LDP Golf by Liverpool Post & Echo

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Q U A RT E R LY R E G I O N A L G O L F M A G A Z I N E

GOLF

w w w . d a i l y p o s t . c o . u k / g o l f

Golden vision

Jack Nicklaus exclusive on golf’s lessons for game of life Irish highs: A drop of the green stuff Up and running: Merseyside’s newest course Up to scratch: Success for Liverpool club

Aintree Golf Course and Driving Range LEARN PRACTISE PLAY At the natural home of sporting legends... Aintree Racecourse We’re not just about horses; tee to green at the world famous course. We’ve got:

one of the longest full-size 9-hole courses in the country; • an all-weather floodlit driving range; • a golfing pro on hand to help improve your game; plus, • we also offer Junior lessons and excellent value Senior Memberships. •

Open seven days a week, visit aintree.co.uk/golf or call us on 0151523 5157 to find out more.

INSIDE

NEWS

Rugby League star supports golfer’s charity marathon

LDP

GOLF

HEAD OF SPORT John Thompson 0151 472 2508

NEWS

john.thompson@liverpool.com

Liverpool club up to scratch

NEWS

DEPUTY HEAD OF SPORT David Prentice 0151 472 2503

EDITOR LDPGOLF Richard Williamson 0151 472 2428

david.prentice@liverpool.com

New Merseyside course is up and running

THE BIG INTERVIEW

richard.williamson @liverpool.com

Golf legend finds lesson for life in helping young players

NEWS

Course returns to the family fold

CONTRIBUTORS Richard Williamson richard.williamson @liverpool.com

Mark Thomas markthomas @liverpool.com

Harold Brough

hw.brough @blueyonder.co.uk

COURSE TEST

David Birtill

New kid on the block is growing up fast

golf@birtill.demon.co.uk

HEAD OF IMAGES Barrie Mills

The driving force behind a young Wirral hopeful aiming for the top

MARKETING EXECUTIVE Litza Gorman 0151 742 2352

PGA NORTH NEWS

ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Debbie McGraw

barrie.mills@liverpool.com

INTERVIEW

Wirral professional going the extra mile for charity

ADVERTISEMENT SALES Joanne Mercer 0151 330 5029

PGA NORTH NEWS

Title boost for St Helens professional dreaming of Euro spot

GOLF LIST

Dougherty lines up return to scene of past glories

NEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY Trinity Mirror PUBLISHED BY Trinity Mirror NW2, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L69 3EB.

Wirral club’s junior drive

TELEPHONE 0151 227 2000

NEWS

FAX 0151 330 4942

Mersey players on rival sides in Home Internationals

LDP Golf is printed monthly and distributed with the Liverpool Daily Post. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.

TRAVEL

Irish eyes are smiling on band of weary golfers

WELCOME to the first edition of a brand new magazine dedicated to covering the thriving golf scene in the north west region. Nowhere else in England can boast such golfing riches. No, let’s go further. Nowhere else in the UK can lay claim to be golf ’s capital. And the reason we can make such an extravagant claim? Two Open championship venues just a matter of miles apart, a string of top class championship clubs serving up the best in links golf, a variety of challenges from courses deep in the lush Cheshire countryside to bustling clubs in the heart of the city of Liverpool. Well, that will do for starters. Whether it be top professionals such as Liverpool’s Nick Dougherty,

EDITOR’S LETTER a three-time winner on the European Tour, or Royal Birkdale’s Florentyna Parker, enjoying a successful rookie year on the European Ladies Tour. Or the next batch of hopefuls, presently making their mark in the amateur game at the highest level such as Walker Cup player Tommy Fleetwood from Southport or England international Tom Boys at Royal Liverpool, this corner of England has a golfing pedigree which runs deep into the very

origins of many of the game’s biggest competitions. And sharing in the host of success stories is the Daily Post and its readers. Our Golf Northwest platform every Tuesday has always been the definitive source of news, views and interviews from the golfing fraternity. And now we are aiming to bring you even more to delight our golfing readers. The first issue of LDP Golf, a new quarterly magazine, will only enhance our coverage by being able to bring you more from the local golf scene. Whether it be a course test that might tempt you to make a visit away from your

regular haunts, a guide to the latest golfing equipment or tips to help you shave shots off your score, then LDPGolf will be there to help over the coming months. But such is the pulling power of the local golf scene that we are able to launch our new magazine with an exclusive interview with the sport’s most successful player. Jack Nicklaus was on Merseyside as part of his work with youngsters around the world, and the Daily Post was there to catch up with the Golden Bear and hear his fascinating thoughts on how the game of golf can help deliver lessons for life.

At the other end of the scale we feature one of the area’s up and coming players in Heswall’s Oliver Carr - and highlight the sacrifices that go into helping today’s bright young players chase their dreams. We hope LDPGolf will develop into as much a part of the Merseyside and Cheshire golf scene as any of the famous clubs we will be covering. And we want you to play your part. Send us your stories from your club so we don’t miss a shot - or let us have ideas on the kind of things you want to read about. Contact details for both editorial and advertising can be found in the panel on this page.

RICHARD

WILLIAMSON 3

NEWS

Marathon man Andy goes the distance again

Charity supporters (from left to right) Gary Chambers, Alex Duckers, Lee Briers, Andy Stevenson, Gareth O'Brien and Lisa Stevenson

MERSEYSIDE professional Andy Stevenson has completed his latest venture - with a little help from Warrington Rugby League club’s Wembley heroes. The Mersey Park pro has already tackled the Three Peaks Challenge this summer, climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon in Wales, all in the space of 24 hours. Now the 40-years-old has successfully taken on

a non-stop golfing challenge, playing his home course for 36 hours! “We played eight rounds and seven holes – 151 holes in total,” said Andy, who has previously played non-stop for 24 hours. But he admitted: “This was by far the worst challenge I've done! “The low points were blisters on every toe (for all of us) and the torrential rain that started at 5.00 am when we were six holes from the end of

Childwall prove to be up to scratch for title

Childwall Golf Club, 2009 winners of the Liverpool Scratch League

HILDWALL are the 2009 Liverpool Scratch League champions. They only suffered one defeat all season - and that came in their last match against newcomers Ashton. But the new arrivals to the league had plenty of reason to celebrate after finals day at Grange Park. They came out on top with an aggregate score of 386, beating Huyton & Prescot and the St Helens host club into joint second place with 388. The single medal round for the Vic Perry trophy was won by Ian Nolan of Grange Park with a score of 72. West Derby were narrowly pipped for the runners-up spot in the

summer-long league season after matching Ashton’s four wins, but losing out on the number of individual match wins. Huyton and Prescot led the group of clubs with three wins followed by Woolton and Blundells Hill with Lee Park and Grange Park completing the table.

RESULTS Grange Park 3 Childwall 4; West Derby 5 Lee Park 2; Woolton 5 v Ashton in Makerfield 2; Blundells Hill 2 ½ Huyton & Prescot 4½; Huyton & Prescot 5 Grange Park 2; Lee Park 3 Woolton 4; West Derby 5 Ashton in Makerfield 2; Childwall 5 Blundells Hill 2; Childwall 6 Huyton

& Prescot 1; Ashton in Makerfield 4 Lee Park 3; Woolton 5 West Derby 2; Blundells Hill 4 Grange Park 3; Childwall 5 West Derby 2; Grange Park 3½ Ashton in Makerfield 3½; Huyton & Prescot 5 Woolton 2; Lee Park 3 Blundells Hill 4; Lee Park 2 Childwall 5; West Derby 5 Grange Park 2; Ashton in Makerfield 5½ Huyton & Prescot 1½; Blundells Hill 4½ Woolton 2½; Grange Park 3 Lee Park 4; y Childwall 7 Woolton 0; Huyton & Prescot 3½ West Derby 3½; Blundells Hill 1½ Ashton in Makerfield 5½; Ashton in Makerfield 6 Childwall 1; Lee Park 4 Huyton & Prescot 3; Woolton 3 Grange Park 4; West Derby 4½ Blundells Hill 2½

one round with no waterproofs or brolleys, which lasted until 7.30 am. We got changed and went straight back out, but with waterproofs and brolleys!” Warrington fan Stevenson received a welcome boost when Lee Briers took time out from the club’s preparations for the Challenge Cup final against Huddersfield at Wembley, which they went on to win 25-16, to visit Mersey Valley with eight hours still to go.

“Lee Briers coming down with the flag gave me a boost after reaching Wembley as well as the members, family and friends supporting us for the last few hours,” added Andy, whose efforts have raised £2,400 so far, with money still coming in, for The Rett Syndrome Association UK. Anyone interested in supporting Andy can still make a contribution through the website, www.justgiving.com/ andystevenson69

Swinging in with a style to suit all MERSEYSIDE’S newest golf facility is setting out to deliver a tailor-made service to suit golfers of all abilities. The first stage of the £7million development at Rainford, near St Helens, is now open, incorporating a driving range, golf shop and par three course. The 18 hole championship course, designed by Glenn Turner, at the North West National Golf and Country Cub will follow suit next year, but a team of teaching professionals is already in place. The driving range is aimed at both the area’s elite players and those of all standards looking to improve their scoring. But head professional Stuart Hurtsfield is determined that the advice they receive will suit what their body is capable of delivering. “As well as the technical assessment we offer, will be looking at the physical attributes of the player as well to develop a swing that best suits them,” he said. “Players should not be put off by the idea of a physical check; it is about getting the right information to help

Glenn Turner them. It is no use trying to teach a 50 years-old a swing that needs the flexibility of a 20 years-old to pull off.” Record-breaker Turner – he holds the world record for the number of courses played in a single year – has developed a number of zones at the complex, both under cover and on grass. The 80 bays are split into a junior area, 28 indoors and 30 grass practice areas aimed at the better players. There is also a putting, chipping and bunker practice area while Nevada Bobs have opened their largest shop in the UK. Turner will run his own golf school. He said: “We are going to bring kids through in a serious way. We teach them to win, because at the end of the day kids have got to win. They are playing against the course and against themselves.”

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Nicklaus finds lessons for life BY RICHARD WILLIAMSON

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THE kindly words of encouragement are uttered by a proud grandfather as the young golfer takes a swing at the ball and succeeds only in gouging a deep divot. 5

THE BIG INTERVIEW JACK NICKLAUS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

HH,” he says, “you hit the big ball before the little one.” The student turns with a bemused look on her face. “Do you know what that means?” he says, before drawing a big circle in the air with his hands. “The big ball is the earth! Have another go.” And with an adjustment to the grip, advice on how to stand over the ball, a second swing produces the desired effect. And another teenager is introduced to the game of golf – only with one big difference. Their teacher on this occasion is the world’s most successful player. No player has won more Major titles than Jack Nicklaus, with 18 in all, setting a benchmark for Tiger Woods and others to try and overhaul. Now the 69-year-old is putting something back into the sport that he decorated with such distinction in a career spanning five decades. As a RBS Ambassador, he is supporting the First Tee initiative which seeks to teach life skills to youngsters through the game of golf. Which is why he is at Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa, on Merseyside, dispensing words of wisdom to a group of teenagers getting to grips with the intricacies of the golf swing. There can be no better font of knowledge than a man who has won six Masters, five USPGA championships, four US Opens and three British Opens in a career that yielded more than 100 tournament wins worldwide. And a man who has five children of his own and 21 grandchildren. And a man who believes that the qualities required to succeed on the golf course can provide valuable lessons in dealing with the slings and arrows that life can throw up. “Golf is a wonderful game,” he says, “and it is a game that can stay with you for life. Have fun with it. “It is game that can teach us a lot about life. About being humble, showing humility, working hard to achieve the things we want, honesty, integrity and sportsmanship. It is about getting on with people of all ages, and for young people learning how to handle themselves around adults.” And it is a game that should be kept simple for those starting out. “It is no use getting hung up on whether your left arm should be straight or your right when you start out, just swing the club and hit the ball,” he advises. “Don’t worry about things too much at the start.” However, for anyone starting out – or, indeed, trying to shave a few shots off their handicap – he believes one fundamental is vital, the grip. “Absolutely essential to the set-up is the grip,” he says. “How to hold the club can be shown in 50 different ways, but it is important you do it properly. “I use the interlocking grip, which is not as popular in this country, after a man named Harry Vardon introduced the overlapping grip but it is one that has served me well,” he adds. “The left hand should come to the club as if you were standing with your arms down by your sides, while the right hand should shake hands with the grip. “Keep your legs relaxed when swinging and play from inside your feet, not outside, which is when you lose your balance. With just a few fundamentals, you can learn to play the game of golf.” But no matter how good the instruction, though, there will be plenty of occasions on the course

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus puts youngsters from the First Tee project – which is in talks to expand its programme into Liverpool in the near future when things do not go to plan. Coping with the setbacks is every bit a part of the learning curve, believes Nicklaus, whatever your age. “You are going to hit bad shots out on the course; it is something that happens in all sports,” he says. “The only person who can control your reaction to things going wrong is yourself. Nobody else is going to do it for you. “Part of the First Tee scheme

involves self-discipline, learning how to manage yourself. “When I was a player, I concentrated on what I could control. We had so many great players like the Players and the Palmers, but I could not control what those guys were doing. “I could only give of my best. If I knew I had given it my best effort then that is all I could do. If you find you are losing your game out on the

golf course, it is because you have lost yourself.” Nicklaus, dubbed the Golden Bear throughout his glittering career, believes he came from an era of the game that was highly competitive, with few people emerging from the ranks to regularly challenge Tiger Woods in the modern era. “There might be more good players around the world today, but it was tougher when I was player,” he

explains. “When I was coming down the straight and was in contention to win a tournament, I knew that, if I slipped up, there were other players who would step up to win such as the Watsons or Trevinos. “When Tiger is playing well, the other players just seem to fade away. There do not seem to be as many players in contention. Padraig Harrington managed it for a while.” Not surprisingly for a player who

– through their paces at Formby Hall was in contention for so many titles – he had 94 top three finishes to go with his 118 career victories – Nicklaus was highly motivated by the battle to win. “I needed something to strive for, something to prepare for, and I found that in tournament golf,” added the man who admitted he had not picked up a golf clubs for two months prior to his master class at Formby Hall. “My fun from golf came from

Pictures: ANDREW TEEBAY playing in tournaments. It is something I did over a period of 55 years and I enjoyed it.” Nicklaus’s own introduction to golf came when he was just ten. “You have to be able to concentrate enough and we used to say that, if you can play three holes of golf without going chasing frogs, then you are old enough to play,” he explained. “You need to have the right attention span.”

As an all-round sportsman, Nicklaus did not immediately contemplate a career in golf. “I did not decide when I was younger that I wanted to be a golfer,” he recalls. “I tried a lot of different sports but I won the US Amateur championship when I was 19, took part in the Walker Cup and then won a second Amateur championship which is when I thought perhaps I was better at this game than I

thought, so I turned professional.” One of his first foreign ventures as a new pro was to Hillside in 1962, one of the string of courses along Merseyside’s coastline that has earned the area branding as England’s Golf Capital. But it is not an area that features high on Nicklaus’s winning CV. Instead, his three Open triumphs have all come north of the border with a run of runner’s-up spots to

show for his visits to the North-West, including joint second at Royal Liverpool in 1967, behind Roberto de Vicenzo, and second to runaway winner Johnny Miller at Royal Birkdale, in 1976. Three years later, at Royal Lytham, it was Seve Ballesteros who beat him to the coveted Claret Jug. However, he always enjoyed playing the British Open. “It was a nice break, a different kind of challenge,” he said. “I enjoyed the seaside. We do not really have those sort of conditions back home. And the people over here love their golf. I always found it fun and it was one of the reasons I chose to end my career over here when I played my last Open at St Andrew’s. It is such a special place as the home of golf.” Now he is supporting the work of First Tee in finding the next generation of young golfers around the world, from among those who might not normally have access to the sport. “It is not about finding a new superstar – though it is not out of the question,” he explains, “but about giving young people an opportunity they might not have otherwise had. “There is a lot to be learnt from the game of golf. Sportsmanship is a big part of it, along with honesty, integrity and discipline. Golf is a vehicle for teaching those kind of values. We want to bring people into the game and teach them good values and how they might relate to life. “In America, First Tee is bringing the game to urban areas such as New York and Lose Angeles, and is reaching out to kids who have never had the opportunity to get involved. “It is helping them make something useful and productive out of their lives, rather than falling into drugs or gangs, for example. There are similar problems around the world, and First Tee is hoping to reach more kids.” Nicklaus is grateful that, as a sport, golf continues to largely dodge the kind of controversial headlines that hound other sports, despite the huge sums of money now being played for. “The guys out there do a pretty good job of being role models,” he says. “They understand the values of the game.” And he believes the close link between players and spectators is a contributing factor. “As a sport, it is easy for the players to get close to the people,” he says. “We don’t go out there in a uniform, we are not playing in a huge stadium where spectators can’t get involved. The crowds are in the middle where all the action is going on. “The players have been pretty good and that is not something you can say about some of the other sports. “I grew up with an interest in a lot of different sports, so there were certain people I looked up to in each of those. “My father was also a good role model for me. He spent a lot of time with me, he introduced me to everything and that is something not all kids get. “We are starting to see more of it in America. It is not necessarily good news for golf, but at the weekends there is a lot of organised sport available for youngsters, whether it be football, baseball or basketball, and rather then playing their own sport parents are going along to support their children. “Parental support is something that is coming back. First Tee involves the parents, but is also there for kids who do not have parental support.”

THE BIG INTERVIEW JACK NICKLAUS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

NEWS

Chirk back in the family fold

Richard Williamson reports on the North Wales club enjoying a new lease of life with original owners

HIRK Golf Club is back under its original owners and reaping the benefits from a fresh round of investment. The course near Wrexham was originally built in the 1990s as part of the great golfing boom that saw thousands of acres of farmland across the UK given over to new clubs. Now, after a spell being leased out, the club has returned to the stewardship of the family that first established it on the North Wales golfing scene. It already boasts an impressive list of facilities and the owners are determined to build up its appeal both to potential members and visiting societies. As well as the 18 hole championship standard course which has hosted county events for Denbighshire, there is a nine hole par three Academy course that is available on pay and play. Says owner Guy Middleton: “We have spent a lot of time, money and effort in bringing the course up to tip-top condition. We have invested in new machinery and signage. “The Academy course is not just a pitch and putt option, but a genuine test of anyone’s short game.” The club also has a floodlit, under cover driving range with 14 bays, which is a great help to their PGA professional Chris Hodges, who offers tuition to all ages and also runs his pro shop on the site. “This has also been refurbished with new mats and ball dispensers,” added Guy. “It is open seven days a week, including evenings and we have deals available on the number of balls players want to use.” One of the attractions of the course is its unique setting. The 180 acres site is overlooked by National Trust land and the neighbouring Chirk Castle while the Llangollen Canal also provides a backcloth to the course and adjoining marina. Many visitors will remember the ninth hole, one of the longest holes around at 664 yards from the back. But Guy says: “This is not just a course for bombing your way round. There is a lot of water and players have to think about where they want to lay up so they can get in the right positions to score well. One of my favourites is the par three hole that has the Llangollen Canal behind it and a brook running right in front of the green. It is also framed by trees and is very pretty.” Recalling the switch from farming to running a golf club, Guy says: “The R&A report of 1989 highlighted the need for more courses round the country and at the same time we had been looking at changing the use of our land so we opted to build a golf course. Since opening in 1992 it has really matured well. The trees we planted have grown up and there is a

European Tour player Breanne Loucks played her early golf at Chirk, with the picturesque course sitting close to Chirk Castle

real definition to the course. We built the marina at the same time and used a lot of the soil that we dug out for that to build up the contours of the course, but it did not need much adding as it is quite undulating in any case.” The main course, designed by local golf architect Roger Jones, is now named Captain David’s after Guy’s father. Guy believes one of the key factors in the course’s appeal is the flexibility available from the tees so that it provides a fitting challenge for players of all abilities. “It’s a firm but fair challenge,” he says. “It reaches 7,000 yards from the back tees but can be as short as 5,800, so we have the flexibility to be able to

set up the course to suit various situations.” The owners are keen to build up the junior section at the club again. “We have always had a strong junior membership,” says Guy, “and players like Breanne Loucks, who is now on the European Ladies Tour, and Wales international Stephanie Evans started out here.” As well as the usual society packages available, Chirk offers one special day out with a difference. For groups of 30 or more golfers, the Chirk Driver includes free coach travel to the course which offers the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing day out without worrying about driving. Explains Guy: “The day starts with arrival at Chirk at around 8.30am for

coffee and a bacon roll before 18 holes on the Academy course and then lunch. In the afternoon the group gets the chance to play the 18 hole course followed by a two-course meal. We have a large sun terrace and bar area in the clubhouse. Our members are very welcoming to visiting societies and we hope the players will enjoy their stay with us until closing time when the coach will take them back home.” The cost of the Chirk Driver is £49-95 per person, Monday to Friday, and £54.95 at weekends. “We pick up from areas like Liverpool, Southport, Wirral, Manchester, Chester and Stockport,” added Guy, who has retained the services of Trudi Jones as clubhouse

manager. The club also has a number of winter packages available ranging in price from £23.50 to £32.50. “We believe we offer outstanding value for money,” adds Guy. “In fact, some people are almost put off because we are so cheap. It is as if they think there must be something wrong with the place if we are offering deals at such low prices. “But that is not the case. We have pitched our prices at a level which we think is attractive to users and works for us, too. It is a proper golf course, with the par three course as a nice extra, a refurbished driving range with a clubhouse that offers both good food and a big welcome. We think it is worth the trip and that people will be pleasantly surprised.”

COURSE TEST FORMBY HALL

To the manor born

The view over the water towards the clubhouse, restaurant and hotel complex at the closing hole at Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa

BY RICHARD WILLIAMSON

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OF ALL the new kids on the block, none has grown up more quickly than Formby Hall. Born out of the golfing boom of the 1990s, the club has all the confidence of a veteran, rather than a teenager.

COURSE TEST FORMBY HALL

HE first clue comes in the official name of the inland course just off the Formby by-pass, opposite Woodvale airfield. The sign on the way in signals your arrival at The Formby Golf Resort and Spa, which is no shy teenager struggling to find a voice. Instead, it is happy to proclaim the wide range of facilities on offer. From a course that has staged events on both the European Seniors Tour and the PGA EuroPro Tour to a luxurious health spa, from a new par three course that is every bit as taxing as its elder sibling to a hotel that nestles right up against the 18th green, and from a teaching academy that has attracted PGA branding to a wedding venue, Formby Hall boasts a most impressive repertoire. Such is the club’s faith in what it has to offer, that it can even tag the original 18 holes the “Old Course”. As one of the courses along England’s Golf Coast – a stretch of land from Royal Liverpool to Royal Lytham now being marketed as the capital of golf in the UK – Formby Hall offers a different kind of challenge amid the classiest of links like near-neighbours Formby, Southport and Ainsdale, Hillside and Royal Birkdale. As an inland course, the strain on your game is not induced by swirling dunes, cavernous bunkers or fairways that toss and turn like a restless sleeper. Instead, you will be hounded virtually every step of the way round a course that is just seven yards short of reaching 7,000 yards from the back tees by water. Not that it is in your face on every hole. But, on the courses’s signature hole, the 16th, it asks more questions of your game than a grilling from Jeremy Paxman. A wonderful par three, the green sits atop a swathe of water like a slice of lemon bobbing on top of a gin and tonic. Elsewhere, the water is more of a distraction – or magnet for your ball – like finding a last piece of chocolate cake on the first day of your diet. It should – and can – be avoided, but a nibble at the edge seems almost inevitable at some point during the round. The introduction is convivial enough. The first is only 365 yards from the very back, the water awaits only a bad hook, and a decent drive that carves its way past the fairway bunkers will leave you knocking on the door of the green. The second is a par three, 185 from the back, with the water to the left more a decoration than a hindrance with the six greenside bunkers more of a worry. You will already be getting a feel for the greens.

COURSE FACTFILE Golf Address: Formby Hall rt Old po uth So Resort & Spa, rt L37 po uth So by, rm Fo , Road 0AB Par 72 Old Course: 18 Holes ip Tees nsh pio am Yardages: Ch ite Wh ); 74 S (SS rds Ya 6,993 09 6,4 llow Ye ); 6,713 (SSS 73 r 73 Pa 89 5,5 d Re ); 71 S (SS (SSS 73) Venice, Signature hole: Little ds yar 9 18 3, Hole 16, Par r 27 Pa e: urs co ole e-h Nin ; Yardages: White, 1,374 74 1,0 d, Re ; 78 1,2 , llow Ye 5 699 Telephone: 01704 87 hall by orm w.f ww : ite bs We k o.u golfresort.c

The sun bathes the course at Formby Golf Resort and Spa in the last rays of another summer’s day, as two golfers enjoy a challenging round of golf amid the trees and lakes of the Merseyside venue, which has already hosted championship events Their size means a variety of tricky pin positions is available while the contours are more Katie Price than Paris Hilton, and equally as baffling as the celebrity status of both. On the third, the water confronts you head-on for the first time. At only 492 yards from the back, this par five will tempt the longer hitters into flying the water to the green with their second, but higher handicap players will be looking to get up close before lofting their ball over the danger. The next hole again sees the water butting up against

the target area, but at 339 from the back there is the chance to get close enough to need a short iron into the green. On the fifth, the water is tucked into the elbow of the dog leg left and will only concern those looking to cut the corner. But there is sand as well as water at the apex, with the safer option being the large expanse of dry land to the right. However, this lengthens an already testing hole which reaches 469 from the championship tees. On the 181 yard par three sixth, the water runs down

the left from the whites, but from the yellows poses far more of a threat. Even though it gives away 30 yards on the championship tees, the water must be carried nearly all the way to the green. Seven again offers the riddle of “risk and reward”. A 519-yard par five, the water pickets the green and getting tactics right will not only serve you well on this hole but throughout your round. The 135 acres on which Formby Hall has been built are as flat as they come, but, such is the clever way it has

been moulded and shaped, that it rarely feels that way. Eight offers quite a contrast from the blues and yellows – 433 yards, as opposed to 375. But the key factor is again getting your gameplan spot on for the dog-leg right. The shorter route is hemmed by a ditch and trees down the right, while, if you pack too much of a punch trying to open up the green down the left, a couple of sand traps await. The front nine closes with a 386-yard trip back towards the impressive clubhouse, restaurant and hotel complex. Again, the water is in your eyeline, this time

down the left, but there is plenty of scope to land your ball safely to the right from where you can attack the green, taking care to avoid the four bunkers you can see and the hidden one over the back, where out of bounds also threatens. The back nine starts with a couple of golfing conundrums. Yardage won’t be the issue, but positional play will be. The tenth is only 311 yards at its most stretched, which will have the big hitters anticipating a dart at the green and an easy birdie opportunity. Everything has been done to dissuade them

from the idea, the hole squeezing down as much as possible with the inevitable water on the left and a string of bunkers punched into the banking down the right. Eleven is also a tiddler in many ways, at 387, but there is plenty to catch you out on a sharp dog leg to the left.

GAIN you will want to find the right position to approach a green which is cradled by water, but you will have to outrun the trees down the left and then avoid being drawn into the bunkers on the right.

The water at the 467-yard 12th as it at the base of your drive and it needs a bold strike to get clear and bring the green into range. Thirteen is actually as dry as a church social in Utah, but here the counter-attack comes in the yardage. It weighs in at 238 from the very back, and you need to funnel your ball down to a green bearing pockets of sand on either flank. Out of bounds can be found down the left with five traps awaiting at the end. At this point of the course the water is at its scarcest, but this run of holes is packing a fair bit of weight

in the yardage stakes. The 14th sweeps round the back of the course like a boomerang, adding up to a stomping 591 yards from the back. There is no getting away from it – you will need to be hitting the ball cleaner than an MP’s expenses claim to get anywhere near and avoid the chain of bunkers down the left and the intrusion of more water to the right of the green. The 15th is even tougher, a 461-yard par four from the back with water potentially proving bothersome from the tee and hovering round the fringes of the green. You

don’t get much discount from the yellows – just 20 yards – so this is a tough second shot in, inevitably with a long iron or fairway wood. The last time anyone was confronted by the kind of water obstacle found on the 16th, Moses was trying to find a way across. You may be hoping for a similar case of divine intervention to find a pathway to the hole, for this tee shot will test both your technique and mettle. It reaches 185 from the back, but not only does the lake offer far more protection than a Swiss bank account, there is a

potentially nasty sting in the tail. Over-clubbing to make sure you reach the dry land may see you catch one of three bunkers lurking to the rear of the green like gatecrashers at a party, while, if your ball disappears over the banking, the nasty surprise that awaits is one of the tributaries from the lake running behind the green. All in all, a great golf hole. Seventeen needs a long and accurate tee shot from the 424-yard back tees to land away from the bunkers left and water right, while, on the 540-yard closing hole,

it is all about getting the hospcotch right to avoid the water as the two lakes either side of the fairway join hands just in front of the green. Get it wrong and there could be the added embarrassment of hotel guests sitting outside their rooms or an unwanted gallery enjoying a drink on the patio of the neighbouring 19th hole. It all adds up to a hugely enjoyable test of golf, mixing length with cunning, placement and positional sense with the occasional need for muscle. Every yard has been coaxed from it to meet its

aspirations of being a championship venue, but the yellows still offer a fair challenge to those whose hopes on a golf course are for a safe passage round. In the early days, there were complaints about the niggling ditches that spliced some of the holes and could swallow up a perfectly good shot. These have long gone and the course benefits from being a far more mature challenge. The rewards are there to be had by the accurate and consistent player; the wayward know exactly what kind of punishment awaits.

COURSE TEST FORMBY HALL

Red Tee/Formby Golf Centre Moss Side, Formby L37 0AF (Just off A565 Formby By-Pass) Tel No 01704 875952 • www.redteegolf.co.uk

CLEVELAND DEMO DAY Thursday 1st October 4pm - 8pm All Cleveland wedges were £79 now £50 Free Cleveland fairway wood with all Cleveland drivers New in Mens, ladies and junior Galvin Green, Under Armour, Sunice, Rohnisch, Nike, Adidas clothing and waterproofs Adidas 360 3.0 shoes were £109 now £79 Taylormade Select Fit custom fitting centre incorporating the Flightscope tracking system Large selection of junior boys and girls clothing and from Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Galvin Green and US Kids golf clubs LADIES LEARN TO PLAY GOLF AT RED TEE/FORMBY GOLF CENTRE 6 week course for beginners/intermediate lady golfers Course starts Monday 5th October 1pm - 2.30pm 6 week course for £90 includes golf balls, use of clubs and coffee (Driving range is under cover) Phone 01704 875952 or email info@redteegolf.co.uk to book your place now.

Basket of 50 balls £2.50 100 balls £4.50 Digicard £15 for 10 baskets of 50 balls 22 bay floodlit driving range 9 hole pitch and putt course Professional tuition (3 x PGA Golf Pros) Powerbilt drivers were £59 now £9.99

End of Summer clearance sale mens, ladies and junior clothing & footwear massive reductions. Opening times Monday - Friday 9am - 9.30pm • Saturday & Sunday 9am - 8.30pm (last balls 30 mins before closing) 12

INTERVIEW

The driving force behind Carr

Harold Brough explains how parents go the extra mile to help up-and-coming star on road to the top

HE young ones who strive for golfing success need talent, passion, commitment and almost certainly the support of their parents. Sometimes the latter comes in quite extraordinary abundance, as, for example, in the case of Jane and John Carr and their gifted teenage son, Oliver. They talk of the countless miles they drive their son to tournaments, the expense of hotels and meals, the time they give in support of his determination to reach the top of the game. “I live on the M6,” says Jane Carr. Oliver is 16, a member of Heswall, golf handicap, plus nought point two. He has had an outstanding season, winner of the Cheshire Under-16s championship for the second year in succession, winner of the Faldo Series regional final with a three-under return at the tough West Lancashire links and now representing England. But, for his parents, there is a price to be paid for his success. “We have no social life,” laughs Jane, a self-employed beauty therapist. “We do have a huge amount of expense, but it is not a money problem. There is just not the time.” Her husband adds: “We end up just too tired.” Earlier this year, at the end of a major boys tournament in the London area, they drove back home to Oxton, Wirral, arriving about midnight. Next day they drove Oliver to Delamere, where he had to be on the first tee at 10.50. On another day this golf season, they returned from a tournament in the South and, without going home, continued to another tournament at Newcastle-on-Tyne. None of this is told with the slightest hint of complaint. It is just an honest report of how their life revolves around their son’s golf commitments, not just at intervals throughout the golf season, but often every day. Most days, before she goes to work, Jane drives Oliver to the Heswall club where he plays and practises for hours. “Sometimes in the evenings,” says John, “Oliver may decide that he really could do with going to the driving range at, say, 7pm – so off we go.” Their sacrifice of time, energy and money is given willingly. There are other parents who make similar efforts to help sons and daughters pursue their dreams, in golf or some other sport. But, in the case of Jane and John Carr, it has continued for some years and includes the decision to take him away from school, to be educated at home, so that he could play golf all day and work at his studies in the evenings. His interest began watching golf on television. He was about five and his great-grandmother gave him some plastic clubs. He went for lessons at Wirral Ladies before he joined Heswall, where professional Alan Thompson reaffirmed their belief that the boy had a special talent. Jane and John are also members there, but now John only plays perhaps twice a year. Oliver was 14 when he quit school, the result of a long family discussion. John explains: “The school wanted him to take about ten O-Levels, go to university. But frankly he had no interest in academic studies. Also, because he was a keen golfer,

something of the odd one out, he was bullied at school. That apart, he just hated school. All he has ever wanted has been to play golf.” To some, the decision to remove him from full-time education may appear a gamble. But the Carrs talked to other parents who recommended teachers and they insisted Oliver gave 100 per cent effort to his studies, otherwise their support for his golf would end. Jane thinks the one-to-one tuition has brought Oliver better progress than if he had stayed at school. But it has not been cheap. For the last two years he has been working with teachers, on average three times a week at a cost of about £15-£20 an hour. The subject package costs about £350. The entrance examination fee is £100. Home tuition alone has probably cost a few thousand pounds. Oliver’s tournament career has also cost thousands. He has been travelling to tournaments for the last five years. Next year will be more expensive as he will be playing more and more prestigious events, moving into the men’s game. After that, if he gets sponsorship, and particularly if he becomes established with the England squad and becomes funded by England, the expense for the Carrs will ease. Meanwhile, Jane reflects on the tournament season: “If he is playing in an event, then we will get there so he can have a practice round on the Sunday, before the official practice day. The Sunday round will cost perhaps £20-£25. The entrance fee is perhaps £25-£40. The hotel expenses perhaps around £300 for the four nights, plus meals. Then there is the cost of travelling.” Sometimes the Carrs share the time at the tournaments with Oliver. Jane will stay for, perhaps, two days before returning to Wirral for work. John, a self-employed window fitter, then joins his son. Sometimes Jane and John have passed each other on the motorways, travelling in opposite directions. The total cost? “We don’t work it out,” says Jane. “We don’t want to know. It could be frightening.” Her husband adds: “We cope. We try to have a holiday, though we go in the winter, out of the golf season, and the holiday is golf-related. Oliver will take his clubs. The average family could probably not afford this. But for us it is not really about money. It is more about time. You lose your life. There are so many things you cannot do. Our lives revolve around Oliver.” But the signs are that he is on track to pursue his dream as a professional, playing the tournament circuit. An England boy international, next month he goes to Brazil for the final of the Faldo Series. Says Jane: “But then, if he does not make it, it is not the end of the world. We will have done our best.” John adds: “There is nothing we would not do to give him the ultimate chance of reaching the professional game. “It is only maybe 10 years out of your life and if you cannot do that for your children, well, it is a poor show.”

Oliver Carr, from Oxton, pictured with his father, John. Family support has been vital for a player who won his first Cheshire Under-16 championship last year, inset, left

PGA NORTH NEWS DAVID BIRTILL REPORTS

Ironman Law shows his mettle

Wirral Ladies professional takes up worldwide challenge to raise money for Claire House RUNNING a marathon must seem like a stroll in the park for Angus Law, compared to the feats of endurance he experiences as a member of the hardy band of athletes who compete in the worldwide Ironman triathlons. The 44-year-old Dundee-born Wirral Ladies Golf Club professional was among hundreds of fellow fitness fanatics who muscled their way through the UK leg, staged in and around the Bolton and Chorley areas. It involved: ◆ A 2.4-mile swim in the choppy waters of Rivington Reservoir; ◆ A 112-mile cycle ride covering three circuits, which included a 2,200-metre climb in the West Pennines; ◆ A 26.2-mile marathon over undulating moorland, country roads and along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, cheered on by thousands of spectators. “I think the organisers wanted to kill us on the last stretch because normally we run on the flat, although I did it in four hours 52 minutes, which I was happy with,” said Angus, who has been at the Wirral club for 14 years after spells at Sandiway, Caldy and in Austria.

He keeps in shape as a black belt Taekwando exponent, training at Bidston Tennis Centre, and cycles to work and swims every day. “I swam across the River Mersey two years ago, and I’ve run around 40 full and half-marathons,” added Angus, who does it all in the name of charity, handing over £1,000 for Claire House Charity for sick children in Wirral through his last venture, which he completed in 14 hours nine minutes. It was his fourth triathlon, having competed in Nice in 2007 and Austria last year, but he had to pull out of Switzerland when he injured his left eye after 15 miles of the bike ride. “I believe it was due to the anti-fog spray on my goggles. I was left with only 25% vision and I had to stay in the Zurich Hospital for seven hours,” he explained. “After I returned home, I felt disappointed that I had not finished so I entered the UK event, although I only secured a place at the last minute.”

Angus Law, of Wirral Ladies Golf Club, at work and play

Sargent turns on style for double success

EASTHAM Lodge professional Nick Sargent enjoyed double success in the Eaton Ladies Pro-am. Three birdies on the inward nine accounted for a two-under-par 70 which took him to top spot. And he combined with his own club members, Margaret Barker, Wendy Jackson and Jean Parton, to claim the team prize. Sargent continued his fine run when he won the Stockport Pro-am with a four-under-par 67. ■ NEIL PRICE, twice winner of the Leeds Cup who played all four rounds of the Open at Carnoustie 10 years ago, is enjoying his role as community golf coach for Wirral Council. “It takes me back to when I started playing and the simplicity of golf,” said Price, who quit the tournament scene two years ago. ■ JAMES CURTIS, who quit as Northenden professional at the start of the year for a new life

in Florida, has returned to the North-West because his family could not settle. And he’s wasted no time in landing a teaching job at PlayGolf, in Manchester, after a short spell at Sutton Fields. “I achieved a lot out there but the economic situation is much worse,” he said. “The clubs are struggling for members more than those over here.” Curtis, 33, believes he has improved his coaching skills after spells at Bay Hill resort Windermere, Keene’s Point in Orlando and Kings Ridge at Clermont, where he was head instructor. “I also worked with Phil Ritson for three months at Orange County National and my clients included the president of Disney World,” he said. Andrew Matthews has left Sutton Fields for a job in Dubai, where his wife is a teacher.

Taylor finds form for shot at European Tour Houghwood professional is Lancashire champion again

BARRY TAYLOR underlined his credentials as a PGA Cup player when he won the James Brearley Lancashire Open at Blackpool North Shore for the second time in three years. The Houghwood assistant, who was in the Great Britain and Ireland line-up that took on the United States at Loch Lomond resort Cameron House, played near-perfect golf as he strung together a pair of 68s for a six-under-par aggregate. He dropped only one shot on each day but more than compensated for the lapses with four birdies on each occasion, all achieved through precision approach work, apart from a fortunate chip-in at the fourth hole in the opening round. Taylor finished two ahead of joint overnight leader, Huyton & Prescot professional John Fisher. Taylor is hoping he can carry his good form into the end of season qualifying schools, as he attempts to win his European Tour card.

Taylor, 31, who is also seeking his fifth Lancashire PGA matchplay title, has noticed an improvement in his game since his first lesson with Peter Cowan last month. “He’s changed by backswing to increase my power, but I’m still working on my swing,” he added. Glyn Rees, a 62-year-old twohandicapper, from Fleetwood, tied on 67 with Fisher at the end of the first round, closed with 72 for third place overall, and comfortably won the senior award by six shots from Ray Peters, who coaches at Leisure Lakes, near Southport. ■ SEAN DOHERTY gave himself a perfect tonic after a three-month lay-off with a wrist injury when he won the Lancashire PGA

Championship at Accrington. The 25-year-old Bury assistant said: “ All I could do was teach while I was waiting for it to heal.” Doherty strung together rounds of 68 and 70 for a two-under-par aggregate as past winners Barry Taylor, from Houghwood, and Haigh Hall teaching professional Craig Corrigan trailed a shot adrift. Bill Fletcher, from Leisure Lakes, won the senior prize for a sixth year running with an 80. ■ IT’S all change for the PGA North Region Championship as it switches from the North East to Yorkshire, after attracting new funding. International freight forwarders Thomson Davis will sponsor the 36-hole tournament at Marriott Hollins Hall Golf and Country Club, on September 29-30. This is the 62nd staging of the tournament, which boasts many famous past winners, including European Tour pros Andrew Murray, Phil Archer and Paul Eales.

DENBIGH GOLF CLUB

Offers a warm welcome to new members & visitors

A delightful 18 Hole Parkland Course with panoramic views down the Vale of Clwyd that offers challenging and enjoyable golf for all standards of play WINTER PACKAGE

SUMMER GREEN FEES

Coffee/Sausage Bap 18 holes & 2 Course Meal

Weekday £26 Weekend £32

12 October - 31 March

Weekday £20, Weekend £23

(Packages available to suit your needs)

DISTANT MEMBERSHIP (30 miles AA Route Finder)

August 2009 - February 2010 Gents £175.00 Lady £160.25

ENJOY - A Warm Welcome. ENJOY - Challenging/Enjoyable Golf. ENJOY - Fine Food/Drink 14

For further details please contact: Denbigh Golf Club, Henllan Road, Denbigh, Denbighshire LL16 5AA e.mail: denbighgolfclub@aol.com • www.denbighgolfclub.co.uk

PGA NORTH NEWS DAVID BIRTILL REPORTS

Ironman Law shows his mettle

Angus Law, of Wirral Ladies Golf Club, at work and play

Sargent turns on style for double success

Taylor finds form for shot at European Tour Houghwood professional is Lancashire champion again

DENBIGH GOLF CLUB

Offers a warm welcome to new members & visitors

A delightful 18 Hole Parkland Course with panoramic views down the Vale of Clwyd that offers challenging and enjoyable golf for all standards of play WINTER PACKAGE

SUMMER GREEN FEES

Coffee/Sausage Bap 18 holes & 2 Course Meal

Weekday £26 Weekend £32

12 October - 31 March

Weekday £20, Weekend £23

(Packages available to suit your needs)

DISTANT MEMBERSHIP (30 miles AA Route Finder)

August 2009 - February 2010 Gents £175.00 Lady £160.25

ENJOY - A Warm Welcome. ENJOY - Challenging/Enjoyable Golf. ENJOY - Fine Food/Drink 14

For further details please contact: Denbigh Golf Club, Henllan Road, Denbigh, Denbighshire LL16 5AA e.mail: denbighgolfclub@aol.com • www.denbighgolfclub.co.uk

WHAT’S ON

IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

THE GOLF LIST Tuesday to Friday, September 22-25

ANOTHER group of European Tour hopefuls set out on the long trail to joining golf’s elite players. This is just the first round of pre-qualifying. By now those who have played at Chart Hills in England, Dundonald Links in Scotland, Lübker Golf Resortand in Denmark and Ribagolfe in Portugal will know their fate. The Oxfordshire in England, Golf de Moliets in France, Circolo Golf Bogogno in Italy and Fleesensee G&C Club in Germany await this week . . . A second round of contests at four different venues will decide who gets to final qualifying when the best of the wannabees pit their wits against players who have fallen off the Tour over six nerve-shredding rounds at PGA Golf de Catanlunya.

Tuesday to Thursday, September 29-October 1 BROMBOROUGH’S Phil Jones will captain Wales for the Senior Home Internationals at County Mayo, Ireland, over the Westport course.

OCTOBER 1-4 ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP HAPPY memories for Liverpool’s Nick Dougherty as the European Tour returns to Scotland for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Its unique format sees competitors battling for glory over the Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. And a host of celebrity names from the worlds of showbusiness and sport are thrown into the mix over the opening rounds which means anyone from Hugh Grant to Dennis Hopper, or Ronan Keating to Sir Steven Redgrave will be teeing it up alongside the pros. Dougherty, who prevailed two years ago, has added a third tour title in Germany and would love to continue his pursuit of a return to a top 50 world ranking with a repeat display.

In the England ranks he will find Philip Slater from Sandiway and Stewart King from West Lancashire.

Saturday, October 24 THE thriving junior scene in Cheshire has its grand finale at Birchwood Golf Club when the winners from the various junior leagues in the county come together to determine an overall champion in the Cheshire Club Junior Team Finals.

Thursday-Sunday, November 19-22 It’s what the previous 12 months has been all about as the Race to Dubai reaches its dollar-dripping climax at the Dubai World Championship over the Earth Course, at Jumeirah Golf Estates. With a record-breaking, eye-boggling, bank-busting ten million dollar prize fund up for grabs expect a veritable who’s who of the world’s top players.

Send us your events Nick Dougherty with the trophy after winning two years ago

GOT A forthcoming event at your club, then send the details to richard.williamson@liverpool.com

Golf. In all its glory.

Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa offers quite simply one of the finest golfing facilities anywhere on England’s Golf Coast. The 72-par Old Course boasts an excellent pedigree, while the 9-hole par three course has been described as the best in the country. Whether it’s a weekend golf break, golf society day, or a session at the UK’s first PGA National Residential Golf Academy, this is golf heaven.

Visit

www.formbyhallgolfresort.co.uk

or call 01704 875 699 for more details. Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, Southport Old Road, Formby, Merseyside L37 0AB

• Golf Club membership • PGA PAR 3 membership • Residential golf packages • Golf society packages

• PGA Professional tuition • Trackman/GASP Technology • Corporate golf packages • Fully-equipped golf shop

NEWS

Duo aim for home rule Slater and King join England’s push for Grand Slam glory

TWO local golfers will be hoping to help England repeat their heroics of the European Championships when the battle for domestic bragging rights gets underway in Ireland. The six strong team that won in Switzerland will be complemented by Stewart King, of West Lancashire Golf Club, when England bid to regain the Seniors Home Internationals title next week. Sandiway’s Philip Slater was part of the team that edged out Sweden 3-2 in the European final in Ascona. He will be joined in Westport,

County Clare, from September 29 to October 1 by his victorious teammates Douglas Arnold (Copthorne, Sussex), Andrew Carman (Coventry, Warwickshire), Geoff King (West Essex, Essex), Chris Reynolds (Littlestone, Kent) and Andrew Stracey (Littlestone, Kent). It was the first time England had lifted the European Seniors title and they will hope to carry that form forward against the home nations including Wales, who will be captained by Bromborough’s Phil Jones.

PARTON’S DOUBLE JOY AT EATON SAM Parton is the 2009 Junior champion at Eaton Golf Club. He took the title after returning rounds of 79 and 75 at the Chester club. Luke Harrison matched Parton in the first round, but followed up with a second successive 79 to finish runner-up. Parton also took the honours in the nett competition. Playing off nine, he again pipped Harrison, who plays off 11. The Rabbit winner was Lawrie Crowther with 87.

IRK H C

GOLF C LU B

Eaton Junior winners (left to right) Luke Harrison, Sam Parton and Lawrie Crowther

King, the secretary/manager at West Lancs, is returning to the England line-up for the first time since 2006 when he was capped for the Europeans and Seniors Home Internationals. He has been in fine form this summer, winning the Welsh Seniors Open at Prestatyn. Slater has been a regular in the England side since securing his first seniors cap in last year’s European Team Championships in Ireland and he also played in the 2008 Seniors Home Internationals. A former Cheshire Seniors champion, he has helped Cheshire win two English Seniors County Championships. With the boys and men’s Home Internationals titles already in England’s grasp, the seniors will be hoping to complete the Grand Slam by taking the title off the Irish, who won at Tenby last year. This will be the eighth playing of the Seniors Home Internationals following its inception in 2002 and England have won the title three times, the last at Caldy in 2007. ■ THE LATEST Membership Meeting of the Cheshire Golf Union, held at Antrobus Golf Club, was won by Sutton Hall pairing C Smith (13) and R Fairclough (13) with 43 points on a card play-off.

The complete

Golfing challenge!

Located in 200 acres of rolling Welsh countryside and overlooked by Chirk Castle and the Welsh border mountains, Chirk Golf Club makes the most appealing society venue. The 18 Hole ‘Captain David’s’ Course has won acclaim for fairness and flexibility - a Par 72 course playing as short as 5,525 yards or, for the really ambitious, 7,045 yards from the Tiger Tees! The mature parkland in which ‘Captain David’s’ Course is laid out once formed a part of the Chirk Castle parkland, and the Course is bounded by the beautiful Llangollen Canal. Each hole has been carefully designed and maintained to provide a firm but fair golfing challenge with numerous water features and the natural undulations of the countryside. The 9 hole Par 3 ‘Academy Course’ presents an ideal way to start the day - a true Par 3 course, it’s possibly one of the finest Par 3 courses around.

Autumn & Winter 2009 Golf Society Packages

Available from 1st October 2009

Former Lodge juniors lead coaching lessons FORMER junior players Matthew Shea and Matthew Blackhurst are putting something back into the club that helped nurture their love of golf. The pair are running the junior coaching sessions at Eastham Lodge Golf Club on the Wirral. The pair both came through the junior ranks themselves at Eastham, and are former junior captains. Now they have taken their PGA coaching qualifications and are passing on advice and tips to the next generation of players. Sessions are held on alternate weekends and are open to non-members and children of all ages. Clubs can be provided for those starting out in the sport. The hour-long lessons are held on a Saturday or Sunday morning from 9am. The next sessions are due to take place at the weekend (September

26/27) but it is advisable to ring the club on 0151 327 3003 for confirmation. Cost is £5 per person. The club has recently been building links with schools in the Bromborough area, with Shea running Tri Golf sessions. Junior membership is available at the club from the age of eight upwards. ■ NICK SARGENT led from the front as he battled his way to his seventh win of the season on the PGA North Region circuit. The Eastham Lodge professional fired rounds of 65 and 66 to finish at nineunder par and five shots clear of the field in the Aberdovey and Royal St David’s Pro-am. He shrugged off the chasing pack, headed by Mossock Hall’s David Shacklady, with a finishing burst that included picking up four birdies in the last nine holes at Royal St David’s, near Harlech.

EASTHAM LODGE GOLF CLUB 117 Ferry Road, Eastham, Wirral, CH62 0AP • 0151 327 3003 Email easthamlodge.g.c@btinternet.com

Join in September 16 months for the price of 12 Winter packages available on request. Flexible memberships available. Junior memberships open.

Winter Warmer 1 Coffee and a bacon roll will be served on arrival, followed by 18 holes on ‘Captain David’s’ Course. Back in the Clubhouse you will be served the Chef’s Special - Steak & Ale Pie.

Monday - Friday - £23.50p per person (£26.50p per person at weekend)

Dress code must be compiled with Societies for £20.50 Full catering available No joining fee

Winter Warmer 2 Coffee will be served on arrival, followed by 9 holes on the Par 3 ‘Academy Course’. Back in the Clubhouse, homemade soup and a freshly baked roll will prepare you for 18 holes on the ‘Captain David’s’ Course, following by a delicious Chef’s Special two course evening meal.

Societies are welcome at this quality parkland course

Monday - Friday - £29.50p per person (£32.50p per person at weekend) CHIRK GOLF CLUB - Chirk, Wrexham LL14 5AD Telephone 01691 774407

Email enquiries@chirkgolfclub.co.uk

Web www.chirkgolfclub.co.uk

TRAVEL IRELAND

Irish eyes are smiling on a band of weary golfers Mark Thomas enjoys a drop of the green stuff and finds a golfing heaven

The Island is a most exacting test of golf with its narrow fairways wending their way through the dunes by the sea

HE IRISH GARDA officer smiled knowingly as we trudged, weary and chastened, back to our hotel in the picture-postcard seaside town of Malahide. We had just explained to him the reason for our fatigue – an encounter that day with The Island, a breathtaking golf links just across the estuary in Donabate. “It was very tough,” we confided. “Tough,” the officer replied with a shake of the head. “That’s one way to describe it. Me, I think of it more like the purgatory they send golfers to if they’ve committed a mortal sin.” We had caught the Stena ferry across the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire for a weekend in Ireland sampling just a few of the jewels this golfers’ paradise has to offer. The Grand Hotel, a charming modernised four star hotel overlooking the bay, was our base, and the three golf courses we played over the weekend were all within a few minutes drive. Indeed the Island Golf Club, the first course we played, could actually be seen from the hotel, less than a mile away across the water, although getting to it involved a drive inland and back out onto the wild headland on which it nestles. Established in 1890 and surrounded on three sides by the sea, The Island is a majestic place to play golf. It is also an extraordinarily exacting course in any conditions and particularly on a day of high, gusting winds like the one on which we chose to arrive. The trick was to keep the ball in play, for anything off target tended to disappear into the long, thick, impenetrable rough. The fairways were so narrow in many places, and the course played so long into the wind, that keeping the ball on those narrow strips of short grass proved all but beyond us. There is not an easy par to be had on the course, certainly in the conditions we found. Even when I breathed a sigh of relief at avoiding the myriad bunkers surrounding the par three ninth to land my ball on the green, the job was not done. My ball was on the wrong tier of a two level green, and my first putt came up so short that another bogey became my inevitable fate. It is a fantastic course, and one that was a worthy choice as one of the qualifying courses for the 2005 Open, but it is not for beginners, and for the weekend golfer, it needs to be approached philosophically. Any hole on which you don’t lose a

TRAVEL FACTFILE

The wonderful setting of the links course at Portmarnock, combining the best of modern design and golf ball and walk off with less than a cricket score may be considered a modest achievement. One of our party lost 17 balls that day, and was muttering darkly that evening about taking up another line of recreation. Happily, his spirits and ours were restored by an evening of craic, good food and Guinness, and the next morning saw us making the short journey to St Margaret’s Golf and Country Club, and a very different golf challenge. St. Margaret’s is a delightful parkland course, a little more forgiving than the Island, in that you can open your shoulders and hit the ball without first wishing it a fond

farewell. The fairways are wider, the greens soft and true, but there are still difficulties aplenty, in terms of trees and water hazards. As befits the course that was home to the 2004 Irish PGA Championship, some of the holes are unforgettable. Indeed Sam Torrance dubbed the final hole, a long par four that requires a precise drive and a mighty second shot to carry a lake guarding the green, as “the best finishing hole in golf that I have ever seen.” Perhaps my favourite hole – and not just because I managed a rare par on it – was the eighth, a 495 metre par five where you drive over one water hazard and then play for

position short of a second to chip onto the green. It is as pretty as it is daunting, and I walked off the green with a real sense of satisfaction with a five under my belt. St Margaret’s is a great blend of awesome, intimidating golf holes and genuine par or birdie opportunities for the club golfer, and we all thoroughly enjoyed playing it. The final round of our trip was at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links. The weather forecast had spoken of torrential rain, but as we teed off that Sunday morning under blue skies with a blustery wind, our optimism was high.

the historic holes dating back to the 1800s, while there is plenty of water to test the nerve at St Margaret’s, as found here on the seventh Designed by Bernhard Langer, this course opened only in 1995, but incorporates some holes from the Jameson family’s private golf course, which dates back to 1858. This unusual background creates a wonderful combination of the best in modern golf design and some holes that have a real sense of history about them. It is not a punishingly long course, and benefits from wider fairways than The Island, but it is still a course that demands accuracy and skill. Its 98 bunkers are among the most daunting you will come across. One greenside bunker I put my ball in could not be accessed without the

aid of wooden steps, so deep were all four of its sides. The eighth, one of the original 1857 Jameson holes, is a gem, with a 90 degree dogleg to the left requiring a long drive or a blind approach shot over a huge mound of sand dunes. For nine holes it was tough but fair. Then, the black clouds which had been rolling in menacingly suddenly opened, and we played the second nine in a tempest that left all of us and our golf equipment drenched. Somehow we persevered, driven on by the determination not to miss one of these wonderful golf holes. On 16, my partner and I somehow

went two up to find ourselves dormie, and just needed a half on one of the last two holes to triumph. With the gale in our faces none of us found the green on the par 3 17th, but one of our opponents chipped out of an impossibly deep bunker to about six inches from the hole and richly deserved his win. So it was all down to 18, Portmarnock’s breathtaking signature hole. I muffed my drive off the elevated tee into a bunker-strewn valley, but avoided the sand and recovered with a lay up to 100 yards from the green. I just needed to pitch on and two putt to secure our victory. A combination of adrenaline and

the wind at my back saw me float a wedge almost to the back of the green, where it bounced once, mockingly, before disappearing into the jungle behind the green. It took me three more shots to hack my way out, and an unlikely draw was secured by our opponents. I should have been despondent, but couldn’t find it in my heart to be anything other than satisfied. The golf had been so varied, so challenging, and so much fun. Factor in the wonderful hospitality that is par for the course wherever you go in Ireland, and it really is hard to better as a destination for golfers of any level.

his MARK THOMAS and land group travelled to Ire e and courtesy of Stena Lin Failte Ireland. return Stena Line runs four ily da superferry crossings d between Holyhead an daily Dublin Port and one ing ss cro urn ret fastcraft d Dun between Holyhead an Laoghaire. 19 per The lead-in price: £1 for gle sin r ve dri car and for superferry and £139 is £20 fastcraft. Extra adult ild is single, while extra ch to £10 single. To upgradeper Stena Plus costs £15 ing. person on each crossone Booking details: Ph on ck 08705 70 70 70 or cli stenaline.co.uk.

TRAVEL IRELAND

Irish eyes are smiling on a band of weary golfers Mark Thomas enjoys a drop of the green stuff and finds a golfing heaven

The Island is a most exacting test of golf with its narrow fairways wending their way through the dunes by the sea

TRAVEL FACTFILE

Demands your enjoyment

PENNANT PARK GOLF CLUB

WINTER WARMER UNTIL THE END OF MARCH

Coffee on arrival, 18 holes, 1 course meal MONDAY - FRIDAY £18 WEEKENDS £23

SUMMER PACKAGES 2010

Option 1: Coffee and Bacon Roll, 18 holes of golf, 2 course meal Mon-Fri £30, Weekend £34 Option 2: 9 holes of golf, Soup & Sandwiches, 18 holes of golf, 2-course meal Mon-Fri £37, Weekend £41

FOURBALL SPECIAL!

Fourball, 2 Buggies, 18 holes of golf Monday-Friday only £80 Saturday-Sunday only £100 Valid until March 2010

Telephone 01745 563000

Email:enquiries@pennant-park.co.uk Pennant Park Golf Club, Whitford, Holywell, Flintshire CH8 9AE Directions: Take Junction 32 for Holywell off the A55, then follow the signposts to the club

Prices slashed on last 2 available lodges

PENNANT PARK

HOLIDAY HOMES Offering holiday home ownership on our luxury, exclusive development FULL 12-MONTH HOLIDAY LICENSE

Fancy owning your own holiday home in North Wales? Pennant Park offers exclusive holiday home ownership in stunning surroundings. The Lodges will delight those searching for a ‘stress free’ lifestyle, whilst being able to enjoy some of North Wales’ spectacular countryside. Pennant Park also boasts a superb 18-hole golf course with well manicured fairways and quality greens. The Clubhouse also has great facilities, including a modern, well stocked professional shop, restaurant and a multi-purpose function room, all complemented by a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. This exclusive development has a limited number of 15 luxury lodges with 2 available for immediate occupancy. The best way to appreciate these lodges, and all of the other fantastic facilities that go along with them, is to come and take a look around for yourself – and experience that ‘wow’ factor.

For more information or to arrange a viewing appointment please call: 01745 563077/563009/563000 Evening 01745 852332

Visit the website: www.pennant-park.co.uk or email: enquiries@pennant-park.co.uk