Huyton and Prescot was the venue for the 68th annual fixture between the Manchester and Liverpool Golf Captains and the course was presented in prime condition.
The competition was keenly contested by 36 players per side off a two tee start in four ball match play format.This was followed by a warm welcome from the Captain of Huyton and Prescot. An enjoyable two course meal was then served consisting of a traditional steak and Guinness pie served with a medley of seasonal vegetables with a knickerbocker glory for desert.
Following the meal the Captain of the Society of Liverpool Captains Tony Davies was invited by their secretary to say a few words. Tony thanked the Manchester match team for their valued assistance before and on the day and sincerely hoped every one had enjoyed the venue.
Tony also thanked the Huyton and Prescot Captain for hosting the match and the greens staff for the presentation and quality of the course, especially the pristine condition of the requisite greens. Tony also gave thanks for an excellent meal and great service by the catering and bar team. He then gave an amusing potted history of his up bringing and thus having one foot in each camp albeit his allegiance now rests with Liverpool.
Tony then announced the result as a thumping 12 - 6 win for Manchester. The Challenge Shield was presented to the Manchester Captain Peter Keown.
The Liverpool Captains then raised a toast to the Manchester Captains.
Peter Keown responded with a huge thank you to the host club and Liverpool Captains for a very enjoyable day and without wishing to replicate what Tony had already said made special mention to the excellent presentation of the course and quality of the greens and for a good meal and excellent service.
Peter then told a Stevie Wonder joke before reciprocating with a toast to the Liverpool Captains.
The secretary of the Liverpool Society then brought the evening to a close.
Our away match against the South Cheshire Captains was hosted by Astbury golf Club - which is located in Congleton.
Following enjoyment of bacon rolls and coffee / tea for lunch the match secretary for South Cheshire Captains John Grint extended a warm welcome to everyone and asked that the players introduced themselves to their playing partners on the first Tee.
in warm weather a competitive match ensued helped by the friendship built up over many years between the two associations.
The course was in excellent condition and presented well by the greens staff and provided an enjoyable test of golfing ability.
Following the days golf and some liquid refreshment enjoyed on the sunny outside upstairs terrace all players were served a hearty two-course evening meal consisting of steak pie, chips, peas and gravy, followed by cheese cake or cheese and biscuits. Wine was kindly provided on the tables.
After the meal the captain of South Cheshire Captains David Guirin was introduced by John Grint.
David made a short speech thanking the host club and its staff for making the day a great success. Special mention was made to the greens staff for the excellent presentation of the course and the pristine condition of all the greens.
He sincerely hoped the Manchester Captains had enjoyed their day at Ashbury GC and made reference to our long standing association friendship.
Davids team then stood and gave a toast to the Manchester Captains.
David handed over to Peter Keown the Manchester Captain whom echoed the same sentiments and thanked everyone for an excellent day and the great service that had been extended.
Peter made reference to the mislaid trophy which we had been competing for.
The Manchester Captains were invited to toast their rivals as a return gesture.
The evening ended with the announcement of the result by John Grint match secretary.
The Manchester Captains emerged yet again victorious 7 to 2.
As the trophy has been mislaid by Manchester Captains' John joked that this repeated loss was owing to his team having no trophy to actually play for.
As their was no subsequent trophy presentation the two Captains David Guirin and Peter Keown shook hands.
John Grint closed the evening and looks forward to our fixture next year and hopefully a trophy to play for.
Captains Day 2025 took place at Ellesmere Golf Club.
We had a field of 42 golfers playing the course. The weather was generally warm with scattered clouds and a few small spots of rain which did not effect the day.
The course was presented in an excellent condition with great greens which received many complements and provided a good test of golfing ability.
Our Captain Peter Keown whom sadly does not play golf on his Captains day supported the players and fellow athletes out on the course.
Peter also donated two nearest the flag prizes on the 9th and 18th holes -both par 3's which proved challenging especially the 9th which certainly can be a card wrecker.
This specific hole is mentioned in a Peter Alliss book as one of the best 100 holes he had played.
Participants dined on completion of their rounds of golf and were served a very tasty 3 course meal of soup, roast beef and pork accompanied by a selection of potatoes and vegetables followed by apple pie and custard plus coffee.
On completion of dining the Captain of Ellesmere Golf Club Jeff Blackburn was introduced and welcomed everybody to the club and hoped they had enjoyed Peter Keown's Captains day, the well presented course and his clubs hospitality and service. He also gave special thanks to the greens staff, catering team and bar staff for superb service.
He was followed by Captain Peter Keown, whom echoed Jeff's comments. Peter thanked Jeff and his home club for hosting his captains day, all attendees for supporting him and the excellent work of the green staff and for a great meal provided by the catering staff.
Peter acknowledged he had thoroughly enjoyed his special day.
We then moved on to the Competition prize giving and the results were as follows
Two golfers recorded twos and each received 2 sleeves of golf balls - Tony Gregory on the 4th hole ( Stockport GC), and Andrew Murray on the 12th (Styal GC).
Nearest the flag were John Mosley ( Ellesmere GC ) on the 9th and Julian Bentley (Ellesmere GC) on the 18th.
The main prizes were won with the following scores.
In third place, on a card play off with 40 points,Tony Gregory (Stockport GC) and Jeff Blackburn (Captain of Ellesmere).
In second place, Keith Robinson (Ellesmere GC) and Steve Sheperdson (Ellesmere GC) with also 40 points.
In first place, and trophy winners, with a fine score of 44 points were John Mosley (Ellesmere GC) and John Plunkett (Ellesmere GC).
Local knowledge obviously prevailed and proved advantageous on the day.
Peter thanked Ian Brooks for his valued assistance in preparing the cards, verification of handicaps, being official starter on the first Tee and verifying the final submitted score cards and confirming the various winners to the match secretary
Peter also thanked the match secretary for his efforts on the organisation of his day.
Proceeding were closed and everyone were wished safe travels.
A great day was enjoyed by all.
The Manchester Captains made the journey to Headingly Golf Club for the annual match against the Leeds Captains. All who played found the course to be in excellent condition with great greens providing a great day of golf enhanced by the dry weather.
By good fortune the thunderstorms predicted did not find us.
Some tasty bacon rolls were enjoyed by both teams before golf got underway. Although some games were very close the Manchester team went on to retain the hand crafted Rose bowl.
Our captain continues on his good run of no match losses.
On completion of the matches and change into club jacket and tie, collection of a drink at the bar, the teams sat down in groups of 8 as they came in to a hearty meal of home made chunky chicken pie, chips and vegetables followed by choice of two types of cheese cake dessert.
After all had finished eating the Leeds Captain of Captains Simon Ambrose, thanked everyone for an enjoyable day and in particular the host club and club captain for their hospitality and its green staff for the presentation of the course and excellent greens.
He also complemented the catering team for the quality of the food provided and their excellent service.
The Leeds captains then were asked to stand and toast the Manchester captains.
He then handed over to Peter Keown Captain of the Manchester captains who echoed those sentiments and reiterated his special thanks on behalf of the Manchester captains for a thoroughly enjoyable day. Special mention was reiterated to the greens and catering staff.
Peter led the team well and won his match which was close. Albeit he likened it at times to a biblical game in light of his group first names - Simon, Philip, Paul plus himself.
This disciple mindset must have helped.
The Leeds Captain of Captains announced the winning score 6 - 4 to Manchester and presented the winning trophy to Peter Keown.
The Manchester Captain reciprocated the toast gesture to the Leeds Captains.
The proceedings were closed and every one was wished a safe journey home.
Another great day enjoyed by all.
The first away match of the season for the Manchester team was at Oswestry Golf Club, to take on the Shropshire and Herefordshire Captains.The weather was dry and sunny with a swirling wind which proved challenging on certain holes.
Those who played were impressed with the excellent course presentation and condition and the the quality of all the greens.
Captain Peter Keown playing alongside a newly elected captain Andrew Cox led the team well. Their opponents were led by the Captain of Shropshire and Herefordshire Captains Bob Holloway.
The overall result was a tightly fought drawn match 5 - 5. A good result against a competitive team especially as we were scrambling for players to make up our team due to two player late withdrawals owing to unforeseen health reasons.
We fielded a team of 19 players against 20 with Dave Weldon having broad shoulders playing on his own against two Shropshire and Herefordshire players.Not an easy task.
Post match drinks were enjoyed in the club house before we enjoyed a meal of steak and kidney pie,chips and peas followed by apple crumble and custard.
Following the meal captain Bob Holloway from Shropshire and Herefordshire thanked our captain Peter Keown and the Manchester captains for contributing to an excellent day and thanked Oswestry GC for hosting us and complemented their staff for their excellent service.
He then handed over to our captain Peter Keown who expressed his thanks for a great day, complemented Oswestry GC on their excellent course presentation which was superb, the catering staff for the meal and service and the two match secretaries and their teams for managing arrangements for the match.
Peter announced the result and his team toasted the Shropshire and Herefordshire Captains whom retain the trophy for another year.
Captain Bob Holloway closed proceedings and wished everyone safe travels and was looking forward to the return match next year in the Manchester region.
Another enjoyable day.
The second home match of the season for the Manchester team was at Rochdale Golf Club, to take on the Leicestershire and Rutland Captains.
The weather was superb and those who played were impressed with the course presentation and overall condition. It was a good test of golf.
Captain Peter Keown playing alongside Stephen Jackson from Avro golf club ( a newly elected captain) led the team well. Their opponents were the President of Leicestershire and Rutland Captains Gerry McIntyre and Rod Goss.The overall result was a win for Manchester Captains 5-3. A good result against a competitive team.
Post match drinks were enjoyed on the outside terrace before we enjoyed a delicious meal of rack of lamb served on a bed of mashed potato along with new potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas followed by sticky toffee pudding and custard.
On conclusion of the meal our captain Peter thanked the host club and all staff for the excellence of the day, a sentiment applauded by all present.
He then handed over to their president Gerry McIntyre who also expressed their thanks for a superb day, announced the result and his team toasted the Manchester Captains.
Our Captain reciprocated the gesture and closed proceedings.
A brilliant day at Rochdale who's staff went the extra mile for us.
Hosted at home this year our encounter with the Derbyshire Captains took place at Romiley Golf Club. The course was in excellent condition, well manicured and the greens proved not easy due to the recent dry and hot weather.
There was some good scoring and close games on this undulating course which proved challenging for all players.
Following the match we sat on the outside patio for some well deserved and needed liquid refreshment. The meal consisted of chicken pot pie sat on a bed of mashed potato with vegetables and mushroom creme sauce. For dessert there was a chocolate brownie , ice cream with strawberries. After dinner our newly elected Captain of Manchester District Captains Peter Keown addressed everyone. He hoped everyone had enjoyed the day, the golf, facilities and the excellent food. He also thanked the Captain of Romiley Golf Club Steven Horne for their excellent hospitality and service extended to us. He was followed by Richard Smith Captain for Derbyshire, whom gave thanks to Peter and the Manchester Captains for an excellent day and thanked all the staff at Romiley Golf Club for their superb efforts. Special mention was also made to both the Competition Secretaries for the days management. The days events were concluded by our Captain Peter Keown announcing the result which was a close draw at 4-4 and congratulating the Derbyshire Captains on their retainment of the trophy for another year which is the norm for drawn matches. Peter presented the trophy to the Derbyshire Captain. The Manchester Captains were then invited to stand and toast the Derbyshire Captains.
A superb day enjoyed by all with great weather, a challenging golf course and an excellent evening meal.
Played each year to mark the beginnings of our Association 70 years ago, Founders Day was this year played at Chorley golf club.The weather gods were kind to us on the day of the event with sunshine which everyone enjoyed.The moor land type course fired the enthusiasm of those taking part and some excellent scores were returned.The course was well presented by the Chorley greens team and played long with the greens proving not easy.
On completion of play, and after some much needed liquid refreshment, all players enjoyed a chicken dinner with mushroom sauce in a convivial atmosphere. Following dinner, the Captain of Chorley golf club stood up to welcome all members of the Association adding that it was a pleasure and honour for the club to host such a prestigious event.This was followed by a response from our Captain Steve Misell thanking the Club for hosting the day and their hospitality and excellent service provided, before moving on to the presentation of the prizes.
The winning pair, and proud guardians of the Founders Trophy for the next 12 months,with a brilliant score of 48 points were Steve McDermott from Turton and Bill Newsome from Dunscar. Following in second place on winning a card play off with 46 points were Clive Howlett from(Macclesfield ) and Steve Jackson from (Avro ) In third place with 46 points Peter Keown from(Ellesmere) and John Bowling( Ellesmere).
There were 2 x twos recorded on the day, on the 3rd hole Bill Newsome (Dunscar) and on the 16th hole Paul Harris (Birchwood).All received balls for their achievement.
The evening concluded with our AGM at which Peter Keown and Tony Gregory were appointed as Captain and President respectively for 25/26.
We look forward to the next Captains Day Competition at Ellesmere GC on 17th June 25.
Thursday 10th April was the date the Manchester Captains invited new Captains from various clubs around the Manchester area to meet up at Knutsford Golf club.
The weather was fine which enabled two teams to have the marvellous result of 45 points over 9 holes. The team of Steve Mc Dermot, Jeremy Howorth, Steve Foster and Tony Melia lost out on a card playoff.
The winning team was Dave Sanders, Andrew Murray, Colin farrow and David Ibbotson who each won an Association Shirt.
Mark Dacre and Tom Freeman both won balls for twos.
39 Played golf and 2 Joined us for lunch.
19 new Captains Joined the Association
Our thanks, once again,goes to Knutsford Golf Club who allowed Manchester Captains to hold our flagship membership event on their course.
