http://www.maxitoursgolf.com
Great upcoming events:
Prestbury 7th November (start times released Thurs)
Ringway 14th November

Maxitours at Showery Sandiway

Heavy overnight rain closed most courses in Cheshire today. Despite this, free draining Sandiway was as majestic as ever. The Club made us feel very welcome and were delighted to invite us to play on their superb sand based course. Yvonne and her assistant Jackie were both recently voted in the top three most attractive Golf managers in Britain and today they were as professional and helpful as ever.

The forecast today was sunshine and showers however it was the showers who won the day. The Autumnal weather made scoring tricky and the well designed Sandiway course was a terrific test.

Last winter we also visited Sandiway. Before play I had a chat with (the now retired) old Scottish professional Bill Laird. One of our players walked into his shop wearing mud-caked waterproofs pants ‘And where d’you play your golf sonny?’ he asked with a wry smile on his face ‘There’ll be nae mud on yer shoes t’day.’ Sure enough conditions were remarkable good underfoot once again today.

Phil Smeathers thinks Galvin Green waterproofs are too expensive. Today big hearted Phil turned up looking like a Scottish fisherman about to trawl for North Sea prawns. ‘I won’t get wet today’ someone thought they heard a muffled voice say from deep within his mackintosh.

In today’s event Pete Cleaver(8) recorded a 2 on the stroke index 1 hole for five points. He teamed up with Steve Lowe(10) and they scored 25 points on the front nine, a regulation par back nine however saw them slip into 4th place. Dave Stanhope(11) went one better as also scored a two on the par four 12th and then followed it up with another two on the 13th hole. John Anderton(9) was enchanted by his long time golfing partner. Their 42 points was good enough for 5th place.

Richard Palmer(12) (known as Arnie to his golfing friends) played alongside Rory McIlroy lookalike Keith Fitzhenry(15). These two are usually very consistent- consistently bad. Today they surprised themselves after picking up 4 shots in the first five holes. They then grimly held on to the score for the remainder of the round until Fitzhenry saved the best till last. He played the final two holes in just six shots to record a career high second place finish.

Ben Jackson(13) and Mark Vickers(17) took the honours today with a solid 44 points. Jackson runs the tremendous ‘Chilli Banana’ Thai restaurant in Macclesfield. Today he was delighted to ‘Take Away’ first prize. Things have been stressful at work as he has struggled to buy any soy or chilli sauce in recent months (due to the Double dip recession) however he will be having a Singha long on the journey back to Macclesfield.

Thanks to ALL players who played today, despite the heavy overnight rain and dodgy forecast there were no cancellations and every single player was once again present for the 11am start.

I really thank you for your committed support which shows what great tour members we have which is why my job is so enjoyable.
Yours in Golf, Tim.

Nearest the Pin in 2 on 8th Adam Hart Dozen AD333
Nearest the Pin on 18th Karl McKinney Dozen AD333
£110 3 pro v1 balls or 6 srixons per 2.
2’s Carl Kennedy Graham Jackson Adam Hart Steve Parle John Locke Kevin Hamilton Martin Firth x2 Malc Burton John Killoran Guy Hall Keith Coxon John Royle

Maxitours at The Mere

Maxitours moved up-market as the five star Mere Golf Resort and Spa hosted today’s competition. Even the usually unkempt Jim Cox made an effort and he looked slightly smarter than normal.

Posh scouser Jim Rymer, from the Wirral, looked grim this morning as he stayed over in the sumptuous Mere hotel after an expensive wine sampling function with his wife last night.
‘I can’t be doing with all that tasting nonsense’ said Blackburn’s down to earth Frank Hindle ‘It’s the drinking I like.’

At seven o’clock this morning there was torrential rain as I drove through the darkness to the Club. The Mere greens were nearly saturated. ‘I think its getting brighter’ I said optimistically looking skywards ‘its called the morning’ pointed out Stuart Blake ‘it happens every day’ he added.

The weather did improve dramatically and play began after just a ten minute delay. What Bob Sutton lacks in golfing ability he certainly makes up for in speed. Today he was in the first group and his Knutsford four were round in just three and half hours to set a nice pace of play throughout the day.

Positive John Dickenson turned up today in a freshly pressed pink sweater and cream pants looking forward to a leisurely game. Unfortunately the buggy ban scuppered his plans. ‘I’ve got bad knees, I fell over down the 15th fairway, my back went, my new sweater’s absolutely filthy and my chipping and putting was terrible, apart from that I had a great day.’

In todays competition the scoring was once again very close.
The Clocks go back this weekend. Big hitting Pete Hall(4) took the ‘Tiger line’ on the last trying to squeeze out a birdie, he wished he could turn back time after his resulting bogey cost his team a chance of second place and dropped them down to fifth.

Phil Lockett’s(9) team of Des Kelly(17) Jim Hodges(5) and Chris Burrows(11) also required an ambulance at the last as they picked up just three points on the simple par five. They finished third on a commendable 82 points.

Jimmy O’Reilly, John Reilly and Frank Massey usually play with the great man and legendary Manchester golfer Neville Dennis. We know fighting Neville will be back swinging soon however Jim Driscoll was an excellent substitute and their 82 points gave them a second place finish.

Taking todays honours was the in form team of Malc Wells, Adam Hart, Steve Hamlett and Geoff Massey who scored 84 points. Talented Wells, big hitting Hart and skilful Hamlett have featured very strongly over the last few months however a 1 shot deduction for today’s win plus a further 2 shot Maxitours general play reduction each should slow down their superhuman performances in future weeks! Well played chaps- great golf.

Many thanks to first class Mere for hosting todays event so well. Joe Gates is superb at his job and he provided an excellent starter, arranged nearest the pins and ensured a great day was enjoyed by all. I always have the Cajun chicken pitta with salad for lunch at Mere which is superb, I recommended this to Bobby Emmetts team from Halifax ‘does thee nay do fish’n’chips?’ they replied.

Thanks to all players for your support today.

Nearest the Pin 8th hole John Hodges Dozen AD333s
Nearest the Pin 14th Dave McDougall Dozen AD333s

2’s £112.50 2 pro v1s or srixon AD333s Each
Richard Palmer Nathan Chadwick Dave McDougall Sam Garnett x2 Bri Hopkins x2 Danny Keast Andy Moss Phil Lockett Jim Hodges Chris Burrows

Maxitours at DunhamForest

The DunhamForest course was once again presented in ‘close to perfection’ condition for today’s Maxitours event.

England qualified for the World Cup this week. Des Kelly follows the national team home and away and he is already booking his tickets to Brazil. Unfortunately England’s win was the highlight of his week as he could only manage 39 points.

Thomas Cook pilot Dave Keen(13) celebrated his 60th birthday playing alongside Paul Barrow(20). They had a 5th place finish on 43 points and were both delighted to land safely in the prizes.

The famous Maxitours father and son pairing of Colin(9) and Jon Lynch(16) finished in 4th place today. Ferrari driving Colin played well but his son slightly outscored him. As they left the Club Ferrari driving Colin was once again upstaged as his Lamborghini owner son easily overtook him in the car park.

Ex-European table tennis champion John Hilton(12) and best mate Ron Jolley(17) teamed up and they scored a terrific 45 points to take third place. They were pinged into 2nd place by Phil Vokes(3) and Chris Cyprus(10) who had a slightly better back nine.

First place went to Upton By Chester’s Dave Murphy(10) and Brian Gibbons(9). Despite being Everton fans these to are great guys and they were both stunned by today’s performance ‘We had a great front nine and we kept waiting for the wheels to come off -but the score just kept getting better!’ said a delighted Gibbons. Very well played.
Many thanks to all who played today, Tim

Nearest the Pin 8th Graham March Dozen AD333s
Nearest the Pin 18th Ian George Dozen AD333s

2’s £132.50 3 pro V1s or 6 srixons each
Dave Murphy Phil Vokes Colin Lynch Pete Hall x2 Gav Sutcliffe x3 Richard Palmer Craig Simpson Mark Delouze Barney Ross Neville Stott Phil Williams Mark Kirk

Mere start times
Friday 25th October
8.00 Neville Dennis x4
8.08 Mark Wheeler x4
8.17 Malc Wells x4
8.25 Ian King x4
8.34 John Aikenhead x4?
8.43 James Williams x4
8.51 John Neale x4
9.00 Rob Platt x4
9.08 Carl Kennedy x4
9.16 Phil Vokes x4
9.25 Jim Rymer x4
9.34 Wayne Colclough x4
9.43 George Maxwell x4
9.50 Colin Lynch x4
10.00 Gary Garner x4?
10.09 Mick Mahon x4
10.18 Tony Cooper x4
10.26 Lewis Marland x4
10.35 Ruel Spence x2 Maureen Jolley x2
10.44 Bryn Dinsdale x4
10.52 Dave Blood x4
11.00 Roger Percival x4
11.09 Sam Leach x4
11.18 Iain Bartholomew x4
11.27 Jason Waites x4
11.36 Gavin Dixon x4
11.45 Sean Kirkby x4
11.53 Ian Gauden x4
12.01 Steve Garnett x4
12.10 Charles Herbert x4
12.19 Dave Chambers x4
12.27 Dave Bowers x4
12.36 Dave Crowther x4
12.45 John Stubbs x4
12.54 Phil Lockett x4

res Gary Smith x2/4

Maxitours at Conwy

Over 100 Maxitours golfers battled through the dreary Manchester rain to be greeted with wonderful blue skies and plenty of fresh sea air at the lovely Conwy golf course.

There were two teams from Didsbury Golf Club who stayed over in Llandudno the night before. More than a few of them desperately required a hair of the dog before play today. ‘I always have fruit juice for breakfast’ said Paul Bayley as he enjoyed an early morning Magners.

With his flat backswing Lee Tilley has won ‘Nearest the Bin’ on several occasions during his career. Today he hit a terrific shot into the 15th hole to win ‘Nearest the Pin.’ He also tapped-in for a birdie to pick up even more srixon balls- great shooting Lee!

In today’s event third place went to the on form Dave Stanhope(11), John Anderton(9), Dave Antrobus(8) and Giles Terry(14) who tamed the wind to score an excellent 86 points. This was beaten on a better back nine by Upton-by-Chesters Mark Killgallen(15), Brian Gibbons(9), Dave Murphy(9) and Rob Lavery(17).

Rory McIlroy can now completely focus on his golf after splitting with his athletic, blonde haired and long legged girlfriend. She has sapped all his energy and severely affected his concentration. Much to his dismay Pleasington’s John Hughes(9) has had no such problems for many years and this translated into his great performance today. He teamed up with Mark Robinson(10), Mike Johnson(8) and Stuart Coupe(10) to record a superb 88 points which took the honours.

Charles Herbert(10) won the Shotsaver Summer Tour Order of Merit by the narrowest of margins as just two points separated him from second placed Malc Wells(1). A strong finish to the season saw the Styal man win The Shotsaver Order of Merit Trophy and a fantastic s320 Tour pro GPS unit. Well played chaps.
1st Charles Herbert 101 points Shotsaver Unit
2nd Malc Wells 99points Dozen Titleist Pro Vs
3rd Bob Vickers 88 points Footjoy shirt

Peter Lees has been professional at Conwy for the past 46 years and he retires at the end of the month. As well as being a terrific Club pro, a fine after dinner speaker and a great teacher he is a lovely man who has been terrific to deal with and I for one would like to wish him a very happy retirement!

Many thanks for your support today, I hope you enjoyed this great links. Yours in Golf, Tim

Nearest the Pin 2nd Malc Wells Dozen AD333s
Nearest the Pin 15th Lee Tilley Dozen AD333s

2’s 2 Pro V1s or 4 srixon balls £122.50 Luke Mighall John Hughes Mark Killgallen Phil Lockett Malc Wells Jay Seddon David Smith Mark Woodhead Richard Palmer Ken Swarbrick Mike Spencer Phil Vokes Stuart Mellish Lee Tilley Roger McMullan Dave Rhodes Andy Hallowes Dave Murphy John Hilditch John Stubbs John Robinson Tom Wilson

Dunham Forest Pairs start times
Friday 18th October £25
7.51am Neville Dennis x4
8.00am Colin Roberts x4
8.09am Mark Wheeler x4
8.18am Ian King x4
8.27am
8.37am Malc Wells x2 Colin Baxendale x2
8.46am Gav Sutcliffex4
8.55am Tony Cooper x4
9.03am Dave Stanhope x4
9.13am Dave Parsons x4
9.21am Richard Blackwell x2 Steve Johnson x2
9.30am Phil Vokes x4
9.39am Dave Collinson x4
9.48am Jason Waite x4
9.57am Gail Hegarty x4
10.06am George Maxwell x4
10.15am Ron Jolley x2 Pete O’Neill x2
10.24am Mick Mahon x4
10.34am Geoff haynes x4
10.43am Dave Blood x4
10.52am Des Kelly x4
11.01am Richard Williamson x4
11.10am Derek Ashford x4
11.19am Sean Kirkby x4
11.28am Dave Keen x4
11.37am Dave Keen x4
11.46am Colin Lynch x4
11.55am Paul Griffiths x4
12.04pm Roy Bramwell x4
12.13pm Dave Crowther x4
12.22pm Charles Herbert x4
12.31pm John Stubbs x4
12.40pm Barry Jackson x4

12.49pm John Hilditch x2 Chris Burrows x2

www.maxitoursgolf.com
Great upcoming October events

Monday 14th Conwy Am Am
Friday 18th Dunham Forest Pairs
Friday 25th Mere Am Am

Tuesday 29th Sandiway Pairs

Maxitours at Pleasington

Pleasington GC today confirmed its status as perhaps the best inland course in the county, stunning views, remarkable weather and striking golf holes ensured a great days golf was enjoyed by all.

The three Manchester United legends golfing today- Frank Stapleton, Stuart Pearson and Andrew Cole- have all had their fair share of footballing injuries during their glittering careers. Andy Cole has narrowly avoided crunching tackles from the likes of Tony Adams and Terry Butcher. Today he once again needed to give us a glimpse of his legendary pace as he side stepped Peter Sutton’s spectacular shank which narrowly whistled past his multi-million pound kneecaps.

Mike McCurdy turned up in the same desperate outfit he has done for the past five events. He claims it is a lucky sweater but judging by his recent results this may not be the case. He once again finished well out of the prizes today.

Winning nearest the Pin on the 16th was big Dave Antrobus who hit a semi shanked tee shot which clipped several trees before nestling close to the hole.
‘My poor strike could be because I’ve lost two stones in the last month’ slurped big Dave Antrobus as he celebrated his good fortune by drinking his 3rd pint of bitter in the bar after play. ‘I did it by not eating between meals’ he claimed munching his cheese and onion crisps and opening a packet of KP nuts.
‘This is my lunch.’ he added quickly.

In todays event there were five pairs tied for third place on 43 points. A good back nine helped Bob Vickers(6) and Adam Hart(9) take 5th place.

Frank Stapleton(13) played with top writer Dave Wilson(8). Wilson knows the importance of a good ending and he finishing strongly for fourth place. His wonderful writing skills are in sharp contrast to his average golf and his latest book ‘When a red light shines’ is top of the Amazon political thriller charts. (and at just 99p it is well worth a read this winter.)

John Anderton(9) and Dave Stanhope’s(11) close friendship continues to blossom as the like able duo took third place, Stanhope’s birdie on the seventeenth hole brought admiring glances and several fond winks from his delighted partner.

Malcolm Wells(1) and Tony Tansey(22) took second place with 45 points however this was beaten on a card play off by Charles Herbert(12) and one handicapper George Drakonakis. Big hitting Herbert was disappointed to hook his drive out of bounds so far over the railway line on the 5th hole that it was sitting up perfectly on the 11th hole, partner George eased his frustration as he rolled in the first of his four birdies to keep the momentum flowing.

Many thanks to all who played today, I am sure you enjoyed this terrific course.
Yours in Golf,
Tim.

Nearest the pin in 2 shots on 18th hole Pete O’Neill Doz AD333s
Nearest the Pin 16th Dave Antrobus Doz AD333s
Steve Quail holed an awesome 9 iron on the 17th hole to get his share of the balls in the sweep.
2’s £130 3 pro v1s each orv 6 srixon soft feels Jonty Geake Malc Wells x2 Frank Massey David Kelly Phil Lockett Rob Anderson Steve Quail Hitash Patel Lee Tilley Frank Stapleton Gary Hempstead

Conwy AM AM Start Times
Monday 10th October
9.45 Mike Spencer x4
9.52am Paul Crisp x4
10.00 Mark Robinson x4
10.08 Phil Vokes x4
10.16 Bob Sutton x4
10.24 Andy Sandham x4
10.32 Malcolm Wells x4
10.40 Dave Stanhope x4
10.49 Charles Herbert x4
10.58 Mick Mahon x4
11.07 Des Kelly x4
11.16 Cairan Bradshaw x4
11.25 Mark Wheeler x4
11.34 Ed Wilkinson x4
11.42 Lee Tilley x4
11.50 Colin Baxendale x4
11.59 Roger McMullan x4
12.09 Welcome x4
12.19 David smith x4
12.29 Welcome x4
12.39 Smith x4
12.48 Welcome x4
12.57 Smith x4
1.06 Ian Bartholomew x4
1.14 Peter Lees x4
1.23 John Stubbs
1.32 Al Noden x4
1.42 Al Noden x4
1.51
2.00 George Maxwell x4
2.08