Captaincy double for junior Hywel

OCCASIONALLY in the golf club world Captains and Lady Captains take on the role for more than one period and an even rarer happening is that they take on the top jobs in more than one club.

But for a Junior Captain to have been in that position in two separate clubs could be unique in the UK.

Now Wilmslow’s Junior Captain Hywel Shaw can lay claim to achieving this as he was the Junior Captain at Withington Golf Club two years prior to his current role.

Hywel’s father Gareth explains his son’s remarkable double: “Hywel had a good look at many sports to see what he enjoyed- he was a good junior tennis player and flirted with golf when he was five.

“At nine years of age he said to me that he wanted to try golf again so he began in earnest.

“He went to junior lessons with John Nowicki at Wilmslow then to Cheshire coach Peter Barber at Didsbury and he is still with Peter.

”Hywel joined High Legh for ease of access in 2012 and it is where we live and then joined Withington Golf Club as his friend was Junior Captain.

“He joined Withington for a year and was asked to become their junior Captain at the age of 14he had been a junior member at Wilmslow from the age of nine and was asked to be their Junior Captain at the age of 15.

“His first handicap was 54 at age 11 and he dropped that season to 42.

“In the following year he went from 42-23, then 23-14, 14-7 and at the age of 16 he is 4.1 with a target of reaching three this year and to shoot under 70 gross.

“He was chosen for Cheshire u14’s and played successfully for them and now represents Cheshire u16’s.

“Hywel’s major successes have been – first time under 100 gross when he posted 51 points in a competition at High Legh Park of 34 handicap in 2012 and he shot 81-19-62 to win a junior event at Wilmslow in 2013.

“He got noticed by Cheshire when he shot 83-15-68 in the Cheshire Junior Championship at Runcorn in 2014 and he broke 80 gross for the first time in winning a junior competition at Wilmslow in 2014.

“He won the Junior Masters at Wilmslow which are for the best four scores in Men’s competitions in 2014 and in 2015 he won both the Captain’s and Lady Captain’s prizes to juniors at Withington with nett 68 and 69 and in 2016 he posted 73- 5- 68 to win the best nett for o’ 15’s in the Wilmslow Junior Open.

“Hywel goes to Lymm High School and took his GCSE’s this year.”

Hywel added: “I would like to thank Peter Barber for his assistance and encouragement, Martin Wild, friend, neighbour and Callaway Sales Director for being a wise sage and an ear to listen to of many tales of woe and for his inspirational motivation – I would like to see where my dreams take me and you never know....”

Macclesfield ladies played for the Centenary Plate in a medal and Wendy Higgins was out on her own with 71 from Myra Clark 78 and Judy Mutter had the lowest gross of 93.

Medal action for Alderley Edge’s men had Zak Penney in unstoppable form with his sizzling 62 taking him home at a canter in division one from Michael Davies 65 and Nigel Featherstone 66.

It was much closer in division two as John Kendrick needed a cpo on 69 to shake off Geoff Brimble.

Medal action for Edge’s ladies saw Alison Roberts lead in with 70 from Tracy Smith 71 and Celia Berent 72.

Styal’s ever-busy Seniors played the final round of their championship and it was led in by Richard Vaal after a cpo on 68 with Daniel Tuohy.

But the overall champion after 12 rounds was Mr Consistency Harry Reid with 432 from Richard Vaal 435 and Ted Marsden 438.

Styal junior Will Dodds won a Saturday Stableford division one with 39 points from Nick Corless 38.