Great Upcoming Maxitours events
Ringway Am Am next Thursday 1st June – spaces
Worsley Am Am 8th June – spaces
Fixby pairs – 15th June – 2 spaces left!
Vale Royal 23rd June- 2 late times left!
Conway 26th June – 2 spaces left!
Davenport 6th July
Hazel Grove 13th July
21st July Hopwood
27th July Dunham Forest

Maxitours at balmy but brilliant Bramall Park

Bramall Park was the stunning setting for the latest Maxitours event.
This is a superb venue and all the field were raving about the quality of the golf course. Many of my players now rated it as their favourite golf course in Manchester.

‘When are we coming back? That was great!’ said Mike Verdon
‘I really, really enjoyed that.’ Beamed Martin Bramwell
‘Everything about that course is great- it’s my new favourite’ Said posh scouser Garry Parle
‘ you can also find your ball in the rough’ he added thankfully.
‘I Really enjoyed that, the course is so neat and tidy- excellent !’ said Sam Leach
‘Where is the nearest crown green bowls club? I’m giving up golf’ said Graham Bates.

The Clubhouse and veranda have been renovated and are a real improvement for this superb club. Thanks to all the staff for your hospitality. Craig Daggitt the home pro is highly respected by his peers and is a model Club professional. He was back tidying the electric trolleys away at 8.30pm this evening- legend .

After another bad round Blackburns’ John Farnsworth tried to make himself feel better as he looked for evidence of his more successful relative in the Clubhouse. ‘Me muther used ta live round ere before she moved up North and me arf cousin has ‘is name ont’ one of these ere winners boards.’
‘Did he have a funny swing like you?’ enquired team mate Richard Palmer.

Dave Beards team teed off early which was lucky as they played the tough 10th and 11th holes at midday so there weren’t many passing commuter trains. It was a hazardous stretch of line for any train drivers as his teams balls visited the tracks with regular occurrence.

Dave Timmons’ back swing has more movement than a tramps vest but he made an impressive eagle on the second hole to silence his critics.

In today’s event seventy five year old Keith Potter played like Harry Potter as his ball magically disappeared into the cup whenever he got on the putting surface. He led Richard Blackwell’s team into a 6th place finish. Hale Golf Club teams battled it out to 4th and 5th spot with Brian Greenbanks’ team pipping the more talented and better looking Martin Bramwell quartet with an excellent back nine.

Lymm’s Roger Percival(6) teamed up with Warrington’s Ed Wilkinson(6), Andy Wright(8) and Martin France(3) to take 3rd spot -once again on a card play-off. After a very average 39 points on the front nine they caught fire on the back nine scoring 43 points thanks in no small part to charismatic Ed Wilkinson’s solid driving.

The Ashton on Mersey quartet of Chris Brownhill(15), Pete(6) and Gordon Hamlett(10) and Gary Hempstead(12) finished alone in 2nd with 83 points. The team could have won but out of form Chris contributed just twice. ‘Sorry about that lads, let me buy the drinks.’ Was all he could mutter to his team after play.

Dave Stanhope’s golf is sometimes excellent and sometimes poor but the extremely likeable Knutsfordonian was timing it well today. He teamed up with on form Phil Smeathers(6), wealthy pharmacist Giles Terry(15) and old Tom Jarvis(14) to secure their first ever Maxitours win by an impressive 4 shot margin. Great golf chaps, Well played.

Thanks to all who played today, I hope you managed to enjoy your golf on what has been a very sad day for the people of Manchester. Tim

Nearest the Pin 4th Andy Rattray Dozen Srixon soft feel
Nearest the pin 15th Dave Stanhope Dozen AD333s

2’s £210 Dozen AD333s or 5 Pro V1s per 2
Jim Hodges Paul Cain Frank Hindle Dave Williams Kevin Austin Pete Hamlett Martin Bramwell Graham Mitton Jim Hodges Rob Norbury Dan Moss Andrew Hill

Maxitours AM AM at Ringway
Thursday 1st June

9.00 Colin Roberts x4
9.09 Jim Caldwell x4
9.18 Ian King x4
9.27 David Kelly x4
9.36 Lee Tilley x4
9.45 David Garner x4
9.54 Brian Greenbank x4
10.03 Jack Coleman x4
10.12 Darren Booth x4
10.21 Les Penson x4
10.30 John Hilditch x4
10.39 John Hunt x4
10.48 Trevor Foster x4
10.57 Dale Beaghan x4
11.06 Lewis Marland x4
11.15 Martin France x4
11.24 Roy Ainsworth x4
11.33
11.51 Simon Taylor x4
12.00 Mike Dean x4
12.09 Barry Wilson x4
12.18 Paul Higgins x4
12.27 Jimmy Caffrey x2 – 2 players required please
12.36
12.45
12.54
1.03 Chris Brownhill x4
1.12 James Hampton x4
1.21 Richard Williamson x4
1.30 John Hudson x4
1.39 Hugh Mullin x4
1.48 Andy Wilde x4
1.57
2.06
2.15 John Stubbs x4
2.24 Simon Ashton x4

Great upcoming Maxitours venues!
Bramall Park 23rd May- full
Ringway AM AM 1st June -spaces
Worsley AM AM 8th June – spaces
Fixby Pairs 15th June -full
Conway AM AM 26th June- 1 space

Maxitours at perfect Pleasington

Pleasington was yet another Maxitours venue in cracking condition this Spring. A brilliant day was had by all at this championship venue. Thanks to the Pleasington head green keeper and all his staff for all their hard work. This course is a real treat to play.

Thanks also to Barney and all the bar and catering staff for your warm Lancastrian hospitality- terrific.

John Stubbs never, ever, ever misses an event at Pleasington. We have the same conversation every six months when he checks into the Maxitours registration table at this great course : ‘Did you know I had an albatross here a few years ago?’
‘Yes I think I remember that’ I always reply enthusiastically ‘Please talk me through how you played the hole – I am very interested’ I reply before switching off my brain.
John took just two shots to complete the 518 yards 7th hole all those years ago. Today he came down to earth when he took two shots to duff the ball 2 yards into the greenside bunker on the 16th as he double hit his white knuckle wedge shot- I bet he won’t mention that next time we are here.

In the 16th century it was reported that King James the first stayed in nearby Houghton tower which overlooks Pleasington Golf Club. He went out one morning and shot a deer on the raised area next to the 5th green which is now known as Kings hill. The deer were ducking once again as Gary Whittaker fired a couple of his brand new pinnacles deep into the undergrowth.

In today’s event Birchwood’s Bob Day and John Hume took 5th spot with 43 points. Bob is a keen deep sea fisherman and he showed me a picture of himself with a large shark he caught near Rhyl earlier this year. Unfortunately he left his birdie putt in the ‘jaws’ on the last hole to narrowly miss out on a win.

Scoring was tight at the top with 4 teams sharing the winning score of 44 points.
John Farnsworth and Munro Donald are from the Blackburn area and they both know the course well. They used their local knowledge to good effect taking fourth spot.

Prestbury wealthy duo Chris Adams(13) and Charlie Cunningham(12) took third place. He is a nice man so I don’t want to mention Charlie’s costly three putt on the last- I hope he sleeps well tonight.

Second place goes to Steve Heywood(8) and RAF fighter pilot Dave Sully(7) from Lytham Green Drive. Steve has played in nearly a dozen Maxitours events but never plays with the same man twice. He could be a mass murderer or it may also be possible that he plays so badly that his partners think that one round is enough. Today they scored 44 points to finish 2nd, ‘Do you think he’ll want to play with me again?’ said lonely Steve after his round.

Taking the honours also on 44 points were Wychwood Park nice guys Phil Robinson(11) and Richard Williamson(12). Retired Phil is a black belt in six different martial arts ( Judo, Kung Fu Black Cobra, Bo Su, Chinese Kick Boxing, Brazilian Sabat and Kendo) so if he wants to win the card play-off then that’s fine by me. Well played chaps!

Thanks to all players for your support, Tim

Nearest the Pin 16th Darren Potter Dozen Wilson DX3
Nearest the pin in 2 on the 18th Mike Spencer Dozen Wilson DX3

2’s £127.50 3 pro v1s or 8 srixons per 2 Andy Stone Carl Kennedy Charlie Cunningham Martin France Keith Coxon Phil Robinson Richard Williamson x2 Steve Heywood Brian Hopkins Darren Potter

Bramall Park AM AM
Tuesday 23rd May

10.00 Colin Roberts x4
10.09 Mike Stewart x4
10.18 Dave Beard x4
10.27 Martin Bramwell x4
10.36 Roy Ainsworth x4
10.45 Dave Stanhope x4
10.54 Andy Leather x4
11.03 Paul Evans x4
11.12 Trevor Foster x4
11.21 Dale Beaghan x4
11.30 Chris Adams x4
11.39 Brian Greenbank x4
11.45 John Stubbs x4
11.48 Mick Mahon x4
11.57 Steve Parle x4
12.06 Lewis Marland x4
12.15 Simon Taylor x4
12.20 Ian Ainsworth x4
12.24 Sam Leach x4
12.33 Bob Mottershead x4
12.42 Jim Rymer x4
12.51 Les Russon x4
12.55 Chris Brownhill x4
1.00 Paul Bayley x4
1.09 Chih Hu x4
1.18 John Hunt x4
1.27 Ray Jones x4
1.36 Kenny Plumb x4
1.45 Martin France x4
1.54 James Wilson x4
2.03 Darren Whittaker x4
2.12 Richard Blackwell x4
2.21 Andy Buchanan x4
2.30 Simon Hemsley x4
2.39 Pete Norbury x4
2.48 Simon Ashton x4
2.57 Brian Hopkins x4

Spaces at Pleasington tomorrow- fore cast good!

Spaces at Pleasington Thursday next week- the course is excellent according to the Pleasington professional!
Bramall Park 23rd May -full
Ringway 1st June -last few spaces
Worsley 8th June -last few spaces

Maxitours at pristine Prestbury

Prestbury Golf Club’s excellent reputation continued to grow as a truly magnificent course was presented to Maxitours competitors today. Thanks to Mark Crossley and his hard working team for their skilful preparation- these guys are right at the very top of their profession.

‘The course was awesome- but my golf was gruesome.’ Admitted Bob Sinclair after his round.
‘Those greens are a delight, it’s great to hit a good putt and watch it roll smoothly to the hole’ said short game wizard Paul Browne.
‘I’ve just come back from playing seven courses in Spain and none of them were as good as that!’ said Tim Spencer.

Prestbury is so good even the Secretary turns up for work in a porsche. Host professional Nick Summerfield is also a great man and very highly thought of by all of his peers.

The catering at Prestbury is up to the same high quality as the golf course and head chef Richard served us very well indeed.

‘Absolutely beautiful’ said wide eyed Richard Palmer after his round.
‘I’m glad you enjoyed the course’ I replied
‘No -I’m talking about that female tour pro Amy Boulton who was having a practice round in front of us’ corrected the Blackburn man.

There were a couple of medical conditions coming to light on the Prestbury course:
Paul Evans team think he might be a dyslexic golfer . ‘He couldn’t read the greens.’ they declared after struggling to 61 points.
Mark John’s team tell me that they think he could have developed golf tourettes ‘He can’t stop involuntary swearing after each missed putt ‘.

The last time Phil Smeather’s hit a purple patch was when his ball disappeared into a clump of Bluebells last Spring. The classy 6 handicapper was on it today however playing his first six holes in two under par. Despite dropping a couple of shots late on in his round the gentle giant was delighted to be playing good golf again.

The scoring was tricky on this Harry Colt masterpiece and it just shows that a well designed golf course doesn’t need to be over 7000 yards to be a top championship venue.
Roy Ainsworths team ‘ripped it up today ‘ unfortunately they were talking about their scorecard which disappeared into a bin.

Rob Platt lives ‘ower in’t Barnsley’ His team played ‘greeet’ today and they loved the course and especially the firm and very fast greens ‘By eck those greens was as hard as a pit mans hat’ said Rob after his round. The Northerners were delighted to finish 4th with 81 points.

The Cheadle team led by Tony Stiles(13) and Tony Rains(22) finished 3rd with 82 points. The 17th hole was playing the toughest on the course . Mick Fenton(6) was on the back of the green and his putt slipped narrowly past the hole only to disappear over the green and finish 60 yards away. Dave Chambers(12) watched him do it and then to his teams disbelief repeated the feat himself as they narrowly missed out on top spot by a single point!

Ged Elton(15)and his Matlock team of Neil Fenner(9) Mark Berrisford(6) and Chris Beakey(14) finished late in the day and were amazed that there 82 points was good enough to snatch 2nd place. Retired Elton worked for ‘Bosch’ and when he plays golf his ball is normally in the ‘busch’ but he played the tough back nine well to help his team into 2nd.

Retired Tim Spencer(19) from Chapel en le Frith and Astbury’s Ron Sloane(19) normally play golf ‘purely for social reasons.’ This can be translated as ‘We are not good enough to win a prize’. In ten years playing Maxitours events Ron has won a dodgy shirt and I think I gave Tim a pair of socks for his birthday because I felt sorry for him. On the first they were more than surprised when two of them chipped in for 8 points. They were then hanging on to a good score by the skin of their teeth for the next seventeen holes. They scrapped their way to victory with 83 points Mark Saxon(21) and Paul Higgs(13) completed the shell shocked quartet. Well done guys I am delighted for you.

Nearest the pin 7th Dozen Mick Fenton Dozen Srixon soft feel
Nearest the pin 17th Barrie Simpson Dozen Srixon soft feel

2’s £250 7 pro v1s or 18 srixons per 2
Phil Smeathers Steve Morfitt Leigh Smart Dale Wallace Pete Ledger Tom Griffiths Munro Donald Dave Garnett Alan Duckworth Ged Elton

Pleasington Pairs Thursday 18th May

9.30 Colin Roberts x4
9.39 Jim Caldwell x4
9.48 Ian King x4
9.57 Mick Mahon x4
10.06 Jack Coleman x4
10.15
10.24 Neil Drummond x2 Mike Dean x2
10.33 John Berry x4
10.42 Brian Greenbank x4
10.51
11.00 Trevor Foster x4
11.09 Dale Beaghan x4
11.18 Ian Ainsworth x4
11.27 Chris Adams x4
11.36 Chih Hu x4
11.45 Graham Littler x4
11.54 Les Russon x4
12.05 James Wilson x4
12.14 Tim Spencer x4
12.23 Martin France x4
1.30 Eddie Jordan x4
1.39 John Stubbs x4
1.48 Les Penson x4
1.57 Paul Rudkin x2 Richard Blackwell x2
2.06
2.15 Brian Rogerson x2
2.24 Leigh Smart x4
2.33 Richard Williamson x2 Steve Heywood x2
2.42
2.51 Pete Norbury x4
3.00
3.09 Brian Hopkins x4

Maxitours at stunning Sandiway

Perfect golfing conditions greeted Maxitours players in deepest Cheshire at Sandiway Golf Club this morning.

A gentle zephyr, fast running fairways and immaculate greens meant a great days golf was enjoyed by all.

The course really was pristine and a number of players were visiting the course for the first time.
‘That is an amazing course- I am definitely going to bring my Captains away Day here!’ said Mark Harding.

Thanks also to the catering staff who fed and watered us all so well throughout the day.

Jack Coleman and his senior team have been hibernating this Winter but they soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed the first event of what should be a great Summer season ‘That was wonderful’ said Jack after his round.

Barry Meagher is a lovely chap and I had a nice chat with him after his game. He is a modest man but I learnt that he was an international badminton player in his younger days. He is famous within the badminton circuit for his drop shots. He certainly had plenty of dropped shots today as he could only manage 34points and a share of 65th place.

I am easily confused with names especially when Wilmslow’s Tom Davis(12) was playing in his first Maxitours event and he checked in with his younger brother Guy who is the spitting image of him and even wears the same glasses. The third member of the team arrived and I was amused to learn that it was his identical twin brother Hugh(14). The other team member Mo Yousef claimed to be a fourth adopted brother -but I think he was pulling my leg. Tom and Hugh were delighted to finish in 5th place.

Nic Hercules(15) looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders playing alongside erratic Alan Pratt (26) He needed all his strength as he carried his partner well to finish in 4th place.

The only Lady golfer in the field led the way for much of the morning after attractive Karen Taylor(16) from Haydock Park and partner Peter Bean(10) recorded an impressive 45 points- they eventually had to settle for 3rd place.

Maxitours favourite Lewis Marland (14) teamed up with Paul Cain(15) and they were delighted to finish in a season best 2nd place also with 45 points. On the back nine they had three 1 point holes, three 3 point holes and an incredible three 4 point holes to score 24 and win the back nine play off in style.

Hale’s Brian Greenbank(6) and John Newton(18) took the honours with a terrific 47 points. A great team effort saw the likeable duo play the tough Sandiway par threes in two under par. Greenbank is a solid player and picked up more shots with impressive birdies on the tough 7th and tricky 17th hole. Well played chaps -great win.
Nearest pin 8th James McEwan Dozen AD333
Nearest Pin 18th Phil Hanson Dozen AD333

2’s £260 3 pro 9 srixons per 2
Phil Meyers Anthony Wilson Marc Berrisford Chris Adams Paul Wild Ray Tennant Geoff Guest x2 Dave Wilson Andy Oakes Nic Hercules Alan Pratt John Newton x2 Jim Caffrey Mike Sallebank Gary Denman Richard Williamson Dave Gavins Tom Butler

Prestbury AM AM start sheet
Thursday 11th May
9.00 Colin Roberts x4
9.09 Jim Caldwell x4
9.18 Ian King x4

9.36 David Kelly x4
9.44 Rob Platt x4
9.53 Martin Bramwell x4
10.02 Bev Crute x4
10.11 Jack Coleman x4
10.20 Dave Stanhope x4
10.29 Brian Greenbank x4
10.38 Paul Brown x4

10.56 Mick Mahon x4
11.05 Trevor Foster x4
11.14 Dale Beaghan x4
11.23 Martin France x4
11.32 Steve Parle x4
11.41 Tim Spencer x4
11.50 Bob Kwan x4
11.59 Roy Ainsworth x4
12.08 Dennis Whelan x4
12.18 j Clarke x4
12.26 Rob Weston x4
12.35 John Hilditch x4
12.44 Sam Leach x4
12.53 Brian Rogerson x4
1.02 Jon Hudson x4
1.11 Gerry John x4
1.38 Barry Simpson x4
1.47 John Stubbs x4
1.56 Dave Chambers x4
2.04 Steve Hackett x4
2.13 Tony Stiles x4
2.21 Ged Elton x4
2.30 Mike George x4
2.39 Pete Norbury x4
2.57 Brian Hopkins x4

res Hugh Mullin x4
Tony Evans x4
Ian Lilley x4
Paul Lord x4
Ray Tennant x4