First-4-Golf

The new dual carriageway to the Industrial Estate in Wrexham is coming along at an excellent rate, due largely to the relatively dry weather which allows very heavy earth moving equipment to make progress without getting bogged down in mud and soft ground.
The reason that I open with these remarks this week because the Wrexham golf club is having its normal entrance totally obliterated by a change in levels of the road which runs literally feet away from the golf course so the diggers and lorries are now actually working on our main drive and building a new curved road on the front of the eleventh tee which, when tarmaced over with bitumen, will lead directly out of our new entrance and straight on to the new roundabout. It means a new gate a little wider than the old one, but weaving the car through barriers and datum posts, especially in the dark, poses problems all of their own.

The par three course of our neighbours at Clays has virtually been obliterated as a cut swathe from the Holt Road through to Bryn Estyn Lane is now ready for top surfacing as soon as the second, lower roundabout has been built just below the Gredington Arms pub.

Part of the contract entered into with the Wrexham County Borough Council in conjunction with Birse Civils, the main contractors, was the provision of a new ninth tee as the new road comes within a clubs length of the old medal tee. This has been accomplished in fine style and was turfed last week and, from the road, presents an excellent example of tee construction. The eighth hole has temporarily been removed from play but we have utilized the par three hole on the practice ground in its place.

I must add that this entire disturbance has had a minimal effect on the running of the golf club which remains open to visitors and members alike, so our thanks are to the contractors for their sympathetic approach to the job.

Staying with Wrexham, the club played their midweek Stableford for December on the 30th November which was the nearest Wednesday to the beginning of the month.
Winner was Roberts Butcher with 43 points for a stand alone victory from three cards reading 42 points, each being ranked on back nine holes and in the names of Arwel Morris, Chris Church and Malcolm Fennah. Mark Holdcroft was in fifth place with the better of three 41 point cards with John Lloyd and Steve Mackenzie owning sixth and seventh place.

The December medal was just that, a medal event which was won by Andrew Hunt with 79 – 15 – 64 from second placed Alan Harris on 79 – 10 – 69 and then Richard Williams who scored 87 – 18 – 69. The leading three were followed by Gary Murt, net 69; Cliff Jones, 70; Stephen Wright,70; Ian Bennett Jones,70; Alan Evans,70; Steve Mackenzie,70; and Steve Lloyd, also with a net 70.
The ladies played the front nine holes in a competition that comprised teams of three with two scores to count. Winners were Jane Mullett-Prandle, Mary Bainbridge and Freda Darlington with 41 points followed by second placed Wendy Roberts, Angela Penn and Janet Brand with 34. All in all, nine teams took part in the event.

Phil Coleman maintained his steady flow of information from the veterans’ section of the Vale of Llangollen golf club, this week reporting on a match between teams supporting the president of the club Warren Davies, and the club Captain, Albert Dunlop. Played over fourteen holes as a better ball Stableford with twenty a side, the final result was a very close run thing in that the President accumulated 262 points and the Captain amassed 261.
The Veterans’ Christmas lunch will be held in the clubhouse on Friday 16th December commencing at 1.00 p.m.

Clays seniors played an individual Stableford last Monday in which Don Wraight accumulated 35 points to win on a count back with Stewart Poole in second place with the same numbers. Ray Martin was third with 34 followed by Peter Lynch, 34 and Eifion Jenkins with 33.
The Seniors Winter medal was played through two divisions, Ernest Williams winning the first division with 38 points, indicating that the Stableford scoring system was used for the event. Colin Brown was in second place with another 38 followed by ray Martin with 37.
The second division went to our press Officer and past club president, Derek Lyon, with 37 points, and he was followed by Peter Almond on 37 and Peter Fey with yet another similar score for third place. Derek had a birdie two on the par three twelfth hole, and Reg Peacock, the club captain, has a two on the par three fifth hole

The winners of the last three months medals played in September, October and November including all men, ladies and juniors played in the Autumn Medal Championship with the tee being allocated on a random draw.
Richard Evans won the event followed by junior captain Patrick McHugh, both returning net 68’s and they were followed by Ian Stent with net 69.
The Club’s presentation evening was held on 26th November with a declaration of the success of the captains’ charities for 2011. Cancer Research and Wrexham charitable organizations Family Friends and Home Start each received £1470 from the grand total of £4410 raised during the year The Captain, Reg Peacock, and Lady Captain, Diane Dare thanked the members for their support during the year.