The Golden Poppys – Just the Ticket

1st August 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

In 2017 MG helped Gaudet Luce GC promote their 2018 society campaign which included a special prize. They posted out a number of society brochures to local groups; inside one of them was a golden ticket to win a full society day at the club.

The lucky winners were Poppys GS from Bulkington in Warwickshire and on Sunday 2^nd September they will be there and enjoying their prize, 24 strong. We look forward to running a little feature on how it all went.

The society was formed in January 2016 after several months of planning and organising. They are based locally from Poppys Venue (formerly the Bulkington War Memorial Club) and play monthly competitions around the area within a 40 mile radius. The competitions comprise of The Society Championship (The Alan Ward Trophy) The Par 3 Cup (The Val Russell Trophy), played over 8 separate venues, the Winter League Pairs Competition, played over 5 separate venues, The Poppys Open (The Shaun Hale Trophy) and of course, The Captains weekend away.

They maintain close ties with the club and raise funds for the Bulkington veterans and Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes, based around their frequent visits to bunkers and water hazards during society rounds!

Each Poppys monthly event has a trophy to compete for, and all trophies are named after fallen soldiers, heroes whose names appear on the war memorial in the churchyard at St James Church in Bulkington.

In a short space of time Poppys numbers have grown to 36 members, with many others entering events as guests. They run mixed format days out, an annual Order of Merit and a winter league, rounds held at North Warwickshire GC.

Poppys welcome new members and guests at their events – contact chairman Simon for further details – poppysgolf@gmail.com or find them on FB/Twitter and Instagram.

Bell GS – 59 years young

1st August 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

We are the Bell Golfing Society, founded in 1959 by 4 members of Moseley Rugby Club. I believe we may be the oldest golfing society, still playing in the Midlands, if not the country.

We adopted the name from The Bell, Harborne, Birmingham. Every Monday evening, during the summer, it was 9 holes at Harborne Church Farm, then up to The Bell for beer, banter and dominoes. This continued for 25 years before switching allegiance to Warley Woods, where we were warmly received by David Owen, Warley Woods golf professional. Our monthly golf days were to Shifnal, Brocton, Stratford and our traditional end of season visit to Aberdovey Golf Club, in October for a weekend of golf and merriment, accompanied of course by our very talented pianist, Roy Hurdman.

Although our Monday evening game is no longer, we more than make up for it with monthly visits to Midland courses such as Fulford Heath, Hagley, Ladbrook Park, Kings Norton and others.

Our biggest claim to fame is providing not 1 but 2 captains of the British Left Hander Golfers Association, namely Barry Packwood and Roger Stansfield.

Jeremy Smart is our current President and together with Mike Bunn, organise our annual programme and keep us solvent.

DOGS – mid season report

1st August 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Dallington Old Boys Golf Society or “DOGS” as we call ourselves were founded in November 2016 and are based around the Northamptonshire region.

Our 2018 year started off at Chesfield Downs in Hertfordshire on a wet Sunday morning in January, fresh with two new members in Tom Robinson and James Hardwick, the commencement of a match play league which would run simultaneously with our main stableford league, and lots of smaller improvements to the DOGS experience.

Chesfield is an interesting course and well worth a visit. It played well in the wet and boasts a great variety of holes from long and tight 400 yard par 4s, teaser dogs legs, and some interesting par 3s.

February saw our return to Brampton Heath in Northants (below), a firm favourite among the DOGS community, not least for its more forgiving fairways and nicely manicured greens. Brampton will likely remain a winter fixture on the DOGS calendar given its miraculous drying qualities. The sand-based land the course is built on means the course remains open when many others aren’t, and plays extremely well in the wet conditions to boot.

We were due to play Whittlebury in March, but the snow got the better of us and we’re now rescheduled for August 12th. This was the setting for the first DOGS event back in November 2016, won by Mark Jessett, who has since dropped to single figures (8).

April saw us travel to Staverton in Daventry, which has become another favourite course for some of the DOGS crew. The undulating West Northants countryside provides a stunning backdrop for a testing course with some long holes, and well protected greens.

We visited Collingtree in May after the worst of the weather and while the air was less full of rain, the ground was still sodden and therefore the rough had been left very long as the ground staff had been unable to get the heavy cutters out on it. This provided an altogether different challenge on an already tough course, and yielded only the second DOGS event win with sub-36 points. The first being at The Brabazon at the Belfry complex.

June saw the mid-season Whitefields GC weekender at Draycote near Rugby, a course we’ve frequented for the past 6 years all told, starting before DOGS’s formation with a few of the guys from Northampton University just getting away for the weekend. It’s now developed into a jam-packed weekend of Stableford, a Foursomes round and the culmination of the weekend and genuine highlight, the Texas Scramble. The staff at Whitefields have always been brilliant, from the hotel to the pro shop, and the dinner bed, breakfast and 4 rounds of golf with buggies deal they do fits the bill nicely!

Kelv’s selfie at 1st tee St Ives

July saw us travel to the very modern and impressive St Ives (Hunts) GC in Cambridgeshire. The clubhouse is in immaculate condition opening just 8 years ago, and the excellent practice facilities coupled with the testing inland links style course showed exactly why it has one of the fastest growing reputations of quality in the East of England.

Expanding the DOGS brand, we now have a range of merchandise available, from polo-shirts to pitch repairers, towels to bag tags, as well as a fleet of DOGS branded golf balls. We’ll give a big shout out to anyone who happens to find one and notify us at @DOGSGolfSociety on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

DOGS merchandise

After Whittlebury in August we travel to Farthingstone, Silverstone, The Warwickshire (Kings Course) for the finale of the DOGS stableford and match play leagues, and Kingsthorpe for the end of season special event which will carry a team element. Kingsthorpe will be followed by the end of season awards presentations and drinks in town where we’ll be able to recoup some of the fines money ‘Finesmaster’ Phil Martin has been busy collecting each month for misdemeanours in the clubhouse and on the course. Who knew dirty shoes could be so costly!? I sometimes think it might be cheaper to buy a new pair each month.

The future looks bright for DOGS, now with a membership of 31, up from 22 at the start of the calendar year. We are now consistently averaging 20 per event, with more interest being shown in the society. Front runners for the halfway point include Glen Smith (13), Mr consistent Dan Dalmonego (28) and Stuart ‘Jarv’ Wiseman (18 and in the form of his life), all in strong positions in the stableford league going into the last 6 months. Smith, Adam Balme and Dan Cockerton occupying the top 3 places in the match play league, with all to play for given the F1 points allocation, weighted toward the end of the season.

Keep an eye out for us on the course, and look out for our DOGS balls.

MGALS bake in the Aylesford sun

10th July 2018/in News, The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

With the sun baking down on us on Sunday July 8^th, 30 MGALS (Midlands Golfer Amateur Ladies Society) took to the Aylesford course at Marriott Forest of Arden in support of their ladies section and to raise money for the Mary Ann Evans Hospice.

A welcome of coffee and delicious cookies saw us off on to the course with players from all over Staffordshire and Warwickshire. Our academy girls came too from Ladies Love Golf at 3 Hammers and Ledene Golf Centre, and the course proved to be challenging under the relentless heat.

Despite all of this there were some good scores and Forest of Arden Lady Captain, Debbie Poynton was victorious with her partner Michelle Graham.

Michelle and Jean Warner, also from FOA won Nearest the pin and Straightest Drive respectively and Bridget Locke from Ingestre GC won longest drive. Thanks go to Druids Heath Golf Club and Nailcote Hall for their fourball prizes, and thank you to Forest of Arden for your hospitality.

Between us we managed to raise £142 for the Hospice, thanks ladies.

At each event MGALS numbers continue to grow and we now have 65 members in our society.

Our next MGALS event will be held at The Bankhouse Hotel and Golf in Worcester on Friday October 19th where we will be pampered on the day by the Temple Spa skin products after our golf competition and a Gala Dinner will follow with optional over night stay. The cost of the package will be confirmed soon.

“Thank you so much for today Mandy, it was hot out there but all the ladies did a fabulous job. It was lovely to see so many play in this. Please pass on my thanks to all your MGALS for their support, we also raised some money for the captain’s charities and the feedback from our own ladies was really good.” Debbie Poynton – Forest of Arden Lady Captain.

If you are a lady golfer reading this and would like to be part of the UK’s fastest growing ladies society – contact me (Mandy Ambert) by emailing ladyeditor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk

STAGS on Tour – Murcia 2018

7th June 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Captain’s Report

STAGS (St Thomas Association Golf Society) Erdington on Tour – Murcia 2018

~ Day 1 ~

It was an early start for the 16 STAGS who arrived at Birmingham Airport for 4am which was probably a wonderful sight for the other passengers as they witnessed us tuck into our large English brekkies with lashings of lager, stout and cider…and orange juice!

A slight delay on the tarmac as the captain (not me) announced that he couldn’t start the right engine. Thankfully it looks as if he was just stupid as an engineer pushed a button that read ‘right engine – on’….and we were off!

Alhama Signature Golf Course – Casualties – 0

It was a quick turn-around as we got to our apartments and headed for the salubrious surroundings at Alhama golf Club.

Alhama Signature Golf is an exceptional course that has been designed and signed in person by Jack Nicklaus. The course is long with plenty of spectacular holes.

With its circular tees, wide fairways and rough, rapid greens this course was always going to cause the STAGS some serious challenges. I didn’t count how many bunkers there were but I saw quite a few of them – a theme I continued throughout the weekend!

A steady round was called for and it was fairly obvious that a low score was going to win it.

We decided to have our nearest the pin comps on all 4 par 3 holes – I don’t know whether this is an achievement or not but only two STAGS hit any of the par 3’s – let me put that into some perspective for you – that’s out of 64 attempts only two people made the green on any of Alhama’s par 3’s. First it was Chris McGrath on the 17^th and then Tim Lane pipped him to the nearest the pin on the same hole. Well done to Tim who collected the rolled over bounty! But it was Paul O’Sullivan who took the first game by winning with 29 points.

However, there was heartbreak amongst many, if not all of the STAGS, as we realised that the clubhouse had closed for the end of the day…gutted, tired and thirsty STAGS. However, it didn’t take long until we were all well-oiled later on in the evening.

Special mention goes to a couple of nameless STAGS who didn’t quite make it all the way home on the first night – one slept on a roundabout and another in somebody’s garden – the latter was found wandering the streets near to SPAR later on that morning!

~ Day 2 – Molson Coors Bowl~

El Valle Golf Course

Casualties – 2

What a superb course! The facilities were great too! Once again we were treated to some spectacular holes especially the elevated 11^th tee. The course was in excellent condition and there was a lot of water to navigate…as well as the usual bunker – in hindsight I really should have brought along my bucket and spade instead of my clubs…may as well have thrown in my fishing rod whilst I’m at it!

The greens really didn’t seem to want to play ball today with many not playing the way we expected to – but what’s new there then.

Once again Tim Lane hit a nearest the pin and Andy Barcello hitting another – although as we were in-between other groups his marker had been moved – with this in mind and probably due to his lack of trust from his fellow golfers (he’s a good judge of character) he got photographic evidence to back his claim – it was a great shot all the same! Billy Noonan hit the other nearest the pin and it was Billy who won on the day and, after a fairly decent score in the first match, was now in the running to become overall champion for the second year running – surely he couldn’t do it again!?

But the final shout has to go to Ges Tierney who found out going towards the 13^th tee that he had just become a grandfather. To say that Ges was emotional would be a terrific understatement – I was delighted to be there when he got the call. On behalf of the STAGS; congratulations Ges and many thanks for getting the drinks in. I believe it’s my duty to tell you that Mrs Tierney warned Ges not to celebrate too much on the night – I think we’ll leave the rest of the evening to your imagination!

~ Day 3 ~

Mar Menor Golf Course

Casualties – 1.5

So to our third and final day. With Chris (Ooo Ahh Chris McGrath [and his dad]) McGrath, Paul O’Sullivan and Billy Noonan who were teeing off first as the front-runners on our ‘home’ course.

Each hole on this course requires the utmost attention and concentration. The course demands a wide range of shots to deal with several obstacles (including electricity wires Jonas) successfully.

Lakes – of which there were many – play a key part in how well your round went…as well as the bunkers! The course in general was a very flat course which was a blessing as most of us headed out without buggies.

As we headed down the 13^th it was wonderful to see Ges cheer us on from his balcony – I can’t say whether the previous night’s shenanigans had anything to do with his non-attendance but let’s just say that his luggage was a little lighter on the way back to brum!

Incredibly it was the maverick, Billy Noonan who hit the only nearest the pin on the final day – the 17^th pipping Conor Ward to the accolade. Andy (the Assassin) Hoy won longest drive on the 18^th although Jonas Mark looked as if he’d won with his impressive drive.

However, even after cutting himself two shots, Billy Noonan won on the day and took the title as overall Tour Champ for a second year running – congratulations to Billy (below) for a sensational weekend of golf.

I’d also like to thank a couple of visitors for joining us too – there was Dan McGrath – Chris’ Dad who had an admirable go at the Brandy on the first night which I blame for my poor run of form throughout the weekend and to Mossy who is a greenhorn when it comes to golf and has to be admired for giving it a go.

Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to both Brendan Reilly and Les Gwillym who organised the whole event down to every miniscule detail. I have to say that without these two gentlemen at the helm things just either wouldn’t happen or our society would be one big huge shambles!

I can’t wait for next year and I’m definitely not going to drink as much!

Until next time Amigos – David Logue

Army Golf Association (West Midlands)

28th April 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Army Golf Association (AGA) was established in 1974 to include Officers and Soldiers serving in the Army, regular or retired. Reserves were introduced in 2011 and to date including the civilians based in Army establishments, the AGA has 1800 members.

The AGA (WM) society was started in 2016 and in its debut year plus last year’s events has built up its numbers to 98 golfers. It has an active following on Facebook and is looking to expand its calendar to include some match plays against other clubs and societies.

At present seven meetings per annum are held to include the season opener, spring, summer, autumn and winter meets plus a matchplay event (including a plate competition) and a team of six enter the AGA Inter-Regional event held nationally.

This year the season opener took place at Calderfields G&CC in March with the spring meeting recently held at Shifnal GC, and the summer meet will be at the Shropshire GC in July. The matchplay is in its early rounds with the finals to be held at Beau Desert later in the summer. The autumn and winter meetings are yet to be confirmed.

SSgt Aidi Bennett and Sgt Marcus Murcott are the secretaries for the AGA (WM) society and where possible would welcome some sponsorship and new members.

Contact details email: wmsec@armygolf.co.uk

Red Ram Golf Society – Derby

28th April 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Red Ram GS are based in Derby/Nottingham and as the name may suggest are formed from a mix of Nottingham Forest and Derby County supporters. They are very new on the scene too, just formed this year.

But what they lack in trips they’ve made up for in holes-in-ones already, two of their first three outings saw one of those. Pictured is Lee Shapcott, society chairman who shot his on the 16^th hole at Uttoxeter GC during their March meeting.

Lee was even treated to a society guard of honour here! https://www.facebook.com/uttoxetergolfclub/videos/1404406762998557/

Prior to that, society vice-chairman Mark Leivers managed one on the 16^th at Morley Hayes during their first ever day out in January.

So the message to all the golf clubs on this Red Ram GS fixture list below for 2018 is stock up with the big whisky bottles behind the bar, you might just be selling them one if this rate continues!

Sat May 26^th The Nottinghamshire

Sat June 23^rd Shirland GC

Sat July 21^st Matlock

Sun Aug 5^th Norwood Park

Sun Sept 23^rd Ashbourne

Sat Oct 6^th Ormonde Fields

Sun Nov 4^th Beeston Fields

Thanks to Red Ram GS events director Stephen Goodwin for the info. We look forward to running a season’s review with them (and hopefully more aces) at the end of the year.

Potteries International GS

17th February 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

What a fabulous year 2017 turned out to be for our Potteries society members. It was probably our best ever year since our formation in 2001. It was full of enjoyment, laughter, friendships and a slice of competition as we took to the fairways in Staffordshire and Cheshire.

We visited some new courses but also kept faith with some of our old favourites for looking after us so well in recent years. I feel it is good to show loyalty to these clubs. We visited Brookfield, Hill Valley, Astbury, Onneley, Market Drayton, Alsager, Portal and Leek Birchall – all presenting us with a great course to play.

The Order of Merit Stableford Championship was deservedly shared between Mark Steel and Kevin Sromek, both finishing the season on 102 points from their best 10 cards. It was good to see that we had nine different winners from our twelve events which proved that we must have our handicapping system in good order.

Throughout the year we held a couple of Texas Scramble Competitions which we played at Malkins Bank near Sandbach where ten of our Society are members. We tend to use this club as our base and over the last few years it is encouraging to see so much improvement in the design and maintenance of the course. The clubhouse is so friendly and we have enjoyed holding a summer BBQ and also our Annual Christmas Dinner at the club. So a well-deserved thank you to Malkins Bank for their hospitality. A club well worth a visit.

In September, our 17^th Annual Tour took us to the Marriott Breadsall Priory Hotel and Country Club in Morley near Derby. We had a fabulous golfing break playing the Moorland Course twice and then the Priory Course finding both in excellent condition. But my favourite would have to be the Priory Course with its fabulous views over the rolling country side making it a real test of golf. If you play to your handicap on this course then you will have enjoyed a good game of golf. This year’s Tour Championship was won by Mark Steele (pic right) with 102 points from the three games playing off a handicap of 13.

The majority of the 20 players on Tour play off handicaps between 12 and 24, and all remarked what a fabulous three days they had enjoyed. The Hotel was first class and we would highly recommend this golf resort to any group of golfers. The service was excellent and the food was the best we have experienced in all of our 17 years on Tour. We had a 20% bar discount which made our evenings more palatable! We were so impressed that we have booked the Marriott St Pierre, Chepstow for our 2018 Tour in September, and I am pleased to say that all of our 24 places have been snapped up.

The playing Calendar has now been completed for 2018. Our first game will be played at Barlaston Golf Club in April – I can’t wait. Enjoy your golf everyone.

Phil Stonier – Organiser

www.potteriesgolfsociety.com

Notts County Golf Society

17th February 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Notts County Golf Society was formed in 2010. a meeting of all interested golfers within the Notts County Football Club supporters fraternity was called on 25th november 2010, it was held at the home bar in Arnold, a suburb of Nottingham.

Notts Co

Six people attended the meeting, and a basic committee was formed. This year,2018,we have a membership of 34,which is an optimum number for a golf society.

Each year we play for a number of different trophies, The 1862 Championship,which reflects the great history of our football club, The Mike Edwards Singles Shield, The Lincolnshire Hackers Trophy, played on our “overnighter” each year, a Par 3 scratch competition & beginning this year the Hako Electrics golfer of the year, so all of our members will have plenty to play for each season.

Mr Alan Hardy has taken over as owner of Notts County FC, Mr Hardy is also the owner of one of Nottingham’s premier golf clubs, The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club. Mr Hardy is also the president of our society, he is a decent player as well.

www.nottscountygolfsociety.co.uk

DOGS (Dallington Old Boys)

15th February 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Dallington Old Boys Golf Society or “DOGS” as we call ourselves were founded in November 2016 and are based around the Northamptonshire region.

We started as a core group of friends in and around our 30s who were finding it ever harder to stay in touch on a regular basis amongst the daily grind and family commitments. DOGS was born. With a founding membership of 21 we’ve already grown by over a third in just over a year which is a fantastic achievement from everyone involved.

We’re proudly run by a committee of Kelvin “Dad” Longrigg – who looks after the core running of the society as Captain and Secretary, Glen “DD” Smith – Vice Captain and Treasurer who helps ensure event days run like clockwork, Stuart “Jarv” Wiseman – the brains behind our league tables and handicap adjustments. Alex “Sharky” Parkinson manages our social media channels “tweeting, following, and YouTubing” his heart out hoping that one day we’ll get a complimentary invite to Augusta J. Then we have Mr. Phil “Fines Master esq” Martin who, with sniper like precision polices the society rules with the proceeds helping to fund our social events. We’re also very proud to donate a portion of our fines to charity each year and for 2018 we’ve selected Cancer Research as the beneficiary.

We are a band of builders, sales folk, recruiters, architects, designers, electricians, not to mention a few members of the #Hashtagutd celebrity YouTube football team – all of us bound by our common interest in golf.

And it would be remiss to not give a special mention to our northern/southern @madebygav with a backswing that would beguile the most experienced contortionist – naturally he’s known as “The Whirlwind”. We think he’s one of the longest hitters on tour, it’s just that we’re never really sure which way it’s going off the tee!

Playing courses in and around the Northamptonshire/Midlands area our curtain closer was hosted by the Belfry on the Brabazon course capping a hugely successful first season. Some notably enjoyable courses have been Collingtree Park, Staverton Park and Whittlebury Park, each providing their own quirks and challenges.

In terms of competitions, we run season long stableford and match play leagues. Interestingly, since our inaugural event we are still yet to see a double winner!! The stableford league is the bread and butter of accolades with the overall winner presented with the Stephen Fairbrother Order of Merit trophy (below) – in memory of our good friend “Fairy” who sadly passed away in 2008 at the age of 24, way way before his time. He keeps the weather good for us! Ironically, the first Order of Merit was won by none other than “Dad” himself having been taken right to the wire at the last event by Vice Captain DD. 2018 promises to be an equally competitive affair as the race to being crowned 2018 OoM Champion hots up again with the promise of the winner’s name etched into DOGS folklore.

In addition to the season long leagues we also run individual event prizes; the usual NP/LDs plus various special prizes such as “Par 5 Hero (best cumulative par 5 scores)” and “Connect 4 (best 4 holes in a row)” amongst others with current front runners lit up on the special prize leaderboard.

New for 2018 will also see us running some golf “skills schools” such as freestyling, chipping challenges etc. which we’ll be posting on our social media channels for a bit of fun.

So what does the future hold for DOGS? We’re still a young society and are always looking for ways to improve. We regularly run surveys seeking feedback on how we are run, the courses we play, hospitality etc. We also like to share this feedback with our hosts. Aside from continuing to invest in our main objective of promoting friendships through the enjoyment of the game we’d like to increase our membershipand grow our DOGS brand to become synonymous with being one of the most attractive golf societies in and around the Northampton area.

If you are interested in becoming a DOG – please get in touch via email at dogsgolfers@gmail.com or via one of our social media channels @dogsgolfsociety. Similarly, if you’re a golfing venue and would be interested in hosting us as a society please get in touch

PTF Golf Society – Derby

27th January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Production Test Facility Golf Society

Our society was founded in 1991 by employees from the Production Test Facility (PTF) at Rolls-Royce Aero Engines in Derby.

2017 Review

Membership numbers of the Rolls-Royce PTF Golf Society are as strong as ever with 54 members subscribed for 2017’s busy calendar of Golfing events and Gary Block’s year on the Captain’s throne.

The season as always started at Morley Hayes over the Christmas break where Malc Cope triumphed in the cold and fog with 35 points to win the ‘Winter Warmer’ Trophy.

The weather had improved by mid-April for our first full day out of the season at the undulating Mapperley where the ‘Alvaston Maori’ aka Ian Hickton lifted the Spring Salver with 39 points.

Unfortunately, Ian Bell also joined the honours board on the day as he struggled in with a meagre 10 points so adding his name to the ‘Scroll of Shame’ and ‘Belly’ is the current holder of the ‘12 and under Trophy’.

In only its 2nd year the PTF Invitational Trophy saw an increase in numbers with a field of 42 turning out at Erewash in May. The event was a great success with the prize pot’s on offer shared fairly evenly between members and guests alike but it was ’one of our own’, Rob Langley who won overall with a tremendous 42 points.

2017 Invitational Trophy Winner- Rob Langley

A visit to the lengthy Park Hill soon followed in June which saw the closest result for some time as four players all finished tied at the top on 35 points with ‘Long’ Tom Donnachie winning the Presidents Cup on back 3 count-back.

The fourth event at Springwater in early July was played in perfect conditions and saw the highest scoring of the season with ‘The Secretary’ storming to victory with 42 points to proudly win the Summer Vase just days before the birth of his beautiful baby daughter, Francesca.

The ‘Weekend Away’ in early August is the highlight of everyone’s season and 29 of us made the trip to Chester where Callum Slater claimed the ‘Friday Fiver’ prize with 40 points at a most impressive Vicars Cross. The main event of the weekend took place on the Saturday at the tight, tree-lined Upton-by-Chester where a steady as ever Chris Cooper won the ‘Tourist Trophy’ with 37 points, with Adam Edwards picking up Sunday’s loot with 38 points at a very windy Chester.

2017 Tourist Trophy Winner- Chris Cooper

The sixth and final event of the season in early September saw a short trip down the M1 to Rothley Park with Clive ‘Ding-Dong’ Bell triumphing in blustery conditions to win the event with 37 points.

Stableford points from the six main society events are added to our ‘Order of Merit’ with the best four scores counting towards the Aggregate Trophy. This title again went right to the wire and after 3 consistent seasons, Nathan Meakin finally lifted the Trophy with a best four-round total of 140 points.

Additional end of season awards saw Adam Edwards claim the ‘Most Improved Player’ trophy for his general improved performances and finishing runner-up in the Order of Merit

The ‘Best Newcomer’ trophy went to Michael Coleman while the new ‘Captains Trophy’ was shared by Nathan Richards & Gary Block who finished top of the current/past Captains in the ‘Order of Merit’ both with 123 points.

2017 Summer Vase Winner – Nathan Richards

The Clive Dawson Trophy is our Individual Matchplay knock-out competition which is keenly contested between members throughout the season and 2017’s event was won by Todd Foster after beating Colin Asbury 6 & 5 in the final at Burton-on-Trent.

The society had mixed fortunes in the annual team matchplay events in our Golfing calendar as we suffered defeats in the ‘Graham Sheard’ Trophy against the Rolls-Royce TBF Society and the ‘Ron Parker Memorial’ Trophy against Pastures G.C.

We did however proudly retain the ‘John Layne Trophy’ narrowly beating the C9/C4 Society by 9.5 points to 8.5 points at Ormonde Fields in May to extend our lead to 13-8 in overall trophy wins.

So the curtain has fallen on our 2017 season but 2018’s fixture list is already confirmed for another exciting year of Golf lined up for new Captain Darren ‘Dash’ Ashmole which will see visits to Buxton & High Peak in April, Chilwell Manor in May, Erewash for the PTF Invitational Trophy in June, Newcastle-under-Lyme in July with the final event at Burton-on-Trent in early September.

2018’s weekend away in early August sees us return to Scarborough for the third time where we’ll be playing South Cliff, Filey and Whitby G.C.

Please visit our website at the address below where you can find 2017’s full results and all Society news in PK’s newsletter’s which are a very entertaining read from the society jester. http://www.spanglefish.com/ptfgolfsociety/index.asp

For all enquiries please contact the PTF Golf Society Secretary: nathan.richards@rolls-royce.com

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Willowbrook GS

23rd January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Willowbrook Golf Society

The Society was formed in 2002 by a group of golfers who met casually on a Sunday evening, to ‘chew the weekend fat’ in The Willowbrook Club, a private members social club in Gedling, Nottingham.

The first 3 meetings were informal affairs with 30 or so golfers having days out at Greetham Valley and Morley Hayes Golf Clubs. The WGS was formally made a Society in 2003 and plays midweek – most of us are self-employed or retired – 7 or 8 times a year, starting in late March and running through to early November. We normally play within an hour to hour and a quarters drive away from our headquarters, but have within that radius courses like The Notts Golf Club, Worksop, Coxmoor and Lindrick to chose from, all of which we have played. Membership has reduced over the years, but we have a core of 20 members and usually take around 16 guests to each meeting

We are a mixed ability group, mostly club members from east and north Notts, with handicaps ranging from 5 to 28. Our meetings consist of team events, with an Order of Merit Trophy being awarded at the end of the season on the basis of the average of best five individual Stableford scores attained during the season.

Sec Tony Rogers (r) with the WGS fourball at MG’s Society Classic, Marriott Forest of Arden 2016

Over the years we have raised many thousands of pounds for charities including The Lincs/Notts Air Ambulance, Nottingham Hospice, Panthers Disabled Sports, The Children’s Kidney Ward at The Nottingham City Hospital and in 2015 the society helped our secretary and two other cancer sufferers to raise almost £4,700 for The Teenage Cancer Trust by doing 54-holes in a day – 18 each at Mapperley GC, Ruddington Grange GC and The Nottinghamshire G & CC.

Our first meeting this year will be at Newark at the end of March, and future venues this year include Ullesthorpe Court, Scraptoft, Rufford Park and our only 27-hole day of the year at Belton Park, Grantham.

There is one thing missing from our list of achievements – in 15 years of trying, no one has had ‘A Hole in One’!!!!

Contact details:

Secretary – Tony Rogers – golf@tonyrogers.plus.com

Facebook: Willowbrook Golf Society – Twitter @WillowbrookGS

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Friends Golf Society

22nd January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Friends Golf Society

As written by Peter Christoforou, a Friend

We celebrated our 10^th Anniversary in 2015, not bad going for a society that was formed in 2005 by sixteen friends and relatives, hence the name. Since our inception the society has grown and now boasts a membership of over 40 golfers.

Myself and my close friend Steve Efstathiou run the society, me being the treasurer and Steve the secretary booking the courses with Steve’s son Socratis the handicaps secretary.

Our members are dotted all round the West Midlands, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester so we arrange the courses to fit in with everyone.

We meet once a month on a Wednesday and play seven competitions between March and October with points awarded for the top ten finishes which go towards an Order of Merit table. Prizes and a small trophy are also presented to the top three finishes in each event.

Each event has its own named trophy, the first one we play for is the George Angelides, in memory of one of our founder members. We also have The Founders Cup named after the three founder officers myself ,Steve Efstathiou and my brother Chris Christoforou.

The Order of Merit winner becomes society captain and leads the society the following season in a challenge match against another Midlands society under a Ryder Cup format in May.

Last season we were fortunate to have a sponsor in Double A kebabs, most of our members are in the catering trade and through their suppliers we receive some very welcome financial support.

Over the years we have played on some great courses the most recent one being Northamptonshire County, our other local favourites include Little Aston, Walmley, The Nottinghamshire and Enville. We also treated ourselves this year for the 10^th anniversary with a trip to Woburn which was a fantastic occasion and a closely fought event too with double OOM points on offer.

The highlight of the season is the trip abroad, four days in the Algarve with three rounds of golf on some of Europe’s finest courses such as the Old Course in Vilamoura which is everyone’s favourite. The below image shows a group of Friends, off course last year during our trip to The Emporda Forest Golf Club, near Girona, a fabulous break.

Later on in September we always play for the Links Trophy on one of Britains best seaside courses. The Links Trophy and the Founders Cup played over three rounds are classed as majors and carry extra merit points.

We all look forward to meeting up every month to enjoy each others company, its a great day out but very competitive. Those Order of Merit points are well contested because the top twelve play in the Ryder Cup and it’s an event that everyone wants to play in.

We hope the society will continue for many years to come with the younger members taking control after the founder officers retire, so if any golfers who like their golf competitive and having fun on a great day out are keen, come and join the Friends Golf Society.

Take a look at our website www.friendsgolfsociety.co.uk

Our contact numbers are Peter 07967039078 or Steve 07872903230

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Robin Hood GS

11th January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Robin Hood Golf Society – Swannington (Leics)

Robin Hood’s origins started back in the autumn of 2011. Originally formed by Mike Barnett, Andy Hawtin & Kevin Orvis as a means of getting some exercise & thrashing away the pains of the working week. Since those early day the society has grown steadily, with the odd regular leaving or quitting the game, but new blood has kept on coming.

The society now has 32 members all of who play at least two society events per season. The season consists of 10 society events running from February until November. These events enable members to accrue points towards the end of year presentations. A minimum of 7 of the 10 events count towards the player of the season, where the highest average score decides the eventual winner of the Claret Jug.

The monthly events carry prizes for 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd places. These prizes range from Polo shirts, Gloves, Balls, Umbrellas & eventually to beer. There is also a prize for last place which is a “turkey hat” of which the unlucky participant has to wear on the 1^st tee at the next event. There are also prizes for nearest the pin, longest drive & nearest the pin in two.

Although many of us are club members, the majority are “fair weather” golfers, which in some ways reflects our age span which ranges from 25 – 78 years.

We try to accommodate at least 5 – 6 new golfing venues per season during the so called “better weather” months. In the winter months we mainly stay local, because you never know if the event will be called off at short notice.

During the month of June, we play for the Brian Orvis Memorial Trophy. This trophy was donated by Kevin Orvis in remembrance of his late father, who scored a hole in one at Chevin Golf Club. CGC presented the trophy to Brian for his achievement.

The month of December brings around our “winter warmer” in which we play an 18 hole par 3 course & again a trophy has been produced.

As a society we also try to have two long weekend’s away “stay & play” outings, which normally take place in May & September.

Each society event concludes in our hostelry of residence The Robin Hood, Swannington. Traditional Sunday lunch is provided by our hosts Kevin & Carol, after which the prize giving takes place & a gallon of beer is donated by the landlord.

As a society we have run & participated in charity fund raising events over the past three years for British Heart Foundation, Rainbows & Acorns. The donations have either been individual, as a team or part of organised media, all of which have been run from The Robin Hood.

The social aspect of the society balances the competitiveness of the winning demon within & for those who dedicate their Sunday society day to winning, comes the harsh reality of the handicapper.

RHGS Committee:

Mike (Rhino) Barnett Chair & Events
Ian (Villa) Boyes Treasurer
Paul (Wils) Wilson Handicaps
Dave (Sticky) Stevenson Captain

www.robinhoodgolfsociety.com or tel: 01530 831137

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

St Thomas Association GS

10th January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

ERDINGTON STAGS

The Golf Society was formed in February 2000 by golf playing members of St Thomas’ Association in Erdington. The society now boasts over 50 members and we play a range of courses all over the Midlands. Occasionally we trek further afield. We tend to play twice a month and we have a Presidents day and a Captains day – both days usually involve a coach trip which are usually very entertaining in themselves.

At least once a year we have a society weekend away which normally consists of a two night stay with three rounds of golf. This year we travelled even further afield than usual to the wonderful courses at La Manga in Spain – it was so successful that we will be booking it again for next year. For this particular trip we even had a STAG return from Australia just to specifically play with us (and to see his family I suppose) – Jim Daly – our Captain’s brother.

Our members handicaps range from scratch to 28 so we have a wide range of players who all encourage each other – as well as berate for the occasional air shot or miss-hit – we still await the society’s first ever hole-in-one!!!

We hold a monthly meeting on the first Friday of every month at the club where we discuss all sorts of matters that have arisen over the past month. This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the past months victories, any controversial issues and, of course, to socialise with a great bunch of people.

Once a year we hold a charity dance where we raise money for local charities. Past charities have included Acorns, The Norman Laud Association, Help for Heroes, The QE Hospital, The John Taylor Hospice and The Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Since our formation we have raised over £22,500 for local charities.

Our members comprise of people from all walks of life and usually have some outrageous stories to tell. Our current captain is David Logue with his Vice Captain Chris McGrath. Our President is the much respected John Costello and our society secretary is Brendan Reilly. Brendan organises all of our trips and courses that we play at – he’s renowned for rounding the fee for our rounds up!!!

We would love to see some new faces around the society and you can contact us through our website www.stthomasassociationgolfsociety.co.uk

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to The Wall, and in the magazine’s new society section (#No Gimmes), please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

MAGS Staffordshire

4th January 2018/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The MAGS Society hail from the edge of The Potteries in Staffs and have a membership of over 60 golfers, gathered over the years since their inception back in 2006. Back then it was The Mainwaring Arms as the home base but they are now run from The Sheet Anchor pub just a little further down the road in Baldwins Gate. Phil Lally, one of the founders organises the venues and prizes and Hon Sec Ian Cairns takes care of the organisation of each event.

Every last Thursday in the month, apart from December the MAGS meet for a society day, playing their golf at courses in Staffs, Derbys, Shropshire and Cheshire. The events are limited to a maximum of 36 players and even in the winter months entry is nearly always full. Membership is open to all and handicaps range from six to 28. They’re a pretty competitive bunch and the events are divided into two divisions so that the chances of being in the prizes increases. The total prize fund for each event is 13 individual prizes with an additional kitty for ‘twos’.

MAGS GS – At MG’s Society Classic – Marriott Forest of Arden 2016

They hold year- long competitions to find the Golfer of the Year and a Knock Out Cup. Also included in the monthly schedule are four major comps which include ‘The Welsh Cup’ an annual event played on a course in North Wales. It’s a region the guys are very familiar with as each year 12 golfers take part in the ‘Links and Drinks’ event, three seaside courses and two nights away and there’s also a popular Llandudno weekend that even more members enjoy each year.

The Golfer of the Year is organised to be part of each monthly society day and is based on the best five stableford scores over the year. The Knock Out starts in the Jan/Feb events with the top 32 scoring players going through to the next round and the same format exists in March/April leaving 16 remaining, then it gets whittled down further through the year until the final between the top two which is held at Brocton Hall in the Autumn.

For 2018 as it’s a Ryder Cup year, there will be a special MAGS event around September time based on Ryder style formats.

For more information about the Society go to http://magsgolf.wix.com/mags-golf-society

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

UAB Golf Society

29th December 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Urban Art Golf Society

UAB golf society logo

The UABGS was formed in 2011 when a collection of patrons from the Jewellery Quarters’ Urban Art Bars (The Red Lion and The Lord Clifden) decided that their golf needed a new sense of purpose, and, some healthy competition.

The drinking society with a golfing problem quickly gathered a steady membership and now ventures out six times a year to clubs all over the Midlands.

Not being attached to a particular golf club, society members and their frequent visitors travel the breadth of the Midlands in search of golfing fulfillment. Recent years have enjoyed trips to Sapey GC, Druids Heath GC, Aston Wood GC and Shrewsbury GC, just to name a few favourites.

A mystery golf course is usually on the card for the final game of the season, which is always followed by the end of season awards ceremony, complete with trophies for the winners and tales of woe from those less fortunate.

Members compete in league and cup competitions, whilst visitors are also invited to take part in longest drive, nearest the pin, the all-important “points sweep”, and, more recently, the group “yellow ball” competition.

The Society emphasis has always been on fun and laughter, with visitors frequently returning as and when they can. Most recently, UABGS returned to Sapey GC for a spectacular day in which the field of 17 attendees were separated by a mere 8 points! A testament to the handicap committee or the modest quality of the golf on show… you decide.

Whilst the Society’s heartbeat is The Red Lion in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter, the members themselves are spread from Telford to Warwick. Anyone wishing to join us should contact Chairman Tonks (uabgolfscoiety@yahoo.co.uk) or you could always visit one of the pubs and ask for information.

You can also follow UABGS on twitter @uab_golf and facebook.com/UABGOLF

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to The Wall, and/or in the magazine as well in our new society section #NoGimmes, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Leekbrook Travellers GS

29th December 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Leekbrook Travellers

Midlands Golfer’s own Leekbrook Travellers are a very new golf society, initiated during a drunken pre-Xmas evening at the Travellers Rest pub, just outside Leek in Staffs. We are made up of residents of the local estate and also an equal amount of Leek (Birchall) and Westwood GC members who are just looking for a few extra golfing days out and to try a few new courses in the area that they haven’t come across before.

LTGS are a super sociable group with our aim to run fun and entertaining days out and we genuinely encourage members of all ages and abilities to join us. We currently have 48 members already of which six are ladies.

It’s early days for us all at LTGS, we’re a little bit of a rabble for now, but we’ve made a great start and the rate of new members joining in has been amazing and really exciting. The editor of MG, Phil Nicholas is also the LTGS organiser and encourages the society to take part in magazine based playing events, which they do so to mixed success. This fourball below for instance took 3rd place out of 21 in the MG Society Classic at Marriott Forest of Arden in 2016. Soon we’ll be taking on some of the other MG affiliated groups in Ryder Cup style match ups.

We run events on the last Friday of each month, 12 months of the year. If you live in the Leek/Staffordshire Moorlands area and are interested in fun golfing days out, come and join us, we’d love to hear from you.

Facebook – Leekbrook Travellers Golf Society

Call Phil – 07530 752688

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to The Wall, both in the magazine (#NoGimmes) and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

SGA Tour – coming of age

23rd December 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

Sociable Golf Association (SGA)

As we head into our 21^st year of society golf, we take a look at the season ahead and give insight to what we are about with events, members and the all-important schedule.

2017 saw us celebrate 20 years and in a fitting end our founder member, Phil Wing, took the coveted Tour Championship at a course introduced to us by Midlands Golfer, Cleobury Mortimer. Although Phil’s win also secured the 2017 Order Of Merit, he was quickly toppled by Andrew Allsopp following a superb round at Lickey Hills securing the season ending Charity Classic and a reminisce nod to the Mytime Municipal courses, where we all learnt to play.

The SGA Tour pays homage to the Professional Tours with an event schedule that reads as if it was the PGA Tour. By no means an accident, the Committee wanted to create a Tour feel but appreciates our heritage of enjoying the banter with a great group of friends. From Karl Harris (2.1) to Graham Smith (36.0), the tour welcomes all abilities and as you can see from the 36.0 handicap, adapts to give everyone a fighting chance. Many members’ only pick up a golf club as they tee off at our monthly events, which run from March to October. However, the others are serious enough to maybe hit a few balls down the range, the night before!

Order of Merit leader, Andrew Allsopp (below), joined back in 2016 and since then has seen his handicap cut by 10 shots! Merited effort as he has used the Society to compete and measure his game, along with many lessons and hours of practice. Can he hold onto the ranking title for 2018!

Events

Three Majors

The Masters, The Open and the Tour Championship are classified Majors and warrant trophies and bragging rights for the season. We even have a Masters jacket, albeit with a few fag burns and permanent creases and the green has now faded to a bluish shade! And half the society struggle to make it fit, awards ceremonies are quite a site!

The Open provides an opportunity to visit unknown courses and last year we made the trip to Penn GC (below), a fantastic track that played havoc with its links style course. A few members decided to putt from 100 yards in as the greens were like lightning.

The Tour Championship is our flagship event with Race To….. (scheduled course), with season long points gained for high finishes. This year we visit Whitefields for a two-day event and the leaders will play out the last group on the final day, making a nervous but exciting season finale.

Monthly Events

To support the schedule, we host 3 to 4 monthly stableford with many firm favourite venues including Redditch, Bromsgrove, Shirley and Stratford Oaks. We revisit most years and not just for the fantastic courses, but the friendliness and welcoming nature of all the staff involved. We would recommend any of these clubs for a society event.

Old Tom Morris Cup, Captains Cup, Victory Cup and The Players are part of this schedule.

Our year ending Charity Classic is held in October and with weather hit and miss plays a fun parting shot to the season and raises some cash for the choice of Charity for that year.

Presidents Cup (Sharks vs Bears)

Our very own Ryder Cup that originally derived from the youngies challenging the oldies to a team event. Over the years the youngies have turned into oldies and the oldies, well, buggies are now a necessity!! However, great weekend of golf where Celtic Manor and the Belfry have played a big part of this events history. But having said that, we now return to Puckrup Hall every year and with incredible Golfbreaks deals, this event is booked up well in advance.

36 holes split into 4 sets of 9 with doubles on the Sunday and singles on the Monday. 9 hole matches present an exciting fast paced feel and provides the teams to mix up the singles on the final day. Points are balanced to ensure that there are no run-away leaders on the first day and it works! Most matches are won or lost on the 8^th or 9^th, and 2014 at the Belfry the two team Captain’s headed down the last hole all with the overall event all square and the overall result resting on their match. Alan Smith (Bears) lost his composure and Phil Wing (Sharks) stepped up and landed the winning point!

Season events

In addition to the planned and quite often an organisers nightmare, we run several season long events including the aforementioned Order Of Merit, the coveted Match Play Championship and other events as follows:

The Order Of Merit is a 10 event rolling ranking event that captures the previous season’s Tour Championship and the full season ahead. The calculation although complicated is simple in terms of understanding, play your best at every event ensuring your average score is as high as possible. Throwing an event or even a club, will see you penalised in the long run in and in some cases, could lead losing the number 1 spot by a single putt or chip in! And yes its happened.

The Matchplay Championship is a knockout event with the draw made at the first event of the season. The final pairing are provided with caddies and a special day out.

Betterball Championship and Skins League are additional events that utilise the monthly events scoring to calculate the league tables or knockout rounds. Members’ just rock up and the committee do the rest and if the lads ever read the website, they should know if they’ve took home a trophy at the season end.

2018 Season – Schedule

April The Masters Redditch

May Captains Cup TBC

June The Open Championship Wollaton Park

July President Cup Puckrup Hall

August Victory Cup TBC

September Tour Championship Whitefields

October Charity Classic TBC

As with previous years and in anticipation, we look forward to a new season and with the recent improved form of Tiger Woods, the reason many of us took up golf, we can only see the Tour improving and continuing to provide many, many fond memories and a few that will continue to haunt us.

There are obviously many, many fond and enjoyable memories from the last 21 years and in most cases we have improved our personal handicaps. We continue to raise money for great causes; our fund-raising exceeds £4,000 including a memorable six a side football competition a few years back.

We continue to organise and enjoy Society life and many friendships have been built through our membership. Our venture to the Midlands Golfer Magazine Society Championships in 2016 was a fantastic experience and provided the opportunity to make new society friends. We look forward to the next twenty years.

SGA Tour – Sociable Golf Association – Established 1997
Website: www.sgatournews.com
Email: sgatournews@hotmail.co.uk
Contact: Phil Wing 07486 900843 (Work – 07917 098299)

Founder Members – Phil Wing & Alan Smith

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Caribbean Golf Society

4th December 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Caribbean Golf Society was formed in Birmingham during the winter months of 2007 when sensible people would usually be at home warming the fire. The idea to form arose out of seeing so many African-Caribbean golfers playing regularly in the region.

The inaugural event took place at the Lickey Hills Golf Club in Birmingham on Good Friday 2007. Fourteen golfers took part in our first event, which turned out to be a very sunny day for the time of the year. We have since held many events across the Midlands with our membership growing from those first fourteen golfers to well over 40 in 2015. We welcome all golfers, you do not have to be of Caribbean origin to become a member.

Our Mission:

Provide a networking outlet for people in the region
Utilize golf for personal growth and career advancement
Provide educational and mentoring programs to improve golfing skills and personable skills to the youth in the region
Increase the knowledge, self-confidence and enjoyment of the game of golf

The CGS are long standing friends and supporters of Midlands Golfer, the first society we ever covered back in 2010. Long regarded as being one of the best organised and most competitive groups in the region, their typical season takes them all over the Midlands and sometimes further beyond. They also find time to raise vital funds for local charities as well as joining us for our own fund raisers and competitions.

Naturally there’s an Order of Merit title at stake, won in 2017 in great style by Ian Higgins who won three of the season’s main events on his way to the overall title.

There are three England based Caribbean Golf Societies and every year our Birmingham based group take on the other two, based in Bristol and London for the annual ‘three-way’ match, an two-day event that always sees a high level of competitiveness but also a good deal of fun and socialising too.

Find out more about the CGS by visiting the website at www.caribbeangolfsociety.co.uk

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to The Wall, and/or in the magazine in our new society section #NoGimmes, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Dowty Golf Society

23rd November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

DOWTY WOLVERHAMPTON

A couple of years ago due to dwindling numbers the continuation of the very long running Dowty Wolverhampton Golf Society was in doubt. An influx of new members though in 2016 has seen them reach their 57^th year in 2018 still prospering. The highlight of the 2017 season was the first ever “weekender”, where 11 of the society’s members travelled to Grantham to play and stay at the excellent Belton Woods complex.

Indeed the weekend proved to be such a success that plans are already in place for 2018’s fixture & there is also talk of a trip abroad, Last season also saw us visit Church Stretton, Ombersley, The Shropshire & Bewdley Pines amongst others. As ever the Society is always looking to welcome new members & although based in Wolverhampton we travel all over The Midlands looking for a good golfing challenge. Most of our fixtures take place on a Friday afternoon (between 1pm and 2pm) so if you are interested in joining us please feel free to contact stuart.davis17@blueyonder.co.uk for more information.

Website: http://www.dowtywolverhamptongolfsociety.co.uk/

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

The Branston Dobbers

16th November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

THE BRANSTON DOBBERS

Branston Dobbers were formed in early 2014 by a collective looking for a good time while playing the beautiful game of golf. The group was formed by a group of five friends known as the ‘originals’ who like to play and have side bets,banter and a beer after a hard day on the course. This quickly spiralled into the newest up and coming society to hit the Branston Golf & Country Club in many years.

The Dobbers currently have 30 active members from all walks of life including five female members, of which 20 or so play weekly at our regular Saturday 8.30-9am tee times.

The first ‘Major’ of the Dobbers season was the ‘Dead Duck Trophy’ played in May (to commemorate the life of a young duck tragically killed on the course by a rogue ‘snap hook’) which was won by none other than 2014/2015 Captain Stuart Haywood.

As our popularity grew, a second ‘Major’ was pencilled in for the summer to co-incide with Ryder Cup weekend against another society from Branston known as ‘The Squids’ .This attracted a very large crowd to the patio area for the climax which was an 11/11 tie after 2 days of singles and doubles matches. All money raised went to the 2014 Branston Captain’s Charity, Canine Partners.

Apparently – THE best looking society in The Midlands – The Branston Dobbers

The first winter event was played between The Dobbers & the ‘Chicken Club’ (Burton GC society). This event was played at Burton on a brisk Sunday morning with the Dobbers running out winners and taking the trophy home.

Up to date in 2018, the Dobber’s travels have continued, a trip to La Manga in October 2016 was a memorable players and partners occasion. Plus we’ve recently teamed up with another group, The Wolves Supporters GS for a very enjoyable match up at Penn GC.

The Dobbers are looking for other local societies to join up with for friendly matches, get in touch by e-mailing them at branstondobbers@gmail.com

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Wolves Golf Society

10th November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

A fan of both Wolves and Golf, we welcome new members to come join us once a month on Saturdays or Sundays.

The society is now into its second year and we would welcome anyone to join FREE of charge, all they have to do is pay to play on the day of the society meeting.we will advertise meetings on our Twitter and Facebook, and if anyone wants to email they can.

We meet on a monthly basis at various Golf Clubs around the Midlands and we are hoping to play other golf societies around the country also.

Wolves Golf Society

Shane Robinson and Adam Sedgwick both run the society and they are welcoming new members weekly.

We hope to build a foundation for like-minded golf lovers to also show that we as Wolverhampton wanderers supporters don’t just meet up for football matches, we also can meet up for other sports too.

We’re over the moon to run this society for wolves fans, we do welcome fans from other clubs as we already have WEST BROMWICH and ASTON VILLA supporters playing.

We’ve been invited to travel to Portugal on the 19th October 2018 to play against premier league teams SPORTING LISBON and SETBUL societies.

We hope to play more societies around the UK and Europe in the future.

To anyone wanting to join we want them to know that you will have total piece of mind when joining our society that you’ll ha e a relaxing and enjoyable day/weekend with great like-minded people.

For more info, our contact details are:

TWITTER: wolves_society

FACEBOOK: wolves supporters golf society

EMAIL: wolvesgolfsociety@gmail.com

Little Aston Quarter Page #50

PLASTICS INDUSTRY GOLF SOCIETY (PIGS)

10th November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

As long ago as 1931 a group of businessmen working in the newly formed plastics industry met on regular occasions for a game of golf, friendly banter and a chance to catch up on common interests. So popular were these occasions that it was decided to form a golfing society which accommodated their love of the game and also provided the opportunity to network within the industry.

Little Aston, Record 1

Little Aston, Record

The P.I.G.S. was formed initially in 1933 by Cyril Last (Founder) and proved so popular it quickly went national with the Midlands section being set up in1934 by Sydney Goode (BIP), E.Wilding-Cole and Jim Butler all of whom presented competition trophies to the society. These same trophies are still competed for today and feature each season in our fixture programme.

Monsanto Team Winners

The P.I.G.S. are well known throughout the Midlands and have played courses such as Little Aston, Moseley, Blackwell, Moor Hall, Edgbaston, Beaudesert, Enville, South Staffs, Keddleston Park to name just a few. A major highlight of each season is our National Event which takes place in September, traditionally Woodhall Spa. On this occasion, all sections compete both individually and as a team for many original trophies.

Midlands Winner at Woodhall

Our season of events begins in April through to October featuring courses which vary each year and, with the exception of our Christmas Cracker in December are generally played in the afternoon followed by Dinner, awards and prizes. I extend a big thank you to the sponsors of each these events. We also encourage our members to bring along visitors and are actively seeking newcomers to join the society. These days we do not insist on potential members being associated with the plastics industry. Please do visit our website www.thepigs.co.uk and get a feel for what we are about.

President Captain

.

P.IG.S GS

Len Strong. Midlands & National Secretary PIGS

PIGS new president

the manor fp #52

Warwickshire Teachers’ GS

9th November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

The Warwickshire Teachers’ Golf Society have 6 competitions per year, all played at various different courses around Warwickshire (and the surrounding counties occasionally!). We are always looking to recruit new members and guests – anyone that works or has worked in an educational establishment (not just teachers and not just Warwickshire!).

Our focus is on fun and friendly competitions – all abilities and ages are welcome. Anybody interested in coming along for a game or becoming a member should contact wtgsociety@gmail.com or visit twitter.com/wtgsociety Our next fixtures are at Oakridge on October 27th & Kilworth Springs on January 4th.

The Society was formed in 1974 by a group of teachers in North Warwickshire met to form a nomadic golfing society. Numbers were small and all members either belonged to Nuneaton GC or Atherstone GC.

As well as the 6 in-house competitions per year, since 1975 the society has played an annual match against Nuneaton GC. Records since 1989 show Nuneaton to be leading the way with 15 wins to WTGS’ 6. 6 matches have also been drawn.

In 1998 the North Warwickshire Teachers’ Golf Society changed it’s name to the current Warwickshire Teachers’ Golf Society as by this time a number of members had joined from the south of the county.

In 2005 the secretary of the society, Adrian Richards, died just prior to his retirement. He was also a member of Nuneaton GC. The annual match against Nuneaton is now played for the Adrian Richards Trophy

2017 society roles:

Captain – Callum Peake

Vice captain – Adam Newell

Treasurer – Dave Wilkins

Secretaries – Dave Wilkins & Keith Rawlins

2015 captain Wilf Feely provides plenty of entertainment. He has turned up at the wrong course, and on the wrong date, and his jokes during his speeches in his captaincy year were not for the faint-hearted! The most successful players over the past decade are Dennis James and Keith Rawlins, too many trophies to remember and constant calls for handicap cuts!

MGALS growing into something huge

6th November 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

MG lady editor Mandy Ambert’s MGALS (Midlands Golfer Amateur Ladies Society) are growing into the biggest society on our books. Very soon they will be the largest ladies golf society, not only in The Midlands but probably in the UK too. Mandy has teamed up with many ladies academies to grow the group, lately with the LALA’s of Little Aston and the ladies section at Marriott Forest of Arden. Two more events are being organised for 2018, the autumn MGALS date will be announced soon. For now, ALL lady golfers in The Midlands are invited to the summer occasion.

Next MGALS event – Sunday July 8th – Marriott Forest of Arden (Aylesford) – £27.50 includes 18 holes, food before and after and prize table. Please email Mandy – ladyeditor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk if you are interested in coming along.

A reminder of how it all got started

MGals 1^st event at South Staffs Golf Club – October 27th 2017

MGALS Society debut

Midlands golfer amateur ladies society held its debut event at the end of October and with arriving to a band of fog was met by the Senior Captain trying to organise their delayed Seniors Championship.

Whilst the ladies tucked into Danish Pastries and coffee, the director of golf our own Peter Baker had a predicament as some of the men had already started their rounds of golf.

MGALS - Sth Staffs society day

For us there was no problem, we simply started our competition on the 10^th and all went smoothly. In fact once the fog had lifted the course was bathed in sunshine and looked magnificent. Our 7 4 balls from Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands did battle and having enjoyed a meal of sandwiches and chips were then furnished with prizes supplied by Surprizegolf.com

MGALS - Sth Staffs society day

[Main image] Pictured are all the prize winners and all loved the idea of a pre and post season get together plus the possibility of having an event in the Summer. We have been inundated with clubs wanting to host the MGALS and having visited Coxmoor Ladies in Nottinghamshire can foresee that our numbers will swell.

MGALS - Sth Staffs society day

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MGALS - Sth Staffs society day

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MGALS - Sth Staffs society day

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Churchill & Blakedown 1_4

WAC Golf Society

16th October 2017/in The Wall /by Midlands Golfer

WAC Golf Society (Worcester)

By Beefy and Lamby (co-organisers)

We just love playing golf and enjoy the laughter on the fairways. The WAC Golf Society play out of Bransford Golf Club based on the outskirts of Worcester, a great Par 72 lake jewelled course in superb condition. We were formed in 2013 by Dave Broad and Dave Lamb (aka Beefy and Lamby, below) with the intention to take fellow club golfers to play some of the best courses around the Midlands and beyond. We wanted to support charities and over the past few years we have raised £1000s for Cancer charities in the UK.

WAC Golf Society

Our society members have grown from a handful to over 35 players currently, we have played some of the best courses around including The Belfry, The Forest of Arden, The Astbury, The Vale at Evesham and have enjoyed weekend away trips to St Pier Golf Club and the Vale of Glamorgan. We have also played at Celtic Manor, Gleneagles and St Andrews Old Course.

We run an annual trip to Okehampton, Devon where we play 90 holes of Golf over four very competitive and fun days, plenty of prizes on offer including an Order of Merit and numbers grow each year for this event.

Our main aim is for club golfers to experience other courses, as well as having like-minded and friendly banter that group golf can achieve. We aim to keep costs down to around £20-30 for our local Midlands rounds and enjoy playing local courses every year such as Cleobury Mortimer and Burghill Valley who treat us very well and provide some superb deals.

We have a Twitter (@WACgolfsociety) and a Facebook page and have recently started our very own YouTube channel.

2018 is shaping up to be a great season for WAC events, please visit our web site at www.wacgolfsociety.com to find out how you can join us on some great days out.

Contact Details:

Dave Broad – Email: d-broad@sky.com Tel: 07846 233190

Dave Lamb – Email: davelamb@mail.com Tel: 07429 192646

If you are a local Midlands golf society and would like to make your own contribution to On the Tee, both in the magazine and online, please contact us by e-mailing Phil at editor@midlandsgolfer.co.uk or registering your details via our Society Registration Form

Dallington Old Boys Golf Society or “DOGS” as we call ourselves were founded in November 2016 and are based around the Northamptonshire region.

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