September 2002
Battles to decide the finals of the Mellor and Hetherington Cups resulted in a barrage of birdies, lots of drama, and two extremely tight finishes.
In the event, six-handicapper Peter Davies beat ex-Captain Peter Griffin (5), on the first extra hole to claim the Mellor Cup while the father and son team of Ged and Michael Hulme won the Hetherington Trophy with victory over Duncan Hough and Steve McNamara on the 18th.
But the bare statistics tell only a fraction of the story.
Things looked extremely bleak for Davies when he reached the turn four down following an eagle three at the eighth by Griffin, who holed a putt from twenty feet off the green.
In a remarkable fightback, Davies won four consecutive holes to be all-square by the 16th and the pair were still level at the 18th.
Davies drove long and straight down the first extra hole but Griffin pushed his drive into thick brambles just beyond the fifth tee.
Despite some heroic rescue shots, this proved his undoing and he finally conceded the match
There was no less drama in the following Hetherington final with both five-handicapper Michael Hulme and Steve McNamara (6) going out of bounds on both of the first two holes, leaving their partners to battle it out.
Ged, playing off 10, won the first but Duncan (also 10) squared the match at the third.
There followed a barrage of birdies with Michael and Ged going two up by the turn, only for their opponents to level the match by the 13th.
The 14th was halved but the Hulmes won the next two to go dormie.
Michael launched a huge drive through the gap on the 17th only to go out of bounds by inches. His second drive also easily cleared the gully but a birdie by Steve took the match down the 18th.
Michael’s monster drive at the last finished only inches from the right hand bunker, and his birdie three ended a fascinating contest.
The final of the mixed foursomes, played a couple of days earlier, ended at the 15th with victory for Les Dooley and Sheila Waterhouse over Geoff Dawson and Yvonne Evans.
Earlier, Dave Huxley also held off the challenge of Peter Griffin to take the Grasshoppers Cup, and the Griffins also suffered another disappointment when Peter’s wife, Marilyn, lost the final of the Spencer Challenge Cup to Lady Captain Jane Fletcher.
The James Waterhouse Trophy was won by Nadeem Ayyub (72-14-58) from Ian Hartley (78-16-62), and the Fairway Cup went to Steve Winfield (83-20-63), with Alan Cowling (89-25-64) in second place
Kevin Roberts is to succeed Alf Selby as Vice-Captain of the club in February, and Jane Clark will become Vice-Captain of the ladies’ section when Ann Fallows assumes the captaincy in November.
Five-handicapper Kevin, an accountant by profession, is a past winner of the James Waterhouse Trophy (1997), the Mellor Cup (1998), the Hetherington Trophy with John Rice (again 1998), and the Werneth Spoon (2000).
Dundee-born Jane Clark has a place in history as the smallest girl ever to represent Scotland at netball – she played centre for her country on many occasions when only 4ft 11ins tall.
Now a towering five foot two and a half, Jane, who plays off 16, joined the club five years ago and has since won the Lady Captain’s prize and the Cheetham-Dugdale Trophy (with Joan Hughes).
Despite a prolonged downpour which flooded the greens and led to a twenty-minute postponement, some fine scores were recorded on our closing Invitation Day.
The winners were David Whaley and ex-Lancashire wicketkeeper John Stanworth (Castle Hawk), with 46pts, one better than Adrian Buckley and Brookdale’s Mark Riley, who carded a sub-par round.
In third place were Paul Handley and Dave Marriot, also of Brookdale, with 44pts.
Three pairs all scored 43pts, with John Andrew and Mike Ruddy (Blackley), taking fourth place on a countback from Ged Hulme and Gary Blaney (Crompton and Royton), and Peter Davies and Jason Webster (also C.and R).
The Captain was blessed with fine weather for his charity day, which raised more than £300 for the Oldham branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
There was a full field of four-person teams (ladies, gents, juniors, and visitors) for the shotgun start, with the quartet of Lady Vice-Captain Ann Fallows, husband Nick, Les Lawton, and Jonathan Dooley taking first prize – thanks mainly to a remarkable gross 70 by 14-year-old Jonathan.
On the following day, the Oldham Ladies’ Golf Asssociation (OLGA), staged a team event at Werneth in aid of the same charity.
Lady Captain Jane Fletcher later presented a cheque for £500 to Mr Chadwick Middleton, president of the local MS Society.
Winners were Jane Clark, Sheila Waterhouse, and Noreen Butterworth, with 83pts. Runners-up were Denise Fletcher, Brenda Jarvis, and Debbie Wood (Crompton and Royton), with 75pts.
Members were saddened to hear of the death of Bob Hall, a stalwart of the club, at the age of 79.
Well known in the town as owner of a grocery store on Ashton Road for more than thirty years, he loved his golf but readily admitted he had only limited ability.
But he had more success at Bridge, and regularly enjoyed a rubber or two with his pals in the games room until shortly before his death.
His widow, Amy, and their two sons greatly appreciated the large turnout at his funeral.
Course record holder Les Dooley romped round the course in just 62 shots to win a Stableford competition with 44pts
Though this was one better than his previous best it does not qualify as a new record because the event was played off the yellow markers
Only the week before, young Michael Hulme, in a single Stableford sponsored by Les, shot a gross 63 – again off the yellow markers – to win with 45pts.
Yvonne Evans and Pauline Seville won the George and Bessie Nash Greensome Medal – a major – with a score of 89-20.8-68.2.
Other results: Club captain’s prize – Barbara Whiting (85-21-64).
LGU Pendant – Eilleen Fallows (88-17-71).
LGU Surprise comp - Denise Fletcher (90-20-70). Hidden holes – Sheila Whittingham.
Two-ball Stableford – Isobel Wright (37pts).
D.Mail Foursomes Qualifier – Fiona Dooley and Marilyn Griffin (80-14.5-65.5).
Bad weather caused the postponement of the August monthly medal until the latter part of the month,
The first division winner, with a score of 73-11-62, was Mike Fogo, with Lee Rowbotham (67-5-62), in second place.
Second division honours went to Peter Lomas (75-15-60). Runner-up was Albert Park (83-22-61), on a card playoff from Alan Rothera and Eric Smith.
Ged Hulme (74-11-63), won the first division title in September on a CPO from Lee Murray (68-5-63).
The second division winner was Jonathan Dooley (77-15-62), who pipped Darren Andrews (85-23-62), on a countback.
Lee Rowbotham again carded a sub-par round to win another medal comp. with a score of 65-4-61 to edge out Quentin Cartwright (79-16-63).