Pairs both scores count June 15th. Report from Steve Monk

Despite 3 separate away trips today, involving around 24 players, we still had 36 players turning up for the kitty competition. To acknowledge the high turnout, and the continuing great weather, we decided to make the competition a pairs-both-scores-to-count format. On return to the clubhouse, one or two players were upset about this as they felt they had been held up by the slightly slower play involved, so apologies to them. The remainder enjoyed the day and some played very well! The course is immaculate, both in appearance and in playing characteristics. Results were:- 1st - Barry Evans (44) and Tom Blackshaw (36) - total of 80 points. 2nd - Stan Roberts (36) and Peter Taylor (35) - total of 71 points. 3rd - George Hughes (34) and Chris Jacques (36) - total of 70 points. 4th - Alan Barnsdale (35) and Peter Fraser (34) - total of 69 points

Golf report June 13th 2023 from Steve Monk

We had a superb morning for golf, with little or no breeze and wall-to-wall sunshine. Several umbrellas-acting-as-parasols were in use! 26 turned up to play, so we added a ghost player and played in 9 x 3-balls. By consensus we played 'Best Two Scores at Each Hole' to make the game fairly quick, bearing in mind the heat. All 9 teams competing matched or improved on par, and there were 3 prizes available. The top 3 were: 1st - Chris Jacques, Tom Bradshaw and Bob Jarvis, with 83 points. 2nd - Fred Court, Brian Beaton and Peter Taylor, with 82 points. 3rd - Ian Ketland, Peter Lynch and Colin Williams, with 81 points.

Prestatyn Seniors Open 2023

You have already had our kitty comp winners for Prestatyn but the official winners for the Open have just pinged in from Brian Beaton. Please read on: First: Dave Palferman and Richard Collier (41 points) Clays Second: Dave A Jones and Nigel Davies (40 points) (c/b) Clays Third: Dennis Wolsterhome and Steve Parker (40 points) (c/b) Other Fourth: Paul Wallace-Jones and Stuart Leyland (39 points) Clays All four pairs won varying amounts in vouchers, to be spent in the pro shop at Prestatyn GC - Brian will have the details. Five individuals scored 2's in the ballsweep, including Alan Barnsdale (Clays) Our thanks again go to Brian for his general organisation and work both before and after the day.

Individual Stabeford June 8th 2023. Report via Malcolm Williams

We had a good turn-out of 23 members today bearing in mind a large number were at Prestatyn Open. We held an Individual Stableford Competition and Peter Fraser emerged as the winner with an outstanding score of 41points (including a blob on the 11th!). Results as follows:- 1st:- Peter Fraser - 41pts; 2nd:- Graham Bryne 37pts; 3rd:- Malcolm Williams – 36pts; 4th:- Bill Kelleher – 35pts; 5th:- John Kelty – 35pts (c/b); 6th:- Keith Hawthorn – 35pts (c/b); Cheers, Mal

Captains News letter May 2023

Captain's Newsletter: May 2023 May has arrived and with that some good weather at last so get the suncream in your bag. Mark and his team have taken advantage of the good weather and have carried out extensive work on the course and the putting area. The course is in fantastic condition thanks to all their hard work, so, I ask that we all do our own little bit and rake bunkers repair pitch marks and replace divots to keep the course in tip top shape. Competitions This month is really starting to busy up now with the Honours Board competitions well under way. Results and next board comp. rounds can be accessed on ‘ig’. Our teams and individual members are involved in various fixtures at Clays and other clubs, so best of luck to all. Well done to the senior team traveling to Old Padeswood and coming away with a fantastic 7 – 1 victory. Congratulations to Alan Barnsdale on winning the Karen Griffiths Trophy with Nett 66, and to Chris Jacques and Bill Kelleher on winning the Seniors Gemini Trophy with a combined score of 133. A big thanks to all who took part. There are plenty more opportunities coming up so please enter as many competitions as you can to support the club. Ladies Report We have been able to catch up with our Monthly Medal and Stableford Qualifier competitions as the weather and course conditions have improved. Attendance has been increasing with a great turnout of 17 ladies one week who played either the comp or social golf, followed by food and drink in the Clubhouse. The Ladies section commenced their NWLCS matches the first match away at Royal St Davids in Harlech, a great team performance however on this occasion a home win for Harlech. We look forward to their return visit to Clays. In The Daily Mail Foursomes Competition, played at Carden Park, Jane Evans and Bev Hood have progressed through to the next round. By all accounts a thrilling match to the 18th Hole. In the Purves Cup Foursomes, played at Conwy Golf Club, Jane Evans and Sue Falcus also achieved a win in their first round. We have received approval from Wales Golf to run Ladies New 2 Golf lessons. The first group participating, identifid through Wales Golf are scheduled to commence lessons on June 1st on a six week programme. Initially this was planned for May however due to holiday commitments from some of the Group who will be attending, this date has had to be pushed back. An expression of interest has been forwarded to Sport Wales to apply for an equipment grant for the Ladies New 2 Golf programme. We are currently waiting to hear if we are allowed to proceed forward with a formal application. As we are requesting a small grant we are optimistic this will be given due consideration at this stage. My thanks to Jane Evans for organising and co ordinating the Ping team and their fixtures, I wish all those involved great success. The Clays Ladies Open on Wednesday July 12th, a fixture which has not been on our calendar for a number of years has teams participating represented from a number of Clubs, with only a few remaining tee times now available. Hopefully the weather will be kind with a great day planned. The ladies Section are also now in receipt of fleece gilets with the Clays logo and together with polo shirts from last year are ready for the season ahead. My thanks to Shan Lady Vice Captain and a great team of ladies supporting the Section in various roles. And finally We are currently looking for a Safeguarding /Welfare Officer, and a Junior Organiser, in order to try to encourage new young members to join our club. These are important positions so if any members are interested, or if you know of anyone who would be interested in these roles, please get in touch with myself or any member of the council. In the next few weeks we are hoping to agree on the type of toilets to be located on the course. Don’t forget as mentioned above the three R,s Rake, Repair and Replace and most of all enjoy your golf. Kind Regards, Michael Club Captain

Seniors Fourbal. June 6th 2023. Report via Mike Healey

Another good turn out for today's kitty comp. 38 members went into the draw - 10 groups with the 2 front runner groups employing a ghost player. The event was a Fourball - 3 to Count with 3 prizes for the winning groups. The majority wore shorts following the 19 deg. forecast but there were one or two comments about being cool in the nether regions as it got no higher than 14 degs. Unfortunately, the organiser cannot control the weather. The groundstaff have been working hard and given the great course condition, there was no excuse for poor golf today. We were not disappointed, with scoring tight at the top and lots of countback required. Read on: Fourball - 3 to Count: First: Don Wraight, Mike Griffiths, Stewart Poole and (Ghost) - 126 points (c/b) Second: Mike Hollings, Peter Lord, Bob Jarvis and Tony Jackson - 126 points (c/b) Third: Chris Jacques, Alan Bottomley, Mike Parks and Graham Bryne - 124 points (c/b) In unofficial 4th place - Wynn Jenkins, Colin Evans, Tom McGrady and Bill Kelleher also carded 124 points but were beaten on c/b. The next two groups both had 123 points, so scoring was very tight indeed. Well done all.

Seniors June medal June 1st 2023. Report from Mike Healey

Let's start with the weather - cool start with a gentle breeze developing into a warm sunny day. They were ideal conditions, once again, for golf, so why did we hear so many excuses in the clubhouse? The most popular and repeated line today was "the card was rolling nicely until I had an 8 (or a 9 - or a 10)." It was quite comical after a while. I think most of us suffered because it was simply individual stroke play. The greens had been watered and caught a few of us out, in terms of speed but really it was just you against the course - now history!! Congratulations to those members who did manage to score well and a mention of the ballsweep - Jon Falcus shot a 2 on the 5th hole and Barry Dare gained his share of the money with a 2 on the 17th hole. The top three in each division read as follows: June Medal Result Division 1: First: Alan Barnsdale - 70 (c/b) Second: Tony Jackson - 70 (c/b) Third: Paul Wallace-Jones - 72 Division 2: First: Stewart Poole - 68 Second: Bill Kelleher - 69 (c/b) Third: Sean McCarthy - 69 (c/b) Division 3: First: Tom Pierce - 68 Second: Bob Jarvis - 69 (c/b) Third: Dave A Jones - 69 (c/b

Welsh Greensomes qualifier courtesy of Mike Healey May 30th 2023

Today's golf - 18 pairs signed up in advance for the Welsh Greensomes Qualifier. We had a practice last month but this was the real McCoy plus a kitty comp. in tandem. For the princely sum of £5.00 per couple (all going to Welsh Golf) a pre-draw was arranged, shots calculated and everybody turned up on time for their tee slots. The weather gods were once again on our side and lovely warm conditions made it ideal for golf. We never know what scores to expect with the alternate shot format but we had 10 cards between 34 and 40 points, with the remaining 8 cards registering 41 and above. There were 4 prizes on offer today in the kitty comp. and they are being reported in reverse order- Welsh Greensomes Qualifier: Fourth: Alan Barnsdale and Mike Healey - 44 points Third: Peter Taylor and Barry Evans - 45 points Second: Peter Thomas and Ray Griffiths - 47 points First: Dave Fergus and Neville Bassett - 49 points (Dave and Neville will go on further and represent Clays GC in September, when they will contest the National Finals being held at Carmarthen GC on Thursday 7th September). Well done to both of them

Unknown pairs competition May 25th 2023. Report from Mike Healey

The weather reports get even shorter. Warm sunny conditions and a smartly cut course made for ideal senior golf this morning. At least 12 seniors were contesting Senior Pairs Knockout rounds, which left 30 members to contest the Unknown Pairs competition. It is not everybody's cup of tea but we are keeping it in the calendar for qualifying purposes and it creates a bit of intrigue and a hearty laugh here and there with the ensuing results. Thanks go to Peter Bowen for entering all of the cards for qualifying purposes. There were a number of good individual cards of note; Dave A Jones carded 41pts, Ken Tieszen 39 pts, Tom McGrady 39pts, Jon Falcus 38pts, Mike Hollings 38pts. Stewart Poole 36pts and Tony Jasckson 36pts but it really depended who the Unknown Partner was! There was a Ballsweep but no 2's recorded, so all monies will be carried over by Peter until the next competition. There were four competition prizes on offer and I am attaching the combined scores sheet for interest (several people asked me!!) Unknown Pairs Result: First: Wyn Jenkins and Tom McGrady 72 points - combined Second: Chris Jacques and Stewart Poole 69 points (c/b) Third: Dave A Jones and Stuart Miles 69 points (c/b) Fourth: Don Wraight and Mike Hollings 67 points.

Yellow Ball May 23rd 2023.Results via Mike Healey

Numbers for kitty comps have been down slightly because of commitment to early matches on Tuesdays/Thursdays in the senior knockout competitions. These have been flowing nicely although there are still a number of early matches to be completed. This morning, the sun came out and the course was in great condition for our Yellow Ball - what more could we ask for some good competitive golf?! 34 seniors threw their tallies into the draw and we played 9 x "fourballs" with two groups employing a ghost player. The majority of today's contestants entered the ballsweep but there was only ever going to be one winner - Brian Beaton recorded a two on the 2nd hole and walked away with the takings. There were three prizes on offer for the main event: Yellow Ball Result: First: Peter Taylor, Brian Beaton, Ian Ketland and Tom McGrady - 177 points Second: Steve Monk, Mike Hollings, Mike Healey plus ghost score - 174 points Third: Barry Evans, Bill Kelleher, Ken Tieszen and Jon Falcus - 166 points

Waltz and Tango results May 18th 2023. Results via Mike Healey.

Seniors - The thermometer reached a heady 18 degrees at one stage and shorts were prominent throughout. Sunshine, a little cloud and no wind made very pleasant playing conditions. The course is in great nick and the greens true and fast - what more could we ask? I'm afraid the organiser was a little stressed at the outset with numbers and tallies to-ing and fro-ing. 38 members meant two different competitions. 5 fourballs competed for a Tango comp and 6 threeballs challenged for a Waltz. Rather absent - mindedly, the fourballs were sent out first. In the end, it didn't impose that much as everybody kept up with the pace and we all got round in ample time for prizes. Two seniors scored 2's and split the ballsweep between them - Andy Mitchell on the 2nd hole and Jon Falcus on the 5th hole. There were two prizes for both of the individual sections: Waltz Result: First: Peter Taylor, Liam Roddis and Bill Kelleher - 86 points Second: Mike Parks, Peter Fraser and Mick Carnell - 79 points Tango Result: First: Dave Fergus, George Hughes, Les Williams and Stuart Miles - 113 points Second: Brian Beaton, Mike Hollings, Bob Brown and Mike Healey - 110 points

Gemini Trophy May 16th 2023. Report from Mike Healey

Another major competition completed in the calendar. Don organised the draw as usual and despite a rather cool wind, the competioin flowed throughout. 18 pairs took part in our annual Seniors Gemini Trophy. For the newcomers in the group, it is arguably the toughest competition of the year. It is a strokeplay competition, with both partners scoring and then adding nett scores together. I believe it is unique amongst local clubs at least! In the ballsweep - no fewer than 5 seniors recorded a 2 - all on the fifth hole. There was a 40 shot range between first and last positions just to show how tough it is, with 8 pairs shooting 146 or below. Well done to all competitors. The top eight pairs are recorded below: Seniors Gemini Trophy Result First: Chris Jacques and Bill Kelleher - 133 Second: Mike Hollings and Dave Palferman - 138 Third: Steve Monk and Mike Drake - 141 (c/b) Fourth: Richard Collier and Malcolm Williams - 141 (c/b) Fifth: Neville Bassettt and Ernie Williams - 142 Sixth: Michael McHugh and Chris Jones - 144 (c/b) Seventh: Peter Taylor and Liam Roddis - 144 (c/b) Eighth: Pauline Peacock and Reg Peacock - 146 Ballsweep Winners: Richard Collier, Mike Drake, Neil Gledhill, Bill Kelleher and Chris Jones - all on the fifth hole

Match vs Old Padeswood at Clays. Thursday May 11th 2023

Don Wraight kindly informed Derek that Clays won 7 matches to 1.

Kitty Competition abandoned Tuesday May 9th. Report from Mike Healey

Kitty Comp abandoned at 12.00 noon - No golf mentioned in the report as such!! Seniors - 1 or 2 members arrived in shorts anticipating 16/17 degrees as per the forecast. OK there were always going to be intermittent showers mixed in there but we were prepared. 31 entered the draw for a Pairs - Both to Count competition, with one lucky member getting 2 bites of the cherry. Monday night's rain left the course with some detritus in places so "Preferred Lies" were played "Through the Green". We experienced a few drops early doors and an expected, heavier shower around 10.00am, which I believe we all coped with. There were moments when umbrellas and rain gear were coming and going but no worse than a predicted wet day. We reached "High Noon" and could have written a disaster movie on what ensued. The thickest, blackest cloud appeared followed by thunder and lightning. That was our signal to get off the course quickly but in so doing, I believe every senior member on show had a thoroughly good soaking for his troubles. There was a 20 minute torrential downpour, which we all experienced on our return to the clubhouse and stair rods would not be an exaggerated description. Throw in some hail stones for good measure and there was only ever going to be one winner - the weather gods. A number of competitors handed me £1.00 for the comp and they will be refunded asap, due to insufficient cards being returned to continue with the comp. Those cards that did arrive back in the clubhouse were mostly illegible. A good number of players headed straight for their cars, loaded up wet gear and headed on home. Who can blame them? KITTY COMP ABANDONED. Those seniors that remained enjoyed their usual convivial lunches and banter but the deluge had left the course unplayable and it was closed for the rest of the day.

Seniors Medal 4th May 2023

We cannot be far away from a record number of entrants today. 57 put their names up for entry in the May medal and 2 of those were taking part for handicap purposes. The fairways and greens had been cut - the forecast rain did not materialise - we experimented with 3 balls instead of 4 balls and generally, it was agreed that the game flowed in the warm weather. Maybe we have a formula for future comps!? As always, the ballsweep was keenly contested with 4 competitors winning with 2's: David Jones both on the 2nd and 5th, Liam Roddis also on the 5th and Senior Captain, Chris Jacques on the 12th. Well done all. The results read as follows in divisions: Division 1: First: Chris Jacques 70 (c/b) Second: Don Wraight 70 (c/b) Third: Alan Bottomley 73 Division 2: First: Bill Kelleher 65 Second: Barry Dare 68 Third: Graham Bryne 69 Division 3: First: Vic Rogerson 70 Second: Steve Monk 73 (c/b) Third: Ian Ketland 73 (c/b)

Texas scramble May 2nd 2023. Results courtesy of Mike Healey

Busy Tuesday!! A myriad of seniors were contesting senior knockout competitions, both singles and pairs. Others signed up early doors for the Abershield knockout Trophy. However, numbers were kept high and 36 members placed their tallies into the draw for a Texas Scramble. Don Wraight and Chris Jacques oversaw the draw and split the group into threeballs, which flowed very well. The weather remained cloudy but warm and although there was some fairway cutting taking place, the course is getting very close to summer/competition condition. There were 3 prizes in total: Texas Scramble: First: Peter Thomas, Graham Wright and Mike Drake (65.6) Second: Ian Ketland, Chris Blazdell and George Hughes (66.4) Third: Don Wraight, Brian Beaton and Dave Jones (66.6)

Greensomes April 27th 2023. Report via Mike Healey

What have you done to the Spring weather? We started off with chilly temperatures this morning and the late rain just made conditions quite miserable. Today was the first of our Greensomes season with a practice round to start with. 36 seniors signed up in pairs and a pre-draw was made from three tees. A further 5 seniors arrived and we squeezed them in for a stableford competition, which was won by Keith Hawthorn. Other members were involved in senior match knockouts elsewhere. The Greensomes format is a quick one and everyone arrived back in the clubhouse in good time for the results. Of the 18 cards returned, all but one managed to score 30+ points and countback was essential at the top end. There were 4 prizes on offer - read on. Greensomes Result: First: Richard Collier and Dave Palferman - 39 points (c/b) Second: Alan Barndsdale and Mike Healey - 39 points (c/b) Third: Reg Peacock and Barry Dare - 39 points (c/b) Fourth: Mike Hollings and Stewart Poole - 38 points (c/b) Malcolm Williams and Russ Adamson plus Ernie Williams and Bill Kelleher also scored 38 points but missed prizes on countback.

Individual Stableford April 25th 2023. Report from Mike Healey

The sun worshippers were out in force today. No overnight cloud guaranteed a very crisp start to our golf but the sun came out and it was quite pleasurable to play in shirt sleeves. 39 seniors threw their tallies in to play an individual stableford qualifier, with a couple of new faces to the group and a big welcome back to Nigel Davies after his mishap 10 days ago. The competition was initiated by Peter Bowen on ig and the scene was set with the committee going out first, in order to get back for their monthly meeting, following the results. Peter was left having to enter 7/8 cards at the end and we would encourage all to try and get the ig app on their phones as soon as possible. Anything under 35 points was just not good enough today but there were quite a few encouraging improvements compared with last week's medal and previous weeks. Three 2's were registered - all on the 5th hole. Eric Thwaites, Richard Collier and Peter Almond split the winnings from the ballsweep. Read on for stableford result - 7 prizes today. Individual Stableford Qualifier: First: Ken Tieszen - 39 points Second: Sean McCarthy - 38 points Third: Richard Collier - 36 points (c/b) Fourth: Mick Carnell - 36 points (c/b) Fifth: Bill Kelleher - 36 points (c/b) Sixth: Mike Healey - 35 points (c/b) Seventh: Ernie Williams - 35 points (c/b) Tom McGrady and Vic Rogerson also carded 35 points but missed out on countback

Seniors Medal April 20th 2023

Seniors Medal Thursday 20th April Division 1 1st Andrew Mitchell (20) 68 2nd David Mole Jones (14) 71 Division 2 1st Neville Bassett (26) 66 2nd Michael Hollings (26) 74 Division 3 1st Stuart Leyland (29) 69 2nd Peter Martin Jones (30) 70

Bonus Ball result April 18th 2024. Report courtsey of Mike Healey

This is the Bonus Ball Report Seniors - What a glorious day to be out there playing golf. We started cloudy but reached a heady 16 degrees of sunshine and shirt sleeves were to the fore. 32 seniors (perfect number) threw their tallies into the draw at 8.45am and the business end started at 9.00am with 8 x fourballs and a full course open. That alone tested one or two of our competitors. We estimated that 144 points would be an average score to make and several cards fell just short of that. 2 cards made 147 points each but they were still not good enough. There were only 2 prizes - read on for winners. Bonus Ball Result: First: Ernie Williams, Peter Fraser, Dave Jones and Mick Carnell - 173 points Second: Russ Adamson, Peter Taylor, Les Williams and Mike Healey - 153 points

Captains Newsletter April 2023

Captain's Newsletter: April 2023 Lady Captain Sue Falkus and myself would like to thank all who supported the Captain’s Drive in on Saturday 15th of April. It was wonderful to see so many members playing and we also appreciated those who weren’t playing, but who popped up to wish us good luck at the first tee. Thanks to Vice Captains Patrick and Shan and also to Dawn and Lucy for setting up the first tee and helping with the smooth running of the signing in. Patrick gave a warm welcome to our County Captain and thanked everyone for their support, he then invited Sue and myself to the tee off area. I would like to say we both hit the fairway but unfortunately only one of us did well done Sue, enough said on that. Our combined yardage was 198, and well done to Eddie Tudor with the nearest guess of 199 yards winning half the money pot of £26.00, with the other £26.00 going to our Captain’s Charity the North Wales Air Ambulance Service. Congratulations to the winner of ladies drive in Jayne Evans with a fantastic score of 40 points and to Richard Evans with another great score of 45 points to win the men’s drive in. Weather was great on the day and the course was in fantastic condition considering the amount of rain we have had leading up to the day. A massive thanks to Mark and his team who worked so tirelessly to get the course fully opened. Competitions The White Tees are now in play, so those that are involved in various knockout competitions can now see them up on ig. Please make sure to get matches played within the dates given on ig in order to insure the smooth running of the competitions. There will be numerous competitions coming up in the coming months so please support the club and join in as many as you can. Our aim this year is to try encourage more new members to the club and to try and encourage junior players to join us at Clays, so if anyone has an ideas on how to achieve this, please can you share them with me or with any members of the council or club. A Message from the Lady Captain Ladies golf, as with everyone’s, has been curbed with the poor weather however we have been able to play some golf out on the course and have also met on the driving range for practise and a social get together. It was a fabulous turn out for the Captain’s Drive in which a number of ladies were able to support, and of course a great win for Jayne Evans. Moving forward we have rescheduled the monthly medal and a number of NWLCS and Wales Golf matches are pending. Finally, this year we are hosting a Ladies Open in July which has not run for a few years so we are preparing for this event and hope it will be well supported. And Finally We are currently in negotiations with management regarding the purchase and location of new toilet facilities out on the course. We are also looking at purchasing new furniture for the bar area. Michael Club Captain

Latest results and news of Clays Seniors courtesy of Mike Healey. April 13th 2023

On Thursday, 13 April 2023 at 15:18:12 BST, Michael Healey wrote: Seniors - there are 3 reports so get your reading glasses on. Firstly - On Tuesday 11th our away match versus Northop GC took 16 members abroad and a convincing win of 5.5 to 2.5 saw us win our first match of the season. Warm sunny conditions eventually gave way to odd showers but they did not interrupt play. The opposition were both helpful and friendly around the course and it was all followed up with a convivial two course meal afterwards. Well done for the start of the season - Clays Senior team. On the same day, my thanks go to Andy Mitchell for organising an Individual Stableford back at base. 20 members entered the tally draw for a chance of one of the five prizes. The 2nd hole was closed and the winners read as follows: Individfual Stableford: First: Bill Kelleher 41 points Second: Peter Fraser 38 points (c/b) Third: Stewart Poole 38 points (c/b) Fourth: Neville Bassett 35 points (c/b) Fifth: Nigel Harris 35 points (c/b) Dave Fergus also had 35 points but missed out on countback Today - Thursday was scheduled to be a Pairs Betterball and no fewer than 38 members turned in for the competition. The weather was quite warm but the wind played a part in some of the scores. There was a lot of groundstaff work going on around the course (which just gets better and better) in preparation for the Captain's Drive-in on Saturday. They waited patiently for our seniors to play through and there were four prizes ultimately on offer. Just to round up the day the Ballsweep carry over eventually happened and it was carried over in style: Mike Hollings and Billy Spilstead both recorded 2's on the 12th hole, with Dave Jones making his on the 17th. Graham Wright also shot a splendid hole-in-one on the 5th hole. Not only did he receive a double share in the sweep but very kindly placed a bottle of whisky in the centre of the room for all to share. Well done Graham. Pairs Betterball: First: Colin Brown and Keith Hawthorn 43 points Second: Dave Jones and Graham Bryne 42 points (c/b) Third: Alan Pocklington and Mick Carnell 42 points (c/b) Fourth: Alan Barnsdale and Billy Spilstead 40 points (c/b) Richard Collier with Ken Tieszen and Brian Cross with Irwin Elkin also had 40 points but both teams missed out on countback

Senior team win away at Northop. Report from Mike Healey via Whats ap April 11th 2023

The Senior Team won 5.5 to 2.5 . Weather was sunshine and showers mixed with with very friendly opposition followed by a convival meal back in the Clubhouse.

Waltz result April 6th 2023. Courtesy of Mike Healey

The advertised Tango was changed on the day into a Waltz because of the numbers of holes open and also members who turned up. 9 x threeballs put their tallies into the draw and all enjoyed the warm sunny conditions, along with the ground improvement after maintenance and improved weather. There were three prizes for the winning teams with expected scores over 60 points: Waltz Result First: Chris Jacques, Ken Tieszen and Peter Lord 70 points Second: Keith Hawthorn, Tom Blakshaw and Peter Fraser 69 points Third: Stewart Poole, Bill Kelleher and Eric Thwaites 67 points

Peril Ball competition. Results courtesy of Mike Healey. April 4th 2023

We had been given plenty of warning about maintenance week and it has to be said that sand on greens never helps the golf on the day! It will benefit us all ultimately I'm sure. However, we persevered and the sand made little difference to the outcome. The rest of the course is drying very nicely and after a rather cool start, the blue skies appeared and we experienced a heady 14 degrees C - roll on summer. Peril Ball - what is it you may well ask? Basically a Yellow Ball competition with the normal bonus points but added differences when penalties are incurred by the holder. The troops were briefed and 9 x fourballs headed off to do battle. We did not hold a ballsweep today so there is still carry over to come. There were 3 prizes in total and the predicted score was somewhere between 90 and 100 points - read on. Peril Ball Result First: Peter Taylor, Bill Kelleher, Peter Fraser and Alan Barnsdale - 111 points Second: Dave A Jones, Peter Thomas, Ray Griffiths and Mike Healey - 101 points Third: Peter Lord, Tom Pierce, Stewart Poole and Irwin Elkin - 97 points Les Williams, Andy Mitchell, Alan Pocklington and Barry Dare also scored 97 points but missed out on countback.

Pairs both scores to count. March 30th 2023. Report via Mike Healey

There have been several reminders regarding the April medal which has now been moved from Thursday 6th April to Thursday 20th April to allow tining of greens and other ground preparation. Please check your own calendars at home. Today's Result - Yet another inclement day for our golf but playing numbers do not seem to suffer. We had 18 pairs out for a Pairs - Both to Count competition with four prizes for the winning teams. Three holes are still closed in readiness for summer competition. There was a ballsweep, well run by Peter Bowen as usual but on this occasion there were no winning 2's, so all prize money will be carried over to next week (definitely watch for numbers next Tuesday). Scoring was not brilliant today, probably due to the conditions, although Senior Captain - Chris Jacques and Ernie Williams reurned good individual cards (reflected in the winning teams). The result was as follows: Pairs - Both to Count First: Ernie Williams and Colin Brown - 60 points Second: Don Wraight and Chris Jacques - 58 points Third: Dave Palferman and Mike Hollings - 57 points (c/b) Fourth: Tom McGrady and Mick Carnell - 57 points (c/b) Download all attachments as a zip file

Seniors Texas Scramble March 28th 2023. Report via Mike Healey.

Weatherwise, we experienced rather a damp squib this morning but we soldiered on for a very enjoyable and relatively well-timed competition. 28 seniors turned out for our Texas Scramble (perfect numbers again) and all cards were returned with reasonable to good scores. There were three holes closed, so final scores were lower than usual - 3 cards in the 50's and four cards in the high 40's, with a card play-off for the runner-up place. Two team prizes were awarded as follows: Texas Scramble Result First: Jon Falcus, Richard Collier, Peter Fraser and Alan Pocklington - 48.1 Second: Mick Carnell, Bob Jarvis, Barry Dare and Andy Mitchell - 48.7 Tom McGrady, Ken Tieszen, Alan Barnsdale and Nigel Davies returned 48.7(with exactly the same team shots reduction) but lost it on countback. The Senior's Winter League was finally completed on the 21st March, as previously reported. Alan Barnsdale and Ernie Williams gave Wyn Jenkins a run for his money right up to the sixth and very last round with all scores being tight. Wyn was the final victor and after the Texas Scramble today, Retiring Club Captain, Don Wraight presented Wyn with the Winter League Trophy plus a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin.

Seniors Xmas tipple March 23rd 2023 Report via Mike Healey

Seniors - Another good day in the Senior calendar. What should have been the Xmas Tipple eventually arrived, everybody tippled on the ninth tee but nobody toppled on this occasion. The weather Gods allowed the competition to be played but one heavy shower, followed by a series of smaller ones just kept us on our toes. The sun eventually came out and warm conditions prevailed - that would not have happpened for the Xmas bash. The only items missing were the complimentary mince pies but I'm not sure if they were still edible from December. At this point I would add my thanks to Mike Hollings for making the spot markers with printed score sheets, which can be used in the future and also to Steve Monk for his help with the bottle prizes. 42 members entered the tally draw for the Pairs Betterball kitty competition, some with silly hats to gain extra points. 15 holes were played with hole closures on 2, 6 and 7. There were 20 cards with 30 points or more, meaning scoring was tight, plus a further 7 extra spot prizes on a variety of holes and 6 prizes in the ball sweep - read on for results: Pairs Betterball Results: First: Les Williams and Mick Carnell 39 points (c/b) Cash plus Bottles of Wine Second: Peter Bowen and Peter Taylor 39 points (c/b) Cash Third: Ernie Williams and Richard Collier 38 points Cash Fourth: Tom Pierce and Nigel Davies 37 points (c/b) Cash Fifth: Reg Peacock and Mike Healey 37 points (c/b) Cash Ball Sweep Results - Prize for 2's: Malcolm Williams, Mike Hollings (both on 1st), Richard Collier (12th), Dave Palferman (17th) and Damian Atkin x 2 (on 1st and 12th) - all Cash Spot Prizes: Nearest Pin on 1: Damian Atkin Mini Wine Nearest Pin on 5: Chris Jacques Mini Wine Longest Drive on 9: Russ Adamson Mini Wine Nearest Pin in 2 on 9: Ernie Williams Mini Wine Nearest Pin on 12: Richard Collier Mini Wine Nearest Pin on 17: Dave Palferman Mini Wine Nearest Pin in 2 on 18: Alan Barnsdale Mini Wine

6TH AND FINAL ROUND OF WINTER LEAGUE. Results courtesy of Steve Monk March 21st 2023

Today we played the sixth and final round of this year's Winter League. 13 holes of the course were open and the weather was fine throughout the morning, leading to a very pleasant game. Quite amazingly, the three leaders after Round 5 fought a good battle for the ultimate victory and finished in the top 3 places of today's round. The results today were: 1st - Wyn Jenkins, with 33 stableford points and 10 league points. 2nd - Alan Barnsdale, with 30 stableford points and 9 league points. 3rd - Ernie Williams, with 30 stableford points (on countback) and 8 league points. 4th - Peter Taylor, with 29 stableford points and 7 league points. 5th - Don Wraight, with 28 stableford points and 6 league points. 6th - George Hughes, with 27 stableford points and 5 league points. 7th - Steve Monk, with 27 stableford points (countback) and 4 league points. 8th - Mick Carnell, with 27 stableford points (countback) and 3 league points. 9th - Andrew Mitchell, with 27 stableford points (countback) and 2 league points. 10th - Reg Peacock, with 26 stableford points and 1 league point. 3 further players also scored 26 points but lost out on countback. I don't have all previous scores available so I cannot show a final table of all players' positions. I am sure Mike Healey will assemble all information and issue the final table when he returns from holiday. I can however issue the top 3 final places, as follows. 1st - Wyn Jenkins with a total of 43 league points. 2nd - Ernie Williams with 36 league points. 3rd - Alan Barnsdale with 34 league points. Well done to these 3 and also to all other players who scored points in several rounds. Finally, thanks to all who played in the various rounds through fair weather or less fair! At the last count a total of 52 of you have participated this year (12 of whom scored at least double figures of league points), which I am sure Mike Healey will be gratified by - it makes his work in organising and record keeping all worthwhile! Cheers Steve Monk

NO GOLF REPORTS THIS WEEK

Nothing to report this week as course been closed

Captains Newsletter March 2023

Captain's Newsletter: March 2023 Well here it is my last newsletter as Captain of our wonderful club. What a great honour it has been for me. I am now in my 25th year as a member of this club and what an amazing journey I have had. Having moved and relocated from West London to North Wales one of my priorities has been to find and become a member of a golf club having left Home Park golf club in Kingston and so many friends. What a friendly welcoming club this is. It has progressed to be a leading contender for the best in the area, if we are not that already. The green-staff this last month have been extremely busy preparing the course for the new competitive season which is nearly here. They have been holotined and sanded the tees, trimmed trees and used the chippings for paths and making the course attractive. Greens will be next to be holotined which will be done shortly depending on the weather, at the moment they are very fast and with Mark’s tender care can only get better. I can hear a few who will be frustrated when they are top dressed but the benefits will be well worth it in the long run. Competition sheets are online and in the foyer for all to enter. I must congratulate Alan Pocklington on producing fact sheets concerning the club competitions; I would love to see him overwhelmed with entries for the knock-outs. There are entries for the DGU team plus the Ping mixed which this year we hope enter 2 teams with your help, so please add your name if you wish to participate in this gents and ladies competition, you get to play at various courses during the heats and if successful and could end up in the semi-finals and finals at Carmarthen golf club in September. Congratulations Hayley who has passed her Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering and has been awarded a certificate to proudly display in the bar area together with her 5 star hygiene rating. Fully deserved and I hope very much that more members will use the facilities that she provides. Finally big thanks to ALL members who have supported the club. Julie and I in our Captaincies and hope that you will do the same for our new officers who will be voted in at the AGM on the 25th March to which you are all invited. There is an Agenda on the noticeboard together with proposals for incoming officers. Happy golfing and for the last time from me RAKE those bunkers and REPAIR those pitch marks. Don Wraight

Seniors Stableford Medal March 2nd 2023

Seniors Stableford Medal Thursday 2nd March Division 1 1st David Palferman (16) 41 2nd Michael Scott (20) 38 Division 2 1st Sean McCarthy (26) 39 2nd Bill Kelleher (23) 39 Division 3 1st Leslie Williams (32) 42 2nd Gareth Thomas (31) 36

St Davids Day 2023 competition results via Mike Healey

The Met. Office is anticipating a near-record low for rainfall in the month of February and we have been able to complete all of the scheduled calendar events, including the big one today. That said - there was some rain over the course just before play today, leaving the rough a little damp in places, but the fairways held well, play was not affected and some good scores were returned. So what was the competition to attract such numbers? Today we played the first of our majors - the Nearly St. David's Trophy, which naturally carries a Welsh theme throughout! A magnificent Trophy, entered by no fewer than 48 seniors, many sporting daffodils on the day. The troops not only played their golf but all remained for soup and sandwiches, the food being organised by Steve Monk, before the announcement of prizes. To say the afternoon was convivial is underselling the occasion. Roy Jones, Past Captain and still part-time member of the club, was present and as usual, sponsored the first prize to run alongside the Trophy - thank you Roy. There were 10 prizes in total, again brilliantly purchased and organised by Don Wraight, who always maintains the Welsh theme for this occasion. Chris Jacques, Senior Captain made a short speech before the prize-giving and Roy was on hand to present the prizes, which was preceded by the anouncement of the Ballsweep winners. The scores at the top were tight, with a lot of cards returning 35/36 points but on the day, none of them were good enough. Countback was required for all of the top 10 prize winners - read on! Ballsweep Winners: Russ Adamson - (2 on 2nd), Chris Jacques - (2 on 2nd) and Bob Jarvis - (2 on 12th). All three received £10.00 Nearly St. David's Day Trophy Results: First: Alan Barnsdale - 43 points (c/b) Trophy and Welsh Penderyn whisky Second: Mick Carnell - 43 points (c/b) Welsh gin Third: Andy Mitchell - 43 points (c/b) Welsh whisky glass and stones Fourth: Dave Palferman - 39 points (c/b) Welsh Merlyn cream licquer Fifth: Wyn Jenkins - 39 points (c/b) Welsh engraved hip flask Sixth: Richard Collier - 39 points (c/b) Welsh engraved pint glass and 3 Welsh beers Seventh: Ken Tieszen - 39 points (c/b) 12 golf balls and 1 Welsh beer Eighth: Liam Roddis - 38 points (c/b) 9 golf balls and 1 Welsh beer Ninth: Bill Kelleher - 38 points (c/b) Welsh hat, 3 golf balls and 1 Welsh beer Tenth: Chris Jacques - 38 points (c/b) 6 golf ball

Winter League as of January 31st 2023

Rank Name Nov 29th Jan 26th Jan 31st Feb 7th Feb 21st Mar 9th Total Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Points 1 Wyn Jenkins 10 3 5 5 10 33 2 Ernie Williams 7 9 7 5 28 3 Alan Barnsdale 4 6 3 8 4 25 4 Mick Carnell 10 10 20 5= Barry Dare 5 4 8 17 5= Peter Taylor 1 2 7 7 17 7 Bill Kelleher 9 6 15 8 Graham Wright 8 6 14 9= Gareth Thomas 3 5 3 11 9= Richard Collier 8 1 2 11 11 Peter Lord 10 10 12= Mike Scott 9 9 12= Nigel Davies 9 9 12= Dave A Jones 9 9 15= Andy Mitchell 6 2 8 15= Reg Peacock 8 8 17= Mike Hollings 6 1 7 17= Damian Atkin 7 7 19= Steve Graham 4 4 19= Liam Roddis 4 4 21 Colin Brown 3 3 22= Graham Bryne 2 2 22= Don Wraight 2 2 24= Peter Fraser 1 1 24= Les Williams 1 1

Winter league round 5. Results courtesy of Mike Healey

Cloudy with occasional sunshine breaking through and a chilling breeze to keep us on our toes. All repair work and drainage to the second hole has been completed, so the troops had to contend with the full eighteen holes today. The timing was good and ALL handicaps were entered correctly - thank you. The Committee members led the way round, in anticipation of a meeting immediately following the competition. Once again, there were some very good scores and the organiser is currently under the cosh with countback and card resolving. No fewer than four players registered two's in the ball sweep and they were: Mike Hollings (2nd) Don Wraight (2nd) Barry Dare (5th) and Stewart Poole (12th) - They each took a quarter share of the proceedings and there were a further six prizes for the Winter League winners. This time last year the overall WL result had been concluded after five rounds. Only three seniors can now win the Trophy - all to play for on the 9th March!!! Please find results below and WL table attached. Winter League - Round 5 Results: First: Wynn Jenkins 42 points (WL 10 pts) Second: Mike Scott 41 points (c/b) (WL 9 pts) Third: Barry Dare 41 points (c/b) (WL 8 pts) Fourth: Peter Taylor 40 points (c/b) (WL 7 pts) Fifth: Bill Kelleher 40 points (c/b) (WL 6 pts) Sixth: Ernie Williams 39 points (c/b) (WL 5 pts) Severnth: Alan Barnsdale 39 points (c/b) (WL 4 pts) Eighth: Colin Brown 37 points (c/b) (WL 3 pts) Ninth: Andy Mitchell 37 points (c/b) (WL 2 pts) Tenth: Mike Hollings 37 points (c/b) (WL 1 pt) Dave Palferman and Les Williams also carded 37 points but both missed out on countback.

Pairs Betterball results February 16th. via Mike Healey

We only had 16 holes available today because Scottish Power were cutting trees and adjusting their cables across holes 16 and 17. It mattered not. The 37 troops who turned up were paired together and set forth from a variety of new tees. Although cloudy, the sun shone through and we reached a heady 15 degs temperature - almost spring-like conditions to be playing in. Because of the numbers, three members played with 2 different partners, therefore geting two bites of the cherry. The scoring was tight at the top (remember only 16 holes) with 3 cards on 39. Alas two of them lost out on countback with the four prizes on offer. Pairs Betterball Results: First: Peter Taylor and Gareth Thomas 41 points Second: Bob Jarvis and Richard Collier 40 points (c/b) Third: Andy Mitchell and Stewart Poole 40 points (c/b) Fourth: Irwin Elkin and George Hughes 39 points (c/b) Braib Beaton/ Malcolm Williams and Alan Barnsdale/ Richard Collier just missed out on countback, also with 39 points Reply, Reply all or Forward

Texas Scramble February 14th 2023. Report via Mike Healey

. 37 members arrived for today's Texas Scramble - always a popular event. There was a reminder about handicaps and generally, there was a good feel around the clubhouse before the first tee. The predicted 13 degs and sunshine didn't exactly materialise and it warmed up a little around mid-morning. 3 x threeballs set the pace and the fourballs stayed with them, with all arriving back in good time. All the scoring was close with several cards requiring countback but as usual, there can only be so many winners. Well done all! Texas Scramble Results: First: Russ Adamson, Richard Collier, Bob Jarvis and Reg Peacock - 59.3 Second: Mick Carnell, Graham Bryne, Stuart Leyland and Nigel Davies - 59.7 Third: Don Wraight, Barry Dare and Andy Mitchell - 60.6

9x3 plus 9x2 February 9th 2023 Courtesy of Mike Healey

The weather held, the breeze was comfortable and the sun came out - just what we ordered for today's senior competition. 34 members turned out for our "9 x 3" plus "9 x 2" competition, which meant that we had to employ two ghost scores with the first two of the nine groups. A reminder was given about course management before we went to the first tee and there was a noticeable difference in overall finishing time today. Hopefully this will continue. The expected score for this format is nearly always between 90 and 100 points and six of the cards returned that, making par or better. The winning three cards scored even better for the three prizes on offer: Senior "9 x 3" plus "9 x 2" Result: First: Tom McGrady, Dave A Jones, Ernie Williams and Bob Jarvis - 111 points Second: Peter Lord, Reg Peacock, Richard Collier and Graham Bryne - 107 points Third: Stuart Leyland, Brian Beaton, Keith Hawthorn and Mick Carnell - 103 points

Winter League update after Round 4

SENIORS WINTER LEAGUE 2022/23 League Table To Date - After Round 3 Nov 29th Jan 26th Jan 31st Feb 7th Feb 21st Mar 9th Total Rank Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Points 1 Ernie Williams 7 9 7 23 2 Wyn Jenkins 10 3 5 18 3 Graham Wright 8 6 14 4 Alan Barnsdale 4 6 3 13 5= Mick Carnell 10 10 5= Peter Lord 10 10 7= Dave A Jones 9 9 7= Barry Dare 5 4 9 7= Richard Collier 8 1 9 7= Bill Kelleher 9 9 11= Reg Peacock 8 8 11= Gareth Thomas 3 5 8 13 Damian Atkin 7 7 14 Andy Mitchell 6 6 15 Liam Roddis 4 4 16 Peter Taylor 1 2 3 17= Graham Bryne 2 2 17= Don Wraight 2 2 19 Les Williams 1 1

Winter League 4th Round February 7th 2023, Report via Mike Healey et al

Club Captain, Don Wraight presided over the draw this morning in my absence, for which I am most grateful. 31 members threw their tallies into the bag and groups walked to their respective tees. The full course is once again open, with all repairs completed on the second hole. It was extremely chilly first thing but the sun came through and reasonably warm dry conditions prevailed for their golf. Despite a fair amount of rain earlier in the new year we have now managed to complete four rounds of the six in the Winter League series. Many of the top ten cards went to countback. Please read on for today’s results and find the up-to-date table attached: Winter League – Round 4 Results: First: Mick Carnell 40 points (10WL pts) Second: Nigel Davies 35 points (c/b) (9WL pts) Third: Alan Barnsdale 35 points (c/b) (8WL pts) Fourth: Peter Taylor 34 points (c/b) (7WL pts) Fifth: Mike Hollings 34 points (c/b) (6WL pts) Sixth: Wynn Jenkins 32 points (5WL pts) Seventh: Steve Graham 31 points (c/b) (4WL pts) Eighth: Gareth Thomas 31 points (c/b) (3WL pts) Ninth: Richard Collier 30 points (c/b) (2WL pts) Tenth: Peter Fraser: 30 points (c/b) (1WL pt) Steve Monk also carded 30 points but missed out on countback.

Captains Newsletter February 2023

Captain's Newsletter: February 2023 After a long period of bad weather and the course closure, at last we are able to hone those golf swings ready for the up-coming season. Mark and crew have been busy improving the course and removing some trees, the favourite members tree on the right of the 15th has sadly gone (I can hear the cheers). Bill Lewis has again blessed us with some new machinery so a great big thanks Bill. Noticeboards will be filling up with invitations for DGU competitions, the spring meeting will be upon us in a blink of the eye so get your names up asap if you wish to join in the competition, plus vice-captain Mick McHugh has a notice on the board for those wishing to participate in the DGU league team. It would be great to continue our run of winning the division. Tickets are on sale for my last supper dinner and dance, and are selling well. There is a limit on tables so make sure you get your ticket before the night is sold out. Posters are about the clubhouse for this and Hayley has the tickets and menu choice. Club A.G.M. is on the 25th of March the day after and I hope to see an abundance of members attending. February being a shorter month and not a lot to report apart form a plea from me. Please be courteous if you visit a bunker and honour those playing in the groups behind. I’m very certain that you do not wish to play out of a foot print yourselves and nor would others, so please rake when you leave the bunker. Have a great February; don’t forget your Valentine partners on the 14th of the month. Don

Seniors Stableford Medal February 2nd 2023

Division One Results Points x 1st Damian Atkin(18) 38 2nd Alan Barnsdale(17) 35 3rd Reg Peacock(19) 33 Division Two results 1st Michael Carnell(21) 38 2nd Keith Hawthorn(21) 38 3rd Graham Bryne(24) 38 Division Three Results Points x 1st Liam Roddis(30) 40 2nd Barry Dare(28) 35 3rd David A Jones(29) 34

Winter League round 3 January 31st 2023. Report via Mike Healey

Seniors - Another good day for Winter League golf. The course is drying very nicely and the greens are definitely faster than last week. The forecast was showers but it turned out to be more of a fine spray on the breeze, to the effect that no rain gear was produced at all. The wind had more of a chill factor but did not significantly affect the play. 36 members went into the draw and you know the routine - the top 10 cards received Winter League points, with the top 7 picking up kitty comp cash prizes. Reminder - February Medal this week (Thursday 2nd), Winter League Round 4 next week (Tuesday 7th) and then there is a break before Round 5. Today's competition has produced some very good cards/scores but you needed 33 points or above to get any league points. Winter League - Round 3 First: Mick Carnell 40 points (10 WL pts) Second: Dave A Jones 39 points (9 WL pts) Third: Reg Peacock 38 points (c/b) (8 WL pts) Fourth: Ernie Williams 38 points (c/b) (7 WL pts) Fifth: Graham Wright 37 points (6 WL pts) Sixth: Wyn Jenkins 35 points (c/b) (5 WL pts) Seventh: Bary Dare 35 points (c/b) (4 WL pts) Eighth: Alan Barnsdale 35 points (c/b) (3 WL pts) Ninth: Graham Bryne 34 points (2 WL pts) Tenth: Richard Collier 33 points (c/b) (1 WL pt) Colin Brown also had 33 points but missed out on countback.

Winter league round 2 January 26th 2023. Report via Mike Healey

We finally got a round in! All snow and ice has been cleared around the course and there has been some good work completed by the groundstaff on hedges and clearance of fallen trees. There were only 13 holes open for the 29 seniors who turned up - but it was probably an ideal course length after the relatively long lay-off. As expected, the greens were a little slow after all the snow that had been on them. The cloudy weather and a bitter wind did not deter any of the participants. Today was the second Round of the Winter League and Round 3 is now scheduled for next Tuesday (31st). Just a reminder - the top ten scores pick up league points 1 - 10 and as usual, numbers dictate kitty comp prize money with the top six picking up cash prizes today. See WL Result below: Winter League - Round 2 First: Peter Lord 29 points (c/b) (10 WL pts) Second: Ernie Williams 29 points (c/b) (9 WL pts) Third: Graham Wright 29 points (c/b) (8 WL pts) Fourth: Damian Atkin 28 points (7 WL pts) Fifth: Alan Barnsdale 27 points (c/b) (6 WL pts) Sixth: Gareth Thomas 27 points (c/b) (5 WL pts) Seventh: Liam Roddis 26 points (c/b) (4 WL pts) Eighth: Wynn Jenkins 26 points (c/b) (3 WL pts) Ninth: Peter Taylor 25 points (c/b) (2 WL pts) Tenth: Les Williams 25 points (c/b) (1 WL pt) Nigel Davies, Graham Bryne and Mike Hollings also carded 25 points but missed out on countback.

Putting Competition January 24th 2023. Report and news and photos courtesy of Don Wraight - Mr Captain

anti domestic chore Seniors showed up today for an 18 hole putting competition in the studio. Making sure their wives were left alone to do what wives should do. All good fun with many a hole in ones and lots of treading on players lines. Hayley was on hand for all to have coffee and various breakfast baps or toasties. Result 1st Richard Collier 2nd Steve Monk after a 3 hole play off 3rd Peter Taylor

Fingers and anything else crossed for play on the course on Thursday. The green staff are working hard to get things back running for play. Remember to add your names on IG for the February medal. Tickets are available for the Captains’ last supper on the 24th March. A few are booking tables for the Seniors so get in quick.

Putting competition Thursday January 19th. Report and photos courtesy of Don Wraight - Captain

Phew what a grand effort for a brave 13 souls playing 18 holes on the indoor putting green. Some slow play was in evidence due to hold ups when players were crossing holes. Eveyone enjoyed the competition which was won by Tom Pierce with Richard Collier 2nd winning a play off with TomMcGrady. Hayley was on hand making coffees and various breakfast baps and sandwiches after and we all enjoyed the banter. Clays Seniors did it again

Captains Newsletter January 2023

Captain's Newsletter: January 2023 I hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you all the best in 2023. We start the New Year with an abundance of rain which has seen the course closed for long periods, a shame for all of us but necessary. During this period the green staff have been very busy indeed. The 7th hole has had a lot of bushes removed on the left hand side which gives the hole a better appearance. A big thank you goes to owner Bill Lewis on installing another gate on the left of the 3rd tee, enabling a safer entry from the 13th green to the 14th tee. I would encourage all members to use this gate. It had been noticed at the weekends, when the main gate was closed, that players entering the course were in danger from tee shots from the 3rd tee. Please DO NOT use the gate from the 4th to the 5th, there is a NO ENTRY sign to remind you and it’s your safety that is paramount. Our new proposed club competition organiser Alan Pocklington has been busy producing monthly posters to remind you of events and competitions, please look out for these on the noticeboard. The knock-out entry forms for both club and senior competitions will be available soon, something else to look out for and compete in. I hope you are all getting on with the Intelligent Golf system. With the 2023 calendar online you can now plan your year in advance. Entry to the various competitions that are on offer could not be any easier, just a press of a button on your mobile phone, tablet or computer whether you have the app or on the Clays website. This year we will be hoping to retain the DGU League Division 1 trophy and those wishing to participate in the team must look out for the entry sheet on the noticeboard, we will be competing against teams from Moss Valley, Abergele and Old Colwyn. The start of the main competition season commences on 1st April and prior to that will be the Club A.G.M. on the 25th March, where I hope members will be in attendance to welcome in your new Captains for the 2023 season. Until then on behalf of the Council we wish you all very good golf and a Happy New Year. Don Wraight Club Captain

Pairs betterball January 5th 2023.Report Mike Healy and Don Wraight

Once again, Don took over the morning tally draw and resolving of cards, for which I am in his debt. 23 members entered for our Pairs Betterball and I assume one person got two bites of the cherry. The overhead cloud was always threatening and most got away with it but some of the tail-enders caught some of the forecast rain. The course held up with only the 2nd hole being closed and the following results were recorded: Pairs Betterball: First: Mick Carnell & Bob Jarvis 43pts Second: Andy Mitchell & Peter Taylor 41pts Third: Stewart Poole & Peter Thomas 39pts Well done to all participants!! Tuesday 10th next week - Winter League (Round 2), Thursday 12th - January Medal

Seniors report Individual Stableford/courtesy of Mike Healey et al . January 3rd 2023

Seniors - A Happy New Year to you all!! I trust you all had a good festive season and after the inclement weather (possibly the odd drop of alcohol?), you are all ready once again to do battle on the golf course 2023. Can I start the report by thanking Don Wraight for overseeing the tally draw and resolving the cards at the end. Graham Bryne then delivered the cards to me, hence the ensuing report and results. I will be back as soon as possible. Today was scheduled in the calendar as a New Year Waltz but the numbers did not warrant the format. Ten stalwart seniors threw their tallies into the bag and although the forecast was not great, (a little rain experienced) it was not quite as bad as predicted. The second hole was closed and a decision was made to play through to hole fifteen (14 holes in total). The troops played out a straightforward Individual Stableford with the following conclusion: Individual Stableford: First: Mick Carnell (29 points) Second: Graham Bryne (27 points) c/b Third: Peter Taylor (27 points) c/b

Xmas Open results 2022

Prizes have been awarded to the top 3 places and will be ready to collect from the Golf Reception from 1pm on Monday 2nd January. The results are as follows... 1st - Dan Goodall, Kev Jones, Aled Bonds, Iwan Bonds - 52.5 2nd - Gary Garner, Phil Ashcroft, Dee Garner, Ben Lee - 52.9 3rd - Andy Nodder, Matt Westcott, Ben Westcott, James Westcott - 53.9 4th - Stephen Hughes, Paul Griffiths, Robin Holden, Iqbal Shergill - 54.6 5th - David Roberts, Craig Stubbs, Kimi Evans, Andy Witton - 54.8 6th - Cai Griffiths, Jacob, Matty, Curtis - 55 7th - Colin Pennington, Selwyn Edwards, Peter, Stewart Williams - 55 8th - Darran Edwards, Darren Jones, Tony Norris - 55.4 9th - Andy Matthews, Nick Buley, Anthony Diamond, Darren Sharpe - 55.5 10th - Kev Scaife, Tony Bull, Gareth Whitley, Ian Connell - 55.8 11th - Chris Parry, Les Waddell, Dave Evans, Neil Burgoyne - 55.9 12th - Paul Wallace Jones, Paul Stevenson, Jack Whitehouse, Graham Davidson Clarke - 56.7 13th - Andy Newcombe, Charlie Boys, Tom Gledhill - 56.8 14th - Craig Matthews, Wes Rolfe, Spencer Rolfe, George Elwin - 57.1 15th - Frazer Jones, Fred Jones, Huw Parry, David Clayton - 57.2 16th - Greg Ellis, Dan Robertson, Simon Harrop, Andrew Milne - 58.4 17th - Andi Jones, Justin Bull, Steve Jones, Kenny Hughes - 58.9 18th - Rich Milne, Danny Moore, Dave Cox - 59.9 19th - Mike Hughes, Wayne Hughes, Shaun Marl, Craig Marl - 61 20th - Mike Hollings, Damian Atkin, Stewart Poole, Mick Carnell - 62.9 21st - Nicola Bowen, Peter Bowen, Dave A Jones, Carol Jones - 67.7

3 clubs and a putter results from Mike Healey December 21st 2022

Seniors - Late result. The cards are all in (Thanks to Steve) and there will be no more results from me before the New Year, so I am announcing the winners of the Three Clubs and a Putter from the 8th December. I have now completed the annual stats and I will send them out with your January calendar as my only Xmas presents to you all this year. My generosity knows no bounds. Three Clubs - there were 17 holes open and 20 seniors threw their tallies into the draw. Read on - Three Clubs and a Putter: 1st - Alan Barnsdale (37 points) 2nd - George Hughes (35 points) 3rd - Graham Bryne (31 points) c/b 4th - Mick Carnel (31 points) c/b 5th - Andy Mitchell (29 points)

Seniors Xmas Party. Photos courtesy of Mr Captain Don Wraight

Seniors AGM and Texas scramble December 6th 2022. Report courtesy of Mike Healey

Seniors - There was a good turn-out today for the Senior section AGM, starting at 12.00 noon. Hon. Secretary - Barry Dare will publish the minutes of today's meeting, as and when they are completed. Suffice it to say that the meeting was preceded by a presentation to the Royal British Legion. The sum of £400.00 was raised on their behalf at our November Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy event. Our Senior Captain, Chris Jacques, presented the checque to the attending officers, who in turn gave a thank-you speech and presented the club with a certificate. Chris presented a cheque for £400 raised by seniors section members to Kevin Forbes and Claire Lewis of the Royal British Legion who both made speeches and assured everyone the money would be spent in Wrexham. As always, we scheduled a shortened version of our normal Texas Scramble beforehand. Today, 25 seniors entered the Tally draw, so we played in two sections of 3 x threeballs and 4 x fourballs, with one prize in each section. Despite a very cold forecast, the weather was benign and playing conditions were really quite pleasant. With the second hole still closed, we flitted across to the far side of the course for two holes, making it a ten hole Scramble. Please read on for results: Texas Scramble Threeball: Winners: Wyn Jenkins, Alan Bottomley and Peter Lord - 35.5 Texas Scramble Fourball: Winners: Richard Collier, Nigel Davies, Mick Carnell and Bob Jarvis - 35.2 Reminder - Thursday's competition is Three Clubs and a Putter! Don't let anybody with the initials MC win this one!!

Seniors Medal Stableford December 1st 2022

SENIORS STABLEFORD MEDAL December 1st 2022 Div1 1 Richard Collier 32 pts 2 Alan Barnsdale 31 pts 3 Tony Jackson 29pts Div2 1 Michael Hollings 31 pts 2 Robert Jarvis 30 pts 3 Peter Michael Thomas 29pts Div 3 1 Peter Martin Jones 33 pts 2 David A Jones 31 pts 3 George Hughes 30 pts

Winter League round one and report from Mike Healey

Before the Winter League result, can I remind everyone about the Texas Scramble next Tuesday, followed by the Seniors AGM immediately afterwards. Our Winter League has unfortunately had a delayed start this year, with the recent inclement weather prevailing and the result was a number of postponements. Although somewhat chilly, the sun came out and Round 1 began with a bang this morning when 35 members entered the tally draw. The December calendar has a number of specific events and competitions, so further Winter League rounds will take place in January / February. For any newcomers, the first / best 10 cards are allocated 1 - 10 points towards the Winter League final prize. It is also a kitty comp and there were 7 prizes on offer today - please find all 10 winners below. Winter League - Round 1 Results: First: Wyn Jenkins 32 points (c/b) (10 WL pts) Second: Bill Kelleher 32 points (c/b) (9 WL pts) Third: Richard Collier 31 points (c/b) (8 WL pts) Fourth: Ernie Williams 31 points (c/b) (7 WL pts) Fifth: Andy Mitchell 29 points (c/b) (6 WL pts) Sixth: Barry Dare 29 points (c/b) (5 WL pts) Seventh: Alan Barnsdale 28 points (c/b) (4 WL pts) Eighth: Gareth Thomas 28 points (c/b) (3 WL pts) Ninth: Don Wraight 28 points (c/b) (2 WL pts) Tenth: Peter Taylor 28 points (c/b) (1 WL pt)

November 24th 2022. Putting Competition with photos kindly supplied by Don Wraight Club Captain and report from Mike Healey

The overnight rain, once again, put the dampener on outdoor golf. A hastily arranged indoor putting session saw 11 Seniors at their best in this part of the game. Before the results - an update on the state of play. Mark has reported that the course is not too bad and very little standing water. They are hoping to open this weekend with possibly a few hole closures but we can't hold him to that promise. As always, they are doing their best to get the course back in play. If open - next Tuesday reverts to what will be Round 1 of the Senior Winter League, followed by the December Medal on Thursday. Your December calendar will be e-mailed soon. If the course is closed on Tuesday, there will be another putting session but this time played on a league basis???😋 Watch this space. Today we played 18 holes - average 36 putts. So who won? - a litle embarrassing - Yours Truly!! 1st: Mike Healey 31 putts 2nd: Barry Evans 33 putts (after play-off) 3rd Peter Taylor 33 putts. Two more seniors joined us latterday and we all retired upstairs afterwards for breakfast baps and coffee prepared by Hayley. See you all next week.

November 22nd 2022. Update from Mike Healey

I hope you are all completing household chores - well some of you at least. We were looking at indoor putting for this morning and some breakfast with Hayley but she rang to say she was having the morning off, so that piece of organisation went by the wayside. I am sticking with Pairs Betterball for Thursday, if the course is open after today's dry weather. The forecast is not great for tomorrow though, so please look out for the ig message for Thursday morning. If the course is closed, Josh has given the go ahead for the use of the indoor putting area (a small comp) and for those in the mood - breakfast baps with Hayley. See you on Thursday morning.

Course closed November 19th and 20th

We are sorry to inform you that after a course inspection this afternoon, Mark (Head Greenkeeper) has informed us that the golf course condition is still very much unplayable, and it will remain CLOSED this weekend; Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th November. A further course inspection will be carried out on Monday morning. The Driving Range will be open as normal from 8am - 5pm, with last balls at 4.15pm. Best regards, Clays Golf Team

Course update news via Mike Healey. November 18th 2022

Seniors - Most of you will have noticed that the course is once again closed today (4 days to date). The purpose of this communication is twofold. Diary wise - should we have access to playing next week - Tuesday 22nd will be the re-scheduled Round 1 of our Senior Winter League (no matter how many holes are open). Thursday 24th - I am re-scheduling a Pairs Betterball. Let us all keep our fingers crossed that we can get some golf in. Before the inclement weather, both general club members and Senior members had complained at length about the leaves on the course, not to mention the time taken in searching and overall length of rounds. You will have seen that Josh has put out an extension to the club's winter rules by inserting a clause on leaves. It is vitally important that all seniors familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of the new ruling and all abide by it. As a playing group, we all need to observe each other's shots and conduct an initial search if the ball is amongst the leaves. We must be able to identify the immediate area where the next shot should be played, if the initial ball cannot be found. The introduction of a substitute ball can only happen with the agreement of the rest of the group and all/any disputes must be settled before the end of the round and signing of cards. Hopefully, if we get it right, we will be able to speed up our rounds. Weather permitting - we shall do battle in the Winter League next Tuesday

Course closure update from Mike Healey November 15th 2022

The groundstaff worked a long shift yesterday, to get the fairways cut where they were able. They foresaw the inclement weather coming in but alas nobody could do anything to stop it and hence today's closure. Unfortunately, there is further rain forecast for the next 48 hours also, so keep a "weather" eye on the course opening on Thursday. If it is open, we will play the Waltz as planned on the calendar and the Winter League Round 1 will be re-scheduled for Tuesday 22nd. If we lose Rounds 1 and 2 before Xmas, there is always time to squeeze them into February and March. Flexibility in dates was mentioned a couple of weeks ago and it looks like we have now moved into that part of the season. I hope you found plenty of winter garden clearing to fill your day or simply read a book.

Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy November 10th 2022. Report via Mike Healey

Another good day in our calendar. The Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy is held every year for the above named man and indeed, a member who was a stalwart, general organiser within the section and ex-senior Captain. Not only is Ken remembered but it is also a great opportunity for seniors to honour the 11th November and donations are invited and made to the Royal British Legion in lieu of a competition fee. On this occasion the senior section not only competed for the Trophy but also very generously raised the sum of £382.00. A big thank you to all. If you didn't play today and would still like to donate to this very worthy cause, you can leave donations in reception (in an envelope) F. A. O. Steve Monk with DONATION TO ROYAL BRITISH LEGION written on it. He will collect any/all donations next week. And so to the competition itself and result. 34 seniors entered the tally draw, which was essentially an individual stableford. The second hole was still closed due to maintenance and despite being quite warm throughout, we all fought a howling gale, which definitely influenced the scores. There were 10 cards with 30 - 36 points but we only ever have one winner for this event. With the top score of 37 points the recipient of the K.L. Memorial Trophy plus a bottle of Auchentoshan malt whisky was the aforesaid man above - Steve Monk himself. Well done Steve. Photo courtesy of Don Wraight Club Captain

Captains Newsletter November 2022

Captain's Newsletter: November 2022 Hi everyone hope that you are as excited as me with the introduction to Intelligent Golf. Clays have now fully migrated to IG from HDID, if you still have the HDID app on your phone, tablet or any other device then please remove as it is no longer in use for our club. Having a complete guide to the IG system, I and the rest of the council can see how well we can progress with the running of competitions in the future. There may well be blips to start with as we get used to inputting comps and scores but these will be ironed out and by the time the 2023 season starts all members should see the benefits, and be comfortable with the system. Players will now be able to sign-up online to play in competitions and knock-outs without the need to enter on noticeboards. They can see the draws in the regards to knock-outs and when the various rounds need to be played by, best of all their progress in the knock-outs. I will update you on how payments for entering these competitions next month, so keep a lookout. In quoting Michael Buble’ “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” Turkey trots are commencing and the Ladies tinsel trails are starting too. Good luck to all those taking part On the 9th December we have a Members Christmas Party in the club house; tickets are on sale with Hayley. There will be a buffet and a disco with a variety of music for all ages, young and old, all for the price of £10 per person. Get your tickets quick as there will be a limit on catering for this event. We had lots of fun last year and I for one am looking forward to get my dancing shoes on once again. Let’s get this place rocking!!! Our course is holding up pretty well with all the rain that’s been put upon us, something I suppose we had to expect after such a long dry spell. Please be mindful with the green staff, they are doing a great job. Help them out by repairing your pitch marks on the green and raking bunkers after use. Be aware too by keeping away from the greens and tees with trollies. Happy golfing Don

Texas scrambe November 8th 2022. Report via Mike Healey

There was a minor change to the calendar today in that we played a straightforward Texas Scramble instead of the Shamble that was previously advertised. The weather forecast had a slight influence on the decision but Shambles can sometimes become protracted so we aimed for a more expedient format. 26 troops turned out for the draw so we played 2 x threeballs (1 prize) and 5 x fourballs (2 prizes). The top three cards in the fourballs were very tight in their scoring. All seven groups played through the sunshine and occasional early showers but we were all hit by the downpour just before mid-day. We all survived and the results are as follows: Texas Scramble Threeball: First: Don Wraight, Mike Healey and Steve Monk 60.9 Texas Scramble Fourball: First:Chris Jacques, Gareth Thomas, Alan Barnsdale and Mick Carnell 52.8 Second: Richard Collier, Bill Kelleher, Peter Lord and Peter Taylor 52.9

November medal results from November 3rd 2022

Division One Results Points Switch to Gross Points x 1st Ernie Williams(18)33points 33 2nd Nigel Davies(16)32points 32 3rd Malcolm Williams(20)32points 32 Division Two Results x 1st Tom McGrady(23)34points 2nd Bill Kelleher(23)34points 3rd Michael Carnell(21)31points Division Three Results Points Switch to Gross Points x 1st David A Jones(29)34points 34 2nd Steve Monk(27)29points 29 3rd Alan Pocklington(33)28points 28

Three ball two to count November 1st 2022, Report via Mike Healey

Threeball - Two to Count Report. The rain held today but again there was ball searching because of the leaves. The greenkeepers are doing a great job in blowing and shredding but some groups still experienced lengthy searches on certain parts of the course. The returning scores were not great today but all the cards came within close range of each other. There were 24 tallies in the draw so eight threeballs competed for the two prizes on offer. Threeball - Two to Count: First: Andy Mitchell, Reg Peacock and Mick Carnell 72 points Second: Dave Jones, Liam Roddis and Mike Healey 67 points Peter Taylor, John Kelty and Stan Roberts just missed out on 65 points

Yellow Ball October 27th 2022

The forecast was showers early doors and that is what we got. The BBC also promised brighter weather with the rain dying out and it wasn't very long before that too transpired. It wasn't today's weather that was the problem. Heavy overnight rain and more falling leaves unfortunately made ground conditions quite difficult on occasions. Ball searches were the order of the day and long rounds ensued. We still managed to complete a Yellow Ball over 17 holes (second hole closed for maintenance). 26 members were in the draw and there were three prizes. Yellow Ball Result: First: Stewart Poole, Bill Kelleher and Ernie Williams 117 points Second: Mike Healey, Don Wraight (Club Captain) and (ghost player) Peter Taylor 100 points Third: Les Williams, Liam Roddis and Damian Atkin 98 points

Pairs both scores count October 25th 2022. Results via Mike Healey

Today Pairs Both to Count but who came out of the hat with you? The weather was warm and cloudy so pleasant conditions, however, the dreaded leaves have started dropping and discovering the whereabouts of golf balls became time consuming. All said and done, some reasonable scores were returned from the 40 seniors who went into the draw. There were five prizes in total: Pairs - Both to Count Result: First: Peter Fraser and Malcolm Williams 59 points Second: Irwin Elkin and David A Jones 57 points Third: Barry Dare and Graham Bryne 54 points (c/b) Fourth: Ken Tieszen and Peter Thomas 54 points (c/b) Fifth: Mike Drake and Tom Blackshaw 53 points

Individual Stableford results via Mike Healey October 20th 2022

The weather forecast on Wednesday night was not too promising with substantial rain on offer, however, despite a fairly low number of members being anticipated this morning, no fewer than 32 Seniors threw their tally into the Thursday draw. The rain did eventually arrive about 10.30am but nobody appeared to be too wet on entry back into the clubhouse. There was some terrific putting being recorded around the groups, largely because of the excellent green conditions. There were 6 prizes on offer and scoring at the top was once again fairly tight and required countback for resolution. Individual Stableford Results: First: Richard Collier 40 points (c/b) Second: Andy Mitchell 40 points (c/b) Third: Mike Healey 40 points (c/b) Fourth: Ernie Williams 38 points Fifth: Don Wraight 36 points Sixth: Damian Atkin 35 points (c/b) Alan Barnsdale also had 35 points but missed out on countback.

Kitty competition results Courtesy of Steve Monk October 18th 2022

Seven 3-balls contested a Waltz. In 1st place were Richard Collier, David (Mole) Jones, and Alan Barnsdale with a total of 85 points. 2nd were Chris Jacques, Andrew Mitchell and Malcolm Williams with 72 points. Five 4-balls contested a Tango. In 1st place were John Falcus, Dave A Jones, Les Williams and Peter Taylor with 90 points. 2nd were Colin Brown, Brian Beaton, Ernie Williams and Steve Graham with 89 points.

Texas scramble results October 13th 2022 Courtesy of Steve Monk

In Mike Healey's absence, here is the result of today's competition, which was a Texas Scramble played in 3-balls and 4-balls. 3-balls: Just 3 teams competed, so only one prize. Winners - Fred Court, Irwin Elkin and Richard Collier, with a net score of 61.3 4-balls: 7 teams competed for 2 prizes. Winners - Damian Atkin, Keith Hawthorn, Tom Blackshaw and Peter Taylor with 53.7. Runners-up - Tom McGrady, Mick Carnell, Wyn Jenkins and Stan Roberts with 54.3. Regards Steve Monk

Pairs betterball results via Mike Healey October 11th 2022

34 members entered the tally draw this morning for a straightforward Pairs Betterball. The weather held and jackets came off at one stage for 17 degrees of sunshine. There was a committee meeting immediately afterwards and thanks go to Tom McGrady for resolving the cards and sorting the kitty prizes. There were four prizes today and countback was required for the top four cards. Pairs Betterball Result: First: Steve Monk and Mike Healey 42 points (c/b) Second: Stewart Poole and Peter Taylor 42 points (c/b) Third: Richard Collier and Peter Fraser 41 points (c/b) Fourth: Tom Pierce and Chris Jacques 41 points (c/b)

Seniors Medal October 6th 2022

Medal Thursday, October 6th 2022 Div 1 1 Richard Collier 38pts 2 Tony Jackson 36pts 3 Russ Adamson 35pts Div2 1 Keith Hawthorn 37pts 2 William Kelleher 36pts 3 Michael Carnell 32pts Div3 1 Liam Roddis 39pts 2 Peter Taylor 36pts 3 Steve Monk 32pts

Captains Newsletter October 2022 from Don Wraight

Captains Newsletter October 2022 Hello happy golfers. Autumn has arrived and in my view the course is still looking very good. Well done to all the green staff, who I must remind the male members of the club that we do have a female member on the staff. Please be aware when you’re visiting the trees. The Denbighshire Golf Union held their autumn meeting at our club on the 25th September. The course was presented in a very good condition despite the heavy rain leading up to the Sunday. Mark and staff doing a grand job, thank you one and all. There were 5 prizes on offer from the union and embarrassingly Clays won them all. Nick Buley and his partner Andy Matthews taking the top prize with 44pts closely followed by 4 teams on 43pts separated on countbacks. Well done everyone for entering and supporting this event. Let’s hope we at Clays can hold future DGU events. More congratulations go to Jane Evans and Graham Davidson-Clarke who played in the Purvis Trophy at Conway golf club and came home with the trophy. Well done both and a great achievement by Graham who has come back from a very nasty foot trauma. Not to be outdone the Ladies team retained the Borders League trophy at Mile End by beating Llanymynech, well done. The Ladies section is really doing a grand job. Senior section held an almost Ryder Cup trophy competition with teams representing Wales versus The Rest of the World which resulted in a tie 6 matches each. A fun day. Thanks to the Mike Healey, who organised the competition and the day. I was very pleased to represent my mother’s country. Aside from the competition part of Clays the Ladies held an afternoon tea in honour of Roz Carmen who passed away recently. Roz was a long standing member at Clays and will be solely missed by us all. My Captain’s away day was well supported; thank you all for being there at Abergele golf Club. It was a sunny and warm day, with a slight breeze. There was a trophy for 1st place together with a kitty prize which went to Paul Stevenson with 46pts, 2nd was Chris McAteer. The wooden spoon trophy went to Peter Bowen. As I stated at the start of my report autumn is here and leaves will be falling by the bucket loads, damp and wet conditions I daresay will follow. At a request from Hayley, staff and myself could members please be kind enough to clean their shoes and trollies as they come off the course. Mud in the car park and even more so in the clubhouse is distraction from how we wish to present Clay’s. Please make use of the air compressor that is provided. Lastly a reminder that Presentation day is on the 15th October and I would like to see all the trophy winners and runners up to be there to collect their prizes. There will be a texas scamble before the presentations tees are still available to fill; entry sheet is on the bottom of the stairs noticeboard. Hope you all continue to enjoy your golf Don Wraight Captain

Oswestry Seniors Open October th 2022. Well done Andy Mitchell and Alan Barnsdale of Clays

OSWESTRY GOLF CLUB COMPETITION RESULT AUTUMN SENIORS OPEN 5 th October 2022 1. Chris Fisher & Steve Partridge (Shrewsbury) 47 points 2. Peter Jones & Ray Leadbetter (Prestatyn) 44 points 3. Andy Mitchell & Alan Barnsdale (Clays) 43 points* 4. Henry Malloy & Barry Merrick (Eastham Lodge) 43 points 5. Simon Frith & David West (Sandiway / Heyrose) 42 points

Bonus Ball October 4th 2022

Seniors - Mike Healey says thanks go to Don and Chris for resolving the competitions today and what is more - delivering the cards to my house. The weather forecast for these next 48 hours has not been good but importantly, it would appear that the troops all got back to the clubhouse dry. 25 Seniors went into the tally draw, so it became necessary to play in three- and fourballs for the Bonus Ball competition. The scoring in the fourball competition was particularly close. There was one prize for the threeballs and two prizes for the fourballs. The two results are as follows: Bonus Ball Threeball: First: Mick Carnell, Peter Thomas, Bob Jarvis 146 points (other results - 126 points and 121 points) Bonus Ball Fourball: First: Stewart Poole, Russ Adamson, Alan Barnsdale, Tony Jackson 177 points Second: Andy Mitchell, Richard Collier, Irwin Elkin, Ian Ketland 176 points (other results - 175 points and165 points)

3 clubs and a putter September 29th 2022. Report from Mike Healey

I am starting with an advert. In Tony Harcombe's absence, there have been a number of cry offs for next week's Open at Oswestry. Alan Pocklington very kindly stepped in for one of the slots today but we are still one place short. If you can play next Wednesday (5th October) please let Stuart Leyland know as soon as possible. Also, the October calendar will be posted later on this evening. Today's Golf - 31 tallies were placed on the board today for a Three Clubs and a Putter event. The BBC forecast gave sun with cloud and the possibility of light showers after 12.00 noon. Some very fine spots did appear but they were insignificant and the whole group came in dry. Looking through the cards, there was a distinct mix of results. I believe some of us struggle with the 3 club concept and cards at the bottom end reflected this with relatively poor scores. The top end, however, was tight and quite a few countbacks were required in the resolving. There were two cards on 32 points and five cards on 30 points - all of them were just outside the six prizes on offer. Read on to see who won, yet again! He is beginning to make a habit of 3 clubs, having won the two previous events. Well done Mick!! Three Clubs and a Putter: First: Mick Carnell 37 points Second: Peter Taylor 34 points (c/b) Third: Tom McGrady 34 points (c/b) Fourth: Alan Barnsdale 33 points (c/b) Fifth: Stan Roberts 33 points (c/b) Sixth: Mike Scott 33 points (c/b)

Individual Stableford September 27th 2022. Results via Mike Healey

It was lucky for those with medical appointments this morning! At least they stayed dry. All credit to the 18 seniors who made the tally draw. They braved the forecast, which was initially "intermittent showers" but it transpired that they were at best, frequent and some leaned towards the heavy side. Conditions were not easy but the troops stuck to their guns in today's qualifier. There were four prizes with two players just missing out and the results were: Individual Stableford Results: First: Ernie Williams 37 points Second: Mick Carnell 36 points Third: Alan Barnsdale 35 points (c/b) Fourth: Tom McGrady 35 points (c/b) Both Richard Collier and Graham Bryne just missed out with 34 points each.