Skipper Gareth has high hopes for 2021
BRAMHALL GC and Cheshire legend Gareth Bradley, like many others in golf at all levels, had a frustrating year in 2020 as Captain of a very able and ambitious Cheshire Senior Men’s team but he is very optimistic for the year ahead.
Gareth said:“Well 2020 didn’t really go at all. We played one friendly match against Lancashire which we won and we managed to get the County Championship played and Martin Keates from Withington/Prestbury won at Eaton GC.
“We did get the 2020 OOM completed with two thirds of the qualifying events played. I managed to win that for the first time!
“Plans for next year are very much as before with us hopefully going one place better to win the Northern League! Plus I am encouraging players to compete in as many Open seniors events as possible, particularly the
National and
OOM events.
“We now have a squad of 19+ players with a handicap one or better! Having said that we are keen to select people on form and performances rather than purely their handicap.
“The New Seniors Chairman is Philip Hemsted from Delamere Forest. He is on the County board and will help with Senior County arrangements and I will stay be the team Captain.
“We do have a few newly qualified players notably David Beech from Mere off Plus One and David is an ex-Staffordshire player.
“If there are any players keen to be considered for the County team please contact myself of the County Secretary –details on the CUGC website.
“Finally I would just to wish everybody a healthy and successful season in 2021 and hopefully some sort of normality will return! And fingers crossed we can take the flag out on short putts
Cheshire again soon! (It drives me crazy!).”
The Cheshire Golf Union is to celebrate its Centenary in 2021 after having the bulk of the planned celebrations in 2020 postponed due to the Corona virus and now rearranged for the coming year.
One of the top features of the year will be the release of its superb Centenary Book – The Cheshire Union of Golf ClubsOne Hundred Years which will be presented to clubs and available to obtain during 2021.
The book covers great detail of the action, clubs and outstanding county personalities over the past 100 years and one of the features is the CUGC Hall of Fame section covering CUGC legends.
Roy Smethurst is a true Cheshire legend having been involved with the county for the past 50 years with great distinction and success.
He moved, with his career, to Cheshire and Crewe Golf Club from Sherwood Forest GC in 1970 where he quickly established himself as a top player.
His call up to the Cheshire side came in 1970 and he was to remain a fixture on the county team for 26 years, amassing an incredible 186 appearances.
He was runner-up in the county championship in 1972 and 1973 before going on to win it at Stockport in 1978 and add three more titles, the last one in 1995 at the ripe old age of 53 and in 1999 he was runner-up to Sandeep Grewal at Sandiway.
Roy’s golfing powers seemed to be ripening with age. With a very straight long game and a deft touch around the greens saw Roy’s consistency reap great dividends in seniors’ golf which he was to dominate for over a decade.
He won the British Senior Amateur title in 2003 and also four silver medals for being the leading amateur in the British Senior Open. He was the European Senior Champion in 2005, a semi-finalist in the US Senior Amateur in 2003 and won the English Seniors Championship four times and he also made 16appearances for the England Seniors team.
Roy was Cheshire President in 2016undoubtedly the most decorated golfer ever to hold the position in Cheshire.
Since then he has been the non-playing Captain of the England Seniors team with success in the 2019 home internationals and in the European Team Championship.
Few golfers can claim to have beaten their own age but for Roy this has been a regular event and on the day after his 77th birthday in 2019 he shot 72 around Wilmslow in the County President’s Day.
He received recognition by England Golf in November 2019 for his enormous contribution to golf.