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