Ron Harrison –Cheshire County Team Captain

Romiley Golf Club
Newsletter, February, 2011
Annette Broadhurst, Lady Captain 2009-2010
Annette has donated a generous gift of £5000 with her wishes that the money must only
be used for work on the course. Barry will liaise with Peter Milnes to ensure Annette‟s
express wishes are carried out to improve Romiley Golf Course for the benefit of the
members. The Club is very grateful for Annette‟s generosity – she will always be missed
by many members for her cheerful and helpful disposition over the 27 years of her
membership at Romiley.
Jubilant Nick Madden and Luke Williamson who have raised over £2000 for the
Christie having completed 81 holes from dawn to dusk October, 2010. They
averaged two and a quarter hours for each round. Luke and Nick would like to
thank all their caddies without whom it would have been mission impossible.
Bonanza Competition, Saturday, 5th February, 2011
For some reason or another, this competition was called off.
The Rules of Golf
Under what circumstance do you call a penalty on yourself and when do you ignore it,
because it does not seem to be relevant?
You Cannot Declare Your Ball Lost!
A common area of confusion amongst golfers; but believe me, nothing a player says will
render their ball lost.
Drop Within One or Two Club-lengths?
There is an easy way to remember whether you may drop within one club-length or two
club-lengths.
Golfers With iPhones Risk Disqualification
Did you know that you may not use an iPhone app to measure distances even if there is a
Local Rule permitting distance measuring devices.
This subscription link is free! http://forms.aweber.com/form/80/425590380.htm
When registered you receive a weekly e-mail highlighting a specific rule, with a picture
to facilitate ease of understanding, followed by questions and answers.
I print them off each week and they can be found by the bar at the Club in the folder
“Rhodes Rules School”.
Colin Hall, contributor
Ladies 14 Hole Stableford, February 3rd, 2011
Winner 1st (div) Liz Wilde 17 25pts
Winner 2nd (div) Teresa Hogg 31pts.
What a difference the shortened 6th & 7th make to the scores. It certainly helped Teresa
when she had a birdie on the 6th for 5 points.
First 9 holes, Yellow Ball Stableford Team of three. February 10 th, 2011
With Teresa hogging the limelight with a second win on the trot, cunning play from Pam
and Lesley willing them on….. how could they lose!
Winners Teresa Hogg
Pamela Cunnington
Lesley Williams
65pts
Men’s Canadian Foursomes, Saturday, 12th February, 2011
Winners: Paul Wagstaff and Nick Gorman
35 pts (back 3 card play off with 9pts)
Phil Gratrix ponders on his slice
When your editor asked to take their photo at the end of their round Nick got down on his
knees to prostrate himself before the Mighty One and then began to extol Paul‟s
excellence. Just previous to this your editor had been on the practice putting green when a
shout of “Fore” resounded around the clubhouse. Phil Gratrix, handicap 6, sent the ball
whizzing past my head for it to clatter into the pro‟s shop and rebound back into the
bushes. He told me that it was an horrendous slice when I kindly returned his ball.
Andrew Rexstraw inquired politely whether they would be taking his shot into the green.
2nd: Keith Selby and John Walker 35 pts (back 3 card play off with 8pts)
Valentine’s Dinner
Who said romance was dead? Not a bit of it on Saturday 12th February, 2011 at RGC
Valentine‟s meal and disco. Hearts were everywhere, from floor to ceiling, on the tables,
on the plates and in the
glasses. Heart shaped
meringue and shortbread may
not have tasted better but they
certainly raised a smile. The
fillet steak wasn‟t to shape, nor
the chicken, but the prawns
made an effort and Heather
excelled herself, again, with a
delicious hot buffet which was
relished by all.
His and Hers exceptionally
good Valentine‟s crackers
made quite an impact. All the
ladies immediately wore their
lovely bracelet and the gentlemen searched for their shirt sleeves to wear their cufflinks.
Derek Worthington, Mr. Vice Captain Elect was on the brink of pulling a ladies‟ cracker
and almost won a bracelet, but thankfully the table-laying error was spotted and quickly
rectified, much to Derek‟s relief. Helping yourself to unlimited coffee at the end of the
meal was very welcome. Mr. Captain thought it would be great to extend the self-service
idea to the champagne at the start of the meal; he lives in hope.
The music by Lee Knight, with his abundance of state-of-the-art-equipment, was 60s and
70s, targeted just right for his audience. Feet couldn‟t help but tap and no-one could
resist singing along. Another excellent event at the 19th, and thanks go to Debbie
Costello for creating such a lovely atmosphere. It‟s definitely the details that make the
difference.
Ken and Barbara Wykes Jeff and Anne Knott Shirley and Dave Jackson
Phil and Lynn Schofield
Audrey Jones, author
Glenys and Tony Hunt
Team of 3, Stableford. February 17th, 2011
2 Scores to count, but all scores to count on par 5's.
Audrey said, “Angela and Beryl played so well it was difficult for me to get on the card.
Thankfully I managed to contribute when it mattered so we were a good team. We‟re
delighted to have won.”
Winners Beryl Reade
Runners up Elsie Hayward
Audrey Jones
Angela Slate
Liz Goddard
Margaret Berry 39pts.
43pts
4 ball Better Ball, Saturday, 19th February, 2011
On returning from a skiing holiday with Danny, Graeme commented, “I think that we
both played well and managed to avoid any really bad holes. It seemed to be one of those
days that all the putts dropped. If one of us had a bad hole then the other played it well.”
Winners - Danny Pearson and Graeme Nuttall with 35 points
2nd – Peter Milnes & Steve Harrison 34 pts
Vets on the Rampage?
Alan Whitehead, Mike Wilson, Keith Selby Eric Jones
Ken Jackson
Murray Padkin Peter Cooke
These pictures were taken just before they all started singing, “Hi ho! Hi, ho!”
Yes! There was a chainsaw massacre but it was the area to the right of the back tee on the
fourteenth hole. This working party of venerable vets made happy work of clearing this
area. Each week a party of vets will continue its good work around the course.
The Compressor
Work continues!
1st Nine Waltz, Stableford (February 24th, 2011)
Your editor was prescient once again when he photographed the three ladies before
they started the competition. When they finished Angela said, “Well that score won‟t be
good enough!” Wrong. Margaret can claim that, as she has helped both Lynn and Angela
to become better golfers over the years, she was the architect of the victory.
Winners Margaret Berry Lynn Schofield
Angela Slate 36pts
Runners up Teresa Hogg, Francine Walburn and Marjorie Healey 35pts
The Three Amigos
Derek Clarkin, Jack Edmondson Jack Holt
Your editor met Derek and the two Jacks as they strolled off the 18 th green at 9.30 a.m.
Their aggregate age is 243 years. It just goes to show that golf is the elixir of life.
RGC Quiz Night 17th February, 2011
The most recent quiz evening was another successful and enjoyable event. 17 teams
assembled. Most of these teams had re-entered despite the ever-present threat of more of
Andrew Cainen's anecdotes about his unusual collection of acquaintances. For example,
he told of the man who struggled to keep his car between the white lines in Morrison's car
park. He was diagnosed as suffering from Parkin' zones disease! There were markedly
less of these, this time. Dare we hope that he has finally exhausted his supply?
The quiz provided the usual wide-ranging test of the contestants' collective general
knowledge. This time, among others, there were rounds on cookery, ships, threesomes, a
music round based on the work of the recently deceased John Barry and another 4 sets of
connections to unravel. The midway interval allowed time for over-heated brains to cool
down while refreshments were served and consumed.
At the end of the evening, the winning team was Staggers, and contained faces familiar
in RGC quizzing circles. There was desultory clapping as Glenn Casely, Peter Howcroft
and Derek and Janet Worthington collected the winners‟ prize. Runners-up were named
Exit because they were sitting adjacent to the Exit sign on the door. Thank goodness they
weren't sitting near the Ladies! Their achievement was all the more praiseworthy as the
team consisted of only three members.
The club Captain, Mr. Alan Costello, after the final quiz of his year in office, thanked
Andrew for his efforts and it was suggested that there may be an extra quiz before the
autumn.
Glenn Casely
Peter Howcroft
Derek and Janet Worthington
Keith Selby, author
A new member of the Greens Staff
James Michael Moore 5lb 13 oz
Congratulations to Mike Moore, our deputy head Greenkeeper on the birth of his first
child.
ROMILEY GOLF CLUB
Ladies‟ Taster Membership
Membership for
3 months
INCLUDING
5 INDIVIDUAL LESSONS
£99
Romiley Golf Club is expanding its female
membership and is offering to ladies and
girls a special 3 month taster membership,
including 5 lessons with the professional.
Equipment will be made available if
required.
The offer is open to ladies at all levels of ability, even those who have never before held a
golf club, and includes full access to the course and the practice area, not forgetting the
many and varied social activities in the clubhouse.
Come and enjoy our beautiful course. You‟ll be made to feel very welcome.
Contact Diane or Tom: 0161 430 2392 or Professional: 0161 430 7122
office@romileygolfclub.org
ZUMBA FITNESS MASTER CLASS – A TASTER LESSON
FRIDAY MARCH 18TH AT 8.00 PM - TICKETS £3.00
A new and exciting first for Romiley Golf Club.
Zumba Fitness is one of the fastest growing Latin- inspired dance fitness classes that
incorporates Latin and International Music and Dance movements.
Sarah Cresswell, a Professional Dance Instructor and qualified Zumba teacher will be
giving a 45 minute taster lesson at the much reduced cost of £3.00.
The number of tickets is very limited for this first of what we hope will be many classes
in the future. We are accepting a maximum of 35 people for this Master Class. It is going
to be very popular so book early to avoid disappointment.
You should wear comfortable clothing and trainers or soft shoes, you will also need to
make Sarah aware of any illness or injury before the class starts. Please
arrive well before the lesson begins if you do have anything to tell her.There may well be
a chance of organising further classes in the future. If you are interested and cannot
obtain a ticket for this class you will be offered priority booking next time. Please put
your name on the bottom of the list to be notified early.
A Booking form is on the social notice board.
Forthcoming Events at Romiley Golf Club
Friday, 18th March – Zumba Fitness Taster class
Friday, 25th March – Annual General meeting at the club
Sunday, 27th March – Captain‟s Drive and Brunch – Come and watch your new Captain,
Lady Captain, President and Junior Captain hit their first shots. This will be followed by
a 9 hole competition.
Sunday, 3rd April – Mothers‟ Day Lunches. You can book now either with Heather direct
or at the bar.
Friday, April 15th - By popular demand an extra quiz night with our host, Andrew
Cainen. Just £1 a head entry fee and food will be available.
Tuesday, April 19th FIZZ Fashion Show
Friday, 22nd April – Good Friday Fish Dinner
Saturday, 23rd April – St. George‟s Day Dinner
Easter Sunday, 24th April – Easter Sunday Lunches. You can book now either with
Heather or at the bar.
Go on the web site to look at the menus for the meals.
Gentlemen’s Dinner, Friday 25th February, 2011
As we reach the end of each Captain‟s tenure his last official function is to host the
Sportsmans‟ Dinner. This year was no different and with the current Vice Captain acting
as master of ceremonies a fantastic night was had by all those who attended.
It was a pleasure to welcome guests from both Bramall Park GC and St. Anne‟s Old
links, both regular adversaries and all attendees, guests and members alike, were royally
entertained by the extraordinary Billy Flywheel.
Using a combination of close up table-top magic before the meal and comedy and larger
magic tricks after dinner with the help of both Mr. Captain and Ray „Debbie McGhee‟
Hayes he completely enthralled the large audience.
The look on Ray‟s face as he peeled a banana to discover his wedding ring that he had
handed over 10 minutes before was memorable but was trumped only a few minutes later
as Mark Kitchen succumbed to hypnotism and had electric shocks coming through his
chair and got his hands stuck to his head!!
Some say only the intelligent are susceptible to hypnotism but Billy with the help of
Mark managed to disprove this theory and those who were there to watch it went away
with some great memories of a fantastic night.
Mr. Captain with guests Tom Parson and Stuart Wells from St. Anne’s Old Course
Mike Booth
Geoff Higgins Bob Stirling
Glenn Casely Derek Worthington Phil Barwick
Harry Parker Al Martin Nick Bailey Duncan Challen
Billy Flywheel and Ian Smith, Mr. Vice
Martin Thompson, Mr. President, Dave Heyward
Kitch was quite shocked by the evening’s entertainment.
Glenn Casely, Author
Photos by Mike Cope
Texas Scramble, 14 holes, Saturday, 26th February, 2011
For the first time people can remember there were JOINT WINNERS for this
competition both with 42.8.
Matt Reid Ray Hayes
Mark Worsley
Jim Reid
All four in this team played really well and were delighted to be joint winners. They are
hoping to be presented with lamb shanks.
……………. ( Joint winners).
Winners: Simon Hebden
Kevin Jones Graham Couser Richard Senogles
As can be seen Kevin and Graham were soooo pleased to be winners. They claim it was
solely down to their excellent play and that Simon and Richard may have contributed but
they could not remember. In truth, it was the “stealth” plan that came in to force. The
fourth member of the usual team, Colin Davies, had emigrated back to Wales to watch
some middling rugby match. Bringing Richard into the team gave then the valuable extra
handicap that just made the difference.
Cheshire County Golf
When you scan our Winners‟ Boards two names keep repeating; Chris Harrison and Ron
Harrison. Many people have given of their time, expertise and energy to Romiley Golf
Club; members depend on it. Ron has done that in the past but for the last eight years he
has devoted his time to the Cheshire executive and has progressed from "new boy" on
Juniors and Selections Committees to B Team manager and then to Chairman of
Selectors. Ron took on the County Captain role to help manage some changes in terms of
team behaviour and performance. He re-intoduced an updated version of the players‟
code of conduct and persuaded the players and Executive to buy into a Team Cheshire
ethos. County kit was upgraded and the preparation for Northern league matches became
more structured and focused. After 3 years there is an established and very strong team
ethic. The players understand their part in "representing the County.”
This time has provided Ron with a whole host of memories. Special places such as Royal
Liverpool, Ganton and the wettest and windiest place ever; Castletown in the Isle Of
Man.
The best day ever had to be when Cheshire beat Lancashire at Sandiway in the first game
of the Northern League in 2009 when Lancashire had 5 England Internationals in a team
of twelve whose combined handicap was plus 30 !!
Ron is now handing over to David Peel from Stockport, a long standing County player
and past County Champion. Ron has taken over the Chairmanship of the Seniors from the
newly elected President (Roger Fielding). The Senior Team has been amazingly
successful at National level in the past six years getting to five EGU County finals and
winning three of them. The EGU has now formalised regional leagues for Seniors so
2011 will be an exciting year as matches will be played for real honours. On the other
hand Ron commented that the friendlies were never THAT friendly! It‟s good for our
club to have Ron representing us at County level.
Ron Harrison
Ladies’ Mail On Sunday Match versus Mellor, Sunday, 27th February, 2011
ROMILEY LADIES SUCCESS!
Congratulations to the ladies who played in the Mail on Sunday match vs Mellor &
Townscliffe on Sunday 27th February, 2011. Despite an extremely soggy course due to
the heavy rain early in the morning, it did not deter extremely good golf. The result was a
resounding win of 4 / 1 and Romiley are now through to the 3rd Round of the
competition.
Lady Captain
Pauline Walker Denise Booth
Linda Moore Astrid Ceelen
Diane Houghton
Irene Barrow
Irene Barrow, contributor and match organizer
PARKING
The club has received several complaints about the quality of parking on Saturday
February 19th. We are all well aware that there is insufficient parking space to
accommodate all vehicles on busy competition days. Will members please show
consideration to fellow competitors when parking their vehicles and ensure they do not
block exit or access routes.
Thank you for your co-operation
BAR PRICES – THE BAD NEWS
Unfortunately the club has been hit since the middle of January by a number of price
increases on all types of drinks from our main suppliers.
We have held on as long as we can until the old stocks ran out. During the next week or
so we shall be applying these increases on all products sold. These price rises are
substantial on several brands, particularly when we take into account the new VAT rate
of 20%. We assure you we shall be keeping the increases down to a minimum to ensure
we remain as competitive as possible and give the best value we can to our Members and
guests.
Currently, we are looking to re-negotiate where we can and any savings in the future will
result in a price reduction.
P A Royle
House Director
February 2011
Romiley Young Farmers Show
For some time now our golf club have been in negotiations with Romiley Young Farmers
for the use of our land on which to hold their show. The following is a press release from
the Young Farmers.
Romiley Show is Coming Home
Romiley Young Farmers Show has a new home following an 18-month search when the
future of the agricultural show had been in doubt. An agreement has been reached to hold
the 2011 event on 34 acres of farmland belonging to Romiley Golf Club and adjoining
the picturesque Cheshire course.
The show, which will take place on Sunday, September 4th, will have many of the
attractions which have made it so popular during its 58-year existence.
Show Secretary Elaine Taylor said: “We are pleased to have found a new venue after an
18-month search when the future of the show had been in doubt.
“We are grateful to Romiley Golf Club officials for offering their land and it‟s all
systems go to organise this year‟s show.
“We have decided, however, that this year‟s event will be held on one day instead of the
usual two due to the problems of recent years.”
Peter Milnes, Greens and Land Director, added: “We are delighted that Romiley Show is
coming home. After being held in Bredbury for many years, it is great Romiley Show
will be staged only a couple of hundred yards from where its long-standing home was.”
Though Romiley Golf Club will be the tenth venue at which Romiley Show will have
been held since it was established in 1943, the Rydeacre showfield opposite the golf club
was home for 26 years. Romiley Show has had a difficult recent past as the 2007 event
was a complete washout while the 2008 and 2009 events had to be abandoned through
deluges. That caused huge financial losses and to make matters worse they then lost their
home at Waterside Farm, Bredbury. Those two factors caused the cancellation of the
2010 event as show organisers set about finding a new venue and also held fund-raising
activities to improve their finances.
John Glynn, Editor
The new 18th tee certainly looks top class in this photo taken on 1st March, 2011.
A taste of the season ahead.
14th