PROFESSIONAL’S DAY 2014
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members for their fantastic support on my Professionals Day, and I hope everybody enjoyed the day.
Congratulations to all prize winners and the LUCKY ones who managed to beat me on the 11th (I do have to let some people win).
I would like to say a special thank you to Mr Captain for running the putting competition and his and his wife Jackie who alongside my wife Lorna kindly helped in the millennium pavilion throughout the whole day, also to Jake for being his usual helpful self, without their help the day wouldn’t have run so smoothly.
Overall Winner
Bill Hurst 40 Points
- 1 Night & 2 Rounds of Golf at Selected Courses for 2 people
1st Division
1st Place - Mark Shea 39 Points
- Galvin Green Brett Wind Stopper
2nd Place - Terry Sheldon 39 Points
- Titleist SM5 Vokey Wedge
3rd Place - Ian Beeson 38 Points
- Footjoy HydroLite Shoes
2nd Division
1st Place - Gary Kimberley 38 Points
- Galvin Green Brett Wind Stopper
2nd Place - Phil Sheldon 37 Points
- Titleist SM5 Vokey Wedge
3rd Place - John Gilson 37 Points
- Footjoy HydroLite Shoes
Ladies
1st Place - Gill Damjanovic 44 Points
- PING Ladies Serene Bag
Nearest the Pin Winners
4th - Geoff Lawrence
9th - Karen Griffiths
13th - Clive Mellor
17th - Mark Shea
- Titleist NXT Tour Golf Balls
If you haven’t collect your prize please call into the Pro-Shop.
11th Hole Pro’s Challenge Winners
Ian Pugh John Gilson Andy Guy
Ken Ratcliffe Dennis Vincent Steve Spooner
Howard Rigby Andy Foxhall John Tatton
Spencer Henson Andy Leese Alan Yeomans
Alex Bamford Chris Lilley Leann Nixon
Tom Hodgkinson Nick Wittich Dave Twist
Nick Bowcock Ian Thorne Dave Smith (Endon)
PRO/CAPT CHALLENGED BY LADY CAPTAIN AND LADY VICE CAPTAIN
The Lady Captain Karen Griffiths and her Vice-Captain Jayne Baxter were this week’s opponents in the series of Pro/Captain Challenge matches. The weather conditions and the course were once again perfect and Karen was to receive 14 shots whilst Jayne was to receive 11 shots. All shots were to be taken from their individual stroke indexes.
With the Ladies losing the toss the Captain asked the Ladies to take the honour on the 1st tee and it was apparent from their opening drives that they were feeling a little nervous. Greg smashed his miles but missed the green to the right (it had a 5 written all over it) whilst Dave poked his short but in the middle of the fairway. Karen’s nerves soon settled when she hit a fantastic rescue onto the green and rolled the subsequent put to 4 feet. Dave managed a 4 but when Karen matched it for a 4 nett 3 a puzzled look appeared on Greg’s face. “How do you make that out”? When we had been educated we felt as if we had been mugged and proceeded to the 2nd hole 1 down.
The Pro/Captain team made amends on the 2nd when a par from Dave gave them a win to level the scores and the match score was further improved when Dave 2 putted for a 4 nett 3 on the 3rd to go 1 ahead.
All 4 players hit great tee shots into the 4th and with the Ladies not receiving any shots Greg was rubbing his hands in anticipation. Jayne went for her birdie first and hit the centre of the hole with a perfectly paced putt from 15 feet. “I don’t believe you’ve just done that” said Greg, but this was a sign of things to come now that the Ladies had settled down.
The 5th was a disaster for the agitated Pro/Captain’s team. Dave hit his drive OOB and Greg managed to 3 putt from nowhere to give the Ladies an easy win and move in to a 1 hole lead. “It was obvious to me that this was going to be a tough match and if we made any silly mistakes we would be in serious trouble” remarked the Captain at this point.
When Dave managed a birdie 4 on the par 5 sixth hole it allowed Greg a free putt for an eagle. Unfortunately he missed it by a fraction and Jayne holed out for a 5 nett 4 to secure a well-deserved half. Score remained at 1 up to the Ladies.
“At the 7th we fancied our chances because the Ladies hadn’t got any shots but then Jayne hit a great tee shot to 4 feet and we looked like going further behind” said Greg. Fortunately the hole was halved and we ran towards the next seeking some divine intervention.
The 8th and 9th holes were again halved and although some good golf was been played by all of the players the scoreboard remained unchanged. As previous readers know every one of these matches has a “Shot of the Day” competition and this is decided by all participants following a discussion in the 19th hole after the match. Jayne had already holed a lengthy putt on the 4th, hit a fantastic tee shot on the 7th and on the 9th she played a bunker shot that any Professional would have been proud of. We did not know at this time that Jayne would provide us with more options before the round was over.
The 10th saw our Lady Captain hit the green in regulation and ensure a 5 nett 4 to apply the pressure on Greg and Dave to get a birdie for a half. Dave failed to get up and down from the edge of the green but Greg managed to get up and down from the front bunker to remain 1 down in just about in touching distance. The Pro/Captain hit decent tee shots on the 11th and managed 3’s and it was left to Karen to 2 putt from above the hole for a half after Jayne had for once gone missing. Karen raced her putt 4 feet past and failed to hole the one back. “The scores were level for the first time since the 4th hole and we felt relieved to get back on equal terms with our worthy challengers”, said the Captain.
Things looked even more promising when the Ladies had not managed to get on the 12th in 2 and the Captain was just 10 feet away from the flag for a birdie 3. Karen then hit a decent chip to 20 feet from a very tricky downhill lie and knocked the putt in for a remarkable 4 nett 3. Dave needed to hole for a birdie and a half. He holed it and the scores remained level.
The 13th saw very good tee shots yet again but all players failed to convert their birdie chances and with the scores level (and the Captain about to receive shots over the next two holes) things were maybe swinging in favour of the Pro/Captain pairing (but nobody told Jayne and she was about to rewrite the script!!!!!!).
Dave’s drive found the bunker off the tee on the 14th and the Lady Captain took great delight in mentioning that “that bunker was only put in to catch the ladies”. Greg enjoyed that comment! Meanwhile the Ladies had hit great tee shots into the middle of the fairway (but we thought that they were too far back to reach the green). Jayne then hit a fairway wood right out of the middle and it rolled, and rolled, and rolled to 4 feet. This was duly converted for a 3 nett 2 and yet another entry in to the “Shot of the Day” competition. Ladies 1 up with 4 to play.
The Captain (seeking redemption) nailed his drive up the 15th and hit a solid 9 iron to 20 feet. This resulted in a win for the Pro/Captain pairing and the scores were once again level.
“The 16th has always been a good hole for Greg because he can easily reach it with his 2nd shot. With the Ladies once again receiving shots it was now a must” stated the Captain. Greg smashed his drive and followed it up with a wonderful 178 yard 8 iron to get on to the putting surface and the Ladies were on the fringes in 3. When the Ladies failed to get down in 2 Greg had now got the opportunity to win the hole if he could safely negotiate a putt from the back of the green. The first putt was 6 feet short of its intended target but his 2nd one hit the bottom of the hole. Score 1 up and 2 to play.
The 17th saw good drives up the middle of the fairway and Jayne was unlucky to run through the back of the green with her 2nd shot. Greg hit a good wedge to 15 feet and fancied his chances of back to back birdies. Jayne left her tricky downhiller well short and it looked like the best that the Ladies could do would be a 5 nett 4. Greg hit his putt with the confidence of a master putter and it found the centre of the hole and a birdie for an unassailable 2 hole lead with one to play. Victory by the skin of our teeth.
The result was a win for the Pro/Captain’s team by 2 & 1 but the scores were 8 under nett for the Ladies and 6 under nett for the gentlemen. All of the entries for the “Shot of the Day” were from the Ladies and Jayne’s second shot in to the 14th, which resulted in a gross birdie, was determined to be the best. In summing up the Captain says “The game was 
competitive and played in the right spirit but the standard of golf produced by the Ladies was as good as any played against us this year. I feel that the score flattered us and it would have been very nice if the Ladies had have won but Greg and I got very lucky today”.
If anyone would like to take part in the Pro/Captain’s Challenge matches please speak with Jake in the Pro Shop and he will arrange a date and time with you. All of the money raised goes to the Captain’s Charity and you also have a chance of winning a free round of golf for four people at Whittington Heath Golf Club.
LADIES FUNDRAISING EVENING
The ladies section held a successful Fund Raising evening on the 11th September. On arrival we were greeted with a glass of wine followed by various interesting stalls to browse around. The evening raised nearly £700. Here are a few photographs taken on the evening. Thank you to all the ladies who helped on 
the night and of course to all those who came and supported the event.
Ladies Section
THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF A BEGINNER – EPISODE 1
Hi, my name is Jackie Gallimore and on Monday I walked 18 holes with my husband Dave and had my 1st ever golf lesson with Greg Rogula at Leek Golf Club.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the gentle stroll that I had in mind around Leek Golf Course disappeared into the distance when Dave joined up with Ralph Harrison for a quick 10 holes. My first impressions were how far you were expected to hit the ball in order to get to the green and why are our lawns at home not like the greens?
“On the 2nd tee Jackie thought the hole was a very short one. She was actually facing the wrong way and looking at the 4th green” said husband Dave. “We were provided with more entertainment when Jackie asked Ralph what he was doing when he placed his golf ball in a green contraption approximately 4 feet high”. Ralph’s reply “This is for cleaning your balls” this left Jackie in a state of bemusement.
Whilst walking up the long 3rd I decided to provide a bit of education and mentioned that this hole was a par 4. This was further clarified and I said that you had 2 shots to reach the green and then you were allowed 2 putts to get the ball into the hole. Jackie commented “I thought you could have as many as you wanted?”
After Dave and Ralph had hit good drives down the 16th hole Ralph walked over to a bell and rang it. This puzzled me and so I asked why he had done it. This was explained to me and I said that I had heard a bell ringing a couple of times while we were walking around but couldn’t understand why you would want a bell on a golf course so I didn’t ask.
I really enjoyed the walk but didn’t really appreciate what was going on or even who was winning but it didn’t matter. Dave seemed to go in the sand a lot but he didn’t get upset about it and neither of them seemed too bothered about putting the ball in the hole.
When we finished we sat on the patio and had a bit of lunch and a drink. I enjoyed that and was quite surprised how far we had walked. Greg popped out of the shop and asked if I was ready for my lesson. We walked over to the shed and he said “have you hit a ball before” and I said “no take it that I am a complete novice”. He then showed me how to hold the club, what my stance should be and how I should swing. All I remember Greg saying all the time is “keep your left arm straight” and I said “if I hadn’t got any boobs that would be really easy Greg” to which Greg replied “that is true”. I only missed a few balls!! 
As for Dave saying “you will not even get her to hit 10 balls as I have tried” I surpassed that and thoroughly enjoyed it. When we went back to the shop Greg tried to sell me a pair of shoes and a body warmer and then gave me a leaflet for the Academy. Who knows what will happen next? “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”
Dave said “hopefully this was the first step of many. I know that Jackie enjoys the company of golfers and maybe one day we could play together on the course. Let’s see if Greg can make a young woman happy?”
STAFFORDSHIRE SENIORS EARN EPIC WIN AGAINST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE SENIORS
In the final match of the season Staffordshire Seniors took on Northamptonshire Seniors at Wergs Golf Club needing a victory to consolidate their best position in the Midlands League for many years. Leek Golf Club were once again represented by Club Captain Dave Gallimore (4 h’cap) and Ross Martin (5 h’cap) and this proved profitable for Staffordshire when they both won their morning foursomes matches by comfortable margins. With an overall match score of 3.5 to 2.5 in favour of the Staffordshire team there was an exciting afternoon in prospect.
The fourball matches were very close and with the 
score standing at 8.5 to 8.5, with the final match still out on the course, tensions were rising. Dave Gallimore and Ben Rhodes (Beau Desert Golf Club) managed to come back from a 2 down with 6 to play to take victory on the 17th hole and earn the congratulations of their team members.
This was a special occasion for Dave Gallimore because immediately following the announcement of the match result he was presented with his County Colours by the County Captain Tony Wright from Little Aston Golf Club (See photo). He went on to say “I am really pleased that the game went our way and that we managed to hole some long putts towards the end of the game. I have enjoyed playing for the County Seniors this year and hopefully will be selected to play again next season”.
PRO’S SATURDAY WINTER LEAGUE
Due to the high number of players on a Saturday we have decided to move to Sunday morning at 10am. If you are interested in playing or would like any more information please contact the pro-shop.
