WELCOME TO THE SENIORS
The Senior section is open to all Club members aged 55 and over and provides something for all senior golfers, regardless of ability or skill level. Our current membership includes golfers in their late fifties to more senior gentlemen with varied handicaps from single figures to high thirties.
On most weeks, we meet up at 8.45 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a friendly roll up played over 13 or 14 holes. The format is normally a better ball, teams are selected by way of a draw in the morning. We think it is a great way to meet and play with different members.
During the Summer months, we play a number of local clubs in the Manchester and District Seniors League. This year, we have also entered the Manchester Alliance Seniors knockout competition and have continued the tradition of playing a small number of friendly social inter-club matches. Our members really enjoy games against friends in other clubs and the chance to play different courses. The aim is primarily to have a good time although we all play with a friendly competitive edge.
Throughout the main golfing months, we also play eight qualifying Stablefords, three Board competitions, a charity match plus pairs and individual knockout. There’s no time to get bored and plenty of opportunity to maintain an up to date handicap. Winners of the main competitions can secure bragging rights for years to come, by having their name recorded on the Seniors Boards!
We pride ourselves in welcoming new members. If your are interested contact any member of the Seniors Committee (Seniors Contacts) or simply turn up and enjoy one of the roll ups.
We’re sure you will enjoy it.
Pat Walker (Seniors Chairman 2023/24)
WHO DO I CONTACT?
For contact information, select and click the following link:
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FOLLOW THE RESULTS OF SENIORS MATCHES
29th November 2023 – Frosty Rollup!!
A cold, frosty start for 18 hardy Seniors this morning – please see the following photos supplied by Tom James. (PS. The creature in the foreground on the 12th tee isn’t a stray!!)
10th November 2023 – Bob Palmer
It is with great sadness we have to advise members of the sad passing of Bob Palmer. Bob was a much loved member, ex Club Captain and President and, more recently, 2019 Seniors Chairman, whose heart was very much invested in the club.
A tribute website has been set up in memory of Bob, which can be accessed via the following link: https://robert-harold-palmer.muchloved.com/
8th November 2023 – Chairman’s Autumn Update
As we have now finished this year’s golfing calendar, I just wanted to briefly update everyone on a number of changes taking place in the senior section.
NEXT YEARS FIXTURES
The eagle eyed amongst us will have spotted next year’s fixtures are on the website. Following a proposal from ourselves, there will be a change to our League matches next year. Rather than play a select number of teams home and away, we will now play every team in our league on a home one year, away the next basis. The only exception, is that we will play Glossop twice to even up the number of home/away fixtures. Hopefully, the change will add variety to our matches as we will play the likes of Macclesfield and Shrigley, as well as our usual clubs.
This change has freed up a couple of weeks in the calendar, so we have added an additional Texas Scramble team event in late June. Details nearer the time.
COMMITTEE MEMBER CHANGES
As many of you are aware, Tom will be stepping down as Secretary in February. Nigel Thorpe has volunteered to take on the Secretary’s role, subject to approval at the AGM. I’m sure you will agree, Tom has done a fantastic job over the years organising numerous golfing events and keeping us informed of what’s happening.
Alan Goodall, again subject to approval, will become the Seniors Chairman.
Our excellent website, also managed by Tom, is now being managed by Jeff Stewart.
SENIORS FUNDING
Next year, we will no longer have the benefit of money from the annual Seniors Open as this will pass directly to Sam to arrange. Again this has has been necessary, given the amount of time and commitment put into organising this event by Clive and Phil. It also brings New Mills in line with many other clubs.
That said, we do not think it will be necessary to reintroducing a seniors members fee, as in past years. Instead, Clive will continue to hold back a small amount of prize money from each of our seniors competitions to be used for seniors activities, as and when required. He will seek to keep a float of around three to four hundred pounds.
From the proceeds of this year’s Open, we have approximately £800 to put back to the Club. It has been suggested, that we use the funds to purchase one or two plastic benches, to replace those recently removed due to wear. This is particularly useful to our senior members and a suggestion we are currently exploring.
HOLE IN ONES
I’ve witnessed a few hole in ones but never actually managed to get one. The thrill however can be tainted slightly by having to buy everyone a whiskey afterwards. With immediate effect, to help celebrate the achievement, Clive will pay £25 pounds from seniors funds for each hole in one.
To qualify, you must be a New Mills seniors member (55yrs) and playing in a recognised BRS or calendered Seniors event. This will included weekly roll ups, seniors competitions and league/social matches. It won’t apply if you are just playing a casual round with friends or other general Club games.
Finally, an early reminder the Seniors AGM is Friday 23rd February.
Pat Walker.
25th October 2023 – Autumn Sunshine
Many thanks to Duncan Green and Tom James for supplying the following photos of a lovely autumn morning’s sunshine (and mist!) from today’s Seniors Rollup.
16th October 2023 – Turkey Trot Shotgun
This year the Turkey Trot competition was brought forward from November to October in the hope of better weather – and this proved to be the case as 44 members of the Seniors section enjoyed a very sunny, but cool autumnal morning’s golf.
Played as a pairs Betterball Stableford over 13 holes, with a “shotgun start” at 0900, the prizewinners were as follows:-
Winners : Andy Bowers & Tom James with 35pts
Runners-up : Dave Holt & Nigel Thorpe with 31pts (after card playoff)
3rd place : Colin Skeen & Rob Holden with 31pts
4th place : Hugh Jones & Peter Coull with 30pts
5th place : Chris Hall & Steve Ashworth with 29pts
As this is likely to be the last time that Tom James organises the Turkey Trot, Seniors Chairman (Pat Walker) thanked Tom very much for all his hard work in organising this competition for many years.
Winners : Tom James & Andy Bowers
Runners-up : Nigel Thorpe & Dave Holt
3rd Place : Colin Skeen & Rob Holden
4th Place : Hugh Jones & Peter Coull
Pat Walker with 5th Place : Chris Hall & Steve Ashworth
2nd October 2023 – Ladies / Seniors Mixed Quad Am
28 members of the Ladies and Seniors section enjoyed a very pleasant morning’s golf in what turned out to be a dry, warm October morning. Played as a Stableford over 13 holes with the best Ladies and best Gents score to count, the winners with 57 points were Liz Milne, Pam Boffey, Kevin Smith and Pat Walker.
Runners up with 54 points were Jo Coull, Kate Bromilow, Hugh Jones and Rod Taylor.
The final prize winners were Judith Johnson. Chris Currie, Dave Rose and Mike Howard with 52 points.
Many thanks to everyone who took part and to Jean Taylor and Pat Walker for organising the event.
30th September 2023 – Seniors reach the League final : Update
Congratulations to everyone who played in the League matches this season. In total 19 different people played in the fixtures against Reddish Vale, Mellor, Avro . Werneth Low, Marple and Glossop. In addition many thanks for everyone else who played in our social matches throughout the season. Pat will update everyone with details about the final which will be played on Tuesday 19th September at Blackley Golf Club. You can see the league tables by clicking on the link above .
NB Due to excessive amounts of rainfall the final was postponed and put back to Tuesday September 26th. However, the course was still not dry enough for the event to go ahead and so the League are now looking at playing the final on 23rd April 2024!!!
20th-22nd September 2023 – Seniors trip to Portal
19 members of our seniors section had a very enjoyable two night stay at Portal Golf club, Tarporley, organised by Neil Stafford. Whilst the first day was generally good, day 2 was marred by atrocious weather!
Winners on day 1 were Chris Hall, Steve Kirkham, Andrew Ward and Fred Markham with 82 points with Geoff Grimshaw, Pete Griffiths, Steve Yates and John Fernley runners up with 72.
On day 2 the winners were Alan Goodall, Neil Hyde ,John Fernley and Rod Taylor. Everyone else had to abandon the course by the 10th because of the weather!
Winners on the final day were Don Cooper, Steve Yates, John Tennant and Steve Kirkham with 80 points with Stan Spencer, Geoff Grimshaw, Andrew Ward and Alan Goodall second with 70 points.
Despite the weather everyone enjoyed the trip!
Chairman Pat wins the George Scott Trophy
39 seniors enjoyed a beautiful warm and sunny morning for the George Scott Trophy. The winner by 4 clear shots was Pat Walker with 1 birdie and 11 pars. Runner up was John Samme with 37 points with Nigel Thorpe 3rd with 36 and Peter Christian 4th on 35.
Keith wins the Seniors knock out 2023
Congratulations to Keith Wright who beat Martin Wild in a closely fought seniors final on Sunday by 2 and 1.
Steve Parr and Andy Bowers win Doubles knock out 2023
Congratulations to Steve Parr and Andy Bowers who won this year’s Seniors doubles knock out beating Rob Holden and Alex Mackenzie 3 and 2.
Well done to both finalists!
Steve Ashworth wins Stableford 8
Despite some very tricky pin positions on some holes Steve Ashworth, playing in his first senior’s competition, won the last of our Senior’s Stablefords with 37 points, beating Graham Elliott by one shot. 3rd place went to John Downes also on 36 whilst John Tennant took the final prize with 35, beating Peter Coull on a card play off
Steve Parr wins Stableford 7
Congratulations to Steve Parr, winner of Senior’s Stableford 7 with 36 points, which included 8 pars, beating Mike Howard on a card play off. 4 players came in with 35 points and after a card play off Tom James came 3rd, Colin Skeen 4th and Ed Huish 5th.
The strong wind made club selection difficult whilst the newly ironed greens were much quicker than of late. Well done to the winners . 34 players took part.
Rob Holden wins 2023 Marcliffe Cup
Many congratulations to Rob Holden who won this year’s Marcliffe Cup with 39 points which included 7 pars. This is Rob’s second major victory in just a couple of weeks after winning the Shaw Marsh Trophy !
45 players took part in this very popular Senior’s event and we were delighted that Cliff was able to come up to once again to start the event with his infamous ‘rocket start’ and also to present the trophy and other prizes after the event which goes back to the 1990’s!
Prizes were presented to the top 5 players in what, once again, proved to be very tight finish. Second place went to Paul Crocker with 38 pts whilst four other players finished with 37. After a card play off 3rd place went to Andy Bowers, 4th to Allan White and 5th to Pat Walker. Commiserations to John Downes who missed out on the prizes despite also scoring 37 points!
Cliff presented bottles of wine to the following players;
Nearest pin 4th lower handicap (<18) Keith Wright
Nearest pin 4th higher handicap Tom James
Nearest pin 6th lower handicap(<18) Mick Goddard
Nearest pin 6th higher handicap Phil Smallman
Nearest pin 8th lower handicap (<18) Mick Goddard
Nearest pin 8th higher handicap Allan White
Nearest line 9th Phil Smallman
Nearest pin 2nd shot 3rd Mick Goddard
Nearest pin 2nd shot 13th Clive Garside
The special trophy for the ball inside a very small circle around the 15th pin ( a driver diameter) hasn’t been won since 2018 when Graham Hadfield last achieved this , However, 2023 produced a winner! Guess who? Graham Hadfield, who retains the trophy which must now have become a permanent fixture in the Hadfield household trophy cabinet! Well done Graham!
The photos below show Senior’s Chairman, Pat Walker and Cliff presenting some of the prizes
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Alec aces the 4th for the second time!
Congratulations to Alec Holland for his hole in one in this morning’s seniors roll up. This is Alec’s second hole in one, both of which have been on the short par 4th. Well done Alec especially after coming back only a few weeks after a new knee!!
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Hole in One for Neil
Congratulations to Neil Stafford who achieved a hole in one on the 10th in this morning’s Senior’s Roll Up. Neil is making a bit of a habit of this as this is the sixth time he has achieved an ace! Well done Neil! A lot of us would be quite happy with just one!
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Vet’s Cup 2023
Congratulations to Stan Spencer winner of this year’s Vet’s Cup with a nett score of 67 which included 6 pars. Thirty seniors took part and enjoyed a dry, warm morning which was a real bonus giving the recent appalling weather! Three people came in with 69 and after a card play off Ian Harding came second, Andy Rodgers third and John Downes fourth. Well done to all four prize winners!
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New Display Case
This new display case in the entrance area has been donated by the family of the late Mike Richardson and contains a limited edition putter made especially for the 2011 Augusta Masters. One of the photos shows Mike playing in the pre Portuguese Open Pro Am alongside Charl Schwartzel who after receiving a lesson from Mike, went on to win the 2011 Augusta masters!!!
Mike with Paul McGinley
With Charl Schwartzel at the Portuguese Open pro Am in 2008
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Alan Woolley wins Stableford 6 with a superb 43 points!
Alan Woolley won today’s Stableford qualifier with an excellent 43 points, including 8 pars, beating Nigel Thorpe, winner of the last Stableford, by 5 points. Third place went to Chris Hall also with 38 points with Peter Coull fourth with 36 .
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Rob Holden wins the Shaw Marsh Trophy 2023
Huge congratulations to Rob Holden who won this year’s Shaw Marsh with two excellent rounds. On Saturday Rob came in with 66 leaving him 4 off the lead but definitely in contention. His even better 64 today meant he finished with 130 ,three ahead of Joel Wood, in second.
Two of the top four places went to members of the Seniors section with Phil Holland coming third also with 133 whilst Lester Cooper, winner on day one with a superb 62 came 4th with 135.
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Lester leader in the clubhouse after Round 1 of Shaw Marsh Trophy
Lester Cooper is leader in the clubhouse after a fine round of 62 including 7 pars and just one bogey on the last hole. Other seniors who are in contention are Mr Captain and Phil Holland both 3 shots behind whilst rob Holden (66), Chris Hall , Joe Stockton, Pat Walker all on 68 must also fancy their chances in today’s second round.
Nearly a fourth Hole in One this Month!
Tom James narrowly missed out on a hole in one on the 4th this week after his tee shot hit the pin but failed to drop! Still, following the advice of one of playing partners to ‘take your time’ Tom sank his birdie on this occasion ! Sorry he wasn’t able to put a bottle on the bar. Perhaps next time!
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Stableford 5
Congratulations to Nigel Thorpe winner of this morning’s stableford with 37 points one ahead of Tom James. Heavy showers especially after 11am made conditions very difficult with surface water and driving rain!
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President’s Day 2023
Many congratulations to Hugh Jones runner up in this year’s President’s Day stableford with an excellent score of 43 points. Absolutely no disgrace coming second, as the winner, who is considerably younger, won with 44 points which included 5 birdies, 12 pars and just one bogey! So close and if Hugh hadn’t had to take a drop out of the pond on the 17th who knows what might have happened! Well played Hugh on behalf of all the seniors!
With Chris Hall in the play off for the Bramhall trophy and winning last year’s Hibbert Cup plus Mike Howard claiming the winning prize on Captain’s Day 2021 it goes to prove that there is still hope for those of us who might have thought our glory days were over!
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Seniors trip to Shaw Hill Golf and Spa Hotel , Chorley June 2023
16 of our seniors enjoyed two fabulous days at Shaw Hill Golf Club where the company was excellent and the catering of the highest quality. With clear blue skies on both days and the golf course in excellent condition the senior gentlemen of New Mills were ‘well up for it’!
On day one, Pat Walker, Alan Woolley, Mike Howard, and Peter Griffiths were the winners, with Mike, Pat, and Alan providing the early impetuous, and Peter providing the final flourish with a match winning 4 for 4 on the 17th!
On day 2, solid golf throughout from Keith Wright, Alan Woolley, Clive Garside, and Alan Goodall contributed to a fine score of 82 (playing off 85% handicap), with a par on the final hole by Alan Woolley which enabled them to beat the runners up by 1.
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Brian wins stableford 4 with impressive 41 points
Congratulations to Brian Southworth winner of today’s stableford with 41 pts. Graham Elliott finished 2nd with 39 pts whilst Mike Howard gained another top four place with 38 pts edging out Steve Parr also with 38.
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3rd qualifying stableford
Congratulations to Clive Garside winner of today’s stableford with 36 points beating Ed Huish (2nd) and Arthur Oliver (3rd) by one shot.
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Stan wins 2nd qualifying Stableford
Congratulations to Stan Spencer winner of this morning’s stableford competition with 37 points one ahead of Peter Coull who came second. Third place went to Pat Walker with 34 points whilst Graham Elliott came fourth with 33. Steady rain early on made playing conditions difficult although it did improve considerably around midday helping those who started later.
Home advantage definitely pays!
Having suffered two heavy defeats in their first two matches (a league match away against Reddish Vale and a friendly away against Chapel), today’s home game against Reddish Vale was an convincing 7-1 win and an overwhelming 4 – 0 win in the league games which provided 8 very useful points!
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Free Buggy Rides for Seniors!
This young chap is clearly enjoying his first solo ride under Mike’s watchful eye!
For more information contact [email protected].
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Mike wins the first Qualifying Stableford of 2023
Congratulations to Mike Howard, winner of today’s Senior’s Stableford, with 36 points, which included a birdie and four pars, beating Ken Lee on a card play off. 3rd place went to Dave Rose with 35 points one ahead of Pat Walker who edged out three others Rod Taylor, Keith Wright and Lester Cooper all with 34 points. 28 players took part .The full results can be seen on ‘How Did I Do’.
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Derek Horsey Charity Competition 12th April 2023
Due to the very wet weather over the previous days this annual event, which is normally played as a stroke play event over 18 holes as a handicap qualifier, had to be played instead as a non qualifier and as a 13 hole stableford event.
The course was very wet in places and the very cold wind with rain in late morning made playing conditions difficult for everyone. Winner with 28 points was Steve Yates who had a dream start with pars on the first three holes followed by a birdie on the 4th! Runner up was Arthur Oliver with a very respectable 26 points . Normally the two players with the highest scores represent us in the knock out stage of the competition. However, Arthur decided to let someone ‘younger’ take his place and so our other representative this year will be new member Nigel Thorpe who came 3rd with 25 points beating Rob Holden on a card play off. The full list of scores is on the Seniors Notice board and on ‘How did I Do’.
Arthur Oliver and Steve Yates
26 people played despite the poor weather and so we raised £130 for the charities the competition sponsors.
I’m sure we wish Steve and Nigel the best of luck in the knockout stages which will begin next month.
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Easter Egg Competition April 17th 2023
36 members of the Ladies and Seniors section enjoyed a good morning ‘s golf today playing in the annual Ladies/Seniors Easter Egg competition.
Winners with 64 points were Helen Hodkinson, Judith Johnson,
Bob Palmer and Nigel Thorpe.
Runners up with 61 points were Arthur Oliver, Ian Harding,
Gilly Sewell and Brenda Grimshaw.
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Seniors lose in Manchester and District Alliance Knock out
Unfortunately, we lost a very tight match against Birchwood Golf Club today losing on the away halved match ruling.
Winners on the day were Steve Yates and Chris Hall 5 and 3 and Neil Stafford and Lester Cooper 1 up. Keith Wright and Phil Holland lost their match 2 and 1 whilst Peter Coull and Alan Goodall halved their game as did Pat Walker and Rob Holden
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Hole in One for Peter!
Congratulations to Peter Griffiths for a superb hole in one on the par three 8th this morning. This is becoming a bit of a habit as it’s Peter’s third hole in one ! Well done from all the Seniors!
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Turkey Trot 2022
Congratulations to Bob Walsh and Brian Southworth, winners of this morning’s Turkey Trot .
Played over 13 holes Bob and Brian scored an excellent 37 points beating Neil Hyde and Mike Bryant by a single point. The other prize winners were Stan Spencer and Andy Bowers, 3rd, with 35 points whilst Mike Howard and Phil Pearson took 4th slot with 34 points edging out Bob Palmer and Alec Holland on a card play off.
Well done to all 43 players who took part on what proved to be a perfect morning with exceptionally high temperatures for November!
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Alan wins the Seniors Knockout 2022
Congratulations to Alan Goodall who beat Dave Rose 3 & 2 in today’s final. Both players have had an extremely successful first season at New Mills and have thoroughly deserved their success in reaching today’s final.
Alan has had an excellent year. He was runner up in the Vet’s Cup, 3rd in Stableford 5 and was also 3rd in the best aggregate scores. He has also played in nearly all the club matches this season including Glossop, Reddish Vale, Chapel, Mellor, Marple, High Peak, Werneth, Disley and Cheadle!
Dave too has had a really good year winning Stableford 2 and also playing in matches against High Peak, Glossop and Avro.
Well done to both players!
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Ladies-Seniors Annual Competition October 17th 2022
A beautiful sunny day, albeit windy, made conditions a little tricky for those playing in today’s Ladies-Seniors annual stableford.
Played over 13 holes, in teams of four, with the best Ladies and best gents score to count on each hole, the competition was won by Lady Captain, Celia James, Ian Harding and Pete Griffiths with 57 points.
The photo shows the winning team along with Mary Blake who announced the results and presented the prizes
Runners up with 54 points were Liz Milne, Gilly Sewell, Hugh Jones and John Downes
Seniors trip to Portal GC September 21st -23rd 2022
27 of our seniors enjoyed an excellent two night trip to Portal Golf and Country Club near Tarporley in Cheshire last week. The hotel, food and the courses were all first rate and everyone had a great time. Results of the quad am competitions on the three days are shown below along with some photos of the various playing groups.
Day 1
1st
N Stafford, N Hyde, P Griffiths, C Hall 80 pts
2nd
J Fernley, S Kirkham, A White, K Wright 79 pts
3rd
S Yates, R Taylor, P Pearson, A Holland 79 pts h
Day 2
1st
F Markham, A Ward, S Yates, N Stafford 87pts
2nd
R Boffey, J Fernley, M Bennett, G Hadfield 84pts
3rd
P Pearson, P Griffiths, K Wright, R Taylor 81pts
Day 3
1st
A Oliver, P Griffiths, K Wright, N Hyde
2nd
J Fernley, A White, B Palmer, R Boffey
3rd
A Goodall, R Taylor, F Markham, A Ward
Seniors miss out on a place in the final by the narrowest of margins!
The last league fixtures in the Manchester and District Seniors League have now been completed. The New Mills team has had an excellent season having been in the top 3 teams most of the year. However, despite our impressive performance, we were edged out of the top two in the Central area by an unexpected 8-0 win by Marple over Werneth in one of the last matches of the season. Consequently, we finished 3rd in the Central area league, 1 point behind Marple, and unfortunately did not qualify for the league final at Macclesfield. It is worth noting that we finished with an impressive 45 points from 10 matches, which in most other seasons would have easily seen us into the final.
Despite this disappointment, all those who have played in the matches in 2022 should be congratulated on a terrific year. It is highly likely that there will be a shake-up in the structure of the league at the AGM in October and hopefully, we should be able to look forward to playing one or two new teams in the league next year.
Click on the link above (2022 League Tables) to see the final league tables for 2022
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Seniors Doubles knock out 2022
The final of this year’s doubles Knock out took place today. Winners were Steve Parr and Lester Cooper who beat Simon Belt and Chris Hall 4 and 2. Congratulations to both the winners and the runners up!
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George Scott Trophy 2022
Congratulations to Graham Hawkins, winner of today’s George Scott trophy with an excellent 41 points one ahead of Pat Walker. Third place went to Graham Elliott with 39 points who beat Bob Palmer on a card play off.
33 of the Seniors took part in this morning’s event which was played in near perfect conditions. This is Graham’s first victory in any of the senior’s comps and was made even more pleasing as it is also a board competition! Well done Graham!
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Seniors Stablefords- Best aggregate Score 2022
Based on the best scores from three of the five Senior’s stablefords in 2022 this year’s results are as follows;
1st Tom James 109; 2nd Peter Coull 108; 3rd Alan Goodall 107: 4th Clive Garside 106
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Neil wins the final qualifying Stableford for 2022
Despite the great run on the dry fairways, a tricky wind posed a few problems for the players in today’s final qualifying stableford for 2022. Winner on the day was Neil Hyde with an excellent score of 41 points. Runner up was Tom James with 39 who beat Alan Goodall on a card play off. The fourth prize went to Clive Garside with 38 points
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Stableford 4 won by Simon Nunn
Congratulations to Simon Nunn, winner of today’s stableford with 41 points which included 7 pars and a birdie. Runner up with 39 points was Bill Sutton who beat Ian Harding on a card play off. The final prize went to Keith Wright who was one of six players who finished with 36 points.
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Marcliffe Cup August 8th 2022
Congratulations to Tom James winner of today’s Marcliffe Cup with 7 pars and a birdie. Only 2 points separated 1st from 5th with Tom beating Cliff’s son, Nigel, on a card play off with 42 points. 3rd place was also decided by a card play off with Glyn Chorlton just edging out Andy Rodgers both with 41. The final prize went to Mike Howard with a very respectable 40 points.
The Marcliffe goes back to 1990 when Cliff set up the competition in memory of his wife Marjorie. Over the years it has proved to be one of the highlights of the Senior’s calendar and this year was no exception with a brilliant turn out of 45 seniors playing an 18 hole individual stableford in near perfect conditions.
Everyone was delighted that Cliff was able to come along to start the competition with his now famous ‘rocket launch’ and to present the prizes at the end.
The photo shows Tom receiving the trophy from Cliff after the competition
Cliff presented bottles of wine to the following players:
- nearest the pin 4th (low handicapper) Dave Swindells
- nearest pin 4th (higher handicapper) Dave Rose
- nearest pin 6th (low handicapper) Neil Stafford
- nearest pin 6th (higher handicapper) Clive Garside
- nearest pin 8th (low handicapper) Neil Hyde
- nearest pin 8th (higher handicapper) Chris Hall
- nearest the line 9th Bob Palmer
- nearest pin 2nd shot 3rd hole Steve Parr
- nearest pin 2nd shot 13th hole Tom James
Many thanks to everyone who took part today and helped make it a special day for Cliff!
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Peter Coull wins the 2022 Vet’s Cup
Congratulations to Peter Coull, winner of this year’s Vet’s Cup with an excellent nett 62 including 9 pars. Runner up was Alan Goodall who finished just one shot behind with 63. Keith Wright came third with 67 plus the best gross score on the day. Arthur Oliver won the 4th prize with 68 beating Neil Stafford and Peter Griffiths on a card play off. Many thanks to everyone who took part this morning!
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Dave Farrington wins Stableford 3
Congratulations to Dave who won today’s competition with 40 points. Second place went to Hugh Jones who just failed to make it two wins out of three by the narrowest of margins losing in a card play off.
3rd place went to Neil Stafford with 38 points with Pat Walker coming 4th with 36 and depriving one of his best mates, Mike Howard, a share of the prize money in another card play off!
The morning was made special by Bernard Magrath taking part in the competition. Bernard has just had his 90th birthday and was presented with a card signed by his many friends. What an achievement to still play 18 holes of golf at 90! An inspiration to the rest of us! Congratulations Bernard!
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MDGA Seniors Knock out 13th July
Sadly, having reached round 3 we lost by the narrowest of margins at home against Lowes Park Golf Club today losing 3 games to 2. Keith Wright and Alan Goodall won their match by 4 & 2 as did Pat Walker and Mike Howard 3 &2. The other results were Graham Hadfield and Phil Holland lost 3 &2; Steve Yates and Chris Hall lost 4 and 3 whilst Steve Parr and Lester Cooper lost 1 down.
Well done to everyone who has taken part and enabled us to get this far. Let’s hope we can progress even further in 2023 !
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Derek Horsey Competition 2022
Unfortunately our two representatives in this year’s competition. Keith Wright and Lester Cooper were eliminated today losing against Houldsworth on the last hole!
Three down after the first two holes having to concede the the 1st as the home team, Houldsworth’s 80 year old playing off 24 had a stunning start scoring birdies on 3 of the first 8 holes including the 1st! Well down both. We look forward to next year!
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Manchester and District Golf Alliance Seniors Knock out 21st June
Congratulations to our team who, after beating Heaton park at home by 4 games to 1 today, move into the last 16 of the competition. The scores were Keith Wright and Phil Holland won 3 & 2; Steve Yates and Chris Hall won 3 & 1; Steve Parr and Lester Cooper won 5 & 4; Alan Goodall and John Downes won 1 up; Pat Walker and Mike Howard lost 2 down.
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Congratulations to Dave Rose winner of Stableford 2
Congratulations to Dave Rose who won today’s Stableford. Played in glorious weather Dave scored an excellent 41 points to win by three clear points. Peter Coull was 2nd with 38 pts with Chris Hall also on 38 in 3rd. 4th place went to Phil Smallman with 37.
Winner Dave Rose putting out on the 13th
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Seniors visit to Portal Golf Club 6th -7th June 2022
Sixteen of our members returned to Portal Golf Club again this year and enjoyed 2 rounds of golf on the Championship Golf Course and had lots of fun too.
The winning team on Monday: Ian Harding, Alan Woolley, Rick Boffey, and Fred Markham; and then following an early start on Tuesday, the winners were Graham Hadfield, Mike Howard, Alan Blakeman, and Peter Griffiths.
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Hugh wins Stableford 1
Congratulations to Hugh Jones winner of the first Senior’s stableford of the season with 38 points one ahead of Dave Holt on 37. Four players tied on 34 points. After a card play off 3rd place went to Nick Lewis, 4th to Rick Boffey. 5th Graham Hawkins and 6th Tom James.
Many thanks to all of the 26 players who took part this morning. Full results are on ‘HowDidiDo’.
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Manchester and District Golf Alliance Seniors Knock out
Hole in One for Ken!
Congratulations to octogenarian Ken Lee who achieved his second hole in one this morning on the par 3 fourth. His previous hole in one was also on the same hole in May 2017. Well done Ken!
Atrocious weather mars the start of the new golf season!
Today’s opening match of the 2022 season against Glossop, was badly affected by heavy rain, strong winds and poor visibility so much so that the four social games all terminated early on with each game being deemed ‘ honourable draws’!
In the league games three of the games agreed a result after a few holes depending on how the match lay whilst the final game continued to the bitter end!
Let’s hope that next week’s fixture against High Peak will enjoy better weather!
Congratulations to the hardy souls from both clubs!
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Fred wins the Derek Horsey 2022 in convincing style!
Congratulations to Fred Markham who won this year’s Derek Horsey Charity Competition with a nett 65 , three shots ahead of Tom James who was one of 5 players to record 68.
Taking advantage of his handicap, Fred played steadily and carefully around the course and was a worthy winner.
The first two players go on to represent the club in the knock out stage of the competition against other clubs in the Manchester and District league. Let’s hope that this year’s representatives go that little bit further than Peter Coull and John Tennant who reached the semi final last year.
A full list of scores can be found by going onto ‘How Did I do’
Many thanks to the 34 members who took part and enjoyed the very warm sunny morning which raised £170 for the charity.
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Senior’s AGM Friday 25th February 2022
Senior’s Chairman, Keith Wright, presented prizes to the winners of the various Senior’s competitions held in 2021, A full list of all the winners has been emailed to everyone plus there is a copy on the Senior’s board in the clubhouse. By scrolling further down this page you can see photos plus find out more about some of the competitions held throughout the year.
A special trophy is awarded annually by the Chairman to his ‘Player of the Year’. This year’s worthy winner was Mike Howard who not only featured several times in this year’s list of prize winners, including having the best aggregate score in the 5 stableford competitions, but who also won the prestigious Captain’s Day Trophy earlier in the year beating much younger opposition! Added to this, Mike puts in a lot of time and effort in other ways assisting the Green’s staff with mowing and other tasks around the course so Keith’s decision was a popular choice.
We were particularly pleased that Cliff Ardern could come along, thanks to son Nigel, to present his trophy, the Marcliffe Cup, to Chris Keene .
Also Alan Woolley, who having been unable to collect the Vet’s Cup at the club presentation evening earlier in the year, finally received his trophy!
2021 has been a good year for the Seniors. There were two excellent residential events organised by Clive to Portal and to Hill Valley by Rick Boffey.
We weren’t able to replicate our success in winning the league, as in 2019 (there was no competition in 2020 due to Covid), but we have had, in many ways, a very successful last two years. John Tennant and Peter Coull reached the semi finals of the Derek Horsey Competition, getting farther than any of our previous representatives. In addition we have attracted many new members to the Seniors.
In some ways it’s been a difficult two years . Having to book tee times via BRS has posed challenges, plus increased demand from others to play the course together with the introduction of WHS which has posed its own unique problems have all taken up time. Nevertheless, we have coped pretty well thanks to the efforts of the committee and in particular our two Chairmen, Keith, in 2021, and Jeff Stewart in 2020.
The following were appointed as members of the Senior’s committee for the coming year:
Chairman : Keith Wright
Vice Chair: Pat Walker
Secretary: Tom James
Treasurer: Clive Garside
Plus Neil Stafford who will take on the role of Vice Chair in 2023 and will also assist the committee this year.
We look forward to a good 2022 and hope as many players as possible will take part, not only in club competitions and roll ups, but also in the matches, both league and friendlies, throughout the year.
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Fred wins the Derek Horsey 2022 in convincing style!
Congratulations to Fred Markham who won this year’s Derek Horsey Charity Competition with a nett 65 , three shots ahead of Tom James who was one of 5 players to record 68.
Taking advantage of his handicap, Fred played steadily and carefully around the course and was a worthy winner.
The first two players go on to represent the club in the knock out stage of the competition against other clubs in the Manchester and District league. Let’s hope that this year’s representatives go that little bit further than Peter Coull and John Tennant who reached the semi final last year.
A full list of scores can be found by going onto ‘How Did I do’
Many thanks to the 34 members who took part and enjoyed the very warm sunny morning which raised £170 for the charity.
Hole in One for Chairman Keith!
Congratulations to senior’s Chairman Keith Wright playing in Saturday’s competition, for his hole in one on the par 3 fourth!
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Turkey Trot 2021
Forty eight Seniors took part in this morning’s annual Turkey Trot. Played as a pairs betterball Stableford over 13 holes, the winners were Phil Holland and Andy Chadwick with an excellent 36 points two ahead of John Tennant and Bernard Pickering with a very good 34 points.
The other prize winners who all scored 32 points were:
3rd Rod Taylor and Alan Woolley; 4th Bob Palmer and Ken Lee and 5th Phil Pearson and Gary Yates.
Many thanks to all those who took part in a very enjoyable morning’s golf followed by some delicious festive turkey rolls and pea and ham soup served by Kirsty and her team. A full list of all the scores can be found on the senior’s notice board
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Seniors Trip to Hill Valley 29th September – 1st October
Sixteen members of the New Mills Golf Club Seniors Section enjoyed their annual trip at the Hill Valley Hotel and Golf resort near Whitchurch, set in the heart of the rolling Shropshire countryside.
Whilst the weather forecast looked terrible, except for the first few holes of the first round, everyone came off the course reasonably dry.
On Wednesday they played in pairs on the par 66 Sapphire Course, the shorter course at Hill Valley, with tricky, tight greens and awkward approach shots making pin point shot accuracy a must.
Congratulations to the winning pair, Stan Spencer and Chris Hall.
Thursday was the first day on the much longer 6714 yards par 73 Emerald Course, the flagship course at Hill Valley Golf Club. The course sweeps around beautiful, undulating fairways through natural water hazards and strategically placed bunkers, presenting a real golfing challenge suiting the big hitters.
Winning by only one point congratulations go to Rod Taylor, John Tennant, Phil Pearson and Alex Holland.
Friday was the day for a Texas Scramble and again the Emerald Course proved a real test of good driving, approach shots and stamina.
The winning team of Rod Taylor, Chris Hall, Mr Captain and Rick Boffey staggered home
after three days of great golf.
The hotel, food and staff were absolutely fabulous and everyone really enjoyed the golf and just as importantly, the pleasure of spending time with great friends.
Many thanks to Rick for organising a very enjoyable event.
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Senior’s Knock out Final
Congratulations to Peter Coull who won this year’s singles knock out beating Steve Parr in a very closely fought final 1 up. Commiserations to Steve who was runner up in the doubles with Peter Griffiths again losing by the same close margin!
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Senior’s Stableford Best Aggregate Scores
We have now completed the 5 qualifying Senior Stableford competitions for the 2021 season, and based on the results of these I can reveal the winner of the best aggregate score (this being the combined score from each competitors best 3 results)
The winner with a combined total of 119 (43+37+39) points is Mike Howard
Runner up with the same total of 119 (40+41+38) points is Phil Holland
Third place goes to Pat Walker with 118 (40+37+41) points
The full results are available on HowdidIdo with the breakdown each individuals’ totals. Mike and Phil had the same total points however after discussions with Sam and reference to England Golf the differentiator was deemed to be who had the best individual competition score, which was Mike with 43 points in Stableford No.3.
Many congratulations to Mike on his continued run of success and commiserations to Phil for a terrific effort.
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George Scott Trophy 2021
Many congratulations to Garry Fletcher winner of today’s George Scott Trophy with an impressive 42 points. Garry didn’t have a great first nine with just 15 points but excelled on the back nine with an excellent 27 points which secured victory over Trev Jones with 40 points. Rod Taylor was third with 39 with Rob Holden fourth on 38
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Pat and Brian win the Seniors Doubles 2021
Congratulations to Pat Walker and Brian Southworth winners of this year’s Doubles competition after a hard fought final in which they finished 1 up against Steve Parr and Peter Griffiths.
Winners Pat and Brian
The 4 finalists
Many thanks to everyone who took part and helped to make it a great knock out event once again
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Marcliffe Cup 2021
Congratulations to Chris Keene winner of today’s Marcliffe Cup with a score of 41 points. Runner up was Pat Walker with 40 points with Keith Wright in 3rd place with 39. Graham Hadfield (39) and Ken Lee (38) completed the prize winners.
Bottles of wine were awarded to nearest the pin:
4th: Phil Smallman
6th: Graham Hadfield
8th: Tom James
16th: Jeff Stewart
Other prize winners were:
Bill Sutton – nearest the line on the 9th
2nd shot nearest the pin on the 13th: Chris Keene
Sadly, no one managed to get into the circle around the pin on the 15th, so Graham Hadfield, who last achieved this in 2018, will again retain the cup until next year!
Many thanks to all 42 players who took part. It was lovely to see Cliff at both the start and end of the competition once again.
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Manchester and District Seniors Golf League
Sadly we were unable to repeat our performance of 2019 and in fact were bottom of our zone! Winners of this year’s final were Whitefield GC with Avro second and our zone winners, Marple third.
Click to access 2021-League-Tables-3.pdf
Pete and JT lose in the semi final of this year’s Derek Horsey Charity Competition
Unfortunately Peter Coull and John Tennant’s run in the Derek Horsey Charity Competition knock out came to an end this morning (10th September) when they lost their semi final match against Disley going 2 down.
Reaching the semi final stage of the competition is a fantastic achievement and on the day they were unfortunately giving away too many shots to the two guys from Disley.
Well done to both players for getting so far
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Alan Woolley wins Vet’s Cup 2021
Many congratulations to Alan Woolley on winning the 2021 Vets Cup. Alan won by 3 shots with an excellent medal score of 65. In second place was Phil Holland with 68, third place was Don Cooper also with 68 and fourth place goes to Jeff Stewart with 70.
The Vets Cup will be presented to Alan at the main Gents presentation evening later in the year, and the cash prizes will be presented to the top 4 places at the Seniors AGM.
The full results are available on HowdidIdo.
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Mike continues his success with a hole in one!
Congratulations to Mike Howard who followed up his success on Captain’s Day less than 2 weeks ago with a hole in one on the par three 10th today. It seems there is no stopping him at present!!
Captain’s Day July 10th 2021 won by Mike Howard!
Mike has been a member since 1972, before many of those playing today were even born! He was Club President in 1995 and this is his first major victory in over 50 years. Those of us who play regularly with Mike in the senior’s section know what a steady, reliable player he is. He wouldn’t have won any prizes today for the longest drive but he would certainly have been up there alongside the best at finding the middle of the fairway. Well done Mike. Your win today will encourage many of the Senior’s section to continue to get out of bed early in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and give everyone real hope that nothing is impossible!
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Seniors trip to Portal June 2021
Hole in One for Lester
Congratulations to Lester Cooper for his hole in one on the 4th this morning in his Seniors knock out doubles match. This is Lester’s second hole in one. The previous one being in a medal on the 8th. Sadly, Lester and his partner Dave Holt lost the match to brother Don and his partner Paul McCracken. However, his name does now enter the Senior’s Roll of Honour which can be viewed by clicking on the link above.
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Derek Horsey Charity Competition 12th April 2021
Many congratulations to Rod Taylor, winner of today’s Derek Horsey Charity Competition, with an excellent net 65. Three players came in with 68 – John Tennant, Peter Coull and Keith Wright. Traditionally, the two players with the best scores go on to represent the club in the knock out stages of the event against clubs from Derbyshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Rod has indicated he doesn’t want to do this due to other commitments and so the two people with the next best scores JT and Peter will be our representatives in the knock out stages. Sadly this year’s Chairman, Keith, missed out on a card play off!
Many thanks to everyone who played this morning, on what turned out to be a very pleasant spring day. The event raised £165 for the charity which was set up in memory of Derek who was a key member of Reddish Vale Golf Club and one of the founders of the Manchester and District Seniors League.
To view the full score sheet visit ‘How Did I do’ under the Members section of the website.
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Seniors Stablefords 2021
Congratulations to Garry Fletcher winner of the first of the Senior’s Stablefords with 41 points . Originally scheduled for May 21st, the competition had to be put back until today, June 4th, because of atrocious weather. Today’s conditions were perfect : very warm, clear blue skies and no wind!
2nd place went to Pat Walker with 40 points whilst several people came in with 39. However, Keith Wright was credited with 3rd place and Alan Goodall 4th after a card play off.
June 18th: Well done to Phil Holland winner of today’s Stableford 2 competition with 40 points. Bob Palmer came second with 38 one ahead of Mike Howard who edged out Graham Hadfield after a card play off. A total of 28 Seniors took part this morning. Well done to everyone who played.
July 18th: Following on from his great victory on Captain’s Day, Mike Howard won today’s Stableford with a very impressive 43 points. Phil Holland continued his fine form by finishing second having won the last Seniors stableford event. 3rd place went to Clive Garside with 40 points who beat Rick Boffey on a card play off.
August 20th: Congratulations to Pat Walker winner of today’s Senior’s Stableford with 41 points. 2nd place went to Peter Griffiths with 39 with Alec Holland third on 38. Mike Howard was 4th with 37. Pat’s excellent round included 10 pars and two birdies
September 1st: The final seniors Stableford of the season was won in convincing style by Don Cooper with a very impressive 43 points two ahead of Stan Spencer with Mike Howard and Arthur Oliver both scoring 39.
SENIORS STABLEFORD BEST AGGREGATE SCORE 2021
We have now completed the 5 qualifying Senior Stableford competitions for the 2021 season, and based on the results of these I can reveal the winner of the best aggregate score (this being the combined score from each competitors best 3 results)
The winner with a combined total of 119 (43+37+39) points is Mike Howard
Runner up with the same total of 119 (40+41+38) points is Phil Holland
Third place goes to Pat Walker with 118 (40+37+41) points
The full results are available on HowdidIdo with the breakdown each individuals’ totals. Mike and Phil had the same total points however after discussions with Sam and reference to England Golf the differentiator was deemed to be who had the best individual competition score, which was Mike with 43 points in Stableford No.3.
Many congratulations to Mike on his continued run of success and commiserations to Phil for a terrific effort.
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Ladies and Seniors Annual Stableford 21st September 2020
A beautiful sunny morning made this year’s Ladies/Senior’s Betterball Stableford extremely enjoyable. With the best score from the Ladies and the best score for the Gents to count on each of the 13 holes, the winners, by a considerable margin with 65 points were Jean Taylor. Celia James, Alan Woolley and Don Cooper. (Unfortunately Alan wasn’t available whilst this was taken!!!)
Runners up with 62 points were Lady Captain, Joyce Hadfield, Bob Palmer and Alan Morton. 3rd, with 60 points, were Alison Rudder, Pam Boffey, Dave Good and Paul Lewis whilst 4th with 59 points were Jo Coull, Jane Gee, Tom James and Graham Hadfield.
Once again many thanks to Jean and Jeff for organising this popular fun event.
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Heron’s Reach September 2020
A small party of Seniors made the annual trip to Heron’s Reach. Three days of wonderful weather went some way to making up for the reduced numbers brought about by Co vid -19. If only the quality of the golf had matched the weather!
Dave Swindells emerged as the trip’s overall winner whilst Trevor Oxley was awarded the infamous golf statue!
A big thank you to Alan Blakeman for, once again, organising this year’s trip.
Congratulations to the winners of the Manchester and District Seniors League 2019!
Huge congratulations to our team led by Bob Palmer who won the 2019 league Trophy at Brookdale Golf Club for only the second time since the league was founded in 2002.
Playing conditions were ‘challenging’ as overnight, the remnants of Hurricane Humberto had dumped even more rain on an already saturated North West. Despite this, all 4 pairings played tremendously well with Bob Palmer and Graham Hadfield scoring an impressive 40 points which was matched by Ian Harding and John Tennant. These two pairs were backed up impressively by the other two pairs who both scored 35 namely Keith Wright and Trevor Jones and Peter Coull and Simon Belt. With the aggregate total of the best 3 pairs to count the result was:
1st New Mills 115 points
2nd Shrigley Hall 110
3rd Macclesfield 110
4th Dukinfield 108
5th Houldsworth 107
6th Marple 97
The winning team with Paul Deighton President of Brookdale GC
The last time we won this trophy was way back in 2005. Five members of that team are still active members of the current seniors -Mike Howard. Mike Richardson, Ged Armitt, Dave Good (not in the picture) and Tony Jones as is the Senior’s Chairman at the time Fred Markham and the Club Captain in 2005, Arthur Oliver.
We shouldn’t overlook the contributions made by everyone else who played in the league team in 2019 which enabled us to reach the final, namely: Phil Holland, Ian Bowers, Clive Garside, Dave Good, Pat Walker, Phil Smallman, Paul Holt, Dave Swindells, David Bray and Arthur Oliver. Well done to everyone who played their part in helping us achieve this trophy!
We’re very fortunate to have such a strong senior’s section at the club which is characterised by the camaraderie, friendship and competitiveness which exists in our roll ups every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and in our various competitions throughout the year. It’s not just the players who represented the league team who should share in this success, but all the others who played for the club throughout the season in the friendly fixtures against other clubs and everyone who turns up at the roll ups.
Well done to everybody!
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