved birdie twos on the eighteenth hole and carried off fifteen balls each for their trouble.

Wrexham entered the third week of the Sunday morning league and again suffered from the wind over this exposed links. Winners this week with 38 points were Ian Darlington and Mike Fellowes followed by Danny Moore and Paul Hogan on 37. This is the third week that Paul has featured in the first two places so he obviously finds the competition to his liking. Duncan Fellowes and Mike Darlington were in third place with 35 with Paul Roberts and Andre Jones fourth on 32. I’m sure that next week Paul will inform me of how many players participate in the event each week which has proved to be very popular in the past.

Wrexham ladies played a nine holes better ball off 7/8 of handicap allowance and witnessed a win for the partnership of Pauline Archer and Della Evans with 18 points resulting in a card scrutiny for the lead position from five cards with the same total there were twenty entries all told.

Clays golf club continues to provide members with a full programme of competitive events despite indifferent conditions. The Seniors Kitty competition of 23^rd of the month resulted in a win for Phil Hughes on 41 points from second placed Ernie Williams on 39 and then Mike Hollings with 38. The fourth spot was occupied by Bill Hughes on 37 points, a score also returned by fifth placed Peter Lynch and ranked on count back.

The Senior Winter medal was played through two divisions and played as a Stableford counting event, rather a contradiction in golfing terms, but highly popular to say the least. Winner of division one was Andrew Mitchell with 41 points from second placed Michael Carding on 39 and Ernest Williams on 36.

The second division went to Eifion Wynn Jenkins with 37 points from Steve Monk on 37 and Lynne Mitchell on exactly the same figures, all three being ranked into order by back nine scores.

The Sunday Winter league for men was won by Kevin Scaife on 42 points followed by MK Jones on 39  and Karl Matthias on 38, whilst the Shop Stableford went to Gareth Roberts with 37 points followed by second placed Colin Bryan on 37 and David Riley on 32.