Our Tracey's Big Day

CONGRATULATIONS to 'our' Tracey who married the love of her life Mark Brunt on Saturday 4th July at St Leonard's Church, Ipstones.

All her friends at Leek Golf Club would like to wish Tracey and Mark all the best for their future life together.

PRO/LADY CAPTAIN CHALLENGE

Churning stomachs and obvious nerves were displayed by both teams as we embarked on our first Charity Challenge of the season! Under leaden skies and donned in full wet weather gear we approached the first (Greg without putter and Gill (Armstrong) convinced they were doomed from the outset besides having 22 shots!!) Fears were confirmed for the challengers as Greg proceeded to birdie the first, to my delight - 1up. Then reality hit as, using the Ladies' index, Gill proceeded to complete the 2nd with a 5/3 to win the hole. The ladies all stood in awe as Greg's drive was placed centre fairway, twice as far as we usually expect and played on to win the 3rd with a par 4. He then sank a superb long putt on the 4th to birdie that hole too -2up. At this point I wondered if I could go in to dry off and leave it to Greg to finish the match!!

The 5th saw a great shot to the green from Ange (Broadhurst) which she duly followed by sinking the putt for 3/2 nett eagle! Game on! I only managed to get on the card on the 6th with a par 5/4 to halve the hole with Gill 6/4. The rain began to ease off but the standard of golf was upheld by both teams parring the next three holes. Unfortunately for us, shots meant we were 1 down at the turn. Serious discussions were had as to whether the Captain should take Gill's trusted 5 wood off her as it was doing too much damage and Greg thought his lessons were having so much effect that he'd upped his charges!

In the wet conditions the 10th played really long but Gill maintained her cool to halve that one too. Greg decided that enough was enough and, to stamp his authority on the match, proceeded to birdie both the 11th and 12th holes - lovely to watch - back to 1up. The 13th saw my putting prowess leaves a lot to be desired as I missed a tiddler to lose the hole! Sorry Greg! With the status now being all square, tensions were rising as the final holes loomed. Greg's drive on the 15th was a little wayward and landed on the fringe of the 11th with a loud "fore" to follow, showing it can happen to the best of us! He was then forced to fly over the trees and only just missed the green to the back left, an awesome shot. Unfortunately, Gill (2 shot Armstrong) came straight up the fairway to win the hole 6/4 - 1down.

The next two holes were halved as the challengers kept their cool with steady play. The 17th hole produced, what I thought to be, the shot of the day from Greg. After a thinned approach to the green which shot through, he made a magnificent pitch onto the green perfectly rolling the ball down to within inches of the hole. Consequently, we were dormie 1 down at this point. Knowing that to win the 18th meant a huge drive, I think testosterone crept in, and the strong drive from Greg went straight up the fairway of the 18th but drew to the left and disappeared into the tree line never to be seen again! I halved the hole with Ange and that resulted in a 1up victory for the challengers much to their surprise and delight.

A great match with some very pleasing shots from both teams. If you'd like to take up the enjoyable challenge (any combination of team), book a time in the Pro's shop (£10pp to Lady Capt's Charity) and see if you can beat us too!

Jayne, 
L.C.

STAFFORDSHIRE SENIORS V NORTH WALES SENIORS

The above fixture was played at Prestatyn Golf Club on July 1st and Leek were once again represented by Ross Martin and Dave Gallimore.

The morning foursomes saw Ross take a narrow victory but Dave and his partner (Edmund Kuhn Trentham Park) were outclassed by a formidable North Wales pairing.

Staffordshire carried a 4 - 2 lead into the afternoons four balls.

Dave's match was over early having gone down to the morning's opponents by 3 & 2. He went on to state that "they played well and we just weren't good enough to cause them any problems"

Ross was having a great round and the Staffordshire team were on the balcony overlooking the 18th green anticipating another victory. Ross was able to close his game out on the 18th winning by a narrow 1 up margin to the cheers of his team mates. He went on to say "It's always very nice to win maximum points for The County"

The overall match score was a win for Staffs by 11.5 - 6.5

The next fixture is a Midlands League match at Penn Golf Club on 6th July versus Hereford and Shropshire Seniors.

STAFFORDSHIRE SENIORS V HEREFORD & SHROPSHIRE SENIORS

Staffordshire took on last year's Midlands League Champions at Penn Golf Club hoping for a positive result but recent meetings between the two have not been fruitful for the home County.

Dunc Stott won his morning foursomes 2 & 1 with Dougie Pash (Sandwell Park) at his side and Dave Gallimore won his morning foursomes 3 & 2 partnering Dave Clibbon (Beau Dessert).

Staffs somewhat surprisingly took a 4 - 2 lead into the afternoons four balls.

The afternoon saw the Staffs Captain switch the pairings around a little and Dunc found himself partnered with Bob Aston of Trentham Park. Although they managed to gain a 2 hole lead after 10 holes, their opponents then had a run of 4 birdies over the next 5 holes. The match finished on the 17th with the Hereford & Shropshire Team winning by a 2 & 1 margin.

Dave Gallimore remained with his morning partner in the hope that they could gain maximum points. In a close game Dave managed 2 birdies on the front 9 to be 2 up at the turn with everything to play for. When he went on to birdie the 12th and 14th holes it became a matter of time before his match reached a favourable conclusion. He and Dave Clibbon halved the next hole to close it out by a 4 & 3 margin and drinks all round. "I played the same guy last year from Ludlow Golf Club and was about to lose when the rain abandoned the match. I am thrilled to have been able to raise my game to beat him. Dave Clibbon played well and he managed to keep me nice and calm when the nerves were starting to set in"

The match score ended Staffs Seniors 9 - Hereford & Shropshire Seniors 9. The next match is at Willesley Park Versus Leicestershire Seniors. Ross Martin and Dave Gallimore have been selected but Dunc Stott is unavailable for this match.

Club Telephone Number

We are aware that some members are having difficulty contacting the Club. Whilst engineer work is being carried out please can you ensure that you use the main Club number (01538) 384779.

RESULTS

Festival Trophy - Sunday 5th July 2015

1st Place
Jim Willshaw
43 Points

2nd Place
John Lawton
42 Points

3rd Place
Karl Upton
41 Points 
£30.00

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