Newsletter Summer 2015 Lancashire President...

All of these people have

helped maintain the

reputation of the Lancashire

Union of Golf Clubs as a

highly respected organisation

throughout England and I

look forward to working

closely with all colleagues

during my term of office. My term of office has also

coincided with the

“retirement” of Tony Moss

who had been County

Secretary since 1997. There

have been many

complimentary things said

about Tony’s involvement

with the Union over the

years and as such I wish to

add my thanks for his help,

guidance and support

especially when I was

Championship Chairman.

Tony will be missed by all.

I wish Phil Harvey all the best

as he begins his “new

journey” as County

Secretary. These are difficult

times for all golf clubs but I

am confident that with Phil’s

successful business

background and grass roots

knowledge of golf club

management he will provide

excellent support and advice.

Finally I wish all county

players, club golfers and

especially the many

volunteers best wishes for

the rest of 2015, I hope the

weather is kind to us for the

remainder of the season, as it

has been in previous years

and I look forward to

meeting you all at the various

matches and functions I will

be attending.

I am only the second person

from my club, Lancaster, to

become President, the

previous being Charlie

Barrow in 1953. I never

knew Charlie but am aware

that he was a very good

golfer and dedicated to the

development of golf at club

and County level. Though I

cannot profess to be anything

like the former, I do have

something in common with

Charlie as to the latter. I do

know that the members of

Lancaster Golf Club are

proud that this fine club with

great traditions is once again

linked so closely with our

County.

It does not seem that long

ago, when in 2003, the then

President Ian Woolley

welcomed me to my first

executive meeting and

presented me with my

Lancashire Executives badge

of office. A very proud

moment for me, I can assure

you. Since that day I have

seen many people join and

leave the executive (now

called The Board) and have

worked with twelve

Presidents.

I have witnessed the hard

work and dedication given

freely by Board members and

Past Presidents, in their

endeavour not only to help

the development of County

players, management of the

various Championships and

County Member

competitions but also the

many other activities that the

County is involved in.

Lancashire President 2015

.

Newsletter Summer 2015

Lancashire Union of

Golf Clubs Ltd.

County Office

Ashton & Lea GC Tudor Avenue Preston

PR4 0XA

T: 01772 731330

www.lancashiregolf.org

Twitter @Lancashiregolf

Inside this issue:

Men’s elite squad 2

County Fixtures 2

County Champion 3

Seniors 2015 4

Boys Champion 5

Junior Golf

County Develop-

ment Plan

County members

6

7

8

Tony McMunn President of the Lancashire

Union of Golf Clubs 2015

I was on holiday in Tenerife

when President David

Eccleston called me on my

mobile inviting me, on behalf

of the Past Presidents, to

become President in 2015.

I was humbled by the call and

answered that I would be

delighted and honoured to

accept the invitation. As you

will appreciate I would have

liked to have said more but

the cost of the call was

probably more than the cost

of my holiday, therefore our

conversation was terminated

quickly.

Having then sat and reflected

on the call, I realised what an

honour it was to be invited,

especially from our Past

Presidents, all of whom are

synonymous not only with

the name of Lancashire Golf

but also England and the R & A. During my tenure I

will ensure, as have my

predecessors, that

Lancashire Golf is promoted

at the highest level.

We have a proud tradition of

bringing players through from the

boys structure and on to the first

team, so its going to be a very

interesting season as the cycle of

change begins again.”

The season for the Men’s team

opened with the mighty Yorkshire

coming across the Pennines to

Hillside Golf Club. After taking a

commanding lead 5-1 in the morning,

Lancashire squandered the

opportunity to take an early

advantage in the league and allowed

a fightback that resulted in a tied

match 9-9. Debutant Jack Shelley of

Formby GC held on to win the final

match and secure the shared points.

The second match, away against

Durham at Bishop Auckland,

featured more excellent debuts

from Mike Howard of Royal

Birkdale and Jack Clarkson of

Lancaster GC. A tight match saw

Lancashire eventually run out

winners 10-8.

With key players now available

following international duties and

returning from college in

America, the squad will be

further strengthened going into

the second half of the season.

Next up is Northumberland at

Lancaster on 11th July and as

always spectators are very

welcome.

Northern Counties League Champions


Men’s Elite Squad County Match Fixtures 2015

The Men’s first team retained the

Daily Telegraph Northern

Counties League title in a close

finish over the breezy links at

Furness in Cumbria. The margin

of victory in the league was just

half a point over the old rivals

Yorkshire.

With four squad members

turning professional at the end of

the season, 2015 has seen a

number of new faces making their

debuts for the County, plus one

or two older ones making

comebacks.

County Captain Paul Williams

commented “We wish the

players turning professional all

the very best for their careers.

11th July v Northumberland Lancaster GC

5th August Northern Counties

England Golf Qualifier

Mount Murray, Isle of Man

8th August v Cumbria Ormskirk GC

29th August v Cheshire Wilmslow GC

25-27th September English County Finals Wychwood GC

The President presents the trophy to the 2015

County Champion Ian Kenwright of Haydock

Park.

The 2015 Championship saw 138 of

Lancashire’s best amateur golfers

contend in challenging, windy conditions

at Bolton Golf Club on 5th-7th June.

Ian Kenwright, a stalwart of the County

team with 46 caps to date, proved a

very worthy and popular winner. Ian

lead from the start following a first

round 67 backed that up with 71, 71 &

74 to lead from wire to wire.

Championship Chairman, Derek Jones,

praised to host club for their support

throughout the event. “The club really

got behind the Championship and

provided over 40 volunteers who

helped with everything from parking

to divoting and marshaling certain

holes. It really was a fantastic effort

from the members.”

Runner up was Ciaran Doherty of

Bury, followed by Gareth Hastie of

the host club.

Bolton also triumphed in the team

championship and now go on to

represent Lancashire in the national

club Championship at Brancepeth

Castle in September.

In 2016 the Championship will be

held at Ormskirk Golf Club on

27th –29th May and will return to

Lancaster Golf Club in 2017.

Lancashire Amateur Championship 2015


Entry to all County Championships and County Members competitions is now online at


Follow us on twitter @Lancashiregolf

Tony Holt receives the Seniors Trophy from the President

Two very contrasting days over the stunning links at

Hesketh produced an “as you were” result in the

Seniors Championship, with the 2014 Champion Tony

Holt of Wilpshire, retaining the title.

100 senior players lined up for the 2015 Championship,

the largest field for several years.

Club President, Derek Holden, offered his special

welcome to the competitors, “Hesketh has a long

association with Lancashire County golf having staged

the first every County Championship in 1910 and many

times since. Seniors golf has become more and more

important in recent years with the average age of

membership in many clubs hovering around the sixty

mark. It is a section that can’t be ignored. It is my

privilege on behalf of all the members to welcome

players and officials from the County to our club.”

Scoring was high on a very blustery first day, the

lowest round being 78 from both the eventual

Champion and Rob Fox of Royal Lytham. Only 5

players managed to break 80 and the CSS

resulted in reduction only.

Day 2 was quite a contrast, generally warm, sunny

and most importantly the wind had subdued,

although not entirely. A level par 72, the best

round of the Championship, sealed the win for

Tony.

1st Tony Holt - Wilpshire 78+72 - 150

2nd Alan Gillespie - St Annes OL 79+74 - 153

3rd Ian Crowther - R. Lytham 79+75 - 154

The Seniors Championship 2015


Entry to all County Championships and County Members competitions is now online at


Follow us on twitter @Lancashiregolf

Boys Champion Matthew Kay with the President and the

historic Boys trophy

Is 2015 to be remembered as the year of the winds ?

A 25mph plus cold wind blew for pretty much the

entire 36 holes of the 2015 Boys Championship at

Leyland Golf Club. The course was in superb condition

with slick, fast greens that added even more to the

challenge facing Lancashire’s bright young talent.

Leyland has established itself as one of the most

forward thinking clubs in the county, with a superb

junior programme led by club professional Colin

Burgess.

During practice many of the boys became quite

ambitious about the scores they might produce, but on

the day of the event the full power of the weather and

the course combined to make this a real test of

patience and endurance. Pre-championship favourite,

and England Boys international Oliver Clarke of

Formby made it look like the form books were

going to be followed when he lead the morning

scoring with 73.

In the first match out in the afternoon, Mathew

Kay of Manchester defied the conditions to

return a 68, the only sub par score of the day.

Matthew ran out the winner by 3 strokes and has

since been selected to make his debut for

Lancashire Boys in the upcoming match against

Cheshire.

1st Matthew Kay - Manchester 145

2nd Lewis Boyle - Shaw Hill 148

3rd Olver Clarke - Formby 148

The Boys Championship 2015


The Lancashire Union launched a new Talent Development Pathway in

2014 and now has over 200 boys and girls in our Under 14 and

14-18 County Academy programmes and elite squads. Applications for the

2016 programmes will open in September, if you have a child who would

like to take part, please register via the county website

http://www.lancashiregolf.org/talent_development_programmes

Andrew Barr, Chairman of Junior Golf, reflects on

about a successful 2014 season for the

Lancashire Boys.

Following the usual high quality winter coaching with

our Professional coaches Gareth Benson, Ian Lee and

Jim Payne, the boys started the playing season well

when the 4 Counties Tournament was successfully

retained at Wollaton Park, where Nottinghamshire

were our hosts. The young team of Haydn McCullen,

Joe Banks, McCaulay Murgatroyd, Liam Jenkinson,

Michael Tunstall, Callum Blinkhorn, James Broadbent

and Daniel Croft were delighted in retaining the trophy

for the 3rd consecutive year. Haydn McCullen finished

his 3rd year in the winning team never losing any of his

matches.

The team of Oliver Clarke, Adam Clarke, Joe Banks,

Liam Jenkinson, Callum Blinkhorn and Callum

McPhillips selected to represent Lancashire in the

Northern Boys Championship at City of Newcastle

Golf Club, finished 3rd equal with Yorkshire and

Northumberland, 4 strokes behind the winners

Durham, with Cheshire coming in 2nd place .

On the County match scene the boys team had

victories against Cheshire and Cumbria, and it was

agreed to halve the match against Yorkshire when the

waterlogged course became unplayable during the

singles matches. A trophy for this fixture was

presented by past Yorkshire President Jay Whittam to

be played for annually. Sadly Lancashire Girls were

unable to field a team for the annual match against the

boys. The mixed age team were heavily beaten by

Yorkshire, but were successful against Cheshire and

halved their match against Durham.

The under 14 scheme outlined in last year’s report as

part of our future development pathway, and part

funded by England Golf, got underway during the year.

138 boys were signed up to the scheme and divided up

into 6 regional centres. Each boy received 3, 6 hour

group coaching sessions, and all were invited to a golf

day at Houghwood Golf Club at the end of the

coaching season. In the event 83 boys competed in a

most successful competition. We are grateful to Peter

Turner for allowing us the courtesy of the course for

the day and to Tony Mather for the magnificent prize

table.

This new initiative is to continue and a County

Academy Programme is to be added for 14-18

year old boys, completing our junior pathway.

This scheme will be run by a selected group of

PGA professionals across the county and funded

by the boys (or more likely their parents) who

join the scheme.

With our 4 elite groups of 12 boys in each at

under 14, under 15, under 16, and under 18 will

mean that the county will have nearly 250 boys in

coaching during a year. Phil Harvey needs special

mention for his vision and hard work in making all

this happen.

On the individual front The Boy’s Championship

was won by Oliver Clarke from Formby Golf

Club, the under 16 Championship was won by

Luke Kelly from Ashton-under-Lyne Golf Club,

and the under 14 champion was Grady Rogerson

from Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club.

Haydn McCullen won the McEvoy Tophy and the

Carris Trophy and represented England boys.

Oliver Clarke represented England under 16

boys.

My thanks to all members of the Executive and

parents for their support during the year, with

special thanks to the squad leaders Terry

Rawson, Mike Lay, Cliff Bowman and Tony

McMunn.

Pictured below, Michael Tunstall of Bolton Old Links

in action for Lancashire Boys.

2014 - A great year for the county’s junior golfers


Following the launch of the new strategic plan for

England Golf, “Raising our Game”, the Lancashire

Union has developed a county plan for the next 2 years

to work in support of the national strategy.

The aim of both plans is to achieve for golf in

Lancashire;

More Players

More Members

Stronger Clubs

The Lancashire Union, representing men’s amateur golf

in the county, already undertakes a great deal of

activity which contributes towards these themes. This

new development plan seeks to enhance this existing

delivery and introduce new ways of working and

additional initiatives that will complement the current

work and provide a platform for improvement in

several key areas.

Within the plan are some key principles which will be

at the centre of the work of the Lancashire Union in

the next 3 years.

1. Closer communication, co-operation and support

for the clubs in Lancashire. It will ultimately be the

clubs that deliver the key outcomes of both the

national and county strategies.

2. Expanding our work to support the advancement of

junior golf through talent development programmes

and assisting clubs in implementing successful local

junior initiatives.

3. Working closely with our key partners in Lancashire,

including but not limited to the County Golf

Partnership (CGP), Lancashire Ladies County Golf

Association (LLCGA), the PGA, the Golf Foundation

and the Golf Club Managers Association(GCMA), the

Lancashire Sports Partnership and the Golf Course

Owners Association.

Amongst the new initiatives to be launched in

2015 will be

New grant funding to help clubs with

development programmes

A network of county delegates in every

club

An annual conference for golf in

Lancashire to promote and share great

ideas

A new awards scheme to celebrate and

publicise the innovative work of the clubs

An awareness campaign promoting the

development plan and the various ways in which

clubs can get involved and benefit from the

activities will shortly be launched. In the

meantime more information can be obtained by

contacting the county office.

Clubs are invited to nominate a County Delegate

to become a vital point of contact with the club

and its members. The first County Conference

for delegates is being held at Fairhaven Golf Club

in Lytham on 15th September and the first 50

delegates to register will also be able to play in a

free competition at Fairhaven in the afternoon.

LATEST NEWS

Grants under the above scheme have already

been agreed and awarded to several clubs

following our initial publicity, including

Burnley Golf Club - to support a series of

summer camps for juniors and beginners.

Grand National Golf Club - to help with

marketing of a family open day and free coaching

for beginners.

Poulton le Fylde Golf Club - to provide

additional training and accreditation for junior

organisers.

Lee Park Golf Club - to assist with the

marketing and delivery of a Ladies Only

GetIntoGolf programme.

County Development Plan


It was with great pleasure that I took over as Chairman

of County Members committee from Tony McMunn

who did such an excellent job as Chairman for the last

three years. I look forward to carrying on the good

work Tony has done for the foreseeable future.

The 2014 season came to an end with the Collinge and

Bell finals held at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s GC on

Tuesday 9th September. The final results were;

Collinge Trophy 2014

Winner Phillip Greer from Grange Park GC

with a net 74

Runner Up Mark Feeney from West Derby GC

with a net 77

Bell Trophy 2014

Winners Robert Snellgrove & Don Marr from

Hurlston Hall GC with 40pts, acpo

Runners up David Marsh & Jim O'Gara from

Bolton Old Links GC with 40pts

Congratulations to the winners and all who took part

in the finals.

So far during the 2015 season we have seen record

numbers of members play in both the Collinge Trophy

and Bell Trophy qualifying competitions. Thanks to all

who took part, your support for the County Members

competitions is much appreciated.

The qualifiers from each competition who go through

to the final which will be held at Fairhaven GC on 16th

September are,

Collinge Round 1 at Stand Golf Club

1. David Hoyle - Royal Lytham

2. Martin Humphreys - Dean Wood

3. Eddie McFerran - Grange Park

Collinge Round 2 at Shaw Hill Golf Club

1. Philip Kilgour - St Annes Old Links

2. Joe Sawbridge - Hurlston Hall

3. Gavin Sutcliffe - Nth Manchester

Bell Trophy Round 1 at Blackburn Golf Club

1. P. Glover & B. Glover - Widnes

2. J. Kilgour & P. Kilgour - St Annes Old Links

3. D. Hughes & D. Fox - Haydock Park

Bell Trophy Round 2 at Haydock Park Golf Club

1. K. Jarvis & P. White - Lee Park

2. M. Rimmer & I. Kinsey - Hurlston Hall

3. D. Welsh & D Jenkins - Lee Park

There are still spaces open in the final County

Members event of the season which is the

Autumn Meeting (Individual Stableford)

@ £18 person

2nd September, Ashton & Lea GC

If you know any person who would like to

become a County Member then either go to our

web site at www.lancashiregolf.org where you

will find details on membership under the heading

County Membership or call the County Office on

01772 731330

I look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

Paul Healey

Chairman of County Members

County Members Competitions


County Cards The 2015 Lancashire Golf County Card is

now available free of charge to all mem-

bers of affiliated clubs within Lancashire.

The card is valid at more than 70 clubs in

Lancashire and over 1,300 clubs across

England. The card entitles the holder to

discounted golf, strictly subject to the

terms laid down by the individual

participating club.

Apply online at www.lancashiregolf.org

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