ROMILEY GOLF CLUB

March 2017 Newsletter

Barbara Leith Steve Harrison Lady Captain Captain 2017 / 2018

Romiley Golf Club AGM, Friday 24th March 2017

John told the audience that as Chairman of his Concert Band he organised a

tour to Lisbon in Portugal where they played at the British Embassy. The

Portuguese President introduced John and his position was elevated in

translation to “El Presidente”, a name that has stuck with the band members.

Outgoing Captain, Gary Williams, thanked all the members for their support.

Gary had enjoyed his golf, had plenty of fun and was proud to have played with

109 different golfers.

Together with the Lady Captain they had raised over £5,000 for their chosen

charity, Alzheimer's. As his last action Gary introduced the new Captain, Steve

Harrison, RGC’s only 8 day member.

Over 80 members attended the AGM to see

the retiring officials of 2016/17 and listen

with anticipation to the speeches of their

successors.

Outgoing President David Heyward

conveyed all the highlights of his year and

expressed his thanks to all the officials, staff,

members and family, in particular his wife,

Elsie, for all their support. David then

introduced incoming President, John Glynn,

with a tribute to his life as a Scouser,

Evertonian, Newsletter Editor, Quiz Expert,

and his bionic status as a 5'6" captain of his

college basketball team.

Mr Captain presenting Lady Captain

Barbara Leith with a beautiful bouquet Gary Williams handing over the

reins to Steve Harrison

Incoming Ladies’ and Gent’s Vice Captains, Alison Reed and Glyn Roberts,

and Junior Captain, Clark Thompson, were presented to the meeting with

short speeches of acceptance.

Irene Barrow, outgoing Lady

Captain, told of her privilege and

honour of the position and thanked

everyone for their support. She was

d e l i g h t e d t h a t a l l ma j o r

competitions had enjoyed good

weather. Her highlights were her

Lady Captain's Day and the

Children's Christmas Party. Irene

reiterated her proud achievement

with the Captain of raising over

£5,000 for the Alzheimer's charity.

New Lady Captain, Barbara Leith,

gave a special thank you to Irene.

Barbara said it was like “Blind

Date” wondering who would be the

Men's Vice. She was "happy" when

the screen came back and it was

Captain Steve, but playing with an 8

day member ………..??

A very pleasurable presentation then took place to three life members.

Firstly, Gwyneth Buckley, sent her apologies for being unable to attend but a

tribute was paid by the Lady Captain and the gift was accepted on her behalf

by Denis Hall.

Secondly, Mike Cope. Mike joined the

Club in 1967 after being on the waiting

list for 3 years and was Captain in 1984

and President in 2001. Mike has been

proud to hold positions as Chairman of

the Centenary Committee, Secretary

and Founder of the

Past Captains’/

Presidents’ Society,

instigator of the

Meet and Greet service and the Taster Courses which have

introduced over 20 current full members to the Club. In

accepting the gift from the Club, Mike relayed many happy

highlights and memories, including the Romiley team

winning the Dunham Forest Trophy for the third time

when he was Captain.

Finally, there was a presentation to Gordon

McDonald. Gordon was on the waiting list for 3 years

and as an alternative became a member of Fairfield

Golf and Sailing Club before joining Romiley in 1967

when he recounts that the annual subscription was 20

guineas with a £10 joining fee. Consolation of a bad

round in the early days used to be a pint and a 6d

packet of crisps but nowadays the crisps are 70p. The

good news is that now he is a Life Member at least he

can afford another packet of crisps.

The last item on the

agenda was a tribute to

the retirement of Ken

Cooper as House Director.

Chairman Peter Howcroft

presented Ken with a

replica Claret Jug for his

6 years on the Board. Author—

Peter Wagstaff

Vets’ 9 Hole Stableford, Friday, 3rd March, 2017

1st Ken Fendall 22pts 2nd Gordon Tavernor 20 pts cpo 3rd Bill Barrow 20 pts

The course was incredibly wet. The previous day the course was closed for the

Ladies’ Competition, as it was on the Saturday for the men. But the weather

was clement and most of the vets got round the course without wetting anything

other than their shoes and the bottoms of their over trousers.

The Friday Night Quiz, 3rd March, 2017

Quite simply this was the toughest

quiz that Chris had set. One

example is that of the 20 picture

questions which are given out at the

beginning. Chris realised that he

couldn’t answer them himself, even

though he had the answers, so he

gave written clues alongside.

What a relief!

However, differentiating between

good cowboys and bad cowboys of

1870 USA was not easy. Which was

Sitting Bull? Geronimo? Cochise?

Which one was Butch Cassidy and

which the Sundance Kid? Head-

scratching was a common affliction

that evening.

Torquemada

&

Torquemistress

Chris and Rachel Broster

The 20 music questions were equally divided between classical and big band.

Not sure many recognised the adagietto from the 4th movement of Mahler’s 5th

Symphony. As for the big bands, which was Duke Ellington, Count Basie,

Glenn Miller? You get the picture. (Should that be “sound?”)

Corinthians were yet again the winners. Your editor is not sure that they

actually got ANY applause. Mutterings were heard about handicapping. Hey

ho! In fighting second place were the Also Rans who were not far behind.

Joyce and John Glynn Sue and Keith Selby

Alan and Pauline Whitehead Gillian and Mike Wilson

Corinthians

Also Rans

Alison and Andrew Reed—Jim and Barbara Leith—Richard and Ros Hale

We’re only here for the beer. And wine. Oh. And whiskey. And it is enough for

this pragmatic team just to take part.

Quiz (continued)

Michele Wilde with dad, Malcolm Oliver Gary Wilde with M-I-L Ann Wild

Colin and Anne Granby Stuart and Joyce Cook

16/03/2017

Romiley Golf Club – Junior Section

The new golf season is here and all Juniors have received a schedule of fixtures

for 2017. All the events are also on the Club calendar on the website

(www.romileygolfclub.org). It is going to be a busy season.

Romiley Golf Club is fortunate to have a professional, Alex White, and his

assistant, Graham Drabble, who both take a keen interest in the Junior Section.

Matt Murray, a stalwart of the Club and working in the shop, is on the Junior

Committee. They are always willing to offer advice and guidance and the

Junior Section provides the money for group coaching for Juniors on a regular

basis throughout the year. Please take full advantage of these wonderful

facilities.

The season will start with a “get-together” at the Club on Tuesday, 4th April,

2017. It starts at 5.30 pm with a light meal (free to Juniors), followed by a talk

and golf quiz. The attendance of parents is welcomed because there is no doubt

that the interest, involvement and encouragement of parents is extremely

important in the development of the younger members of the Section.

Yours in Golf,

Bob Blundell Mike Hanson Matt Murray Colin McManus

Junior Captain, Clark Thompson Vice- Captain, Harry Doyle.

Ladies 9 Hole BB Pairs, Thursday, 9th March, 2017

The painstaking work of Glyn Roberts

over many weeks comes to fruition. 23 / 3 /17

1st: Val McKinnon and Edith Clarke, 22 pts

2nd Irene Barrow & Val Bonser

22 pts

3rd Jill Woolstencroft & Francine

Walburn 22 pts

Ladies’ Coffee Morning

Pauline Whitehead baked a cake and

Anne Harrison won it. Anne also won

the putting competition for which she

received the spring bouquet.

Janet Godfrey looked stunning in

her Christian Dior waitress outfit.

Too late, Trudy!

Anne has already won!

Alison found the books a most

reassuring resting place.

Who wants to buy them anyway!

Francine inspected all

the geegaws, trinkets,

baubles, bric-a-brac,

knick knacks, and

gimcracks, wondering

whether they would

be any use for her

dressing up box.

Coffee and cake, with some shopping for jewellery, bric-a-brac, plants, books

and greetings cards thrown in - what could be better for a Monday morning on

a very cold March day.

As always, the cake stall was popular and the ladies excelled themselves with

some scrumptious baking. The card stall did well too, with lots of sales even

before the doors were opened.

The putting was very popular and made a good amount of money, this year

without Roly Hewitt and David Jones participating! In previous years these

two chaps had several "goes" to improve on their previous attempts. Anne

Harrison was the putter of the day with a staggering 200 points. How did she

do that?

Catering for the golfers’ competitive spirit there

was a well stocked Tombola and a raffle, and a

"guess the weight of the cake” contest. Anne

Harrison won the guess the weight competition as

well and needed help to take home all her prizes

and purchases.

But surely award winning super saleswoman

Francine’s BOGOFs were the star of the show,

and something to behold. Any purchaser of bric-a -

brac received at least one free gift, whether they

liked it or not!

Lovely handmade cards by talented Teresa Hogg

and Audrey Jones brightened up the day.

Hail, Caesar

Men’s Aggregate Stableford, Saturday, 11th March, 2017

1st John Nolan & Steve Baldwin 73 pt

2nd Barry Johnson & Frank Forrester 71 pts 3rd Gary & Rick Evans 70 pts

Back of the 9th green looking far better 23 / 3 / 17

Top Dog, Finals Day, Sunday, 12th March, 2017

Top Dog Final—Winners—Gary Evans and Billy Whittaker 48 pts

2nd Mike Goodwin and Ryan Yates 46 pts cpo

3rd Paul Mellor and Joe Smith 46 pts

Qualifying League Winners

Dave Ball and Steve Brown, 48 points

Top Dog Competition of the Day

1st Conrad and Simon Tipping 46 pts

2nd Steve Sheils & Steve Cleary 45 pts

At the prize presentation Mr Captain paid tribute to all those who had

managed to play a total of 125 rounds between them, and many had been in

pretty awful conditions. Such is the Top Dog.

He also thanked our professional, Alex White, for ensuring its smooth running.

Mr Captain apologised for the change of date, particularly for Dave Ball who

had organised a trip to Australia to fit in with the final Sunday which was to

have been a week later. As can be seen above, Dave, and his partner, Steve

Brown, had been in pole position as Qualifying League Winners.

Three Lady Texas Scramble, Thursday, 16th March, 2017

1st Pauline Walker Maureen Codling Debs Kershaw 59.2

2nd Diane Houghton Sally Hebden Hilary Craven 60.3

3rd Pam Cunnington Jill Woolstencroft Christine Barber 61.4

Vets’ 3 Man Texas Scramble Medal, Friday, 17th March, 2017

1st Malcolm Booker Chris Broster Keith Selby 31

2nd Kevin Ogden Graham Evans Glyn Roberts 33

3rd Barry Johnson John Glynn Ian Bainbridge 34

Men’s Single Stableford, Saturday, 18th March, 2017

Masters’ Sweepstake

In preparing the sweepstake for

the Masters to be held at Augusta

from 6th to 9th April, 2017,

Graham Drabble is creating his

very own masterpiece with

painstaking precision.

When you go to place your bet

just take some time to admire his

handiwork!!

1st Ryan Yates 42 pts, 2nd Bradley Snape 41 pts, 3rd Steve Kidd 40 pts.

Ryan had 2 birdies and 9 pars for an outstanding round

Clearing the Back Pond—Still, 16th March, 2017

One more push next week will see the pennywort vanquished. For the time

being!!! Bless H.M.S. Penny and all who sail in her.

The Size of the Task

Captain Bligh Hogg sets forth

in H.M.S. Penny

Steve, chopper in hand, sets to work

slashing through the pennywort to allow

it to be dragged to shore.

The backbreaking work of landing

the pennywort onto the side

allowing pond life to slide back in.

1 2

4

3

5

6

Ladies’ Winter League Winners

The winner, with an aggregate of 20.33,

Lady Captain, Irene Barrow

2nd: Audrey Jones, aggregate of 20.17 3rd: Jacquie Purcer, aggregate of 19.5

Back pond clear of pennywort—30/03/2017

Ladies’ Spring Meeting, 23rd March, 2017

This competition was foursomes, a fitting format for the very windy and wet

underfoot conditions. Some of the greens were temporary and difficult but obviously

Rebecca and Pauline didn’t struggle with a score of 30 points over 12 holes.

The sandwiches and chips went down well and it was good for all to eat together for a

change. Here’s hoping that new lady members, Joan Mellor and Sylvia Lawton,

enjoyed the day.

The winners with a great score of 30

points, Rebecca Byle and Sally Hebden 2nd: Diane Houghton and Pauline

Walker with 25 points

3rd: Jacquie Purcer and Gill Walker

with 24 points

Men’s March Monthly Medal, Saturday, 25th March, 2017

Division One

Division 2

Division 3

1st Phil Roberts 74-6=68 2nd Joe Smith 77-7=70 3rd Pete Kimber 80-9=71

1st Ryan Yates 84-17=67 2nd Phil Hart 85-17=68 3rd John Barber 79-11=68

1st Steve Brown 85-21=64 2nd Simon Tipping 88-19=69 3rd Nick Gorman 93-21=72

The Captains’ Drive In, Sunday, 26th March, 2017

What a glorious day to begin the season. Glyn Roberts, Vice Captain, welcomed

the crowds to the Captains’ Drive In. He then introduced each of the

participants in glowing terms and the champagne certainly helped.

Our confident and assured captain, Steve Harrison, hit a corker of a drive and

was greeted with loud cheers. Our confident and assured President, John

Glynn, stuffed it. This was met with groans. Junior Captain, Clark Thompson,

lithe and athletic, bent like a bow to arrow his drive away to frenzied cheers

from all his family (plus the crowd!) And Lady Captain, Barbara Leith, elegant

and professional, calmly tonked the ball straight down the middle. A

triumphant punch of Barbara’s fist acknowledged the applause. Three of the

participants marched triumphantly away whilst one little figure tried to

disappear into the shadows.

Clark Thompson

Oh to be young!!

Clark Thompson Steve Harrison Barbara Leith John Glynn

Junior Captain Captain Lady Captain President

Graham Drabble tries to console Mr Prez

as he displays his headless driver, broken

when practising in the swing room. Alex

White kindly provided another driver!!

What a pity Mr Prez messed up with it!!

Winners—Front 9

1st Derek and Janet Worthington 24 pts 2nd Steve Kidd Graham Couser 22 pts

Winners—back 9

1st Dave Ball Pam Cunnington 22 pts 2nd Elsie Heyward Roger Ashworth 21 pts

2’s Competition—only one two

Winner - Mark Jones

Sum Total of Drives 550 yards

Winner - El Presidente—

John Glynn

Very suspicious!!

John Ollerenshaw wishes the

president a good season.

Cheers!

Concentration. Head down!

There was a bigger crowd for our Club’s Drive In than for President Trump’s

inauguration, although he is challenging this statement.

Ladies’ Bisque Bogey, Thursday, 30th March, 2017 (Bisque Bogey—you choose at which holes to use as much of your handicap as you wish.)

1st Irene Barrow 8 up 2nd LVC Alison Reed 6 up 3rd Bernadette Draper 6 up

What a score for Irene! One does feel a bit for Alison and Bernadette who both

thought they had won with such good scores and then Bernadette comes 3rd on

a CPO. Such is golf.

Vets’ 9 Hole Stableford, Friday, 31st March, 2017

1st Geoff Higgins 18 pts 2nd Kevin Ogden 16 pts 3rd Ian Bainbridge 16 pts

Terry Corfield, 21st September, 1932 - 7th March, 2017

The funeral took place on Friday, 24th

March at Dukinfield Crematorium of that

wonderful man, Terry Corfield. He had

been married to Ingrid for 58 years. Terry

will always be remembered for his military

bearing which is no surprise as he was in

the Royal Engineers for 24 years and ended

as a WO11.

Terry was loving, caring, punctual and

organised. He loved life and was a true

gentleman.

The last time your editor played with Terry

he remembers being at the par 3 15th. “I

love this hole,” said Terry, “ as I can reach

it with my driver.” At the time his handicap

was 24.

In a moving eulogy his son, Michael, talked

about the battle between himself and his

father to be the better golfer, with Michael

being off 7 and Terry off 8. He could play

golf!! In 1981 Terry was Captain of

Houldsworth Golf Club. He ran the Junior

Section for quite some time and certainly

showed them the way ahead.

Michael lef t the

congregation with a

wonderful vision of

Terry when he finished

his eulogy with, “I can

see him now, up in

heaven, enjoying a

couple of pints in the

Sergeants’ Mess !”

On the left, a Ken

Clapp original

LADY CAPTAIN - 2016

Being Lady Captain of RGC has been both a privilege and an honour and I

cannot thank everyone enough for all the support and encouragement I have

received throughout my Captaincy.

I have been so lucky (the ladies will agree no doubt) that the weather was really

good for all our major golf competitions throughout the year. My Lady

Captain’s Day was fantastic and I cannot thank everyone enough for making

the day so memorable for me. I really was overwhelmed with all the cards,

gifts, flowers and good wishes. I have been fortunate also that our new

caterers, Ken and Pam Turney, have been a real asset and have served up some

wonderful meals at our prize presentation evenings.

The Ladies' Committee do a great job and work hard behind the scenes to

ensure that our section runs as smoothly as possible and I must say a special

thank you to my Vice-Captain, Barbara Leith, for her unwavering support.

Thank you must also go to Alex, Graham, and latterly Mathew, for all their

helpfulness and patience and the Greens, Mike Moore and his staff and Peter

Milnes, who again have been very willing to help me out, which has been much

appreciated.

I also must especially thank everyone in the office, Charles, Tom and Gill –

nothing has been too much trouble.

Mr Captain and I have had a joint charity this year, the Alzheimer’s Society.

The generosity of the Club members has been wonderful. Our charity and golf

competition day in September was really well attended and to date we have

raised over £5k. We will be announcing the final total shortly and will then

present the cheque to the charity representative.

Thank you to both Mr Captain and Mr President

for their continuing support.

It goes without saying that your year of office goes

very quickly and I have genuinely enjoyed it.

However, I couldn’t have done it without the

support throughout the year of my other half,

Bill. He has been fantastic and he has enjoyed

meeting the ladies when he was “on duty” in the

half way house!

My very best wishes go to the incoming Captains,

Barbara Leith and Steve Harrison, and to John

Glynn, our new President, and Junior Captain,

Clark Thompson. I truly hope they all have a

successful 2017/18.

Editorial Team

John Glynn (not scrubbed up) Audrey Jones Phil Roberts

John Glynn Clark Thompson President Junior Captain 2017 / 2018