The scoring was excellent on Saturday in very tough conditions with Any Dillon coming out on top in Class A with 82-12-70 and Loz Creed rolling back the years from our Junior days! With a fine 77-5-72 to come 2nd beating and Gary Crowder 76-4-72 into 3rd who beat Steve Dixon 72-0-72 a great score and Les Flanagan 83-11-72 on a card playoff.

Class B was also very close with five net 72’s Brian Davies 98-26-72 came out on top beating Paul Lloyd 2nd 92-20-72 and Damien Gore 86-14-72 into 3rd Glyn Hughes was 4th 89-17-72 and Chris Jones 5th 90-18-72

Ladies May Stableford was played on Tuesday 13th May Results are as follows: 

Division 1 
Winner Margaret Nelson with 32 Points, 
Runner up Caroline Berry with 29 Points. 
Division 2 
Winner Barbara Gillbanks with 29 Points 
Runner up Val Smith with 28 Points. 
Division 3 
Winner Deirdre Watson with 30 Points 
Runner up Dorothy Coppell with 29 Points.

The first PPS last Thursday in very wet conditions had three of my pupils in the first 3 spots with Aaron Cove coming out 1st with 38 points followed by Owen Raynor 36pts and Rob Lowles 35 pts.

Next Wednesday afternoon is the Callaway Demo Day. Please feel free to come over to the practice ground and try any of there products for 2014 which have gone very well so far this year.

Currently Callaway have a great offer on the X Hot 2 Driver where you get a free rescue club if you buy one which is a great deal.

We have some great promotions in the shop at present. The trade in Lithium Battery deal finishes next week.

Srixon have an offer on there new AD333 Tour Ball If you buy a sleeve of 3 you get a 2 ball trial pack free whilst stocks last.

The Cleveland Wedge trade in deal is also going well where you get £25 off any wedge you trade in.

I haven't mentioned Football for sometime waiting till the end of the season in case any bold statement saw an end to Liverpool’s great winning run. Although it came to an end a couple of weeks ago I certainly would have taken Champions League football at the start of the season. We will now have to make a few very good signings with the extra games to play next season.

I also hope those of you with Sky enjoyed the Players Championship over the weekend. It always good to watch them play a course that you have played even though they make it look a lot easier than I did!!! Paul Waring is back in action this week in Spain playing PGA Catalunya before moving onto Wentworth the following week.

I have put in Mike Davie’s piece below from Golfers Local and put in bold one of the lines which explains where we are at the moment with the inconsistent growth on our greens.

Once again we have arrived at that time of year again, Spring – the season of hope and excitement, although to listen to some who play the game of golf you would never believe it.

As stated all through the winter it has been the most disappointing period I have ever experienced in the last 30 years of golf course management. Of course these are not necessarily the thoughts of all green-keepers in the North West, as those on sandy loams and therefore free draining ground, are experiencing a good cover of grass and good presentation for the time of year. Many of us on heavy clay soils have suffered during the winter months and are striving to get the course in good condition.

The coverage of last month’s US Masters also creates a headache for those involved in course presentation, as Augusta is presented in such a picturesque way and the speed of the greens are so quick, that most golfers are jealous of such conditions. Augusta syndrome, as it is known, is an annual ‘illness’ of the golfer and brings unrealistic expectations for the time of the year.

At a recent meeting of green-keepers, it was obvious as to how many of us were suffering end of winter blues and the main reason was the various comments from members. Many of the comments are made out of pure ignorance and on some occasion’s sheer stupidity. I have stated in many previous articles that it would appear lateral thinking is not one of golfers’ main attributes and if they took time to consider their comments the answer would be obvious.

Why is Augusta so magnificent at this time of year compared to our course? Surely this is not a question that needs answering? Yet it is frequently asked.

The fact that the climate, budget, staffing levels, machinery and other resources far outstrip anywhere in the North West may be a small clue.

At the time of writing, the greens at Hazel Grove are a little bumpy and again the question asked is why?In reality a little thought would enable the asker of the question to answer their query.The actual reasons are the following and would probably mirror those of many courses up and down the country.

Firstly, hollow tining was undertaken a little later than usual in the autumn due to the busy summer season and centenary programme.Secondly, the exceptional wet winter, continual play and use of the full greens in all weather conditions.

The above answers should be attained and can help to understand the situation without thinking about the agronomical reasons.

Our putting greens consist of many species and cultivars of grasses. These grasses, like humans, all grow at different rates and therefore can contribute to a bumpy surface.

Any marks or blemishes on the greens caused by disease may not have filled in as growth may not have been experienced on the greens.

Un-repaired pitch marks can also contribute to uneven surfaces yet the golfer would not blame themselves. The above are just a few reasons that contribute to bumpy greens.

I recently explained many reasons to a member and when I remarked about slow growth he retorted ‘the rough seems to grow ok!’Now with a little thought the answer would be obvious.

The leaf on the green is shorter and therefore under greater stress yet the grass in the rough is longer and therefore a healthier plant. Although this answer has been over simplified it is quite an obvious one.

As well as the above questions other typical ones are about the presentation of the course as during the winter months little definition is achieved. As definition becomes obvious, personal opinions become apparent – the fairways are the wrong shape, the bunkers too difficult etc.

Recently the phrase ‘card wrecker’ was stated and yet in reality there isn’t a course in the world that has a hole that is a ‘card wrecker’. The only card wrecker is the six inches between the ears of the golfer as poor course management would be the reason.

In the last article I spoke of the need for tolerance whilst the transition from a winter course to a summer one took place, and those of you who are currently playing ‘summer comps’ on winter conditions this is the fault of your golfing calendar not the course.

Let’s all hope the current ‘friendly weather’ continues and this will enable us all to enjoy a great golfing season.