Welsh Greensome Qualifier May 27th 2021.....result from Mike Healey

Seniors - what a glorious day. The sun arrived as ordered - the course was relatively dry, considering and preferred lies always help the playing situation. The greens were superb and some good scores were returned for the qualifying round in the Welsh Greensomes. The winning pair's details will be forwarded to Golf Wales and also the Runners Up (as a reserve pair). Our Runners Up today unfortunately, are not available for the finals so we will forward the details for our third pair. Today's competition was also organised as a kitty comp - please find result below: Welsh Greensomes Qualifier Result First: Stewart Poole and Damian Atkin 43 points £7.00 each Finalists at Mold Second: Barry Dare and Reg Peacock 41 points £5.00 each Third: Tony Jackson and Bill Kelleher 40 points £4.00 each Reserves for Mold Fourth: Richard Collier and Dave Palferman 38 points £2.00 each The rest of the cards ranged down from 36 points.

Seniors Kitty competition report from Mike Healey May 25th 2021

Report: Have we just completed a circuit without rain? I can't say a complete round because of hole closures and GUR bunkers, but wasn't it pleasant not to put up the umbrellas. Despite some large patches of water around the course, it is drying out nicely and the forecast, looking forward, is in our favour. As if we haven't had enough weather problems recently, the wind was the factor of the day and definitely affected some of the scores. Let's have more wind with some more of today's sun, to sort the course out for the "Summer" - when it arrives. Because of hole closures, the Individual Stableford was declared a standard kitty comp and not a qualifier as such. 42 names went into the draw and the scoring was tight at the top and middle of the comp, resulting in a lot of countback. Please find the winners below. Individual Stableford: First: Dave Palferman (29 points c/b) £10.00 Second: Richard Collier (29 points c/b) £8.00 Third: Colin Evans (29 points c/b) £7.00 Fourth: Colin Brown (29 points c/b) £6.00 Fifth: Alan Bottomley (28 points c/b)£5.00 Sixth: Mike Drake (28 points c/b) £4.00 Seventh: Alan Barnsdale (27 points c/b) £2.00

Seniors events June 2021

Texas Scramble Report from Mike Healey May 20th 2021

Texas Scramble 20th May 36 seniors signed up in advance of the day, which would have been perfect numbers for a scramble but the weather forecast was not confirmed at this stage. No fewer than 5 rang in for one reason or another to cancel their tee and the groups all had to be adjusted. It makes no never mind – 31 brave souls togged themselves up in wet weather gear and set forth for two competitions – 5 x three ball and 4 x four ball. At this point, I unreservedly apologise for sending players out under these conditions for a Scramble. In hindsight, another format might have been warmer with better movement. Conditions on the course were not great from the outset, with preferred lies across the course. Blustery gusts of wind and rain continued with increasing intensity and two groups finished after 9 holes. The majority stuck to their task and here are the results: Three Ball First: Don Wraight, Graham Bryne, Bob Brown score = 60 exact £4.00 each Second: Mike Hollings, Steve Monk, Mike Scott score = 65.92 £1.00 each Other scores: 71.43 and 2 x 9 holes: 35.23 and 38.59 Four Ball First: Alan Barnsdale, Mike Griffiths, Barry Dare, Peter Fraser score = 61.69 £4.00 each Other scores: 62.41, 65.30, 66.57 Well done to all who braved the weather. Watch out for next week's e-mail - Qualifier and Greensomes

Bonus Ball May 13th 2021. Report from Mike Healey

Fellow Seniors - the withdrawal of ride-ons early morning had been accounted for and a contingency plan put into place. It would have left three fourballs in a separate competition. Two no-shows did not help matters leaving one fourball at the end. With members arriving at different times, it was difficult to adjust even further, given the numbers. Prizes always reflect the numbers in the competition so the fourball were the winners of their own competition and receive £1.00 each. Derek - Report: From an organisational point of view, the figures were difficult to arrange today. Contingency plans were in place in anticipation of no buggies, but numbers were still fluid after that. As a result, 33 members contested today's Bonus Ball. The overnight rain materialised and the course was quite damp in places. Light rain was persistent early on but the temperature increased as we got through the round. Four holes were closed, which brought every body back in early. The bonus on lowest score (front 7) proved difficult for some groups but most teams made up for that with bonus on best score (back 7). Result - Bonus Ball First: Mike Scott, Bob Brown, Harold Hughes 110 points £6.00 each Second: Colin Brown, Mike Drake, Peter Fraser 109 points £3.00 each Third: Steve Monk, Peter Bowen, Les Williams 102 points £1.00 each Remaining scores: 101, 101, 99, 95, 94, 90, 86, 85 Fourball - 118 points

Seniors result best 2 scores to count, from Mike Healey May 11th 2021

Today's Report: The course is drying nicely and greens speeding up after the top dressing and work last week. The forecast was accurate, with sunshine and cloud to start with, but the shower that hit us at 1.00pm came from nowhere. It was short but heavy in its delivery. We carried on in the sunshine and all the groups managed to get back to base before the thunder and lightning arrived at 3.00pm. All 54 golfers came through the gate at pace this morning, adjusting to the new timing and the tempo was good throughout. All groups seemed to be flowing and some good scores were recorded. Three players, in particular, will have their individual scores reviewed. The numbers were split into Three Balls and Four Balls. 2 to Count Result: Three Ball Group - First: Damian Atkin, Ian Ketland, Bob Jarvis 90 points £4.00 each Second: Nigel Davies, Fred Court, Ken Tieszen 78 points £2.00 each Remaining scores (73, 72, 71, 70 points) Four Ball Group - First: Tony Jackson, Mick Carnell, Bernard Fildes, Mike Healey 88 points £5.00 each Second: Barry Dare, Barry Evans, Richard Collier, Mike Drake 86 points £3.00 each Third: Dilly Jones, Alan Bottomley, Stuart Leyland, Dave Fergus 79 points(c/b)£1.00 each Remaining scores (79c/b, 78, 78, 73, 73, 66 points)

Seniors Monthly Medal May 6th 2021

Division 1 1. Tony Harcombe 91-21-70 2. Chris Jacques 79-8-71 3. Mike Hollings 92-21-71 Division 2 1. Mike Turner 94-24-70 2. Damian Atkin 95-24-71 3. Mike Jordan 97-25-72 Division 3 1. Peter Bowen 106-36-70 2. Mike Drake 101-29-72 3.Barry Dare 102-28-74 The following players scored a 2 Richard Collier at the 12th and Nigel Davies at th 5th

Seniors Waltz May 4th 2021 Report from Mike Healey

Report: Numbers changed overnight and the groups were re-adjusted into 11 fourballs. The forecast was fairly accurate in that the showers were heavy but we were not expecting their frequency. The track was wet and no fewer than four groups decided on drier quarters after nine holes. Congratulations to the remaining seven groups who braved the full 18 holes. Hayley made tentative enquiries as to whether the seniors would sit out afterwards for sandwiches and coffee but I think she knew the answer. She did however, describe you as "hardcore". Well done to all finishers - both 9 and 18 holes. The Waltz result stands as below: First: Graham Bryne, Neville Bassett, Tony Owens, Richard Collier - 79 points (£6.00 each) Second: Dave Palferman, Peter Thomas, Coiln Evans, Steve Monk - 75 points c/b (£3.00 each) Third: Don Wraight, Bill Kelleher, Bernard Fildes, Ken Tieszen - 75 points c/b (£2.00 each)

Captains Newsletter April 2021

April has seen the continued relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and with it a slow return to a new normal. We have been blessed with some recent good weather that has allowed the green keepers to make good progress with their planned course maintenance work on the greens. Importantly for our stomachs, Hayley is back doing outside catering. Typically, my first bacon bap and coffee were consumed sat under an umbrella in the rain! With the return of fourballs, we are able to re-start qualifying competitions under the new World Handicap System (WHS). I’m looking forward to seeing how the new system works in practice. Early indications, from my own experience, is that handicaps move quickly, not necessarily in the right direction! Our first qualifying competition for the men, off white tees, was the Welsh Golfing Union (WGU) Handicap Team Qualifier. Thanks to all those who participated. You will be pleased to learn that more than 40 members played in this competition, as a consequence, we are able to enter two teams of four into the regional final. The top two teams from the regional final qualify for the national final to be held at Celtic Manor. I do not have details of the venue and date of the regional final at this time. Therefore, subject to availability, the two teams are as follows: Team 1: Gareth Roberts, Kevin Jones, Daniel Goodall, Terance Bull Team 2: Richard Collier, Jonathan Falcus, Stephen Jones, Justin Bull A polite request from our Hon. Treasurer & Lady Captain Christine. When making an electronic payment into the members bank account, please ensure you use the payment reference to indicate the purpose of the payment. If the space provided for the reference is too small to make a clear abbreviation of the payment purpose, then please email Christine with an explanation (evanspac@googlemail.com). All members should have received a message from management about membership fees being due for payment. Similarly, membership levies for those who wish to hold an official handicap are also due from 1st May. However, Covid-19 has complicated matters. Wales Golf have delayed payment and the DGU are not collecting levies this year. What this means is that those members who held a club handicap for the 2020 season will only need to pay the £15 club levy. Those members who are new to the club, or existing members who did not have a handicap in the 2020 season but now wish to obtain one, will need to pay £30. All payments should be made into the members bank account, preferably via bank transfer. For those members who do not have online banking facilities please leave a cheque for the appropriate amount in an envelope, marked for the attention of Christine Evans, at golf reception. Banking details as follows: Account name: Clays Golf Club Sort code: 40-47-26 Account No.42557584 Ref: Levies I am pleased to announce the election of a new Hon. Secretary Shan Shapley. Shan will join the Club Council at the end of this month. Also, congratulations to Shan for winning the Ladies Challenge Bowl for the second year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our previous Hon. Secretary, Dave Riley for his contribution to the club over many years. Dave has held a number of positions on the Club Council including Club Captain. Unfortunately for us, Dave has decided to take a break from golf and focus on other hobbies. Hopefully, we will see Dave back at our club in the not-too-distant future. Finally, it is nearly time for the Captains Drive In. Normally, this is the first event of the season, but we are not living in normal times. Therefore, the competition will take place on Saturday 22nd May. There will be a get together of some description on the first tee at 9.30am followed by a shotgun start at 10.00. A sign-up sheet has been placed on the notice board in the foyer of the clubhouse. Final arrangement for the day will be sent out a few days prior to the competition. Enjoy your golf and stay safe. Dave Palferman Captain 2021 dpalferman@gmail.com