The Galvin Green Classic at fantastic Fairhaven

What a great day! Nearly every course in the North West was closed today but the famous Fairhaven links was well and truly open and enjoyed by all the Maxitours players.

The staff did a great job serving our guys before play. It was the busiest they had been for months and they were brilliant. Thanks to all players for supporting the caterers after their long hard Winter.

Dave Madely is one of the nicest guys in the World. He is a well-known supporter of clubhouse caterers and stewards and he polished off two pints and a Maxitours record three omelettes before his round. Dave continued his support of the Fairhaven catering team with a long stay in the half way house and then had another meal and a couple more pints in the clubhouse after play.
He followed it up with a bag of salt and vinegar crisps for dessert.- brilliant.

A mild breeze and no rain made for testing but very enjoyable playing conditions. The greens were excellent so plenty of putts were falling.
The toughest holes for teams to score on today were the 7th 8th and 17th and the easiest was 15th followed by the 12th and the 4th so teams playing those holes twice will have scores adjusted.
Competition was close on the shortened course and teams made mince-meat of the 4 par 5 holes!!

Mike George(9) from Sale GC keeps an immaculate scorecard- that’s normally the only good thing about his game. Today he played great however and alongside Chris Iceley(18), Jim Fletcher(11) and Gordon Tilsley(14) they took 4th with 89 points.

David Waites(10) Accrington team were also on good form and they took third place. It was good to see Pete Houston(14) playing again and Conor Taylor(9) and Jordan Brown(4) completed the Lancastrian quartet.

Mike Tarrant(12), James Wilson(7), Steve Halliwell(16) and Paul Stones(13) came down through the mist from their home in the remote Darwin hills and were delighted to be playing on the firm Fairhaven turf. A great team performance also saw them score 89 points for 2nd place after a card play off.

Congratulations to Richard Blackwell(13) and his Mottram Hall team for their excellent performance today. Two gross birdies on the 12th hole saw them pick up an impressive 8 points as they had a best of the season 50 points on the easier back nine. Steve Austin(13) John Hilton(13) and Ferrari driving Colin Lynch(14)completed the team
Well played chaps great golf.

Many thanks to John Gallagher the Galvin Green rep and all-around nice guy for sponsoring today’s event and looking after my players so well throughout the year. Please take a look at Galvin Green website galvingreen.com for some quality golf clothing. It even makes me look smart sometimes.

Thanks for your support- 100% attendance again – superb.
Tim

N pin 2nd John Oldfield Doz Srixon AD333
N Pin 17th Paul Dalby Doz Srixon AD333
2’s sweep£155 4 pro v1s or 9 srixon AD333 per two
Ed Wilkinson Roger Percival Paul Dalby Steve Aspinall Chris Gregory Steve Austin Mike Tarrant Dave Bowers Conor Taylor Munro Donald John Gallagher Brad Brine

Dunham Forest start times
Thursday 19th March

8.00 Si Hemsley x4
8.09 Colin Roberts x4
8.18 Jim Caldwell x4
8.27 Chris Lister x4
8.36 Mike Kichin x4
8.45 Phil Young x4
8.54 Andrew Cox x4
9.03 Phil Vokes x4
9.12 John Lindsay x4
9.21 Dave Blood x4
9.30 Jim Clarke x4
9.39 Lewis Marland x4
9.48 Steve Aspinall x4
9.57 Simon Poucher x4
10.06 Kev Hart x4
10.15 Paul Evans x4
10.24 Peter Maher x4
10.33 John Hunt x4
10.42 John Hilditch x4
10.51 Sam Leach x4
11.00 Russsell Sollitt x4
11.09 Jim Rymer x4
11,18 Mick Mahon x4
11.27 Dave Greenwood x2 Ian Neilson x2
11.36 Roger Percival
11.45 Paul Fell x4
11.54 Les Russon x4
12.03 Martin Humphries x2 Ray Tennant x2
12.12 Richard Blackwell x4
12.21 Bri Hopkins x4
12.30 Gary Neiles x4
12.39 Pete Walters x4
12.48 Dave Goodwin x4
12.57 Pete Fotheringham x4

FAIRHAVEN IS OPEN FOR PLAY TODAY- SEE YOU LATER FOR THE 1PM SHOTGUN START

*Space at Prestbury and Mottram in the 2 day Cheshire Classic 26th 27th March.

Maxitours at Curtis Cup venue Conwy

Thanks to all my players who travelled to Wales- despite a less than attractive forecast I only had 2 teams cancel for medical reasons which is a credit to everyone.
A great day was had by all.

The Conwy Golf Club is looking forward to hosting the Curtis Cup in June and the course should be in tremendous condition for this international showcase event. I am sure the 15.000 spectators they are expecting each day will enjoy the same warm Welsh hospitality extended to our players. Perhaps some of them will find Ken Clarkes golf balls because he lost a few today.

The greens were rolling very nicely and the fairways were excellent considering the recent rainfall.

The rain held off with just a light refreshing drizzle for the last few groups to enjoy on their back nine. The wind also dropped a little in the afternoon and the scores improved later in the day

Mike Kirchin is a great bloke and he was delighted with his team’s 72 point score which is a lot better than his usual rubbish. ‘We enjoyed that. I actually played well and I think there will be a few teams with a worse score than us this week!’
No there won’t Mike.

Scoring was incredibly close with three teams in the lead for most of the day with 86 points. World Class Premiership referee Mike Dean(5) had a VAR moment when his teams’ 3rd place celebrations were cut short after they missed out due to a card play off. His Aldersley team had to settle for 5th place with 86 points.
Richard Blackwell’s team were 4th and Lewis Marland’s team was 3rd after both had excellent finishes.

Second place went to the Heyrose team of Ian Hellens(11), Steve Blakeway(2) Josh Street(scr) and Tom Beevers(16). Josh had two birdies and an eagle on his closing holes. Cheshire senior Steve Blakeway showed his class with a birdie on the famous 17th hole.

Taking the honours were Lancasters Peter Griggs(13), Phil Robinson(10), Dave Goodwin(10) and Andy Buckley(9). They had a solid round but then Goodwin caught fire on the last few holes as the team went into overdrive. He made a birdie on the 16th and then in his own words ‘I hit a monster down the 17th ‘ An impressive Phil Robinson birdie on the last sealed the victory.
Well played chaps.

Thanks to everyone for your support, Yours in Golf, Tim.
2’s £87.50 9 pro v1 or 20 srixon ad333 Pete Tomlinson Josh Street Phil Robinson
Nearest the pin 15th Mark Clewley Doz Ad333

Tomorrows Galvin Green Fairhaven start sheet
Tuesday 10th March 1pm start
1a John Gallagher x4.
1b Gallagher x4.
2 Mick Mahon x4.
3a Paul Fell x4.
3b Martin Humphries x4
4 Hugh Mullin x4.
4 Nick Sullivan x4
5 Simon Willway x4
6a Steve Latchford x4
6b Chris Gregory x4.
7 Dave Bolton x4
8 Gary Neiles x4.
8b Dave Sully x4.
9a Roger Percival x4.
9b Mickey Gray x4.
11a David Waite x4.
11b Phil Vokes x4.
12 James Wilson x4.
15 Dave Griffiths x4.
15b John Dickenson x4.
16 Mike George x4.
17 Steve Aspinall x4
18a John Owen x4
18b Pete Fotheringham x4.

Next week at Dunham Forest 19th March

8.00 Si Hemsley x4
8.09 Colin Roberts x4
8.18 Jim Caldwell x4
8.27 Chris Lister x4
8.36 Mike Kichin x4
8.45 Phil Young x4
8.54 Andrew Cox x4
9.03 Phil Vokes x4
9.12 John Lindsay x4
9.21 Dave Blood x4
9.30 Jim Clarke x4
9.39 Lewis Marland x4
9.48 Steve Aspinall x4
9.57 Simon Poucher x4
10.06 Kev Hart x4
10.15 Paul Evans x4
10.24 Peter Maher x4
10.33 John Hunt x4
10.42 John Hilditch x4
10.51 Sam Leach x4
11.00 Russsell Sollitt x4
11.09 Mick Mahon x4
11.18 Nigel Hallows x4
11.27 Roger Percival
11.36 Paul Fell x4
11.45 Les Russon x4
11.54 Dave Waite x4
12.03 Richard Blackwell x4
12.12 Bri Hopkins x4
12.21 Gary Neiles x4
12.30 Pete Walters x4
12.39 Dave Goodwin x4
12.48 Jim Rymer x4
12.57 Pete Fotheringham x4

Room at Conwy on Monday – Curtis Cup venue later this year!!
Last few Spaces in the Cheshire Classic Prestbury and Mottram Hall 26th and 27th March!

Maxitours at Bolton Old Links

The best day of the year greeted the Maxitours competitors who travelled to Bolton Old Links.
Everyone was delighted to play on a terrific golf course under sunny, blue, Spring skies. Tremendous.

‘That was amazingly dry – what a lovely course!’ Declared Alsagers Dave Mason.
‘What a brilliant lay out- I love it here.’ Announced well-travelled Steve Heywood’

This forward thinking Club have plans for a new Clubhouse and everything should be completed within two years which will make it a premier venue in the North.

Simon Hemsley is a tidy golfer but had a rare poor day on the course. The sausage sandwich made up for everything – ‘4 sausages! 4 sausages! On a single bap! This has to be a maxitours record!’ Said the well-built Bramall man ,
Yes it is Simon.

Wild hitting 22 handicapper Dan Moore picked up his balls today from the 2’s sweep after he made an uncharacteristic two at Dunham Forest last week. I was handing him some budget Srixon’s when he demanded the more expensive-to-lose Pro V1s

I wish I was his club pro.

.
Lancastrian farmer Richard Palmer plays every week on Maxitours but disappears in March and April as he goes to Cheltenham races and then his Leicester blue sheep start to lamb. He thinks it will be a good year as the sheep have all been scanned and there are lots of twins but no triplets. Apparently, this is good as sheep only have two teats so it saves him a job feeding by hand. ‘Nature gave them two teats to feed two lambs’ He remarked. I asked him why cows have 4 udders but only give birth to one calf. ‘The other three are for the milk marketing board. Replied his team mate John Farnsworth..

Taking third place today was Heyrose nice guy Lewis Marland(15), Neale Laurent(14) Phil Dickens(13) and John Harrop(10). They pipped the Mellor and Townscliffe team of Janet(10) and Steve Heywood (6) Dave Sully(8) and Graham Davenport(9).

Despite a three shot handicap Jim Clarke(9) was in the prizes again. He teamed up with Peter Ledger(16) Graham Jackson(5) and Mark Haggarty(12). The honours today went to Sandiways Gary Neiles(5),John Longworth(12) John Morton(11) and Jimmy Ainscough(20) with 81 points.

Well played chaps.

Thank to all the friendly staff at Bolton. You could not have been more hospitable.

Yours in golf, Tim

2’s sweep £167.50 6 pro v1s each or 14 srixon AD333

Steve Heywood Janet Heywood Ed Wilkinson Roger Percival Phil Vokes Munro Donald John Farnsworth Lee Tilley

Nearest the Pin 4th Mike Lowe Doz AD333
Nearest the Pin 14th Roger Percival Doz AD333
Conwy start times
Monday 9th March
10.00 Colin Roberts x4
10,08 Dave Blood x4
10.16 Ed Pysden x4
10.25 Jim Clarke x4.
10.34
10.43 Adam Carolan x4
10.54 Lewis Marland x4
11.03
11,12 Paul Fell x4
11,21
11.30 Les Russon x4
11.39 Mike Kirchin x4
11.48 John Hilditch x4
12.06 Mike Dean x4
12.15 Richard Blackwell x4
12.24 Rob Weston x4
12.33 Roy Ainsworth x4
12.42 Ian Hellens x4
12.51 Martin Bramwell x4
1.00 John Lindsay x4
1.09 Bob Eastwood x4
1.18 Neil Edwards x4
1.27 John Owen x4
1.36 Gary Neiles x4
1.45 Dave Goodwin x4
1.54 Kev Hart x4

Fairhaven Golf Club
1pm Shotgun

1a John Gallagher x4.
1b Gallagher x4.
2 Mick Mahon x4.
3a Paul Fell x4.
3b Martin Humphries x4
4 Hugh Mullin x4.
4 Nick Sullivan x4
5 Simon Willway x4
6a Steve Latchford x4
6b Chris Gregory x4.
7 Dave Bolton x4
8 Gary Neiles x4.
8b Dave Sully x4.
9a Roger Percival x4.
9b Mickey Gray x4.
10 Simon Poucher x4
11a David Waite x4.
11b Phil Vokes x4.
12 James Wilson x4.
15 Dave Griffiths x4.
15b John Dickenson x4.
16 Mike George x4.
17 Steve Aspinall x4
18a John Owen x4
18b Pete Fotheringham x4.

Spaces for 1, 2 or 4 players at Conwy on Monday if you wish to play this Curtis Cup venue!!

Dear Maxitours player,

here are you slightly earlier times at Bolton Old Links on Thursday

A few Bolton members want to play in the afternoon so we have moved up a few slots
PLEASE INFORM YOUR TEAM
Hope these are ok thanks Tim

9.58 Colin Roberts x4
10.06 Si Hemsley x4
10.14 Jim Clarke x4
10.22 Dave Blood x4
10.30 Brian Greenbank x4
10.38 Paul Dalby x4
10.46 Steve Aspinall x4
10.55 Martin Humphries x4
11.03 Lewis Marland x4
11.11 Mick Mahon x4
11.20 Roy Ainsworth x4
11.29 John Hunt x4
11.37 Paul Fell x4
11.45 Les Russon x4
11.54 Mike Dean x4
12.03 Eugenio Fernandez x4
12.11 Gary Neiles x4
12.19 Pete Fotheringham x4
12.28 Sam Leach x4
12.36 Dave Sully x4
12.44 Roger Percival x4
12.52 Richard Blackwell x4
1.00 Dave Goodwin x Ormrod x1
1.08 Lee Tilley x4
1.16 Bri Hopkins x4

Next week
Conwy 9th March – course fully open
Fairhaven Tuesday 10th March – the course is drying well but holes 13 and 14 will be out of play- the event will still be over 18 holes however.

Dear Maxitours players,

Due to the heavy rainfall Thursdays event has been moved to European Tour school qualifying venue Bolton Old Links.

PLEASE INFORM YOUR TEAM MATES
I did a reccy and played it first thing this morning and it was excellent. It should be even drier on Thursday.

Some members are booked to play in the morning so times are now staggered starting at 10am rather than shotgun:

If you are unable to play please let me know immediately.

Thanks for your patience after this extraordinary weather it will feel like Spring very soon I hope!

Yours in Golf

Tim

Bolton Old Links
Thursday 5th March

10.00 Colin Roberts x4
10.09 Si Hemsley x4
10.18 Jim Clarke x4
10.27 Dave Blood x4
10.36 Brian Greenbank x4
10.45 Paul Dalby x4
10.54 Steve Aspinall x4
11.03 Paul Evans x4
11.12 Lewis Marland x4
11.21 Mick Mahon x4
11.30 Roy Ainsworth x4
11.39 John Hunt x4
11.48 Paul Fell x4
11.57 Les Russon x4
12.06 Mike Dean x4
12.15 Eugenio Fernandez x4
12.24 Mike George x4
12.33 Barry Wilson x4
12.42 Sam Leach x4
12.51 Dave Sully x4
1.00 Nigel Hallows x4
1.09 Roger Percival
1.18 Richard Blackwell
1.27 Dave Goodwin x4
1.36 Lee Tilley x4
1.45 Bri Hopkins x4
1.54 Gary Neiles
2.03 Pete Fotheringham x4
Martin Humphries x4
Ged Roylance x4