Without a doubt, Senior sections of golf clubs are the ones that gain most value for money for their subscription due to the time available to them to actually play the game, regardless of the time spent socializing in the clubhouse which is an added bonus.
The next level of participation is the weekly visit to host clubs to play in their seniors’ Open competitions. The files in the club corridors actually bulge with A4 sheets of advertisements sent out by clubs to publicise their events, and the response is nothing short of phenomenal.
Many senior golfers over the age of fifty five think nothing of playing in as many as fifteen open events during the season, travelling to adjacent counties for favoured events with Cheshire and Shropshire being added to North Wales counties for added choice.
Last Thursday it was the turn of Wrexham to act as hosts, and the club attracted a full field of players from all of the above areas with the Chester clubs of Curzon Park, Upton, Vicars Cross and Eyton being supported by the Shropshire players from Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Mile End, Market Drayton and Henlle along with regulars from Montgomeryshire and Meirioneth as well.
Good weather but a blustery wind was the order of the day with rain threatening, but not arriving, even late into the afternoon.
Winners on the day, and utilizing local knowledge, were home club players Paul Marubbi and G Padfield with 47 Stableford points off three quarters of handicap allowance. Again from Wrexham, the runner up were Dave McClintock and Derek Collis on the better of two 46 point cards, the third placed offering being the one handed in by Peter Brand and Alan Prandle.
David Jones and Oscar Jones came in fourth with 43, a score replicated by visitors
T Steele and L Leake who had a less good back nine holes. The best visitors, with the exception of the above prize winners, were D Marchant and J Rigby with 44 points.
Still at Wrexham, the ladies played their Daily Mail Foursomes qualifier which witnessed a win for Janet Brand and Mary Bainbridge with 32 points from second placed Hazel Parry and Sandie Reddington on 29. A supplementary fourball competition played on the same day resulted in a win for Janet Lloyd and Jean Jones in a card play off with Pauline Archer and Tessa Hughes.
This coming Sunday is the occasion of the playing of all the match play Finals culminating in the establishment of both a ladies’ and mens’ champions, and every combination of singles and fourball events making up the full programme of summer knockout competitions which conclude this day.