Captains Newsletter August 2019

Nigel's latest Captains Newsletter is now available online...

https://claysgolf.co.uk/captains-newsletter-august/

Captain’s Newsletter : August 2019

Dear Member of Clays Golf Club

Gareth Roberts, Club President, hosted a successful President’s Day on Saturday, 24^th August which comprised a shotgun start competition and prize giving. Congratulations to all of the prize winners, who are listed below in the “Results” section. Gareth is also delighted to report that the excellent sum of £126 was raised on the day for the Captains’ charity.

The Club Council have produced a New Members Welcome Pack which will be incorporated into the information that is given by management to any new members of Clays. If you would like a copy of the document, which contains information about the various sections of our club, obtaining/reinstating handicaps, club levies etc, then please let me know and I’ll email you a copy.

Over the next few weeks, members will be made aware of quite a number of changes that will be happening regarding the course. These will include new official course measurements from the various tees and alterations to some of the Stroke Indices, based on the difficulty of each hole as evidenced over the last two years using the HowDidIDo data. In addition, there will be revised wording of the local rules; e.g. the Red Penalty Areas that can be found on some holes. The Red Penalty Areas to the right of the 3^rd and to the right of the 4^th will be removed and we will look to mark more clearly with red posts and lines the remaining Red Penalty Areas to the left of the 4^th, 5^th , 13^th and 15^th. The Drop Zones on the 5^th and 17^th will be maintained and a Drop Zone on the 2^nd will be introduced. The recent members’ survey also formed part of the discussion regarding the course – many thanks to those members who responded. Course maintenance is provisionally scheduled in for w/b Monday 23^rd September. Please note that the Greenkeeping Staff will have full priority whilst they carry out this essential work on our course.

Before moving on to other items, could I please ask that members ensure that player safety is taken into account at all times? For example, signs are to be placed on the 13^th regarding dangerous play when people are driving off from the 13^th tee and possibly endangering either players who are still on the green or are on the 12^th fairway. Also, care must be taken when playing in a mixed group when white/yellow and red tees are being used. Thank you.

The Council have also decided, based on the number of entrants in each division, to change the Handicap Divisions for Club/WG Medal competitions. The new divisions will be :

Division 1 :     up to and including 12 Handicap

            Division 2 :     13 to 18 inclusive

            Division 3 :     18+

I would like to give an update regarding the forthcoming Charity Day on Sunday, 13^th October : We have almost completed raising sponsorship for all 18 tees and the £900 total prize money and we would now like to maximise the number of teams to play on the day. If you would like to put a team together, tee times can be booked in Reception. Payment can either be made by cheque or via bank transfer. Please contact me if you would like more details. Just a reminder that all of the money raised on the day will go towards the purchase of a new Cryotherapy machine for invasive prostate cancer treatment at the Maelor Hospital.

Finally, best wishes to all of the participants in the Honours Board Finals on the 7^th and 8^th September.

Have a good month’s golf.

Nigel Davies                                                                                       nigeldavies78@gmail.com

Club Captain                                                                                      

Club News :

Further congratulations to the Clays Ping Mixed Team (Don Wraight, Christine Evans, Dawn Thompson Byrne, Dave Riley, Jane Evans and Graham Davidson Clarke) on a great achievement to have reached the Finals Day of the Ping Wales Knockout Competition after beating Dinas Powis GC from Cardiff in the quarterfinal at Builth Wells recently. The semifinals and final will both be played at Cotterill Park, Cardiff on 30^th September. I am sure that you will join me in offering them our best wishes for the day.

Clays hosted the DGU County Captains Day recently and it was again gratifying to hear so many positive comments regarding the course and club overall from visiting players.

Many congratulations to the following Clays members on their brilliant success on the day :

Richard Collier:          County Captains Day 2^nd overall

Iqbal Shergill:                         County Captains Day 3^rd overall

Mike Jones:                 County Champion (H’Cap 6-16)

Patrick Whelan:          County Champion (H’Cap 17+)

Dave Riley:                 County Senior Scratch Champion

Dave Palferman, our Vice Captain, reports that the Clays DGU League Team made it three out of three wins with a convincing 6:2 win against Llangollen at home. If Clays can avoid defeat away at Old Colwyn on 1st September then we will be Division 1 Champions once again.  Fingers crossed for the team!

Clays now have one remaining pair in the DGU Jubilee Plate Knockout Competition,  Martin Povey & Tom Peirce, who now have a home draw against a pair from Denbigh GC to be played before 9th September.  Best wishes to Martin and Tom for the next round.

The Social Events calendar has been revised and we now have just three events before the end of the year :

19^th October               Cheese & Wine evening with Quiz    Ticket price = £12

23^rd November            Curry & Quiz Night :  Ticket price = £8 pp

6^th December               Christmas Party (Buffet and Disco)   Ticket price = £12 pp

All of the above are payable in advance in order to help Hayley’s catering arrangements with tickets available from Reception. It would be very much appreciated if as many members as possible supported the above events.

Don Wraight, Seniors Captain, reports that a very successful Seniors Open was held at Clays on 8^th August.

Some 112 players took part, 53 Clays members and 59 visitors from a range of other clubs including Malkins Bank, Shrewsbury, Henlle, Old Padeswood, Padeswood and Buckley, Moss Valley, Wallasey, Warren, Hoylake and 4 visitors from Southerness in Scotland, their 2nd visit to our club.

All of the above gave great feedback on the day and commented on what a fantastic course Clays has become. Clubs that participated have been emailed and thanked for their support and invited to the 2020 event, when it’s published.

Winners           Stewart Poole/ Damien Atkin (Clays)            46pts

2^nd                   Terry Dodd / Gary Owen (Henlle)                 41pts

3^rd                    Nigel Harris / Bob Jarvis (Clays)                   41pts

Nearest the Pin on 5^th              Peter Watkins ( Shrewsbury)

Nearest the line on 10^th           Alan Barnsdale (Clays )

Nearest the Pin in 2 on 18^th    Duncan Lowndes ( Shrewsbury)

A big thanks to Russ Adamson who was on the 1st tee seeing players off and to the Seniors committee for their administration for the day.

Josh reports that there are 3 lockers still available for hire and also that trolleys can now be stored securely in the locker room for an additional charge.

The Seniors played a home match v Aldersey Green but unfortunately lost 2 ½ - 4 ½

Congratulations to the Clays Ladies Team recently had a Home win against St. Deiniol GC, Bangor.

From now on, a competition will be made available for entry on each Wednesday, either the existing Mid Week Club Medal, other current qualifying competitions (including Ladies Honours Board events) or a Shop Stableford competition.

The complete rebuilding of the 11^th green, planned for the Autumn, is still due to go ahead as arranged.

Dave Palferman, Vice Captain, is organising a Team Day for Sunday, 15^th September whereby members of the Men’s, Ladies and Seniors sections can take part in a mixed competition with members of the Scratch Team. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know other members of our club who you may not have played with before. If you are able to play, please put your name down on the sign up sheet on the noticeboard in the foyer.

Club Results :

Congratulations to those members listed below on their recent golfing success.

Club Championship

Day 1

1^st        Paul Lloyd                  2^nd       Keith Jones

Day 2

1^st        Paul Lloyd                  2^nd       Neil Owen

(Great performance Paul!)

Seniors August Medal :

Division 1 :

1^st           Malcolm Williams                2^nd       Martin Povey                    

Division 2 :

1^st            Harold Hughes                    2^nd       Keith Hawthorn  

Thursday 1^st August : Seniors 9 Hole Qualifier:

1^st            Irwin Elkin                          2^nd       Michael Parks      

Club August Medal :

Division  1 :

1^st        Josh Green                  2^nd       Craig Yarwood          

Division 2 :

1^st        Eddie Tudor                2^nd      Gareth Roberts

Division 3 :

            1^st        Richard Key                2^nd       Harold Hughes

Midweek Medal 14^th August :

1^st        Iwan Bonds                 2^nd       Josh Green

  

Ladies Fan Jones Trophy

1^st        Christine Evans           2^nd       Marian Williams

Neil Harden Memorial Trophy

1^st        Mike Jones                  2^nd       Alex Darlington

Mixed Jubilee Plate

1^st        R. Peacock / P. Peacock         2^nd       S. Powell / A. Thomas-Williams       

Seniors Two Day Stableford Challenge

Day 1 :

Division 1

1^st        Alan Bottomley  33 points      2^nd       Martin Povey  31 points

Division 2

1^st        Dilly Jones  34 points             2^nd       Fred Court 32 points

Day 2 :

Division 1

1^st        Colin Brown  33 points           2^nd       Reg Peacock  32 points

Division 2

1^st        Dilly Jones  35 points             2^nd       Stewart Poole  34 points

            Overall Result :

Division 1 

1^st        Alan Bottomley 64 pts            2^nd       Martin Povey  63 pts

Division 2

1^st        Dilly Jones  69 pts                  2^nd       Stewart Poole 65 pts

Seniors DJ Bogie

1^st        Damian Atkin                         2^nd       George Hughes

Welsh Dragon Brooch

1^st        Julie Hanmer Price                  2^nd       Shan Stapley

President’s Day

Men :

1^st        Mike Jones                              2^nd       Mike Hollings

Ladies :

1^st        Christine Evans                       2^nd       Gaynor Gee

  

Dates for Your Diary :

1^st September                    DGU League Team v Old Colwyn (Away)

3^rd September                    Seniors v Holywell (Home)

4^th September                    Ladies Midweek Stableford Qualifier

5^th September                    Seniors Medal

7^th/8^th September            Honours Board Finals Day(s)

11^th September                 Ladies Allington Hughes Salver

                                               

                                                Club/WG Midweek Medal

15^th September                 Team Day (sign up sheet on noticeboard in foyer)

17^th September                 Seniors v Hawarden (Home)

21^st September                  Club/WG Monthly Medal

                                                Quarterly Medal

22^nd September                 DGU Autumn Meeting @ Llangollen GC

24^th September                 Seniors Stableford Qualifier

26^th September                 Seniors v Mold (Away)

2^nd October                         Ladies Midweek Stableford Qualifier

3^rd October                         Seniors Medal

5^th October                         Club/WG Monthly Medal

13^th October    Charity Day for Prostate Cancer

Upcoming Social Events

23rd November Curry & Quiz £8 (payable in advance) Tickets available from Reception

6th December Christmas Party! Buffet & Disco £12 (payable in advance) Tickets available from Reception

19th October Cheese & Wine £12 (payable in advance) Tickets available from Reception

 

Seniors Stableford Qualifier August 27th 2019

 The results of the 2's competition are as follows courtesy of Peter Bowen:-

37 members took part. There were 5 winners namely Russ Adamson on the 5th and 12th. Nigel Davies and Colin Brown on the 5th. In addition Malcolm Williams carded a 2 on the 5th as well as a 3 on the 4th!!

Malcolm sent Derek this report about his 3 on the 4th

"Quite bizarre, really! I was having a dreadful round (started at the 14th) and hit my tee shot on the 4th too near the trees on the left hand side and so had to chip on to the fairway over the edge of the trees. I then used an 8 iron to chip on to the green, hopefully! It bounced twice and then amazingly dropped into the hole!! "

Main results. First 10 only below. Remaining full results can be found on Clays Website.

1. Peter Taylor  42 pts
2. Mike Hollings 39 pts
3. Ralph Howard 37 pts
4. Don Wraight (Seniors Captain) 37 pts
5. Richard Key 36 pts
6. Russ Adamson 35 pts
7. Nigel Harris 34 pts
8. Mike Healey 33 pts
9. Chris Jacques  33 pts
10. Mike Parks 33 pts

Golf rule via Fred August 2019

21^st August 2019. Penalty relief area; Penalty relief of two club lengths is well known under the old rules and seems to cause some confusion due to changes introduced by the new rules 2019.

As with the old rules the new version permits a two club relief from the position of a ball deemed unplayable. The arc formed by a two club radius from the ball position (not nearer the hole) forming a “D” has been given the identity of “Relief Area” The diagram attempts to highlight the difference between the old and new rules.

Under the new rules the area marked green is the relief area into which the ball must be dropped; the ball must also come to rest within this relief area.

This differs greatly with the old rules which I try to explain in the example sketch diagram, As with the new rules the dropped ball was required to strike the ground within the penalty area, but would be allowed to come to rest within two club lengths from the drop ground contact position no nearer the hole;- The Red area in the diagram, this option is no longer allowed so Under the new rules, I repeat the dropped ball must strike the ground and also come to rest within the relief area. Sheriff

Golf Rule via Fred August 2019

2^nd August 2019. Many may think the Golf rules are too pedantic, their opinion may be correct, however rules are rules.

Across fairways many penalty shots fail to be applied by the player and / or their markers; a common offending breach of the rules is a player touching their own, or another player’s ball in play to identify it without first marking it as required within the rules.

The penalty for touching your ball with your club in preparing to make a stroke, under the previous rules was an exception and permitted your club touching your ball at address. However the current rules specifically include touching your ball with your club in the preparation of making a stroke is a 1 shot penalty.

Taking relief is another part of the game causing breaches within the rules because playing from the wrong place often arises in taking relief.

When relief is permitted some players in deciding their nearest point of relief incorrectly consider other features which may interfere with their next stroke and not relevant for the situation from which relief is permitted, consequently select a point which is not the nearest position and the player plays from the wrong place.

Relief is the nearest place the ball would lay to avoid interference with your stance or swing path, from the situation giving you your relief option. Note this position need not be identical for both a right hand and left hand player.

A similar argument is true when taking a penalty drop, except in this case the relief area is two Club lengths measured from the ball position

Larry Birch Memorial Trophy August 22nd 2019

First and recipient of the Larry Birch Trophy  -  Martin Povey            39 points


Below Martin receiving the trophy from Don Wraight Seniors Captain

Second                                                      - Dave Palferman         37 points

Third                                                          - Mike Hollings            35 points

Fourth                                                        - Nigel Davies              34 points (count back)

Fifth                                                           - Mike Healey              34 points (count back)

Sixth                                                          - Richard Key              33 points (count back)

Seventh                                                      - Keith Jones               33 points (count back)

In the 2's competition there were 2 winners

Mick Carnell and Colin Brown....both on the 12th

Videos below, First on shows Graham Wright teeing off on the 16th.

Below Nigel Davies can be seen driving off the 11th tee

Seniors D J Bogie August 20th 2019

Only the first ten places are published below.The full results can be found on Clays website.

1. Damian "that man again" Atkin  5 plus
2. George Hughes  1 plus
3. Alan Bottomley  - 1
4. Ralph Howard  -1
5. Roy Jordan -1
6. Andrew Mitchell -1
7. Tony Hafcombe  -2
8. Alan Barnsdale  -2
9. Martin Povey -3
10. Tom McGrady  -3

Bonus Ball August 6th 2019

Bonus Ball 

First - Dilly Jones, John Kelty, George Hooson                                                148 points (count back)

Second - Mick Carnell, Maelor Davies,Bill Hughes, Joe White                           148 points (count back)

Third - Royan Anthony, Andy Jones, Harold Hughes, Mike Drake                       147 points

D J Bogie August 20th 2019

Seniors Open August 8th 2019

August the 8^th  was the Seniors Open were we had 112 players, 53 home and 59 visitors.

Clubs from Malkins Bank, Shrewsbury, Henlle, Old Padeswood, Padeswood and Buckley, Moss, Wallesey, Warren,Hoylake and 4 visitors from Southerness in Scotland, their 2^nd visit to our club.

All of whom gave great feed back to what a great day and fantastic course Clays has become.

Hayley presented a variety of food options and many used the catering and bar making the day very successful.

Clubs that participated have been emailed and thanked for their support and invited to the 2020 event, when it’s published.

Winners Stewart Poole/ Damien Atkin (Clays) 46pts

2^nd Terry Dodd / Gary Owen ( Henlle) 41pts

3^rd Nigel Harris / Bob Jarvis ( Clays) 41pts

Np 5^th hole Peter Watkins ( Shrewsbury)

Nearest the line 10^th Alan Barnsdale (Clays )

Np in 2 on the 18^th Duncan Lowndes ( Shrewsbury)

A big thanks to Russ Adamson who was on the 1^st tee seeing players off and to the Seniors committee for presenting the day

August 13th Texas scramble

46 players - 2 x three ball and 10 x four ball. The scoring was tight at the top for the three first prizes with all three teams scoring gross 66, therefore it went down to handicap reductions and the winning teams were:

First:        Keith Hawthorn, Mike Griffiths, Peter Fraser, Mike Kalka                66 - 7.9  =  58.1 points

Second:    Martin Povey, Ernie Williams, Dave F Jones, Joe White                 66 - 7.3  =  58.7 points

Third:        Russ Adamson, Mick Carnell, Mike Parks, Dave Palferman            66 - 6.6  =  59.4 points

Pairs Stableford kitty competition August 15th 2019

Lovely day for golf and 36 Seniors took part in a pairs Stableford competition - both scores to count:

First -            John Kelty, Richard Key            68 points

Second -       Don Wraight, Chris Jacques       63 points

Third -           Alan Barnsdale, Tom Pierce       62 points

Fourth -         Ernie Williams, Mike Drake        61 points


In the 2's competition run by Peter Bowen there were 3  winners
Ernie Williams on the 5th
Dilly Jones on the 12

and a super 2 on the 11th by Chris Jacques who holed out with his 2nd shot using a 9 iron from 145 yards. Photo courtesy of Don Wraight

Seniors August events 2019

SENIORS COMPETITIONS –  AUGUST 2019
DATE		KITTY COMPS – in BLUE OTHER COMPS – in BLACK		COMMENTS
Thursday Aug 1st		AUGUST MEDAL (Strokeplay, Men White Tees; Ladies Red)  plus 9-HOLE COMPETITION (Stableford, Yellow Tees)		Book in advance on Seniors Notice Board.Also qualifies for Eclectic Comp.  See Don for late entries
Tuesday Aug 6th		BONUS BALL
Thursday Aug 8th		CLAYS SENIORS OPEN PAIRS BETTERBALL 90% H’CAP Prizes: 1st - £100 each; 2nd £60 each; 3rd - £40 each, plus other prizes and raffle		Enter in advance asap, in pairs, via Reception or online. £8 - members and £10 - guests
Tuesday Aug 13th		TEXAS SCRAMBLE
Thursday Aug 15th		PAIRS, BOTH SCORES COUNT
Tuesday Aug 20th		‘D.J.BOGIE’ COMPETITION Format = Bogey, full handicap, yellow tees		Book in advance on Seniors Notice Board.
Thursday Aug 22nd		THE ‘LARRY BIRCH’ MEMORIAL TROPHY		Individual Stableford Kitty Competition
Saturday Aug 24th		PRESIDENT’S DAY		Sign-up sheet reception
Tuesday Aug 27th		Individual Stableford QUALIFIER
Thursday Aug 29th		WALTZ
Tuesday Sept 3rd	Match v Holywell (Away)			Home Players TBD
Weds Sept 4th	HELSBY OPEN
Thursday Sept 5th	SEPT. MEDAL (Strokeplay, Men White Tees; Ladies Red) plus 9-HOLE COMPETITION (Stableford, Yellow Tees)		Book in advance on Seniors Notice Board. Also qualifies for Eclectic Comp.  See Don for late entries

Seniors Medal/9 hole Stableford qualifier August 1st 2019

Division 1

1. Malcolm Williams  87-17-70
2. Martin Povey  82-11-71
3. Dave Palferman  84-12-72
4. Alan Barnsdale  89-15-74
5. Alan Bottomley 93-18-75

Division 2

1. Harold Hughes 96-22-74
2. Keith Hawthorn 93-19- 74
3. Barry Dare  99-24-75
4. Stuart Leyland  97-22-75
5. Mike Drake 104-27-77

9 Hole stableford qualifier 

1. Erwin Elkin 14 points
2. Michael Parks 13 points
3. Bill Hughes  11 points