Round Up Of 2011
Spring Invitation
Tuesday March 29th 2011 / Northenden Golf Club
Sponsored by EasyGo Golf and Fairway Rider
The 'Hidden Gem' as it has oft been described, otherwise known as Northenden Golf Club, received a special polishing as it played host to the first MAGS meet of 2011. The course was in excellent condition for the time of year and the greens presented a slick challenge for all concerned. We were treated to a wonderful Spring afternoon with temperatures in the mid teens that encouraged a rash of good scores. At the business end there were 2 pairings with a score of 42 points. A card play-off relegated Malcolm Ealand and his partner and long hitting Northenden member Ian James into second place by a rejuvenated Peter Hey and David ( I haven't touched a club since October) Wolstenholme. Third place was taken by Steve Rogers and guest Neil Custis. The prize table was generously donated by Monty Milner of EasyGo Golf and Fairway Rider. The most memorable of all the prizes was arguably that for fourth place - a pair of non matching designer sunglasses won by Monty himself and fellow Northenden member Cammie Stewart, both of whom will be henceforth known as the 'Blues Brothers' as the picture below shows.
Spring Meeting
Thursday May 19th 2011 / Davyhulme Park Golf Club
Sponsored by The Scotsman
Davyhulme was in excellent condition largely due to the fine spring weather. The greens were fantastic and contributed to some excellent scores on the day. Our winner was the Captain's son David Bolton playing off 20 handicap (now past tense!) with a score of 40 points that included 2 blobs on the back 9. Ken Buckley was on hand to make the presentation of the Scotsman trophy. Following up his Spring Invitation victory 13 handicap Peter Hey scored 38 points to finish in second place taking sponsors prize generously donated by Mike Williams. Hot on Peter's heels was a great round of golf from 7 handicap Steve Brotherton. Steve picked up the best front 9 prize donated by Tony Stockton with 20 points. The back 9 prize supplied by Tony Ball was a close run affair as The Wily Liver Bird Les Ashcroft, Chris Bamford, Tim Senn and Robin Wiltshire all lost out on a card play-off to the Captain on 18 points (back 6 of 14 points) who expressed his gratitude to Robin for checking the cards so carefully. Two guests competed for Monty's special prize, a vintage bottle of Pinot Grigot from the cellars of Chateau Milner. Alan Higham, a regular guest of MAGS won out on the day with 36 points off a 15 handicap.
Captains Day
Thursday May 19th 2011 / Haydock Park Golf Club
Prize Donors: The Captain; Runner Up prize Graeme Wood - One Marketing Communications; First 9 David Wolstensholme - The Loop; Second 9 Peter Hey, Guest prize MAGS.
The rain gods saw fit to defer the deluge of rainfall and hailstones that had battered the north west the previous day. Monty's prayers to the golfing gods had obviously worked and the weather was perfect for golf. Haydock was in splendid condition and presented an excellent test for all who played on the day. Our winner with a fantastic score of 37 points off a 13 handicap was Steve Fletcher. Hot on his heels with 35 points off a mark of 12 was Robin Wiltshire. Third place went to Peter Hey with 34 points. The Captain weighed in with 18 points on the front 9 to pinch a prize generously donated by Dave Wolstenholme and Peter Hey craftily won his own prize for the back 9 with 18 points also. We had 3 guests competing for a MAGS special prize which was won by the big hitting Tom Bullough with a score of 36 points off a 5 handicap. The Captain laid on some extra prizes to captivate the interest of those not having the best of days. The long drive prize of a range finder went to Tom Bullough (no surprise there!). Nearest the pin on the 18th was eventually won by Bob Morritt - anywhere on the green would do as he was the only player to hit the green - and yes it is a par 3! Finally there were two 2's one for the Captain and one for guest Rick Sullivan who bagged a sleeve of Titlesit balls for his excellent 2 on the 140 yard par 3 12th hole.
Invitation Day
Thursday July 14th 2011 / Portal Golf Club
1st Prize and back 9 sponsored by News International (Andy Garner); Runner up sponsor Charlton Manor (Mike Kilham); Third prize TCS Media (Steve Evans); Front 9 GBM Group (Malcolm Ealand); Nearest the pin EasyGo Golf, Long drive Fairway Rider (Monty Milner).
Once again the sun shone making the slick greens of the championship course a slippery challenge. However the course was to prove no match for our runaway winning partnership of Robin Wiltshire playing off 11 with 6 handicap Dave Jones scoring a magnificent 48 points. Robin adds his name to the prestigious Cyril Bond trophy presented as ever by past Captain Malcolm Ealand. In addition to his winning prize Dave also collected the long drive prize for his monster effort up the 18th hole. Not quite hot on the winners heels but nonetheless returning an impressive score of 41 points was 19 handicap Jim Sinclair Smith in partnership with 9 handicap Paul Smith. Third place went on a card playoff to the Withington duo of Steve Kelsall (15) and Dave Bolton (19); Malcolm Ealand (15) and Ian James (7) just missing out on the count back.
The best front 9 prize was taken by Monty Milner and Cammie Stuart with 23 points. The back 9 winning score was also 23 points and this time Malcolm and Ian didn't miss out on a playoff. The nearest the pin prize was awarded to the Captain's partner Simon Andrew who also chipped in on the 18th to make Monty's day and relieve him of a fiver.
Summer Team Event
Tuesday September 6th 2011 / Withington Golf Club
A new competition for MAGS the summer team event is the brainchild of last years captain Ken Buckley. It comprised teams of 3 drawn at random in a fun format. Over the first 6 holes the best score from the 3 counted. For holes 7-12 the best 2 scores from 3 counted and for the last 6 holes all 3 scores counted. On a blustery, far from summer day the proceedings were marred by a brief rain storm that gave the umbrellas and waterproofs a severe 10 minute test. Once the rain abated a pleasant day was had by all on a Withington course that was in very good condition with excellent greens. We welcomed former MAGS members going back to the 1960’s, Ron Price and John Southwick neither of whom had played a MAGS event for over 20 years. We also welcomed FROMAG (Friends Of MAGS) George Richards who accompanied Jimmy Burrows. On a day of consistent scoring the last 6 holes were to prove decisive, as there are few challenges in the area equal to the difficulty of Withington’s closing holes. Jimmy and George were aided and abetted by Lee Thomasson and produced the winning score of 78 points and collected the sweep money on the day.
Results:
Winners: Jimmy Burrows (28) Lee Thomasson (20) and George Richards (21) - 78points
2nd Place: Ken Buckley (14) David Bolton (20) Phil Sullivan (13) - 76 points
Winners - Jimmy, George and Lee - in the presence of Royalty
Autumn Meeting
Tuesday, October 11th 2011 / Wilmslow Golf Club
First prize sponsor - Peter Cartwright. Second prize Jim Sinclair Smith M3 Communications, Front 9 prize Bob Morritt. Back 9 prize Derek Mee. Guest prizes Monty Milner EasyGo Golf.
The final meet of the season for MAGS, the Autumn meeting proved to be the best supported event of the year. No doubt the attraction of a fine course like Wilmslow was sufficient to entice a few more of our number to turn out and the course didn't fail to deliver its usual challenge and quality. The weather was just about serviceable although the brollies were exercised on several occasions but without severe test. The evening meal was arguably the best of the year with a selection of fine wines or Timothy Taylors finest Landlord bitter to wash it down. The winning score of 38 points was posted by our Captain Bob Bolton playing off a handicap of 10. Second place on a card play-off with a total of 36 points was David Bolton off his newly reduced handicap of 18 (too little too late according to Monty!). Commiserations to Colin Axon and Robin Wiltshire for missing out in the play-off. Another score of note was 37 points by guest Dave Mills who took the winning guest prize on the day. Second placed guest was Paul Caton with 31 points. The front 9 winning total was awarded to Colin Axon who carded the same score of 18 points as Robin Wiltshire who unfortunately fell foul of the play-off once again. The second 9 score was looking like a shoe-in for Monty until Ken Buckley casually turned in with a fairly average 33 points total for the round, 20 of which came on the back 9 much to Monty's disgust. The NABS trophy was also finalised on the day with the scores of both Spring and Autumn being aggregated to give an eventual winner. David Bolton's autumnal 36 points added to his spring meeting winning score of 40 points gave him the NABS trophy with a total of 76 and a winning margin of 5 points from his dear old dad who totalled 71 points.
MAGS Celebrates 50th Anniversary
November 2011
Celebrating 50 years as an active golf society is no mean feat. MAGS is one of the oldest societies in the UK. To mark the occasion an exciting programme of events at some of the best courses in the area has been put together.
A very special Captain has also been appointed to lead the society this year. Derek Mee joined the society in 1963 and has played every year since then. Derek was Captain in 1973 and is our longest serving continuous playing member - a tremendous feat in itself. Derek was made a life member of his home club Disley where he also celebrates 50 years of membership this year. His Captains Day at Disley promises to be an excellent day out on a super course where an extra special meal is guaranteed.
Derek is a great character with a wicked sense of humour. As one of the pioneers of the 'out to lunch' business meeting that epitomised our industry in the good old days there's no doubt that he will entertain one and all with his wit and repartee.
