**Please note that Next Thursday at Dunham Forest is 11am start**
Results from a wet and windy Sandiway

Maxitours visited Sandiway Golf Club in the 6th event of the Winter series. The course was in absolutely unbelievable condition despite the recent heavy downfalls. The greens are rolling as well as any in the North West so many thanks to the head green keeper for his excellent preparation. New Golf Club manager Anthony Roberts is terrific to deal with and is rapidly becoming one of the most respected Secretaries in the country.

This November has seen Maxitours players endure some tough golfing conditions and today was no exception as heavier than forecast rain saw the course at one stage become saturated with water. The superbly draining Sandiway course soon recovered as the storm clouds lifted and play continued. Thanks to everyone once again for your patience.

Mick Mahon is delighted to be made Captain Elect at Mytton Fold Golf Club this week- congratulations you will have a great year. When he told his family the good news his daughter looked confused and replied ‘I thought you had to be a good golfer to be made Captain?’

As I register my Maxitours players I am always amazed by the variety of smells that greet me throughout the day. There were two ladies playing and they both smelled great – Christine and Gail were wearing the latest expensive perfume no doubt. Things went downhill as the blokes arrived and the rain started. It was especially bad when Francis Murray turned up wearing some damp waterproofs which he had been carefully fermenting in the corner of his golf bag for the last few months.

Bramall millionaire Mike Spencer was panicking after he couldn’t find his unusually large wallet. He has dropped it in the past but he is usually alerted by the loud thud or a sudden feeling of weightlessness. He phoned me when he got home to report he had no wallet and sounded very distressed. He forced me to look in the changing room, the bar area and three times around the car park. He has just phoned me again to let me know his wife found it in the biscuit barrel at home. Sweet toothed Mike has ‘no idea’ how it got there.

The Sandiway Clubhouse heating was put on full blast last week and I was incredibly warm throughout the day. Steve Foxcroft played well in the rain but for some reason he was still wearing his waterproof pants in the clubhouse after play. It was hard to make him out through the mist as he sat in the corner of the bar with sweat steadily dripping down into his pint of bitter.

In today’s event gas heating engineer John Berry(13) and Chris O’Regan(17) from Sale ignited on the closing holes to finish in a career best 5th position with 41 points.

Posh scousers Roy Christian(9) and Bob Mottershead(14) from Heswall also had the best finish of their golfing lives as they took 4th on 42 points. The two bankers ‘deposited’ plenty of putts and also took the cash from their playing partners who lost ‘interest’ over the closing holes. They narrowly lost out on a card play-off to Manchester United legends Stuart Pearson(6) and Frank Stapleton(13), these old strikers are used to playing on wet pitches and they revelled in the rain.

Talented Paul Dalby(4) and Phil Vokes(4) from Didsbury are two of the most successful players on the tour and they were on form once again to take second place. They only dropped one shot all day but unfortunately they made the costly error on their closing hole.

Winning today was John Hilton(12) and Richard Blackwell(13) from Mottram Hall. John has had a tough battle with cancer over the past year but he is a real fighter and it is terrific to see him getting back to his best on the golf course. Richard Blackwell is also a great guy who plays every week and he was delighted with his first win in over a year. Well played chaps- great golf!

A few players decided to complete just nine holes and Sandiway kindly supported a nine hole prize table to keep all players happy. Geoff Underhill and Mike Hazeltine took first place with 21 points.

At our next event at Dunham Forest we will be running an ETIQUS Charity Challenge in aid of The Golf Foundation with a nearest the pin at the 3rd hole. Entry to the challenge is a minimum donation of £5 per player. Many of you will remember that we did a similar challenge at Hazel Grove last year where everyone got an ETIQUS ball marker just for entering – well this time entrants will each receive an ETIQUS protective watch case which sells on their website for £10! The winner of the Challenge will receive a watch voucher to the value of £179 which can purchase a Classic Tour watch or be put towards any other watch on their site, men’s or ladies. All donations will go to the Golf Foundation to support the development of the game of golf and the life skills it has to offer to kids who would not normally be able to experience our game. ETIQUS Founder and Maxitour player Gary Butler has already raised over £10,000 to support golf at the grass roots and his timepieces are becoming a serious choice for both amateur and professional golfers alike. Gary is also offering to any Maxitour player an ‘on the day’ promotion where you can order one of his watches and get your competition entry fee refunded. To see his latest collections visit ETIQUS.co.uk

Results
Nearest the Pin in 2 on 8th hole Stuart Pearson Dozen AD333s
Nearest the Pin on 18th hole Jon Farrell Dozen AD333s
2’s £127.50 3 Pro v1s or 8 srixons per 2 John Royle Paul Dalby Jim Hodges John Berry Francis Murray Jon Farrell Geoff Fryer x2 Frank Stapleton Stuart Pearson x2

Nine holes prizes courtesy of Sandiway Golf Club and Maxitours Golf
1st Geoff Underhill & Mike Hazeldine 21 Maxitours sweater each
2nd Mike Spencer & Darren Whittaker 18 Dozen Wilson Soft feel each
3rd James Eadie & Bill Rotherer 17 6 Wilson soft feel each
4th Christine Kelsall & Andrew Richardson 6 Wilson Soft feel each
5th Bob Sinclair and Dave Marchant 16 3 Wilson soft feel each
6th Eddie Ellis & Safari Dave 16 3 Wilson soft feel each
7th Mick Mahon & Frank Hindle 16 3 Wilson Soft feel each
8th Steve Aspinall & ptnr 16 3 Wilson soft feel each
9th John Kelsall & Roger Dent 16 3 Wilson Soft feel each
10th Ian Ainsworth & Alan Clough 15 3 Wilson Soft feel each
11th Geoff Haynes & Terry Davison 15 3 Wilson soft feel each
12th Roy Macgregor & Andy Young 14 3 Srixons each
13th Ian King & Ashley Elliott 14 3 Wilson soft feel each
14th Richard Palmer & John Farnworth 13 3 Wilson soft feel each
15th Kristain Oakes & Paul Woodbine 13 3 Wilson soft feel each
16th Gary Whittaker & Joe Shelley 13 3 Wilson soft feel each
17th Dave Goodwin & Richard Williamson 11 3 Wilson soft feel each

Maxitours Etiqus Pairs at Dunham Forest
11am start Thursday 3rd December

1a Jim Caldwell x2 Richard Blackwell x2
1b Steve Parle x4
2 Geoff Underhill x4
3 Ian King x4
4a Lewis Marland x2 John Hilditch x2
4b Brian Greenbank x4
5a Mick Mahon x4
5b John Stubbsx4
6a Colin Baxendale x4
6b Roger Percival x4
7 Dave Blood x4
8 Peter Cross x2 Trevor Foster x2
9a Nigel Clowes x2 Mark Jones x2
9b Jason Henderson x4
10 Phil Vokes x4
11a David Kelly x4
11a Colin Roberts x4
12 Frank Stapleton x4
12b Anthony Jennison x4
13 Tom Jarvis x4
14a Ian Cairns x4
14b Ian Cairns x2 Anthony Grimley x2
15 Simon Poucher x4
16 Paul Wrigley x4
17 Roy Ainsworth x4
17b Pete Norbury x4
18 Ian Ainsworth x4
18b Brian Hopkins x4