My Sporting Life - continued - Page 4

It all started at Newquay in Cornwall in 1965 (I think) when I went on holiday there and we were joined by a young professional local golfer, Alan Thompson, who had just played in a competition and came down for a holiday. He took myself and his brother in law to Fistral Beach Golf Club for a knock around the course and I thought I might enjoy the game as it was a challenge to hit the ball even..... Working at Bowmans at the time some of the Lab workers started to play early morning golf at Allerton Golf Club in Liverpool and I tagged along and started to play regularly.

As with all the sports I have played I am self taught and so was never going to be a world beater but I stuck at the golf over the years and became fairly proficient where I could go round Allerton in the low to middle 80's eventually. Croda competitions at work then took me further afield to more difficult courses around Lancashire and showed me that the game will never be easy but can be enjoyable - the most exotic course I played was Golf del Sur in Tenerife while on holiday there with the Jackson family (Lyn and Vin - both of whom eventually became Club Captains at Widnes). So I invested in clubs and golf gear over the years and played in any invitational corporate event I could through work and enjoyed some wonderful days out, some great company and some good and not so good golfing moments on some wonderful courses.

While on holiday in Normandy, France, we were on a campsite attached to a lovely course called Golf des Ormes and they had a clinic with professionals which I decided to book on to try to cure my sometimes horrendous slice off the tee...... So we went along and little Laura decided to have a go herself while there and had a basket of balls to hit on the driving range. She struggled a bit as she is left handed and they only had right handed adult clubs. On returning home and some time later she asked if she could try my clubs in the back garden and started hitting plastic practice balls down the garden. A little later Irene came home and said that a golf Pro was holding lessons for children in Kingsway Leisure Centre and would Laura like to try it - which she did.......... and that was the start of her becoming a very proficient golfer getting down to 6 handicap, playing for Lancashire Girls as a junior and getting a trial place for the English Girls squad at one stage.

Now after her degree study break of 4 years, she is the lowest handicap lady golfer at Widnes Golf Club playing off 7 handicap, has won the Phillips Rose Bowl TWICE and the Gossage Rose Bowl more recently whilst also holding the Ladies Course Record at Widnes with a gross 73............

GOLF - the ruination of a good walk or the most addictive game on the planet?

The other sports I have taken part in over the years from boyhood include Cricket, Soccer (mostly as goalkeeper - wonder where Kevin got his footballing position from?), Tennis, Squash, Badminton and Bowls (on a few occasions) as well as my second favourite sport - GOLF....

The picture is of Laura playing from the bunker on her way to winning her first Phillips Rose Bowl at Widnes GC as a 16 year old... Looking on is her caddy that day - me.....

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