Our magazine has reached an incredible personal milestone with the release of current issue number 100 of MG.
For our small team who put together the magazine every other month, editor Phil, lady editor Mandy and ‘design god’ Chris Jones it’s a point we never really realistically considered that we would reach in this ever increasingly digitally dominated media world.
Magazines, especially regional ones have been largely beaten into submission over the years by the social media generation, how can print publications with ever increasing paper costs who rely on advertising income to survive, compete with something that’s completely free and incredibly easy to access?
It makes the achievement even prouder, we must have done something right all these years to remain as viable and attractive as we are – and we’re far from done yet.
This page is here to go back in time to review our journey, how we got to this point in time and what were our highlights and favourite times from issue 1 in 2012 to the current day.
Check out the photo galleries too – many happy memories surround these photos.
MIDLANDS GOLFER – A TALE FOR THE AGES…..PART 1 – 1 to 28
(AS WRITTEN FOR ISSUE 98 OF MG, APRIL)
We reach 100 issues of the magazine this September. Thought it might be fun to tell our story and how on earth we managed to get this far.
When a brow beaten and near defeated golf magazine editor entered the upstairs room of a tiny rundown office in Leek, Staffordshire in May 2012, his first impressions weren’t the best. Already bruised from the disappointment of just how his first magazine title had ended without his knowledge, he was a little reluctant to try again. On his first introduction to Chris (designer extraordinaire) Jones that day, Phil’s fragile enthusiasm faded even further, Chris and Phil weren’t friends at first sight, far from it.
Chris knew that Phil and Brian (MG owner No1) were talking about a new magazine and its potential, Chris knew that he’d have to design it and A/ he had enough work on his plate already & B/ he had zero interest in golf!
Anyway Phil had guilt, not only had he been let down when the previous title collapsed, so had some of the clientele at the time. Phil wanted to reimburse them and was grateful to Brian for agreeing with that too, so compensating half a dozen golf clubs formed the base for Issue 1 of Midlands Golfer in August 2012, with a few others added too who were also previous clients. Thankfully Phil had retained his good reputation in the industry, the local golf clubs backed him to go again, and Midlands Golfer emerged from the embers.
Issue 1 though (pictured above) was a tough job, Chris’s early reluctance showed up, his design was a little rushed and with not a lot of TLC. To this day we still titter when we look through Issue 1, it wasn’t great to say the least, but it did the trick. We delivered it all around, the local golfing fraternity were happy to see a Midlands magazine back on the shelves and from then on, every other month to begin with, MG was up and running and growing brand new roots.
Over the months that followed, Chris and Phil discovered spending time together in the office wasn’t that bad after all. Their similar musical tastes helped, as did mutual love of the local takeaway food shops! Alongside the third person in the office, Chris’s wife Lara who is definitely in the ‘good walk spoiled’ brigade but richly deserves a mention nonetheless, they had a laugh putting the magazine together. As a result, Chris’s liking for Midlands Golfer grew and grew, the magazine became his favourite task among his many. He worked his magic on the design and it made a big difference out there around the clubs as MG grew ever more impressively. However, his liking for the actual game of golf hadn’t picked up yet, that story is in part two!
Between issues 1 and 28 we honed our craft and the magazine settled for the format and the values we still promote today. Written purely for the local golfers to read and be a part of, with a heavy accent on society golf in the Midlands, helping them all to find great places to play and save a few bob at, at the same time, bringing direct business to the advertising clubs who support us.
From issue eight in January 2014 we became a monthly publication, without a salesperson on board it became Phil’s job as well to make the magazine profitable as well as editing it all together. You can imagine how many hairy moments there were trying to meet deadlines in those days.
But we got by, and there were some very enjoyable highlights from those early years. Issue five we interviewed an up-and-coming Solheim Cup hopeful from Northants by the name of Charley Hull. In no 12, our first North Wales golf feature which turned into full supplement inside no 24 one year later. In issue 14, Operation 18th – Race to the Forest, anyone remember that? A madcap golfing day with 4 x fourballs racing around the Midlands playing as many 18th holes only on each course, then dashing to the Forest of Arden in the evening for a go on their famous 18th hole too. Brilliant fun, anyone wanna do that again? (Drop me a line)
In 2013, the first Matchplay Masters was held at Nailcote Hall, Maxstoke Park’s Colin and Junior (pictured) were our first champions, we go again in July this year with our 10th Matchplay Masters.
So they were the early days of MG, something in between a chaotic circus and a well-oiled machine had resulted in us seeing off the opposition to become the undisputed No1 golf magazine in the Midlands.
MIDLANDS GOLFER – A TALE FOR THE AGES – PART II – 28 to 80 (The feminine touch)
AS WRITTEN FOR ISSUE 99 – JULY 2024
When Mandy Ambert stepped onto the tee of the delicious 18th hole on the Cheshire course at Carden Park at 5.45 am (yes 5.45 am!) on a summer’s day in July 2015, she was completely unaware that her life was set for a seismic change as a result.
Briefly, with three other ladies she was part of six cars of fourballs that day, travelling around the region as part of Midlands Golfer’s Operation 18th – Race to the Forest part two. The six cars all had alternative routes, all meeting up that evening at the Forest of Arden, giving Mandy the chance to meet Phil for the first time. They hit it off and just a week or so later, Phil had signed Mandy up to become MG Lady Editor.
Mandy wasted no time getting her feet under the table, beginning with a smartening up exercise for her new editor pal and tidying up our (modest let’s say) Leek office on her initial visits. What she made of Phil and Chris’s occasional lunchtime diets from the local takeaways was another matter entirely, she didn’t quite get her own way on that one!
She’s also rather good at golf and extremely competitive too. The only times Phil managed to defeat her in the first year of working together would be at night golf at Newcastle GC and on the new adventure course at The Belfry. Joking aside, Mandy’s local golf experience in Staffordshire ladies and junior golf gave us a huge boost in those categories of the magazine which was always an important magazine goal.
We needed the extra hand on deck, we were monthly now and very busy. Mandy’s arrival headed us into what Phil called our halcyon days from 2016 to 2019 when we were just insanely busy all the time it seemed. Mandy’s husband Jean-Louis joined in too and became a valuable member of the staff as a pure, solid heart of gold volunteer. In this he’s henceforth to be known by his Twitter nickname #JeanleTaxi for his incredible dedication in distributing the magazine around the local clubs every month without any renumeration whatsoever.
We did get him some golf though, he did alright at that, we all did. The halcyon days coincided with a lot of golf tripping around the Midlands for course reviews and occasional competitive society events and charity days. Needless to say, that Mandy was the only one ever deservedly invited to a prize table afterwards!
Golf travel got big too, we kept it in the UK but enjoyed a ton of trips to North and South Wales, brought them business as a result, and Phil enjoyed four trips with Club Choice Ireland to the Emerald Isle. In 2018 we finally made a golfer of the previously reluctant Chris and took him to Ireland too. He didn’t do half bad, we even played Mount Juliet together, but his eyes were as fixed on the Guinness taps as they were on the fairways, can’t fault him there!
In 2016 Mandy, Phil, #JeanleTaxi, and our part-time sales guys Spencer and Andy took turns in visiting the home of golf and we composed a 32-page Scotland Golf supplement inside issue 40 of the magazine. Phil still refers to it as our finest work ever. The ultimate labour of love.
Between us all we produced a lot of issues, covered all four corners of the Midlands multiple times, hosted 20+ MG golf events, made many supportive friends, faced harem-scarem times finishing mags on schedule, had a ton of laughs and far too much in the way of fast food and takeaways.
Months and years flew by, we felt indestructible, until our progress got interrupted by a big bug in early 2020 and the future became a little cloudier…..
