First-4-Golf

Clays golf club had a busy week when the Welsh Girls Championships gained the benefit of an excellent golf course and first class organization during its play over the qualifying and eventual match play rounds.

The thirty six holes qualifier was played last Wednesday and panned out fairly true to form considering that Wrexham’s Chloe Williams was playing abroad and not featuring in the event. Katie Bradbury of Cottrell Park established an early grip on the event with a morning 71 followed by a 74 for a 145 total that led by five strokes from Georgia Lewis of Llanishen on 150. India Friswell of Wrexham was ranked fifth and Jessica Jones of Wrexham in fourteenth place, both girls within the sixteen required for the match play rounds to follow. Amy Toft of Northop and Amy Clarke of Old Padeswood were in seventh and twelfth places respectively.

Thursday witnessed number one seed Katie Bradbury win the first round by two holes and her quarter final by six and five, Jessica and India unfortunately being drawn against each other in the quarters in which Jessica triumphed on the twenty first hole, both Amy Toft and Amy Clarke going down in the first round.

Jessica has the misfortune to be drawn against the in form Katie for her semi final which she narrowly lost by two and one with Sarah Rees Evans becoming the other finalist by beating Miriam Hassan by two and one also.

The final went true to form with Katie winning the event and Sarah becoming runner up.

Thank were expressed to Clays by the officials of the Golf Union of Wales at the presentation following the final.

Clays also hosted last Sunday’s County match when Denbighshire took on old rivals Flintshire.

The Denbighshire team was drawn from just two clubs in the county and comprised Andrew Bostock, Jamie Durkin, Kevin Matthias and Alyn Torrence of Wrexham,  and Iain Hayes, Howard Lea, Josh Lloyd and Paul Strange of Abergele.

The morning foursomes went the way of the host county with Denbighshire leading by 3½ to ½ to establish a very handy lead before the singles in the afternoon.

A win by Alyn Torrence and a half by Jamie Durkin after lunch added to the early points, but a reversal to the tune of three consecutive losses let Flintshire back into the equation before two halved games gave Denbighshire overall victory by 6½ to 5½ .

The next match is against Caernarfonshire at Abersoch on 21^st August.

Wrexham’s professional Paul Williams held his professional’s Day at his home club last Saturday and attracted a full field of players throughout the day. The final tee time was in the region of 3.30 p.m. to enable results to be available for the evening presentation.

Ladies’ winner was Jo Davies with 37 points from runner up Jane Mullet Prandle with 36 and Hazel Parry in third place with 35.

The mens’ winner was Ian Arnold on 43 points followed by Alan Stone on 40 and then a card play off for third place between Andrew Purdy, Andy Ward and Alan Prandle  who were ranked in that order with 39 points each.

The Junior Ted Clutton trophy went to Jak Hughes with 44 points from second placed Lucy Jones with 41.

At the Vale of Llangollen the veterans played their Jubilee Cup which featured a win for Malcolm Devaney on 42 points from David A Wright on 41 and Dennis “ Sunbank” Jones on 40. Sixty two players contested the event.

The veterans’ team also travelled to Shrewsbury golf club at Condover to play in a friendly, but lost by seven games to three.

Reverting to Clays golf club, the members played a Shop Stroke Play competition which witnessed a win for David Riley on 73 – 6 – 67 followed by Gareth Whitley with 87 – 19 – 68 and Dennis Kevin Jones on 83 – 14 – 69.

The results of the Neil Harden Trophy featured Jonathan Falcus in the lead with 42 points from second placed Andy Matthews  on 40 and Matthew Williams on 39.

With the Open championship over for another year, and Darren Clarke safely ensconced back in Northern Ireland with the claret jug, it’s been a shot in the arm for the over forties to see such a homely figure play so steadily to achieve a lifetime’s ambition and then celebrate as only the Irish know how.

A few years ago Darren became a gymaholic and as slim as a whip, highlights in his hair, and the epitome of the modern golfer. His recent return to normality has seen a huge change for the better in his personality and his appeal has broadened as a result.

We can all identify with a man who can certainly play a bit, celebrate a bit, and gains pleasure from a crafty cigarette on alternate tees, but plays with the steadiness that we all aspire to when the chips are down.

A people’s champion if ever I saw one, and very well deserved.

Meanwhile, local golf continues despite the distractions of the television game, and Clay’s golf club held their joint captains’ day for Captain Reg Peacock and Lady Captain, Diane Dare last Saturday with over one hundred and sixty players competing in support of their officers. A few short showers flurried through the day but nothing serious enough to hinder progress in the Stableford competition off full handicap with a morning and afternoon competition with shotgun starts.

The evening presentation in the clubhouse was accompanied by a sit-down meal and entertainment by a local group called “Five past Forty”.

Winner of the Captains prize was Richard Edwards with 44 points from Steve Parry, 40, and Andy Evans with 38. Prizes were also awarded to the best non-prizewinning score and the recipients were Ian Stent in the morning and Graham Davidson-Clarke in the afternoon.

The Lady Captain’s prize went to Jo Beddows with 39 points followed by India Friswell, 37 and Ellen Mostyn with 34.

The straightest drive on the third hole was won by Ellen Mostyn and Ian Samuels; nearest the pin in two strokes on the eleventh was won by Gareth Parry, and the ladies nearest the pin on the fifth hole went to Ladies’ Vice Captain, Anne Lee and in the mens’ event, Junior Captain Patrick McHugh.

Best junior was Jack Roycroft and best senior, Bill Kelleher, and the best visitors were Bill Robinson and Jilly Law from Ruthin – Pwllglas.

The Seniors played an individual Stableford last Tuesday which featured a win for Andrew Mitchell with 39 points on  a count back from Mike Drake with Peter Almond in third place with 38, a score replicated by Lou Bush for fourth place and Brian Mercer who was fifth.

On the same day Clays seniors had a home match against Aldersley Green and won by

7½ to 2½      

The Shop Bogey played on July 9^th witnessed a good day for David Lang with a score of +6 against Bogey with Gareth Whitley on +5 and David Abell on a similar score.

The Seniors Kitty competition played last Thursday as a three ball competition was won by Gordon Roberts, Cliff Davies and Neil Sanger with a cumulative score of 81 points. Second came Peter Almond, Bill Parry and Andrew Mitchell with 78 followed by our press officer Derek Lyon accompanied by Steve Monk and Harold Hughes with 77.

Meanwhile the Vale of Llangollen veterans had a slightly off day when playing the first round of the Coleman Trophy at Mile End golf club. They left themselves with a metaphoric mountain to climb by losing the match by nine games to one.

Wrexham hosted the Crowe and Leader Cups competition just over a week ago which featured a win for Stuart James Woolrich with 73 – 12 – 61. Due to the fact that he was not a previous Honours Board winner, he scooped the both trophies despite a good score from Leader runner up Sean Price with 81 – 18 – 63. J Peet was runner up in the Crowe Cup with 78 – 13 – 65.

The Ladies’ Invitation Day was won by Jean Sawford with her partner Sue Goodyer with an excellent 45 points followed by Dorne Tym and Lou Johnson on 44. Third place went to Janet Brand and Helen Pearson with 44 in an event in which twenty nine teams took part.

For over thirty years the principal golf tournament associated with the Wrexham County Borough Council has been their allegiance with Carlsberg U.K. to sponsor the popular Carlsberg Trophy event held at Wrexham Golf Club each August.

This year is no exception and the competition takes place on Wednesday, 24^th August and is played in pairs as a betterball Stableford for a range of excellent prizes which include over £400 worth of golf vouchers, and memberships of Pure Active WCBC Fitness.

For just £38 per pair it represents excellent value for money as there is a meal included as well as two complimentary pints of lager from the sponsors, Carlsberg U.K.

Entry forms are available on line from www.wrexham.gov.uk or by contacting Andy Harris on 01691 778666 or Louise Brady who answers to 01987 821600.

Remaining with Wrexham golf club for the moment, the Ladies played their Caldecott Pattison Salver last Tuesday with a rather surprisingly small field of just five players.

Winner with an excellent score was Jane O’ Sullivan on 98 – 30 – 68 from runner up Sandy Reddington who handed in 97 – 24 – 73.

Twenty ladies did however contest a Stableford event on the same day which witnessed a win for Shirley Williams with 38 points from ladies’ Vice Captain, Carolann Jones on 37as a result of a card play-off.

The Vale of Llangollen veterans played the second leg of their Eifion Davies Memorial Trophy which is contested between themselves and Oswestry golf club where Eifion was also a member.

Home club advantage was evident in the first leg which was won at Llangollen by 7 ½ to 4 ½ but also at Oswestry where the home players reversed the advantage to win by 9 ½         to 2 ½ . The Trophy therefore residing in Oswestry for the next twelve months as a result of the overall score reading 14 to Oswestry against 10 to the Vale of Llangollen.

Clays golf club played their Junior medal last Sunday which saw Victoria Raffle return 83 – 33 – 50 to win the event and have her handicap reduced to 24 in one fell swoop. Tom Gledhill came second with 79 – 22 – 57 and was duly reduced to 18 as was Jack Roycroft who was in third place with 81 – 21 – 60.

The Seniors travelled to Ruthin Pwllglas for their Seniors Open on July 5^th. Played as a pairs betterball Stableford off 7/8ths handicap, the winners were Clays pair Dave Lambert and Noel Jones with a creditable 40 points. Second came Mike Carding and Don Wreaight from Clays with 44 points and completing the nap hand were Maelor Davies and Tony Jackson of Clays with 44 points.

Irwin Elkin was nearest the pin for his second shot on the par four 4^th hole (or thirteenth depending on which nine holes you were playing) and the nearest the pin on the par three 7^th hole (or 16^th) was Wal Browett of Ruthin Pwllglas. There were fourteen birdie twos on the par three holes which were contributed by Brian Proudfoot, John Brooks, John E Jones, Len Padmore, Wal Browett and John Hughes, all of Ruthin Pwllglas; Mike Hollings, Bill Kelleher, Colin Jones and Ray Jones from Clays, and Colin Edwards and Arwel Morris from Wrexham.

The Seniors Kitty competition on July 7^th went to Cliff Davies with 40 points from Bill Duncan, 40, and Reg Taylor with 37.

The Ladies’ monthly medal resulted in a win for Janet Johnson on 91 – 25 – 66 followed by Anne Richards with 89 – 16 – 73 and finally Diane Dare the Ladies Captain with 102 – 27 – 75 for third place.

The Welsh Girls Championships take place at Clays from 18^th to 21^st of July, the results of which will not quite be available for next week’s issue, but will feature the following week

The Denbighshire Past Captains’ Association has enjoyed some forty odd years since its inception in the 1970’s and enjoys support wherever the game of golf is played throughout the county.

Organised for many years by the late John Hawkes of Llangollen golf club, and since his demise by Brian Dallimore of Denbigh golf club, last Thursday was the occasion of the Association’s Captain’s day held at Wrexham golf club, which is the home club of this year’s incumbent, Cyril Belton.

Cyril was the club captain in 1996 and has been an enthusiastic member of the Past captains for over fifteen years. His competition took the form of an individual Stableford and he entertained over forty three past captains from the affiliated clubs of the Union.

Custom has it that the Captain of the day of the host club is a guest of the Association, and Thursday was no exception as John Dwyfor Williams, Wrexham captain for 2011 was duly invited to participate in the competition.

Four hours later with 40 points on his card he was announced the event winner, but was obliged to miss the presentation because of his prior commitment to the National Eisteddfod committee of which he is an enthusiastic member. He did however return and participate in the later celebrations.

The Captain’s Cup is awarded to the winner on the day, the successful recipient needing to be a Past captain of a Denbighshire golf club. With 38 points, Ron Roberts of Clays golf club was presented with the trophy by Cyril in the company of the Association president, Stan Roberts of Ruthin Pwllglas.

 J.D. did however scurry home with four bottles of wine for his efforts.

Rather belatedly and with apologies to all concerned the results of the County Scratch and Youths Championships have lurked on my Inbox for nearly a fortnight. Thanks to David Ethelston, County secretary of the DGU I have a comprehensive report on the goings on on the day and, of course, the final results.

The event took place just two weekends ago at Clays golf course which was presented in impeccable condition for the competition. At the end of the morning round, this being a thirty six hole event, five handicapper and past County champion Hugh Parry of Abergele led with a 69 gross, one stroke clear of fellow five handicapper Donny Jones of Old Colwyn and reigning champion, one handicap Alyn Torrence of Plassey with a further eight player sin close contention.

The afternoon round saw last year’s runner up, Rhodri Fieldhouse of Wrexham, off plus one, return a 67 against Alyn’s 70. Rod’s score of 139 piped Alyn for the championship by on e stroke with Andy Evans of Clays third with another 67, and Hugh settling for fourth place.

Hugh had the best net thirty six holes score of 132, almost twenty years after his first victory in the event.

Rhodri also took the Youth’s championship, with second place going to Michael Evans of Clays with 145 and third place to Rhys Millington of Wrexham with 147.

With the usual restrictions in place regarding the number of prizes awarded to one player, the best morning gross went to Donny Jones for his 70 and in the afternoon to Chris Platt of the Vale of Llangollen with his 69.

The best Youth’s thirty six holes net award went to Wrexham’s Thomas Williams with 137.

The Union expressed its gratitude to Clays golf club with the prizes being presented by Terry Dodd, the County Captain of Chirk golf club. The Union were appreciative of the assistance of two referees in the way of Maurice Berg of Abergele and Cliff jones of Wrexham.

Remaining with Clays golf club, the Seniors’ medal for July was played through two divisions and went firstly to division one winner Bill Parry with net 66 from William Duncan on the same score. Third was Stewart Poole with net 67.

The second division was won by Steve Monk with an excellent net 62 followed by Stan Brookfield on 68 and then Pater Frazer with 69.

The monthly medal open to all club members was played through a third division to accommodate the increased numbers. Division one winner was Stephen Hart with net 65 from Ian Connel on 66 and Steve Williams with 66 also.

Richard Collier took the second group with his score of net 63 followed by John Scott with 64 and then Jordan Pearson with another 64 card. Peter Reagan won the third division with net 65 with Dilwyn Jones in close attendance with 66 and Nigel Davies on another 66.

The shop Stableford played last Sunday witnessed a win for Justin Bull on 42 points from David Abell on 40 and Colin Brand with 39.

Phil Coleman of the Vale of Llangollen informs me that yet again, their veterans’ team has had a successful match against a local club, this time Helsby who slid to gentle defeat by a margin of 7 ½ to 4 ½.

Reverting to Wrexham for the recent results, the Ladies Cancer Relief medal took place a week last Tuesday, just too late for last week’s issue. Janet Lloyd in winning the Silver division with 82 – 17 – 65 also took the Cancer Relief honours for the day. Second in her division was Carole Jones with 89 – 18 – 71.

The Bronze division was won by Anne Bale with 95 – 29 – 66 from Andrea Vaughan Smith who returned 90 – 21- 69.

Just last Tuesday Shelagh Jones won the GUW medal with a Silver division victory with her score of 85 – 20 – 65 from runner up Mary Bainbridge who returned to the clubhouse with 86 – 20 – 66

The Junior medal was played last Sunday and witnessed a win for jack waters with 76 – 12 – 64. This adjusted his handicap to 11. Second was Mike Peters with 75 – 7 – 68 and third came Jamie Lloyd with 73 – 5 – 68.

Sam Postle took the honours in the second division with 99 – 32 – 67 with Joel Baines on 108 – 38 – 70 and O. Green scoring 104 – 33 – 71.

Mens’ Invitation Day played last Saturday was a day of two halves in that two separate shotgun starts saw play in one competition in the morning and another in the afternoon. This has the distinct advantage of having everyone in the clubhouse at the same time for a meal and presentation.

Winner of the morning event was Ollie Hughes and P Huxley with 45 points from second placed Tim Jones and K Todd, 43; and P Williams and P Jones on 42.

The afternoon round featured a win for Dennis Humphries and D Allcock with 45 points from Steve Taylor and P Harrison on 43 and then Mike Lowe and S Parry with a repeat score of 43.

The prizes in  the morning were presented by the Vice captain, Colin Graham, and in the afternoon by the club Captain John D. Williams.

Young Wrexham lady golfer Chloe Williams confirmed her position as one of the strongest players in her age group in Wales when she gained the most points in the Vagliano Trophy (Junior U16 Girls) when representing Great Britain and Ireland at Royal Porthcawl last Friday and Saturday. The team consisted of six girls from G.B & I. playing against six girls representing the Continent of Europe. Chloe played with Bronte Law in the opening foursomes an achieved five birdies in the closing seven holes to only gain a half a point.

The team score was 1½ – 1½   after the first mornings games.

Her afternoon singles found her slightly out of touch and she went down by 6 and 5, her game having slightly lost its edge in all departments, and the first day closing score was

7½ to Europe and 2½ to GB & I.

On day two Chloe again partnered Bronte against the same opponents on a very windy, wet day, and beat them by 6 and 5. For her final outing in the afternoon singles, she played the Spanish U16 girls’ Champion, Harang Lee, and beat her by 2 and 1.

The overall score for the match was Europe, 13; and GB & I 5, with Chloe gaining 2½ points to become joint top points earner with Georgia Hall.

The icing on the cake was Chloe’s interview with the June Welsh Club Golfer magazine that features a prominent amateur each month. Copies are available in clubhouses throughout Wales.

The Wrexham club held their Open week last week commencing with the Junior Centenary trophy. Winner with 96 – 32- 64 was Harry Jones with runner up Chris Tym scoring 79 – 14 – 65.

The Ladies’ Centenary trophy went to Carole Jones with 87 – 19 – 68 from runner up Dorne Tym, Chris’s mum, on 85 – 14 – 71. The thirty three entries produced just one birdie two which went to Gayle Elson.

The Open Am Am attracted a full field and was won by the team comprising Brian Neale Huw Williams, Mike Kagen and Barry Dickenson with a score of 92 points. Second came the ladies team of Gayle Elson, Andrea Vaughan Smith, Jane O’ Sullivan and Jackie Williams on 87. Third came David Nigel Jones, Oscar W. Jones, Rob Huxley and D Jones with 85 and fourth were Keith Miller, Bob Kavanagh, A Jones and R Kavanagh with 84.

The Ladies prize, excepting the runners up, went to L Williams, A Hewitt, M Hughes and L Finlay of the Vale of Llangollen with 78.

The Better Ball Open of Wednesday was open to Mens or Mixed competitors with the former going to Chris Davies and Glyn Williams with 44 points. Second came Jamie Seddon and R Irvine with the best of three 41 point cards and they in turn were followed by S Williams and G Williams with C Chew and S Winter taking fourth place.

The Mixed prizes went to husband and wife duo, Dorne and Jonathan Tym with 41 points followed by Keith and Angela Miller on 40, Reg and Mary Hunter on 38 and H. and G. Smith on a second 38 point card.

The ever popular Seniors Open of the Thursday was won by Mike Verburg and Brian Chaloner with 45 points from second placed Bill Taylor and Tony McCann on the better of three 43 point cards. Third place was obtained by Derek Collis and Gilbert Hunt followed by Brian Bell and Rob Huxley occupying the fourth position.

The best gross went to Mike Norton and Malcolm Sides with a two over par 72.

The Mens’ Centenary Cup was played in conjunction with the July medal and the trophy went to Mark Antony Williams with 70 – 6 – 64 followed by Howard Griffiths with net 67, and then Keith Baines with another 67. Maelor Gittins came fourth with net 68.

Clays golf club played their Ladies Stableford Qualifier last Wednesday which resulted in a win for Anne Richards on 41 points from second placed Rosalind Carman on 32 and Shirley Roberts with 30.

The Tommy Davies Cup went to Mike D Jones with 44 points from Peter Snape, 42; and Robert A. Brown in third place with 41.

The Sunday Shop Stableford went to Josh green with 43 points from second placed Timothy Lloyd on 42 and Neil Lloyd Richards with 41.

Playing in the Seniors’ Hall of Fame Qualifier, Colin Brown led the pack with 45 points from second placed Wyn Williams, co proprietor of Clays, on 40, with Barry K Evans third with another 40 point card

The Shop Saturday Strokeplay went to Rob Condren with 83 – 18 – 65 from Ernest Williams on 82 – 17 – 65 and Jonathan Falcus with 81 – 16 – 65 in third place.

The following day the Shop Stableford featured a win for Clare Broster with 40 points from second placed Stuart Rogers on 39 and David Lang in third place with 38.

Our final contribution this week is offered by Phil Coleman of the Vale of Llangollen Veterans who were successful in beating Hawkestone Park at Llangollen by six matches to four. They have now played ten and won nine for an excellent position to be in mid summer.

Rather than duplicate the  accolades in the national press about the achievements of Rory McIlroy, I  would just add that I thought that his assurance and control were excellent, so I shall launch straight into the past fortnights efforts.

A week last Saturday was the occasion of Captain’s Day at Wrexham when John D Williams hosted his day. The competition was played as an individual medal with three prizes offered in the customary manner. The Captain’s prize was for the best net score of the day; the seniors’ Prize for the best of the over sixties, and a prize for the best gross score, open to all.

Excellent weather for most of the day attended the captain who was at the club from first light until the last players departed the first tee. Winner of the prestigious Captain’s Prize was Steven Taylor with an excellent 81 – 20 – 61 which in ordinary terms means playing to eleven handicap such was his competence on the day. He now plays off seventeen. Stan Hughes was next in line with 82 – 20 – 62 but sadly not receiving a prize, and then the senior’s winner Ian Hodgson with 82 – 18 – 64.

The best gross of the day went to Alun Torrence with a 70, representing a level par round off his one handicap. Following Alun came Tony Phillips with 72 and Chris Marsden on the same score.

The club also played the qualifying round of the Kenyon Cup, presented to the club in 1924 by the then Lord Kenyon who owned the lease that we had on the golf course at the time.

The event requires eight players to qualify and then go into match play rounds to determine the winner on Finals Day in September. Leading qualifier was Russell Osbourne with net 65 from Phil McKevitt, 65; Maurice Simpson, 65; Paul Maribbi,66; Andrew Ian Jones,66; Alan Guest,67; Tony Darlington,67 and Dennis Humphries with the best of eight 68 score cards.

The G M Crewe Trophy has been traditionally played midweek as it was originally designed for five day members of which he now have precious few, Geoff was a local auctioneer and past captain of the club and coincidentally, following his death, the inaugural competition in his name was won by his son Frazer Crewe  in then late nineties.

Winner on this occasion was Ben Bignall with 83 – 20 – 63 from Craig Matthews on 85 – 18 – 67.  Andy Moth was in third place with 82 – 15 – 67 and Brian Neale fourth with

77 – 10 – 67.

Last Tuesday the ladies played a three ball Am Am event which resulted in a win for Gayle Elson, Jackie Williams and Janet Sharley with 80 points. Runners up were Wendy Roberts, Anne Roberts and Shelagh Jones with 75. In all thirteen teams played in the competition.

The Graham G Williams Cup was contested by the juniors and was played as an individual Stableford event. Winner was Michael Peters with 38 points followed by Lewis Jordan on 36 and then Graham’s grandson, Jordan Williams, in third place with 34.

We need little reminding that Graham was a prominent Everton and Wales footballer in the fifties and sixties and a stalwart of low handicap golf at Wrexham.

Down the Dee valley to the Vale of Llangollen golf club and the occasion of the third and final one of Warren Davies’s President’s Days. One hundred and sixty three players contested the event which was scored as an individual Stableford. Playing in threes, the best score in each three ball won a bottle of wine, and all players were invited to contribute to Warren’s charity which endeavors to purchase a guide dog for the Blind.

Winner of the day was G Jenkins with 43 points from Chris Morris with 42 and Paul Johns with 39. The longest drive down the first was won by Mark L Jones, no mean feat with it being a right angle dog leg to the right, so how much dare you chew off for the line of play I wonder. The nearest the pin on the eighteenth went to Dyfed Rowlands.

The veterans of the club halved a match with Henlle and beat Caldy by 6 – 4 for the second leg of the Caldy Trophy which Llangollen retained by 13 ½    to 6 ½ .

The Vet’s over seventies championship was won by John Crosbie with 91 – 20 – 71 followed by Cyril Jones with 89 – 17 – 72 and Ray Jarvis on 87 – 14 – 73.

Clays golf club have been very busy and our press Officer Derek Lyon equally so with no less than three emails of results awaiting me when I got home.

Starting with the Seniors betterball pairs event, the winners were Tom McGrady and Dave Lambert with 46 points from second placed Bill Hughes and Larry Birch with 45 and then Tony Owens and Cliff Davies on 44.

Twenty four seniors went to Devon last week for their annual golfing jamboree.

Playing at Oakhampton for the Ramnee trophy and the Accumulated Stableford score, past captain Bill Kelleher led on three of the four days winning overall with 142 followed by Rodney Evans on 136 and Clive Davies with 128.

The Forrest Trophy, played within the Ramnee required outing out on each hole for the best net score excepting the winner of the Ramnee, thus leaving Bill’s 66 void. Nigel Moore won with a count back 67 to Clive Davies’s 67 and Irwin Elkin on 68.

Clays company day was held on Saturday June 11^th in weather conditions better than the forecast.

Winners were Ian Barwood, Stephen Hart, Vic Thind and Jack Rycroft with runners up comprising Steve Williams Lawrence Bayliss, Brian Johnston and Dave Wright closely followed by the family of John, Mike, Andy and Richard Evans.

The ladies played their HB-Weds Powell’s Jeweller’s Crystal event on Wednesday 8^th June with Kim Harcombe winning with net 73 from Valerie Jervis on 77 and Sheila Roscoe on 82.

The Sunday Shop Stableford was won by Richard Ackersley with 39 points from second placed Neil Lloyd Richards on 37 and Dafydd Jones on 34.

The Junior Summer Stableford league went to Jack Rycroft with 41 points followed by Patrick McHugh on 37 and Louis Gray with 36.

Of the three major amateur events in North Wales golf, the Aberconwy Trophy, similar to the Clwyd Championship, is played over seventy two holes using two golf courses. The third event, the Harlech Gold Cross is naturally played only on that links course.

Conwy and Maesdu are the chosen courses for this event and have enjoyed merit award status just as does the Clwyd and the Gold Cross. With weather blustery across the Conwy links, Jason Shufflebotham of Prestatyn golf club handed in a 70 for the morning round followed by a 72 for a 142 total on the first day. Alyn Torrence of the Plassey was one of three players close behind in the morning with 74’s, the nearest that anyone got to Jason’s score, with Rod Fieldhouse of Wrexham lurking immediately behind with a 75.

Jason’s afternoon 72 was equalled by Rod, but Alyn slid to an 81 which belied his good striking on the day.

With the move across the Conway estuary to Maesdu, expectations were high as the weather improved as the day progressed. Jason’s morning concluded with a 76 with Rod gaining three strokes on him with a 73 whereas Alyn recovered his composure to card a 74 but the best morning round went to Mark Phillips of Prestatyn with a 70.

With all to play for over the closing eighteen holes, Jason managed a windswept 74 to Rod’s 73 with Alyn coming alive with an excellent 69, a score only equalled by Oliver Baker of Ludlow throughout the day.

The final results indicated a one stroke win for Jason on 292 with Rod on 293 and Lee Jones of Conwy in third place on 296. Torrence finished on 298 with the certain thought that his 81 at Conwy had scuppered his chances despite otherwise playing excellent golf.

Jason has now finished seventh in the Clwyd against Alyn’s second equal place with Billy Mills of Ludlow, all accumulated points going towards the Order of Merit for 2011.

The selection process for the Home Internationals now kicks into gear with Nigel Edwards and his committee at the Golf Union of Wales offices in Newport looking to select the team to travel to County Sligo, Ireland, in August.

Nearer home, and standards that most of us can better identify with, Wrexham golf club hosted events last week which included the Ladies’ GUW and Coronation medals competition. The silver division went to Janet Brand with 86 – 14 – 72 from second placed Carole Jones who handed in 91 – 19 – 72.

The Bronze division was won by Lucy Jones with 96 – 28 – 69 followed by Andrea Vaughan Smith on 91 – 21 – 70.

Now Lucy is still in the junior section of the club and gained recognition by winning the Welsh final of Wee Wonders when just an eight year old, and then travelled to St Andrews for the national final where she preformed admirably. Her score of net 68 was sufficient to win the Coronation medal from the twenty four ladies who contested the event.

Just this last Tuesday, Lady Captain, Mrs. Janet Brunyee held her Lady Captain’s Day when sixty two ladies played in the event. The competition proper resulted in a win for Mrs. Bea Evans who handed in 39 Stableford points, just beating Mrs. Marlene Willetts on the back nine holes.

The more mature ladies played the back nine holes only which resulted in a win for Mrs. Mary K Jones with 17 points from Mrs. Dot Bostock on 16.

The Silver division went to Marlene as a result of her 239 points followed by jean Jones with 35 and Helen Milner on 35 also.

The Bronze division was won by Pat Purdy with 38 followed by Mary Clarke on 34 and Angela Miller on the same numbers.

The junior girls played a putting competition which was won by Ellie waters and the eighteen holes by Lucy Jones with a net 71.

The Junior medal took place last Sunday with a win for Robert Keenan on 95 – 28 – 67 followed by Lewis McKenzie on 89 – 20 – 69. The division one winner was Matthew Waters with 82 – 13 – 69, Robert playing of course in the second division.

Becky Darlington scored 109 – 43 – 66 to win that division from Roberts with Lucy again featuring with her score of 99- 28 – 71.

The June midweek medal for men witnessed a win in the first division for Mike Hammer with 72 – 7 – 65. He in turn was followed by Chris Marsden on 72 – 3 – 69 and then Andrew Ward with 74 – 5 – 69.

The second division featured a win for Cliff Hopley on 74 – 9 – 65 followed by Paul Harry on 77 – 10 – 67 and then Tony Brunyee who handed in 80 – 12 – 68.

Steve McKevitt continued his run of good golf by winning the third division with 79 – 13 – 66, a score replicated by Martin Davies who handed in 84 – 18 – 66, and then Darren Wood with 83 – 15 – 68.

Division four went to Ben Bignall who was in the winning team in the recently held Eisteddfod Am Am. On this occasion he scored 85 – 23 – 62 for the lowest net score of the day and a handicap reduction of three strokes. Second came Glyn Hughes with 88 – 21 – 67 followed in turn by Frank Maddocks on 88 – 21 – 67 also.

Malcolm Delaney, Vice captain of the Vale of Llangollen golf club held his Vice captain’s Day last week when no less than one hundred and seventy nine players took to the golf course. Winners of his individual Stableford were Andrew Martindale, 41 points; Emyr Wyn Jones with 41 points and Adam Roberts, also with 41 points. The nearly men this week were Alex Mansley on 40 and fifth place Andrew Swarsbrick on the same number.

Clays golf club played their Senior Monthly medal through two divisions, the first division going to David Lambert with 79 – 13 – 66 from second placed Andrew Mitchell on 83 – 15 – 68 and then Don Wraight with 80 – 10 – 70.

The second division was won by Neil Sanger on 89 – 22 – 67 from Frank Carroll on 90 – 22 – 68 and then Phil Hughes with his return of 94 – 23 – 71.

On Saturday, June 24^th, the Spring Quarterly medal Championships took place in which Seniors, gents, ladies and juniors were invited to draw for partners and compete.

Colin Brand handed in net 65 to win the day with Alan Rogers second on 68 and then club Captain Reg Peacock and Jordan Pearson on 69’s. The medal presentation was followed by the presentation of the Winter League winners.

 Winner of the Saturday league was Ernie Williams with Gareth Parry runner up, and the Sunday league winner was Paul Fell with vice captain Kev. Jones in the runner up position.

Last Saturday was the playing of the club monthly medal for June which was organized through three divisions. Division one winner was David Wright with 70 – 5 – 65 from second placed Stephen Hart on 77 – 10 – 67 and then Iwan Bonds with 78 – 10 – 68.

Michael Eaton took the second division with 75 – 12 – 63 from Bill Kelleher who scored 77 – 13 – 64 and then Terrance Anthony Bull with 79 – 15 – 64. The third group went the way of Robert Jarvis with 84 – 20 – 64 followed by Colin Brand on 83 – 18 – 65 and Phil Matthias on 87 – 21 – 66.

The Sunday Shop Stableford was won this week by Colin Rawlinson who handed in 37 points to ease a victory over David Parry who carded the same numbers. Michael Evans was in third place with 35.

The Junior monthly medal was won by James Falcus on 88 – 29 – 59. He enjoyed victory by four strokes over Hannah Pirouet Jones on 95 – 32 – 63 and then Thomas Matthews with 81 – 17- 64.

The news was circulated this morning from Golf Union Wales’s office in Newport that two North Wales ladies had gained selection for the Great Britain and Ireland teams to play against the Continent of Europe at Royal Porthcawl in June.

Amy Boulden of Maesdu will represent GB & I in the Vagliano Trophy, testimony to the superb golf that she has been playing this year and for the large part of 2010. She was a member of the Welsh team that won the Home Internationals at Wrexham in 2008 and has represented Wales at all levels and age ranges up to this final accolade on making the full GB & I team.

She is accompanied by Chloe Williams, daughter of Wrexham golf club professional Paul Williams who has been her coach since her earliest days of swinging a golf club.

Chloe will play in the inaugural match for under 16 girls which will take place on the 24^th and 25th of June. Wales also provides the Captains for both teams with Tegwen Matthews captaining the ladies and Sue Turner the girls.

 Congratulations are extended to both young ladies who are great friends and often are seen playing and practicing together.

The Eisteddfod Am Am of last Wednesday at Wrexham golf club attracted forty eight teams in support of the festival, and thanks to the efforts of club captain, John D. Williams, and a myriad of helpers and supporters, sponsors and guests, raised three thousand, three hundred and fifty pounds in support on the event.

It had been suggested that there may have been a shortfall in sponsorship for the Eisteddfod this year, so the efforts of all concerned have gone a good way to make recompense. Well done.

The results bear witness to the fact that the event was won by club Vice Captain Colin Graham and his team comprising Mark Galloway, Alan Andrew and Ben Bignall with 90 points despite being the penultimate team to tee off in late afternoon. Second came Colin Holt, John Lloyd, Arwel Morris and Phil Tunnah with 89 followed by Carl White, Josh Green, Paul Ryan and Charlie White on 88 points.

The club hosted the junior F D Williams trophy on 22^nd May and were gratified with the number of juniors who played in the event. Winner of this qualifying round was Matthew Waters with 81 – 14 – 67 followed by Jamie Lloyd on 73 – 5 – 68 and his brother Daniel Lloyd in third place with 81 – 9 – 72.The remaining five qualifiers were Lewis McKenzie, net 74; Morgan Davies, 77; Jack waters, 78; Daniel Darlington,80 and Robert Keenan with net 83.

Playing to reduce their handicaps only came Sam Postle with 93 – 36 – 57 for a four stroke reduction to 32. J Baines with 105 – 45 – 60 to reduce to 40; R Barton with 106 -45 – 71 to reduce to 39; Becky Darlington on 121 – 44 – 77 reduces to 42 and O Green on 116 – 34 – 82 remains on the same numbers.

Almost a contradiction in terms, the June medal was played on 28^th May due to fixtures diary convenience, and the first division was won by Tony Darlington with 73 – 6 – 67 with Stuart Fisher second on 74 – 5 – 69 and then Bill Nicholls in third place with 77 – 7 – 70. Ian Davies was fourth with his card reading 76 – 6 – 70.

The second division went the way of Carl White, featured earlier this week in his Am Am team. He carded 78 – 11 – 67 to win by one stroke from Stuart James Woolrich on 80 – 12 – 68 and Colin Sharley with 77- 8 – 69.

Steve McKevitt took the honours in the third division with his return of 81 – 14 – 67 followed by Keith Fox who scored 86 – 18 – 68 and then Carl Owen with 82 – 14 – 68.

The final handicap group was won by Bob Minson on 83 – 19 – 64 from second placed Nigel Myers with 91 – 24 – 67 and then David Stephen Jones on 86 – 19 – 67.

One hundred and fifty seven players contested the event through the four divisions.

The Vale of Llangollen Veterans’ section played the Len Wright Cup with forty nine players contesting the individual Stableford competition. Winner with 39 points was Geoff Kelly followed by Colin Burman on 35 and Colin Wright on 35 in third place, the latter two players being subjected to a card scrutiny to establish the rank order.

Next Thursday, 2^nd June is the occasion of the Vets Open and a large field is anticipated for this popular event.

 Clays golf reports that thirty eight seniors took part in their Stableford qualifier and the results show a win for Phil Hughes with 40 points from second paced Andy Mitchell on 38, Lou Bush on 37 and Stewart Poole in fourth place with 35.

The Individual Stableford held last Thursday went to Lou Bush on 37 followed by Andrew Mitchell on 35 and Tony Owens with another 35, again ranked on count back over the closing nine holes.

Clays seniors hosted their match with Wrexham Seniors and won by a margin of 5 ½         to 4 ½ . Notable for the hole in one by Wrexham’s Dave Roberts on the difficult uphill seventeenth hole measuring 212 yards. A similar event was witnessed by another Wrexham member in the same match a couple of years ago.

Last Saturday a “just your putter” barbeque was held at the club with events taking place on both putting courses. Tony Harcombe won the prize for the best combined score on both courses with four players having the same score on the “just your putter” course. Pauline Peacock took the prize by dint of her better back six holes score, beating the captain, Reg Peacock in the process. Tony recorded the best score, but because he had the best combined score, the first prize was awarded to Eifion Jenkins with a better back one hole from runner up Andy Evans.

The Taylor – Made / Adidas Amateur competition was won by David Palferman with net 64 from second placed Justin Bull on 65 and then Bill Kelleher on 66.

The Sunday Shop Stableford went the way of Daniel Roth with 39 points from Danny Williams on 38 and Kenny Hughes with his score of 37.

The Wrexham Link road to the Trading estate commenced work this Tuesday, 31^st May, and will be taking sixty six weeks to complete. It will affect both the Wrexham club and Clays golf club , but golf will continue normally at both establishments throughout the time scale of the work, so do not be deterred by the sight of heavy machinery adjacent to the entrances of both clubs, it’s “Business as usual”.

Tomorrow is Wednesday as I write, and the occasion of the Eisteddfod Am Am at Wrexham golf club which is a fund raising competition for the national Eisteddfod which will be held in Wrexham in just a few short weeks from now.

The news recently that there could possibly be a shortfall of funding due to the withdrawal of sponsors has galvanized the already hard working committees to extend their fund raising ventures even more than usual and none more so than the captain of the Wrexham golf club, John Dwyfor Williams, who is the catalyst behind tomorrow’s event.

Along with many of the Wrexham members whose culture is essentially Welsh, John has worked tirelessly towards this end and can now just sit back and watch it all happen. The support from teams of four, members and visitors alike, has been excellent with just two vacancies for a starting time on the whole programme and contributions for a prize draw second to none. Detailed results and comments on the day will appear in next week’s report.

Clays golf club played their Seniors Gemini trophy last Tuesday as a pairs betterball medal. The winners were Maelor Davies and David Lambert with net 62. Second came Frank Carroll and Tony Owens with a 63, followed by Mike Hollings and the Clays captain, Reg Peacock, with a 66 for third place.

Two days later the seniors were at it again when they embarked on a four man Texas Scramble resulting in a win for Stan Brookfield, Bill Duncan, George James and Nigel Moore on 59.1

The runners up were Phil Hughes, John Kelty, Maelor Davies and Cliff Davies with 60.3

The club hosted their Friday medal on the 20^th of the month with Kevin Lee Roberts featuring as the overall winner with 76 – 7 – 69 from Gerry Derbyshire on 89 – 19 – 70 and then Philip Bloor in third place with 94 – 20 – 74.

Saturday witnessed the playing of the Karen Griffiths Memorial trophy with the competition scratch score standing at 69. Phil Jones won the day with 40 Stableford points from Martin D. Jones on 39 and Gareth Roberts on 38.

The latest playing of the Junior Summer Stableford league played last Sunday was won by Patrick Mc Hugh with 39 points from Jack Rycr9oft on 35 and Tom Gledhill on another 35 point card. On the same day was the Shop Stableford which on this occasion was won by MK Jones with 38 points. He commanded a five point advantage over second placed Peter Lynch on 33 who in turn exercised the same level of superiority over third placed Josh Green on 28 points.

The Wrexham ladies played their Nan Evans Memorial trophy last Tuesday and utilized the Greensome Stableford format for the scoring regime. Winners were Jean Jones and Janet Lloyd with 41 points followed by a card scrutiny to rank Janet Brand and Della Evans in second place with another 41 points. Of the eighteen pairs who played the event, birdie twos were obtained by Della Evans, Janet Brand, Jo Davies, Ann Davies, Janet Lloyd and Jean Jones, the latter two declining the ball sweep option.

The ladies scratch team take on Denbigh on Thursday morning this week and a South African Stableford will take place at 4.30 p.m. for the social golfers in the club. In answer to the unasked question, No, I don’t know either.

The welcome rain has injected a splash of colour into parched fairways over the last few days, but the ground still needs a lot more rain to promote a steady growth on the majority of North Wales courses.

Lush farmland or low lying courses have a huge advantage in times of drought, but suffer accordingly when subjected to heavy rain.

Driving past Rhos on Sea last week was an example of how a course with some history of drainage problems has been rejuvenated by Robin Jones, the new proprietor, who has planted some five thousand trees over the whole course. This was tastefully done and delineates the fairways in fine style, and the surface water has been diverted into the root systems and the course looks superb as a result, all a result of careful course management and knowing the local terrain.

Prestatyn a week ago for the final day of the Clwyd Championships was, like Wrexham, in need of rain, with one course built on sand dunes and coastal features, and the other on sand and gravel from glacial deposits which have remained undisturbed since the last Ice Age. Never happy are we?

Phil Coleman is at present sunning himself abroad, but was careful to inform me before he went of the happenings at the Vale of Llangollen golf club where he assumes the role of Veterans’ press officer. Thanks to Phil we are aware that the vets played an away  match at Curzon Park, Chester, and won by a 7-5 margin and then played at home against Padeswood and Buckley and won 9 – 1.

Credit must go to match organizer Mike Ashworth who arranges these fixtures and is at present enjoying a run of success.

The Monsanto Cup was played last week with fifty seven players taking part. Winner was John O. Wright with 991 – 21 – 70 from Nev Rawcliffe on exactly the same handicap and score for second place with Malcolm Delaney third with 89 – 19 – 70.

Clays golf club played a Seniors’ Kitty competition on 10^th May which resulted in a win for the three ball comprising Peter Frazer, Mike Hollings and Lou Bush with a total of 79 points. Second came Roy Jones, Wyn Williams and Fred Court with 77 followed by Gordon Roberts, Bill Duncan and Eifion Jenkins with 76 and third place.

Two days later the format was repeated again with twenty four diehards away at an Open event at Leasowe and several groups battling away in knockout events around the course. Twenty four players were attracted to play with co-proprietor Wyn Williams winning the day with 39 points from Den Murphy on 36 and then Bob Shotton on 35.

Saturday was the day of the Spring Open event with forty four members and their partners enjoying a shotgun start in a keenly contested better ball event which took place in dry but windy conditions.

Winners were Anne Lee and her father Malcolm J Edwards with 40 points; a score replicated by second and third placed pairs but resorting to back nine scores to rank in order. Second came Ant McAllister and Iwan Pugh Jones and third came Iwan Bonds and A Hantley.

Ladies’ team winners were Shirley Roberts and Jane Westlake with 33 and Dilly Jones secured the nearest the pin on the fifth holes by placing her tee shot a mere fourteen inches from the flagstick.

Steve Williams won the longest drive for the gentlemen on the fourteenth hole, and twos were recorded by Martin Davies, Chris Platt, Dave Parry, Phil Jones, Steve Williams Dilly Jones, Mike Lowe, Brian Johnston, Colin Bryan and Noel Popplewell.

The ladies played a Stableford last Wednesday which resulted in a win for Anne Richards with 37 points from the 35 points handed in by Diane Dare for second place and the 26 that gave Shirley Roberts third place.

The shop Stableford played last Sunday witnessed a win for Lee Fereday with 42 points from Michael Scott Carnell on 36 and Richard Collier with 36 also.