The Ladies Take On The Pro/Captain Challenge

The final match of the 2014 series took place last Saturday when Greg and Dave took on the might of the Ladies section in the form of Georgina Taylor (5 h'cap) and the well respected and experienced Nell Bolton (19 h'cap).

Due to the time of the year the course was playing very short which strongly favoured the Pro/Captain pairing and for the first time we were to play under "winter rules".

It was apparent on the 1st hole that the ladies had a few nerves and that it may take a little while for them to settle into the match. However, little sympathy was evident when the Captain holed out from 10 feet for an opening birdie 3 to move 1 up. The score returned to all square after the 2nd hole when Georgina showed her class with an up and down to impress the Pro's from short of the bunker in front of the green. The 3rd was won by the Captain with a 4 nett 3 to move the pairing back into a 1 hole lead.

With 3 balls close to the pin on the 4th it was inevitable that the hole would be halved and that was the case although Nell went the closest to getting a deserved birdie 2.

The 5th hole saw the start of a run of birdies from Greg that even Seve would have found difficult to match in his heyday. Our Pro comfortably managed to birdie the 5th (from 8 feet), the 6th (from 3 inches), the 7th (from 6 feet), a boring par on the 8th (yawn, yawn), then another two tap in birdies on the 9th and 10th holes to move the scoreboard to a flattering 6 up!!!!! The ladies had played well up to this point but there was no answer to the standard of golf that Greg was producing at this time. He was 5 under gross after 10 holes.

The 11th saw a great 2 putt from Nell to earn a half but the writing was on the wall for the ladies. The 12th was halved when the Captain failed to hole out from 4 feet for his birdie and so we went on to the difficult 13th hole.

Both the Pro and the Captain hit solid tee shots to the heart of the green but these were nothing compared to Nell Bolton's rescue to 8 feet. This ensured a 3 nett 2 to reduce the deficit to 5 down and all to play for.

The 14th and 15th holes presented the Captain with an opportunity to "close the match" because he was now receiving shots from the stroke index. A drive and a 7 iron produced a 4 nett 3 and this was enough to win the match by a score line of 6 & 4.

The Captain remarked later "It's been fantastic for the members to see Greg play like he has today. It is rare to see anyone play our course like that. He was very impressive".

As is the tradition with these games we enjoy a drink in the bar and discuss the merits of "The Shot of the Day". There were 2 nominations and both were performed by Nell Bolton. Her tee shot on the 9th which landed 8 feet away from the pin (Greg birdied from 12 inches and so Nell was unable to win the hole), and her tee shot on the 13th which resulted in her winning the hole. The jury decided that the tee shot on the 13th was a worthy choice and we will be sending the video to Sky sports.com to be used on this years "Sports Personality of the Year" programme.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Pro/Captain Challenge this year and in particularly Greg who has so generously given up a lot of his free time to support The Captain's Charities.

The 1st Prize of a Courtesy 4 ball at Whittington Heath was won by Ross Martin/James Hutchinson (Won 4 & 3)

The 2nd Prize of a Courtesy 4 ball at Chapel-in-le-Frith was won by Paul Bradley/Dave Smith (Cheadle) (Won 1 up) 


Rhuddlan Shield

Through their caravanning in North Wales during the early-mid 2000's, Terence and Bernard Matthews became members of Rhuddlan golf club. Terence was already a member at Astbury and Bernard had become a member at Leek. It was only natural through the competitive nature of the two brothers that teams from Astbury and Leek were soon in competition at Rhuddlan for the Rhuddlan Shield.

After the initial two years, because of the travelling involved, it was decided to play for the Shield alternately at Astbury and Leek. Since that time the fixture both home and away has become very popular , not just because of the natural competitiveness at golf, but more for its friendship and camaraderie, between the members of both clubs.

 Last year, at home, at Birchall, Leek won 9-1. This year Astbury returned the favour giving us a drubbing 9-2 in the usual 4 ball better ball competition. Well done to Geoff Aust, Ian Barlow, Peter Nixon and Paul Douglas for their winning contribution. 

As usual, in this golfing fixture, the score was quickly forgotten and renewing old acquaintances over a drink and dinner was given much more prevalence. 

The date for next year's fixture at Leek is to be arranged. 

Leek Golf Club-Team Players' Celebration And Thank You To Sponsors 

Fourteen members of Leek's two League teams gathered together on Saturday night to celebrate the end of a successful season, in which the first team won promotion back to the Premier Division of the North Staffs & District Golf League, and the second team consolidated their position in division four. 

The Golf Club is extremely grateful to three sponsors who have committed a respectable amount of money to pay for shirts and golf accessories for these two teams. These generous sponsors are Ian Hancock (Brown Recycling Ltd), Andy Tooth (Heraldic Pottery Ltd and Ala from Shapla Tandoori (Leek)). 

The captains of both teams (Mark Shea and Greg Rogula) have worked extremely hard over the season to gather players together to fulfil the fixtures home and away, and support next year from golfers of all abilities will be paramount if we are to continue with the success we have had over the past ten years. 



R&A Pace of Play Survey 

One of the hot topics in golf at the moment is pace of play. Pace of play is affected by many factors, including player ability and behaviour, management practices and course difficulty and set-up. Many commentators argue that golf nowadays takes too long, that slow round times are driving people away from the game and that something needs to be done. Conversely, others would say that golf is not a race, that not everyone wants to play in a hurry and that some courses are just not capable of being played in under four hours. The R&A is interested to hear the views from golfers around the world on this issue and has compiled a survey with this in mind. To complete the survey please click here. 



Pro's competition 

1st Place-  John Galley, John Leeke and Steve Spooner = 123 Points 
2nd Place- Terry Alcock, Karl Blundred, Jim Allen, and Martin Massey  = 122 Points
3rd Place- Mick Wainwright, Stephen Wales, and  Angelo Bobbera  = 119 Points 

Winter League 

1st Place - Lee Machin = 37 Points (back 9 19 points) 
2nd Place - Steve Matthews = 37 Points (back 9 17 points) 
3rd Place - Nick Damjanovic = 36 Points (back 6 - 14 points) 
4th Place - Ralph Harrison = 36 Points (back 6 - 12 points) 
5th Place - Nick Wittich =  36 Points (back 6 - 10points)