Thurs 27th Dunham Forest AM AM – Full – please check times below!
Friday 4th Aug Vale Royal AM AM – nearly full
Monday 7th Aug Mere – nearly full
Tuesday 15th Aug – Sandiway – Full
Monday 21st Aug – Stockport full
Maxitours at marvellous Manchester Hopwood
The strong wind which was challenging the best players in the world at Royal Birkdale also presented a stiff test to the 100 very slightly less talented maxitours players who enjoyed Hopwood Golf Club today.
It was the first day of the school holidays for many so the weather was always going to be unsettled but all players stayed dry which was a real bonus and led to a terrific day at this special venue.
Hopwood has a new green keeper -Matt Shinwell -and he has had previous placements at Augusta and Oakmont Golf Clubs on his CV. The course was certainly very well prepared and presented in excellent condition for our players.- many thanks. Manchester Golf Club held the European tour school qualifying in the early 1990’s and it is now more than ready to host a major event in the very near future.
Frank Hindles’ team is used to getting extremely close to nature as most weeks as they can be spotted looking for their balls in the deep wilderness. Today they played the first hole and miraculously all of them managed to stay on the fairway for a change. Their straight hitting was rewarded with the sight of two wild deer skipping across the fairway in front of them. Only five miles from the Manchester city centre-awesome!
When Mike Gauden turned up he told me that he was playing like one of the best players in the world at the moment ‘I was 4 over par through five holes yesterday -that was the same as Rory at Birkdale!’ he chuckled. McIlroy found his swing and moved up to be on the first page of the Open leader board today. Mike found his swing and finished 39th out of 45.
John Stubbs plays the new latest Callaway chrome ball which had red spots on. He claims that it helps him see the ball spin characteristics when he chips this gives him good feedback on the quality of his strike. He didn’t learn too much on the 13thhole when a right angled shank was quickly followed by a complete fresh air shot.
Pete Hamlett(7) is having a great day. He played excellent golf at Hopwood on his way to a 4th place finish alongside his brother Gordon(10). He then enjoyed the superb fish and chips in the clubhouse followed by a pint of San Miguel before heading home to watch the last hour of the Open coverage. At 9pm things will reach a climax when he settles down to his all time favourite show -Love island. ‘I really enjoy it ‘ said the happy Ashton car mechanic.
Scratch golfer Luke Donnely is a lovely lad and he was delighted when the ball throw up meant he would play with Ian Thompson(10) today rather than his Dad. Luke had three birdies on the front nine – but more impressively so did his partner as they reached the turn in 27 points! Nineteen points on the back nine saw them take 3rd place.
At Birkdale the commentators were saying that the main reason that Bubba Watson is struggling with his game is because he has lost too much weight recently. Portly Andy Hamlett(7) certainly hasn’t gone overboard with his diet and his healthy appetite paid dividends with an excellent 46 points to take 2nd place alongside Richard Blackwell(13).
Retired head teacher Keith Rigby (11) teamed up with scientist Mike Savage(14) to earn the Chorley Golf Club pair a very impressive first ever victory with 47 points in windy conditions. Intelligent Savage is a ‘corrosion specialist ‘ but there was nothing rusty about his golf game today- well played chaps excellent golf!
Many thanks to Tony Smith from Srixon for his support today and for providing balls for all competitors.
Thanks to all players for your terrific support.
Yours in Golf, Tim
Nearest the pin 13th Dave Bowers Dozen Srixon AD333s
Nearest the Pin 16th Garry Smith Dozen Srixon AD333S
2’s £180 6 pro v1s or 15 srixon AD333s each
Kit Parkington x2!! Nigel Clowes Nigel Compsty Simon Walton Leigh Smart Andy Roberts John Royle
| Hopwood | 21-Jul-2017 | |||
| Pos | Player pairings | Score | OoM | Comment |
| 1 | Mike Savage, Keith Rigby | 47 | 12 | Cleveland wedge each |
| 2 | Richard Blackwell, Andy Hamlett | 46 | 11 | Maxitours merino sweater each |
| 3 | Luke Donnelly, Ian Thompson | 46 | 10 | Dozen Z Star balls each |
| 4 | Pete Hamlett, Gordon Hamlett | 45 | 9 | Maxitours shirt each |
| 5 | Lee Tilley, Dave Rhodes | 45 | 8 | Dozen AD333s each |
| 6 | Paul Baxter, Richard Robinson | 44 | 7 | Dozen AD333s each |
| 7 | Simon Walton, Terry Hines | 43 | 6 | Performance ball pack each |
| 8 | Garry Smith, Gary Conroy | 43 | 5 | Performance ball pack each |
| 9 | Pat O’Dowd, Carl Kennedy | 42 | 4 | Srixon Shoe bag each |
| 10 | Richard Palmer, John Farnsworth | 42 | 3 | Srixon Shoe bag each |
| 11 | Tim Spencer, Ron Sloane | 42 | 2 | |
| 12 | Andy Jackson, Billy Rawsthore | 41 | 1 | |
| 13= | Alan Burton, Kenny Ackers | 41 | ||
| 13= | Andy Roberts, Sam Wilson | 41 | ||
| 13= | Jimmy Caffrey, Kit Parkington | 41 | ||
| 16= | Nigel Clowes, Nigel Compsty | 40 | ||
| 16= | Dave Stanhope, Phil Smeathers | 40 | ||
| 16= | Peter Anders, Bob Dellor | 40 | ||
| 16= | Craig Dyson, Ben Lever | 40 | ||
| 16= | Brian Hopkins, Mark Johnson | 40 | ||
| 16= | Duncan Challen, Steve Hogg | 40 | ||
| 22= | Jack Coleman, Anthony Bloor | 39 | ||
| 22= | Ray Tennant, Leigh Smart | 39 | ||
| 22= | Darren Whittaker, Garry Bresnahan | 39 | ||
| 22= | Matt Sayers, Adam Thomas | 39 | ||
| 22= | Hugh Mullin, Dave Bowers | 39 | ||
| 22= | John Bent , Billy Blissett | 39 | ||
| 28= | Brian Hitchen, Peter Dolan | 38 | ||
| 28= | John Stubbs, John Royle | 38 | ||
| 28= | Simon Taylor, Gary Amos | 38 | ||
| 31= | Jon Farrell, Gav Sutcliffe | 37 | ||
| 31= | Bill Harvey, Graham Bryant | 37 | ||
| 31= | Paul Donnelly, Damien Clayton | 37 | ||
| 31= | Eddie Ellis, Kenny Plumb | 37 | ||
| 35= | John Pratt, Paul Smith | 36 | ||
| 35= | Darren Jones, Andy Bentley | 36 | ||
| 35= | Neil McKinlay, David Fellows | 36 | ||
| 35= | James Hampton, Rick Palmer | 36 | ||
| 39= | Harvey Mattinson, Mike Gauden | 35 | ||
| 39= | Martin Wilson, Terry O’Mara | 35 | ||
| 41= | Dave Harlow, John Atkin | 34 | ||
| 41= | Al Smith, Alan Pengelly | 34 | ||
| 41= | Pete Norbury, Dave Sarsfield | 34 | ||
| 44= | Mick Mahon, Frank Hindle | 33 | ||
| 44= | Guy Hall, Keith Coxon | 33 | ||
| 44= | Phil Harris, Tim Beasant | 33 | ||
| 47= | George Buchan, Dave Garnett | 32 | ||
| 47= | Chris Brownhill, Gary Hempstead | 32 | ||
| 49 | Mark Saxon, Paul Higgs | 31 | ||
| 50 | Tom Jarvis, John Buckley | 30 |
Start times at Dunham Forest AM AM
Thursday 27th July
7.58 Colin Roberts x4
8.05 Jim Caldwell x4
8.14 Simon Hemsley x4
8.23 David Garner x4
8.32 David Kelly x4
8.40 James Wilson x4
8.50 John Hunt x4
8.59 Paul Evans x4
9.08 Brian Greenbank x4
9.17 Claire Whitney x4
9.25 Paul Gilbert x4
9.33 Mike Stewart x4
9.42 Martin Bramwell x4
9.50 pete booth x4
9.59 Roy Ainsworth x4
10.08 Mick Mahon x2
10.16 John Hilditch x4
10.24 Bev Crute x4
10.33 Lewis Marland x4
10.42 Dave Stanhope x4
10.50 Chris Adams x4
10.59 Martin France x4
11.08 Peter Maher x4
11.17 Bob Eastwood x4
11.26 Barry Jackson x4
11.35 Dave Thomas x4
11.43 Sam leach x4
11.52 Jim Rymer x4
12.00 John Stubbs x4
12.09 Dennis Whelan x4
12.18 Keith Workman x4
12.27 Simon Ashton x4
12.34 Brian Rogerson x4
12.42 Chih Hu x2 Brothwell and Gavin
12.50 Brian Hopkins x4
12.59 Pete Norbury x4
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