January 2015 Newsletter

Romiley Golf Club

Manchester Alliance at Romiley Golf Club

Am-Am Winners

John Hilton Mr Captain Marcus Corfield (Mottram Hall G.C.) (Regent’s Park G.C.)

Romiley Golf Club

Stableford, Best 2 from 4, Saturday, 3rd January, 2015

1st: John Wallworth & Alastair May & Tommy Ormerod & Phil Cody 75 pts

2nd: John Ratledge & Richard Hale & Craig Oakes & Neil Brindley 74 pts

3rd: Kevin Jones & Paul Wagstaff & Paul Mellor & Nick Gorman 74 pts

(or is it “Uncle Fester”?)

9 Hole Team Event, Thursday, 8th January, 2015

1st: Anne Harrison & Angela Slate & Val Bonser 43 pts

2nd June Sidebottom & Audrey Jones & Lynn Schofield 41 pts

3rd Jill Woolstencroft & Edith Clarke & Val Mackinnon 38 pts

Vets’ 9 Hole Stableford, Friday, 9th January, 2015

1st Peter Clough 19 pts 2nd Keith Selby 18 pts 3rd Graham Evans 18 pts

(Graham’s eye-catching green

ear muffs earned many

admiring comments.)

Sad passing of Past Lady Captain Lillian Broad 20th September 1927—22nd December 2014

George Hewitt, Past Men’s Captain

6th October, 1933—17th January, 2015

George Hewitt, who has died aged 81, was a notable golfer, Council Member

and Captain of our Club in 1982—83. George was born in Cockermouth and

lived there until 1954 when work brought him to Flixton. A keen tennis player,

he joined Flixton Tennis Club where he met and married Anne.

George and Anne moved to Romiley in 1955 and became active members of

Romiley Tennis Club. In 1961 George tried to his hand at golf initially at

Mellor before joining Romiley in 1964.

In 1968 George became Postmaster at Broadbottom where he was to hone his

golfing skills. He negotiated the use of an adjacent

field where he spent untold hours of practice. The

area is now a turf nursery for Limefield Garden

Centre but they are still recovering George’s practice

balls!

His dedication paid off and over the ensuing years

George became a Category One golfer, winning many

monthly medals and Club trophies on the way. He

was a key member of the team that won the Dunham

Forest Trophy in both 1974 and 1976.

The later years of his life were blighted with ll-health

and he died peacefully in Stepping Hill Hospital. His

wife, Anne, and two sons, Richard and David, survive him.

On 22nd December Lillian Doreen

Broad passed away at the age of 87.

Lillian joined Romiley Golf Club in

1968 and loved golf and the social life at

the Club. She was Lady Captain in

1986 and, sadly, in that year her

husband passed away. Her nephew paid

tribute to Lillian in a service at St

Chad’s Church on 12th January, 2015.

Romiley Foursomes, Saturday, 10th January, 2015

1st: Pete Whitworth & Martin Arrowsmith 36 pts

2nd: Alex Barber-Bennett & Kevin Bennett 35 pts 3rd Rick Evans & Lee Brinsley 35 pts

9 Hole team Event, 10—18, Thursday, January 15th, 2015

1st Irene Barrow & Anne Harrison & Glynis Hunt 37 pts

2nd Sandra Hewitt & Beryl Reade & Gill Walker 34 pts

3rd Edith Clarke & Val Mackinnon & Karen Hooley 30 pts

Men’s Singles Stableford, Saturday, 17th January, 2015

1st and 3rd Laurence and Rick Salmon 35 pts

Coincidentally, the salmon fishing season started on Thursday, 15th January!!

2nd John Walker 35 pts. Coming between father and son

Bob is going to Ilkley in Yorkshire

to be closer to his daughter and

grandchildren. He will be missed

by his friends within the vets

section.

We wish Bob well in his new

venture and hope that he will keep

in touch.

Jeff Brown Bob Saunders Derek Clarkin

All ‘baht hat’

Bob Saunders off to pastures new

Vets’ 9 hole Stableford, Friday, 23rd January

1st Barry Logan 19 pts 2nd Jack Edmondson 17 pts 3rd Graham Evans 16 pts

“ ‘A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark’ from Eric Jones,”

remarked Mr. Captain as the Brash Lads burn even more wood.

(Apologies to Dante Alighieri!)

Quiz Night, Friday, 23rd January, 2015

A good turn-out of 12 teams assembled on a nasty evening to join in this year’s

first quiz night. Genial quiz master, Chris Broster, interrogated the company

through 9 rounds on a variety of themes. These included 50/50, art & literature

(not as daunting as it sounds), sport, general knowledge, music (despite minor

technical problems) and Who said it? (We all thought it was Chris !)

Ably assisted by his partner, Rachel, he hurried through only three rounds and

then, surprisingly, announced a break for food. The company were then

provided with generous portions of excellent steak pie with mushy peas,

beetroot, red cabbage and bread rolls.

The refreshed competitors were taken briskly through the remaining rounds

and the quiz ended at about 10.15. When all of the calculations had been

completed, “The Famous Five” were declared the winners. A cry of “I demand

a recount,” from Derek Worthington was perfectly justified, as it emerged that

his team, “Puzzled,” had been overlooked, and had, actually, won the quiz by a

clear margin, having employed a mixture of top class general knowledge and

judicious use of the team joker.

Thanks to Chris, Rachel and the bar and catering staff for a very pleasant

evening. Please note in your diaries Friday, 27th of February, when the next quiz

evening will take place.

Keith Selby

The next inquisitor.

Not so “Puzzled” winners!

Janet and

Derek

Worthington

Rick and

John

Parke

Mr. Captain, Lady Captain, Rachel and Chris Broster

Romiley Foursomes, Saturday, 24th January, 2015

1st Alex Barber-Bennett & Kevin Bennett 31 pts

2nd Steve Birtles & Ken Jackson 30 pts 3rd John Wallworth & Vinnie Walker 30 pts

Brian took his usual elegant swing

of his 5 iron at the 5th and was

disappointed not to see it bounce.

“Dash!” he said. “It’s in the

bunker.”

As they strolled up to the bunker

there was no sign. The others had

scattered in various directions to

their partners’ balls. “Let’s check

the hole.” And... Yes.... It was

snuggled down. Brian could find

no pitch mark to repair so it was

reckoned to have gone straight in.

Well done, that man.

Manchester Catering Company

Regional & National Caterer Of The Year 2014/15

Marc Bryson, Executive Chef and Yvette Greenlees, Manager

And so on January 15th, 2015, Manchester Catering Company began their

smooth transition as caterers for our Golf Club. Marc, from Whitefield, comes

from a family totally involved in catering and, after his family, cooking is his

one big passion in life. His speciality just happens to be Italian cuisine.

Yvette confesses to belonging to a Blues family and is an ardent Manchester

City supporter with a season ticket to prove it. Well, at least 50% of our

members will be delighted at that. Yvette has been a senior manager within the

Civil Service and customer service is high on her list of priorities. As one of the

leading caterers in Manchester, MCC’s emphasis is not only on providing top

class cuisine but also maintaining a great client relationship. Yvette, and her

staff, are always on hand to solve any issues or concerns that we may have.

It has been a breathless start for them both but they have really appreciated

how our Club has made all the team welcome.

Your editor knows that all Club members wish them every success and there is

certainly a buzz around the place.

Thursday, 29th January, 2015 Photo by Peter Milnes

An Alex White creation depicting one of his golf mantras.

“Keep cool at all times!”

His book, “Ice Cold in Alex” is out shortly.

Manchester Alliance at Romiley

Sponsored by Mobi Rawthore of Shotsaver

Many happy returns for Ben

Pro winners: Alliance Captain Tim Maxwell, Ben Thomson, Peter Barber,

Romiley Captain Andrew Reed and Roy Campion

Romiley Golf Club’s green staff worked wonders to defy some horrendous weather

conditions and put on a good course for the latest Manchester Alliance fixture.

It was a case of ‘Many Happy Returns’ for Ben Thomson who was the Romiley

Junior Captain in 2010 and is now the assistant professional at Hazel Grove.

Ben, and his Grove partner, Roy Campion, combined well to post a top pro-am score

of 42 points. Next in were Liam Burgess (Bramall Park) and Chris Jackson

(Tytherington) who won a cpo on 41 points from Didsbury duo Peter and Steve

Barber.

The other pro-am prizes went to Haigh Hall’s Alan Crompton and Tony Culshaw

who won a cpo on 39 points from Chorlton’s Adam Hodkinson and Ian Hales.

The top individual star of the day was Alliance legend, Peter Barber, who carded an

incredible 66 for 40 points which left him four clear of young guns, Adam Hodkinson

and Liam Burgess.

Former European table tennis champion, John Hilton (Mottram Hall), teamed up

with Regent Park’s Marcus Corfield to win a count-back on 40 points in the Am-Am

section from Brian Carroll and Mick Wallace (Bolton Old Links) and Chris Lee and

Tony Woodward (Mellor and Townscliffe).

Captain’s Comments

Wednesday 28th January saw the Manchester Alliance descend on Romiley Golf Club

for an early Pro-Am competition with 100 competitors.

Your Captain was first there at 8:30 with Alex from catering and nobody else. An

'incident' on the M60 had brought Stockport to a gridlock. Trickles of people started to

arrive, including the organiser whose phone was going berserk with tales of woe from

people stuck in traffic.

As competitors were coming from far and wide this was not good news and the weather

was turning even worse with sleet, rain and high winds. Caterers Yvette and Marc

coming from Bury were stuck as well.

Alex and I started producing the coffee, hoping for a miracle. That came at 9:30 when

Yvette landed and the whirlwinds got into action, more coffee and bacon butties

abounding. Everyone worked their tails off in the next half hour to meet the demands of

the now arriving harassed golfers.

Mike Moore and his team rescued the day with temporary greens and

the match eventually got underway at 11am. Our Assistant

Professional, Graham, and myself, managed a creditable 36 points, an

excellent score considering winds which were stronger than anyone

could remember.

Romiley showed true, war-time spirit in overcoming the appalling conditions. Triumph

through adversity!! What a credit to everyone on the day.

Am-am winners John Hilton (left), Mr Captain Andrew Reed and Marcus Corfield.

‘Meet and Greet’ Service to Visiting Societies

This service is now in its fourth year and is always well received by societies.

Last year 26 visiting societies were welcomed to the Club by either the Captain,

President, Past Captains/Past Presidents, Secretary and the Veterans’

Chairman. Societies usually gather in the dining room for either breakfast/

coffee or lunch and the new pictures of the course on the dining room wall help

to illustrate the course in more photographic detail when greeting the group.

Comments from the returned feedback form from last year’s societies:

‘The greeting we received was a lovely touch and well received. We all

thoroughly enjoyed the day and I am sure we will be back.’

‘The Meet and Greet was much appreciated by all our members and all your

staff deserve a big thank you for looking after us.’

‘We all liked the Meet and Greet and the information on the course aspects. We

will inform our club about your way of doing things properly!’

‘The Meet and Greet was a bonus and went down very well’

Thanks to all the ‘Meet and Greet’ team, who have given their time and effort

for the Club over the past four years.

Our ‘Meet and Greet’ will continue in 2015 with the support of the dedicated

team who provides this much appreciated and special service for Romiley Golf

Club.

Michael Cope, February, 2015

Teacher meets student last seen in 1958!

David Jones, Jack Badrock and Clive Littlewood

For those of you who like statistics, 40 years ago David Jones worked and socialised with

a gentleman called Clive Littlewood. 28 years ago David and Audrey lost touch with

Clive and his wife, Carol, when work took them up to Scotland. Then two years ago the

Joneses were browsing in John Lewis when David felt a tap on his shoulder. It took a

while but eventually David realised it was Clive and soon the friendship was renewed

because Clive and his wife were back living in the area.

Coming more up to date, David and Clive were recently chatting about school days.

Clive attended Egerton Park School and David asked him if he remembered a teacher

called Jack Badrock who had left the school David attended and moved to Egerton Park.

“I certainly do,” replied Clive. “He was my basketball coach. He always had time for his

pupils and christened me ‘Mr Basketball,’ a name which stuck all through my

schooldays.” And so a lunch date was arranged at the Club for them to see each other all

this time later.

Both men were thrilled to meet again after 56 years and Jack certainly did remember the

best basketball player he ever taught and who played on the team which won all the

school league games that year. Jack, to everyone’s astonishment, even remembered

Clive’s birthday was in June! Names of other players and Clive’s classmates tripped off

Jack’s tongue, and then Clive asked if he remembered a lady called Joan Lake. Jack,

quick as a flash, responded, “Yes I do but she was in the class below you,” which was

perfectly true. Just imagine how many children Jack met and yet he remembered those

details. How amazing is that!

There were lots of years to catch up on with exchanges of memories and so many smiles.

It really is a small world and, for these two, a very happy one right now.

Welcome to the January 2015 edition of Captains’ Corner

Mr Captain:

I saw New Year 2015 in at Romiley Golf Club in what was a brilliant evening

event. Everyone that attended enjoyed fantastic company and entertainment.

Thank you all for your support.

A big welcome to John Reid (Manchester Caterers) and his team, Yvette, Marc

and Kelly – we look forward to working with you.

Golf

The Top Dog competitions continue and Alex and I took on Roly Hewitt and

Nick Madden on our first game for 2015. We managed 40 points so well

pleased.

Sunday 11th January saw us paired with Denise Booth and Anne Harrison.

What a game the ladies played off the yellow tees. They ended with 41 points

against our 42 points (had to get that one in!).

Wednesday 28th January saw the Manchester Alliance slide into Romiley.

There is a full report on the day’s events in our magazine but I just want to

draw attention to Alex (our waitress) and our caterers, Yvette and Marc, who

worked with smiles under great strain and provided food and drink in a short

time scale. Well done team. Much appreciated by everyone there.

Another special mention for Mike Moore and his greens team who got our

course sorted on the day in atrocious weather and, although we had to go onto

temporary greens, we got a game. The weather really closed in the following

day with record snow falls causing disruption all round and course closure

until early February.

Social

The Gentlemen’s Evening on Friday 20th February marks the last social event

in my Captain’s calendar. The posters and booking sheet are up in the main

lounge so please use this evening to see my year close with a wine or beer.

We shall be joined by the Captain of St Anne’s Old Links, Benny Lynch, and

John Murray, in recognition of the competitive bond between our two Clubs.

Lea Roberts will entertain us as an after dinner speaker and comedian. He is

an excellent act so will complement a good meal and friendship. I would so

like to see as many of you as possible in support of my year. This event gives

me the opportunity to thank you in person.

Course

I am still amazed at the course condition and with the

advent of mats we will enjoy a good winter playing period.

When we get back on the course just take care with your

footing: think course management with your body as well

as your golf.

Captain – Andy Reed

LADY CAPTAIN’S CORNER – JANUARY 2015

After all the festivities of Christmas and the New Year celebrations January,

as always, has been a very quiet month. Like the Captain, Derek and I had

an enjoyable evening on New Year’s Eve at the Golf Club. A big thank you to

all who helped organise the event.

The weather has not been too kind, resulting in two of the ladies’

competitions being cancelled. In addition, the Ladies’ Winter Dinner was

also postponed due to the heavy snow and icy conditions. The Winter Dinner

has been rescheduled for Thursday, 19th February. Let’s hope the weather

has improved by then.

The Mail on Sunday went ahead on 25 January, 2015 at home to Stockport.

I caddied for Denise who had a very close match which ended on the 19th

when her opponent hit her second shot to 1 foot from the pin and won the

hole with a birdie. Commiserations to our team, Sally Hebden, Astrid

Ceelen, Rebecca Byle, Hilary Craven and Denise Booth, who all played

really well.

Chris and Rachel organised the January quiz which was a great evening and

very well supported. The ‘Pie and Peas’ went down a treat. The quiz was

won by a team named ‘Puzzled’ – John Parke, Rick Parke, Derek

Worthington and myself, though I felt I

contributed little. Thank you to Chris and Rachel

and the catering team.

I have now started my phased retirement from

work, beginning with a day off on a Thursday to

play golf, just in time for the snow, but I’m looking

forward to an improvement in both the weather

and my handicap.

Happy Golfing!

Lady Captain—Janet Worthington

PRESIDENT’S PONDERINGS

This edition, due for publication in early February, means that the AGM is just

round the corner and my term of office is coming to a close. My thoughts are,

therefore, a bit on the maudlin side and I need to consider how my year has

gone.

I have said previously that Romiley Golf Club continues because a stalwart

band of volunteers beavers away behind, and sometimes in front of, the scenes

to make things happen, be it on the course, in the Clubhouse or at social events.

I had come across the open events team before elected and this year have seen

the social and mixed golf squads in action. Unless involved, you just cannot

imagine the detail that is considered by these worthies, all done to please you

and make the events a success. Without offending anyone, please accept my

apologies if you are omitted. There are groups looking after running

competitions, seeing the Clubhouse is operating properly and tidily, assisting

greens staff by tidying up the course, promoting membership of the Club,

running the Ladies, Vets, and Junior sections, keeping the finances in order by

way of obtaining sponsors, finding prospective senior officers, ensuring we are

up to date with the Rules of Golf, producing this monthly Newsletter, etc. etc.

etc. There are also some individuals who just do anything to help.

We function with the assistance and support of a range of people and what

makes the business of Romiley Golf Club a little different – and hard - from

commercial concerns is that the Management, and Board of Directors, are all

volunteers, with a deep sense of loyalty for the Club, putting a lot on the line for

the members who may not fully appreciate the whole picture, and have, maybe,

expectations more in line with a commercial business.

We all need to thank so many of our

colleagues for making Romiley Golf

Club the place to be. I have developed

a strong affiliation over my 35 or so

years towards RGC and would like to

think our future is secure. With the

likes of our many volunteers on

board, we will, and my sincere thanks

to you all. If there are any others out

there who would like to help, let

someone know – you will be most

welcome because volunteers are worth

more than ‘pressed men and women.’

David Mason, President