HARRY BRINDLEY CHARITY EVENT

Please click here to view details on this very special event.  

LOTS OF LAUGHS IN PRO / CAPTAIN CHALLENGE MATCH

Last Friday saw one of the Club's most popular double acts take on the Professional and the Captain in aid of the Captain's Charity. Due to an injury to the Captain, Trevor Eccleston the Club's Vice Captain was called upon to provide Greg with the support necessary to ensure a return to winning ways following last week's massive 5 & 4 defeat at the hands of Rob Taylor and Rob Thompson. The pairing of Dave Griffiths (h'cap 16) and Adrian Briggs (h'cap 13) were confident of victory and the banter started even before the first ball had been hit. When I asked "Griff" what he expected from the match he replied "Good craic, good bit of banter and raise a bit of money for The Captain's Charity. Whatever happens we will have a couple of drinks after".

The 1st tee shots were played in a cacophony of sound and all 4 players hit good solid drives down the middle. The Pro nailed his to within 10 yards of the green and had "birdie" stamped all over it raising the pressure on the challengers. Anyway, after they had all played their second shots the green still had not had a ball land on it or even touch its surface. Adrian scrambled a 5 after being tangled up in a tree which meant that Greg required an up-and-down to take the early lead. His chip managed to roll to 3 feet but the goodwill had disappeared now and Griff wanted to see how the Pro's nerve would hold. It did and the Pro/ Vice Captain were 1 up going to the 2nd. Once again Adrian had "tree problems" and checked his golf bag for a saw. He wasn't to be affected and played a good shot out safely on to the fairway. Griff's drive was dead centre of the 2nd fairway. A good straight hit onto the left of the green looked as if he would be in a position to win the hole.

Unfortunately the ball was never found and a half was the result following a great 2nd shot from 185 yards from The Vice-Captain. The 3rd hole was only completed by the Pro and many shots were played by the Vice Captain and Griff. Greg saw this as an opportunity to advise his playing partners that lessons with the Professional can be booked at the Pro shop, and that the "new wedges" are more forgiving than the older ones. Griff asked if all lessons had "a money back guarantee?" Score 2 up to the Pro / Vice Captain.

The 4th was won when Greg holed from 15 feet for a birdie 2 to move his team to 3 up and firmly in control. With the next 3 holes halved in pars it looked as if the opponents had "settled down" and were now in a position to mount a serious challenge. This was confirmed when Adrian managed a 4 Nett 3 on the 8th to reduce the deficit back to 2 down. With the 9th also halved the score remained at 2up for the Pro /Vice Captain going into the back 9.

After a series of decent drives up the 10th the Pro found himself 210 yards from the green in the semi rough on the right-hand side of the fairway. We stood around trying to decide for ourselves Greg's options. Would he safely chip out to leave himself a wedge in or would he be able to conjure something up? "He needs a low, cutting shot with some run on it, but I don't think that he will go for it" were the feelings of the Captain. What we witnessed next was the reason that we are proud to have Greg as our Pro. He hit a low cutting shot with his rescue that pitched 20 yards short of the green but it continued to roll along its intended path to leave himself a 6 foot putt for an eagle 3. His putt went dead centre and never looked in doubt. "Brilliant" was the opinion of the onlookers, "very nice to see" said Adrian. "That was the first eagle in seven Pro /Captain Challenge matches, well done Pro" said the Captain as he put his arm around his former playing partner.

The 11th saw Trevor Eccleston providing a touch of brilliance when he chipped to 10 feet and holed his snaking putt for a 3 Nett 2 for the half to maintain their 3 up lead. The 12th was halved after both Adrian and the Pro missed their birdie putts and the 13th once again saw The Vice-Captain produce a master class on bunker play. He played a stupendous bunker shot from out of the right hand trap which resulted in a 3 Nett 2 to move his partnership with the Pro to 4 up with 5 to play. Adrian continued to play well under intense pressure and secured a 4 Nett 3 to reduce to deficit once again. The door was just about open but when Greg managed to 3 putt on the 15th the game was still alive as they proceeded down the 16th. In all of the previous Challenge matches the Pro had always managed to birdie this testing par 5. Good drives were necessary and Greg smashed his miles down the fairway. On reaching his ball his Bushnell indicated that he only had 128 yards to the pin for his 2nd shot. He duly placed it on to the green and 2 putted for his birdie and a win. The final score of 4 & 2 was a fair result overall, after the challengers struggled to get back into the game after a bad start. "Greg's score of 3 under gross was a privilege to see but he was well supported by the Vice Captain" said the Captain. He continued "Threes are always difficult on 9, 11 and 13 and Trevor got them to keep their opponents at bay".

At the start Dave Griffiths stated what he was expecting from the match and I thought that it would be interesting to hear his comments at the conclusion of the match. "It was great. I didn't play well today but that's golf. I have enjoyed it and the Pro is very good isn't he?" He certainly is!!!!! 
The day's entertainment was discussed by all players over several drinks on the patio. The craic had been good, there had been a bit of banter and the Charity was £20 better off. "Let's do it again later in the year, when I hit some form" Griff said. You should have seen the look on his playing partner's face when he said it. 

The Captain would like to thank the challengers for supporting the Captain's Charity and would like to congratulate his Vice Captain on his performance. If any member would like to challenge the Pro / Captain and support "Wheelchairs for Horton Lodge and the Ronald McDonald Charities" please arrange a date and time with Jake in the Professional's shop, and he is sure that you will "enjoy the experience".

LEEK v NEWCASTLE - MIXED MATCH

On Easter Sunday we welcomed a mixed team from Newcastle Golf Club for the first friendly match of the season, and it was a pleasure to see the event well supported with ten couples from each club.

The weather threatened to put a dampener on the occasion, but we all managed to get round without getting wet, although the wind was gusty and nearly always against us.

As is tradition, the Captain Dave Gallimore and the Lady Captain Karen Griffiths led the field out and played against Newcastle's Lady Captain and her husband, Karen and Mark Sutton. A close match was expected as we were well matched in respect of handicaps and this proved to be the case. The ladies were demonstrating an excellent touch around the greens and inevitably it was the ladies who were providing the gents with a golfing master class. The first nine holes were keenly contested and the scores were level walking up the tenth but it was at this juncture that the Lady Captain decided to activate the turbo chargers. Up to this point the gentlemen had done a fine job marking the card!

Leek's Lady Captain Karen Griffiths, then played some inspired golf which resulted in a run of pars (Nett birdies) at the tenth, twelfth and thirteenth holes (never before heard of) to take a decisive lead. The Lady Captain eventually received some support from the Club's Captain when he managed to par the fifteenth to win the match five and three.

First in the club house we counted our team in, recording a resounding 7 ½ - 2 ½ win.

"Whilst it's nice to win, the social gathering at the end of the day is as enjoyable as playing the golf and many new friendships have been made over the years. I only got into mixed golf last year and now I love it. I would recommend it to everyone" said the Captain before planting a kiss on the cheek of his playing partner. 

The Lady Captain would like to thank the successful Leek team for choosing to spend their Easter Sunday amongst friends, and particularly Paul and Wendy Marriott for joining us at very short notice. Team Members were Dave Griffiths & Lyn Ball, Lincoln & Marilyn Boulton, Peter & Jenny Cordon, David & Ursula Smith, Nick Wittich & Janet Wood, Andy & Jayne Baxter, Mike & Maria Wootton, Syd Birch & Nora Boulton.

We look forward to welcoming a team from Trentham Park on Friday 30th May.

Thursday Extra Medal - 17/04/2014

1st Division
John Moss 
Gross 78 Nett 73

2nd Division
Pete Wain 
Gross 87 Nett 72

3rd Division
Bob Russell 
Gross 86 Nett 69

4th Division
Martin Massey 
Gross 101 Nett 74

Sunday Pro's Comp

1st Place
Ian Beeson, Dave Bradbury, Peter Robinson and Doug Molloy- 97 Points

2nd Place
Phil Davies, Simon Nadin, Dan Smart and Matt Lancaster- 90 Points

Saturday 26th - Leek 2nd Team v Lakeside - 1:30 - 2:30pm

Sunday 27th - April/RNLI Medal

Tuesday 29th - February Medal - Ladies

Wednesday 30th - The Swan Golf Society - 10:00 - 11:00am

Thursday 1st - Leek v Trentham Park - Ladies - 10:30 - 11:00am
- Leek v Stone - Seniors - Away

Friday 2nd - Holmes Chapel Golf Society - 10:30 - 11:00am & 1:30 - 2:00pm

Saturday 3rd - May Medal - Juniors - 9:15 - 10:15am
- Captain v Vice-Captain - 11:00 - 12:30pm
- Leek 2nd Team v Wolstanton - 1:30 - 2:30pm

Sunday 4th - May Medal & Veterans' Cup (Over 55) 
- SLCGA County 1st Team v 2nd Team 3:30 - 4:15pm 

LEEK PRO AM MAIN SPONSOR SECURED

We would like to thank one of our members - Neil Adams from Quality Golf Destinations for kindly becoming a Main Sponsor of the Pro Am event on 7th August.

Neil pictured right with Our Professional commented:

"This is a fantastic opportunity for us at Quality Golf Destinations to support this prestigious events and we look forward to working closely with the club in the future".