Captain's Day Wednesday 21 June 2023
Photos Here
Our traditional (and most important) annual event was back in full flow and found us once again on the Woods course with a two tee start and WITH a halfway house in the Claret Jug and attended by a total of 50 players, as follows
25 Seniors
10 Ladies
15 Guests
The Roll of Honour was
1st Senior – Bob Privett on 40
2nd Senior – Bob Blake on 37 (on count back)
3rd Senior – Chris Clarke on 37
Best Lady – Sue Raynor on 37 points, with Ailsa Lines on 36 in 2nd and Yvonne Walker on 34 points in 3rd
Best Guest – Dish Patel on 42 points, with Bruce Foster on 39 in 2nd and Max Bates on 36 in 3rd
Straightest Drive - Sue Raynor
Nearest the pin on the 4th – Bob Blake and Evelyn Rimmer
Nearest the pin on the 11th – Bob Clarke and no Lady
Most value from the course !! - Colin Musson
The main winner was the Captains Charity, which benefited from the raffle, the Halfway House, [special thanks to Deidre Sanders and John Browne), the representative from St. Barnabas Hospice for their support] and other donations to the tune of £645.37.
A magnificent effort - so heartfelt thanks to ALL
Captain's Day Wednesday 22 June 2022
Photos Here
Our traditional annual event was back in full flow and found us on the Woods course with a two tee start and WITH a halfway house and attended by a total of 55 players, as follows
33 Seniors
12 Ladies
6 members guests
4 hotel guests
The Roll of Honour was
1st Senior – Dave Inglis on 44
2nd Senior – Pete Stephenson on 41
3rd Senior – Andy Wood on 39 (count back)
Best Lady – Kathy Donnelly on 44 points, with Eve Rimmer on 36 in 2nd and Yvonne Walker on 33 points in 3rd
Best Guest – Matt Bradley on 38 points
Straightest Drives on the 16th - Gordon Scott and Linda Tytherley
Nearest the pin on the 4th – Gordon Scott and Jacqui Francis
Nearest the pin on the 11th – Sam Piggott and Hnin Shein
Most value from the course !! - Colin Musson
Bandit of the day - Dave Inglis
The main winner was the Captains Charity, which benefited from the raffle, the Halfway House, [special thanks to Jackie Williams, Helen Daynes and Karen Carter (from the Lincs Air Ambulance) for their support] and other donations to the tune of £605.
A magnificent effort - so heartfelt thanks to ALL
Captain's Day Wednesday 21 July 2021
The first "major" event post 2nd lockdown found us on the Lakes course with a two tee start and WITH a halfway house and attended by a total of 48 players, as follows
36 Seniors
2 Ladies
9 members guests
1 hotel guest (Neal Holloway - GM)
The Roll of Honour was
1st Senior – Ray Woodcock on 41
2nd Senior – David Toule on 38
3rd Senior – Mike Whitington on 37
Best Lady – Pat Hall
Best Guest – Ken Porter
Longest Drive on the 3rd - Andy Davidge
Longest Drive on the 6th (Ladies) - Pat Hall
Nearest the pin on the 11th – Bob Blake
Nearest the pin in 2 on the 15th – Colin Thornton
Most lost golf balls !! - Chris Daynes (more than 6!!)
The main winner was the Captains Charity, which benefited from the raffle, the Halfway House (special thanks to Jackie Williams and Mags Turrell for their support) and other donations to the tune of £512.
A magnificent effort - so heartfelt thanks to ALL
Captain's Day Wednesday 22 July 2020
The first "major" event post lockdown found us on the Lakes course with a two tee start and no halfway house but despite the restrictions it was attended by a total of 65 players, as follows
39 Seniors
13 Ladies
10 members guest,
2 hotel guests
1 Lady guest.
The Roll of Honour was
1st Senior – Pete Stephenson on 38
2nd Senior – Dave Dexter on 35 (countback)
3rd Senior – Bob Blake on 35
Best Lady – Donna Knight
Best Guest – James Olsen
Nearest the pin on the 2nd – Hnin Shein
Nearest the pin in 2 on the 8th – Bradley Shaw
Nearest the pin on the 11th – Tom Lamin
The main winner was the Captains Charity, which benefited from the raffle and donations to the tune of £605. Special mention to individual contributions of £50 each from Denny Pang and Ian Stock. A magnificent effort - so heartfelt thanks to ALL
Captain's Day Wednesday 24 July 2019
In his usual competitive spirit the Captain ensured that the weather was just as nice and equally as hot as last years Captains Day.
So with a record equalling turnout of around 60 players the hotel kindly agreed to us having a shotgun start on the Lakes.
This included a number of Ladies (9 in total) and 8 guests (including our new Director of Golf, Alex Davies and the Men's Captain, Brian Robinson)
This worked admirably and all groups were underway at 9 o’clock as planned (after the added bonus of seeing George "dash" from his camera to be in the group photo)
The course was extremely dry and was in excellent condition (thanks to the Green staff yet again) yet only 2 of the field played to their handicap or better - its a mystery!.
All groups called at the Halfway House - what a treat seeing a lovely lady (Tricia Browne) and 2 old men (you know who you are!!) to pander to our every need including provision of coffee, tea and some marvellous fruit cake amongst the sausage rolls, sponges and many more for us to experience.
All groups finished more or less together and we were able to enjoy the Lasagne, salad and chips provided by the Hotel.
We were honoured with the presence of 2 of our oldest colleagues, Les Shipston and Brian Gibson.
On to the prizes:
Overall Winner: Chris White 40 pts
1st Senior: Roger Hanratty 37 pts
2nd: Ken Smith 35 pts
3rd: David Toule 34 pts
Best Lady: Kim Davies 34 pts
Over 75 Winner: Ian Nisbet 33 pts
Nearest Centre Line on 14th: Roy Adlard
Nearest Pin in 11th: John Thompson
Nearest Pin in 2 8th: Brian Robinson
Endeavour Award: David Grey
To reflect though the main winner was the Captains’ chosen charity, Epilepsy Society, for which we raised a marvellous sum of £697 (it would have been £700 but we found 3 Isle of Man pounds)
This was made up by £428 from the raffle, £123 from the 1/2 way house and auctioning of 4 ball vouchers and a carry bag yielding another £146.
The generosity of the Seniors, the Ladies and Guests knows no bounds - thanks to all
As is usual at this juncture we pause to reflect on how all of this happened?
And of course the reason was a number of people were involved, starting many weeks ago right up to the day in question, ensuring everything and everyone arrived at the right time at the right place and in the right order.
In no particular order these included:
Your Committee
Paul Stanley - Our Captain, who has worried about this day for many months!
Tricia Browne for manning the halfway house
Belton Woods Staff - Green keepers, Bar staff, Pro-Shop, Chefs, Restaurant Staff
et al.
Cake Makers (blessed are the cake makers)
Colin Thornton - Score Keeper extraordinaire
Nick Townend - registration
Andy Davidge, David Dexter and Rob Gillion - Front of House (Raffle tickets
a speciality)
George and Jane Forbes - photos of the day
Phil Turrell - Master of the Universe, Chief Bottle Washer etc etc etc.
So, many thanks are due to all these and more - a great day!
Captain's Day Wednesday 25 July 2018
As opposed to the earlier part of the current captaincy, which proved to be characterised by nothing but bad weather, the Captain has turned things around to deliver splendid weather for both the Away Day and this year’s Captain’s Day.
This is in stark contrast to the poor weather that Ray Woodcock had last year – oh how fortune favours the brave (or stupid – either can apply).
So with a record turnout anticipated of around 60 players the hotel agreed to us having a shotgun start on the Woods.
This worked admirably and all groups were underway at 9 o’clock as planned.
The course was extremely dry and most of us were experiencing driving distances previously unknown to us (except the faders and slicers – who are well known!).
All groups called at the Halfway House - what a treat seeing two young ladies there (Mags Turrell and her neighbour, Sue) to pander to our every need including provision of coffee, tea and some marvellous fruit cake amongst the sausage rolls, sponges and many more for us to experience.
All groups finished more or less together and we were able to enjoy the Lasagne and Chips and cold meat buffet provided by the Hotel. In fact, the food was so good we didn’t hear a single complaint!! Not bad for 60 Seniors. (Bloody impossible Ed.)
We were honoured with the presence of 2 of our oldest colleagues, Ed Kitching and Brian Gibson.
On to the prizes:
Overall Winner: Steve Daly 42 pts
2nd: Nick Townend 41 pts
3rd: Alan Lowen 40 pts
Over 75 Winner: Hilton Moses 39 pts
18 HC and under: Steve Wilkinson 40 pts
19 HC and over: George Forbes 39 pts
Nearest Centre Line on 16th: John MacGillivray
Nearest Pin in 9th: Roger Hanratty
Nearest Pin 15th: Doug Blackburn
Best Value: Tony Slipper 20 pts
Shooting 2's on Par 3's: Deryk Washer, Bob Privett & Mike Gulliford
To reflect though the main winner was the Captains’ chosen charity, Bowel & Cancer Research, for which we raised a marvellous sum of £580.76
As is usual at this juncture we pause to reflect on how all of this happened?
And of course the reason was a number of people were involved, starting many weeks ago right up to the day in question, ensuring everything and everyone arrived at the right time at the right place and in the right order.
In no particular order these included:
Your Committee
Mags and Sue for manning the halfway house (and making cakes etc)
Belton Woods Staff - Green keepers, Bar staff, Pro-Shop, Chefs, Restaurant Staff
et al.
Cake Makers (blessed are the cake makers)
Colin Thornton - Score Keeper extraordinaire
Gary Waterfield, Ian Nisbet & John Williams - Front of House (Raffle tickets
a speciality)
David Toule - Our Captain, who has worried about this day for many months!
Phil Turrell - Master of the Universe, Chief Bottle Washer etc etc etc.
So, many thanks are due to all these and more - a great day!
Captain's Day Wednesday 26 July 2017
Much angst was suffered by the Captain in the days leading up to this event as the weather forecast was none too promising to say the least. In the end his wife, Lynne, put it into context by comparing the Seniors to her dog being taken for a walk in the rain (something like that anyway).
Ray sensibly left it up to the members to decide for themselves - self-preservation being a key motivator.
The really good news was the Halfway House - what a treat seeing two young ladies there (Jen Clarke and Lynne Woodcock) to pander to our every need including provision of coffee, tea and some marvellous fruit cake and chocolate rocky roads amongst the sausage rolls, sponges and many more for us to experience.
Fortune smiled on the early tees as they were almost home by the time the serious stuff arrived - even then, as I can attest, it was decidedly unpleasant fighting a losing battle trying to keep dry.
Some wimped out after 12 holes or so whilst the hardy (but stupid) Seniors carried on to the bitter end.
The reward for everyone was very nice potato wedges alongside a variety of sandwiches with more than enough to go round including two or more visits to the hotplate.
Julia, from the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance Service, Ray's charity, came to give a short talk on the service including the fact it costs £2.5 million p.a. to maintain the service which is quite some food for thought. (We need a few more Captain's Days to help!!).
On to the prizes:
Overall Winner: Doug Blackburn 39 pts
2nd: Mike Gulliford
3rd: Roger Hanratty
Over 75 Winner: John Bratt
18 HC and under: Ray Woodcock
19 HC and over: Les Vine
Nearest Centre Line: Les Vine
Nearest Pin 2nd: Andy Davidge
Nearest Pin 11th: Gary Waterfield
Best Value: Colin Boother
Shooting 2's on Par 3's: Henry Knight and Steve Daly
As is usual at this juncture we pause to reflect on how all of this happened?
And of course the reason was a number of people were involved, starting many weeks ago right up to the day in question, ensuring everything and everyone arrived at the right time at the right place and in the right order.
In no particular order these included:
Your Committee
Lynne and Jen for manning the halfway house (and making cakes etc)
Belton Woods Staff - Green keepers, Bar staff, Pro-Shop, Chefs, Restaurant Staff et al.
Cake Makers (blessed are the cake makers)
Colin Thornton - Score Keeper extraordinaire
Gary Waterfield & Richard James - Front of House (Raffle tickets a speciality)
Ray Woodcock - Our Captain, who has worried about this day for many months!
Phil Turrell - Master of the Universe, Chief Bottle Washer etc etc etc.
So, many thanks are due to all these and more - a great day despite our golf and the weather!
Captain's Day Wednesday 27 July 2016
Some 56 Seniors (a record) and guests (Seamus Coen, General Manager of Belton Woods complex and Ben Skeet who is Head of Golf) got together to celebrate Captain's Day and no doubt share in the raffle prizes galore that were on offer.
After a very warm spell over the previous week the day started off wet but very soon it stopped raining and gradually improved as the morning rolled on. Bacon or sausage bap to start with and tea or coffee to help it down. Then out to the Woods.
A two-tee start helped matters and soon two snakes wended their way around the excellent Woods Course only to take a breather at the half-way house.
What a treat awaited everyone - Tina, Donna and Lynne. Additionally there were cakes by the dozen, sausage rolls, coffee, tea and goodness knows what else - it seemed as if the world and its wife had been baking all night.
On we went with full stomachs to the final nine and then off to Stantons for well-earned drinks, sandwiches and chips and the prize giving.
For the Seniors however it was time to check one's raffle tickets with the line up of prizes before settling down with a full plate.
Captain Colin thanked a myriad of people for their efforts in providing a wonderful day and then announced the prize winners.
U19 Handicap Places
1 Tony Slipper 44pts
2 Roger Hanratty 40 pts
3 Bob Clarke 39 pts
19+ Handicap Places
1 Tom Lamin 42 pts
2 Alan Lowen 38 pts
3 Gordon Scott 37 pts.
Nearest Pin in 1 Bob Blake
Nearest Pin in 2 John Williams
Straightest drive John Williams
Best Value for Money Peter Bishop
Longest Drive (To Belton Woods) Doug Blackburn.
Messrs Toule and Lowen had taken over the mantle usually wielded by our resident scouser, John Williams, that of removing valuable items from Seniors' wallets. What a success they made of it too, proving mental torture is more effective than physical.
Total Raised for Charity £671-00
Thank you, to all who took part, for your generosity.
Captain's Day Wednesday 29 July 2015
This year 50 Seniors/Guests were tempted by the subsidised food and wonderful prizes on offer for Pat Stanford's Captain's Day. The Captain's rain dance was partially effective as, although it was overcast (and none too warm) the sun did put in an appearance now and then but the rain held off.
There was a two-tee start this time which was very acceptable as it kept the waiting times to a minimum and meant all the Seniors could enjoy the apres-golf equally.
The prize table was supplied by Berry Bros of London (it appeared that way anyway) so it was a rare bird that left not clutching a bottle/magnum of claret or two. Indeed John Williams had to hire a taxi to get all the prizes home as well as himself.
It was good to see Tim Price and Ben Skeet join us from the Hotel (we do appreciate you are still "at work" as it were, whereas we have forgotten what that means) and also to see some "old" faces (literally and metaphorically) such as Ed Kitching and Terry Measures.
Anyway the prizes were handed out with our main winners' enclosure containing, 3rd Tony Slipper 36 points, 2nd Ray Woodcock 39 points and our Winner OCB Mr John Williams also 39 points. It was indeed very stirring to hear the audience belt out "You'll Never Walk Alone" as John collected his first prize (even more poignant when John supports Everton).
Our very first nonogenarian (Ed Kitching) competed and won a special prize and regaled us with a short speech concerning the effects of ageing, especially at 90. It seems it's not something one looks forward to (the benefits aren't that clear) but there's not a lot we can do about it anyway.
As always when these events occur there are a lot of people to thank for making the day so memorable and enjoyable. The Course was excellent as usual and I gather the green staff have some influence in this regard, many thanks indeed to them all. The catering staff in both Stantons and Claret Jug ensured we had bacon baps, coffees, teas etc to start and the world's supply of sandwiches and chips to finish. Thank you all.
Some of you may have noticed the Halfway House which housed not only the most exquisite collection of chocolate brownies, sausage rolls, chocolate cake, coconut thingies, fruit cake and many more, but also Maggs and Tracy who were our resident hostesses and general factotums. Thanks Tracy and Maggs.
The cake fairies have been missing for some time now so our cake reserves took a break from "Golfers Bake Off" (not an order apparently) and stepped in at short notice to make up the gap - so Messrs Musson, Williams, Whitington, Sabin, Donnelly, Hemmings and David Dexter's mum, take a bow and accept our sincere thanks for your culinary input. £60.57 was collected and will be added to the Captain's charity.
Members will also have felt the pain as money was extracted from their pockets as they arrived - yes, John Bratt was on raffle watch again and came away with £280 for the Captain's charity. Well done John if it was military service then the MC would have been heading your way for bravery under fire.
Mr and Mrs Forbes were on the prowl throughout with their cameras and we look forward (perhaps) to seeing our ugly mugs on the website striking all kinds of strange poses and contortions as we coax our little white balls around the course (speaking personally of course). Thanks Jane and George.
Colin Thornton's apres-golf had to be postponed as he battled manfully with the vagaries of the club computer, and members' efforts at entering their scores, before white smoke belched out and he emerged with the tablets of stone containing the winners' names and handicap changes. Thanks Colin.
Finally we should not forget our intrepid duo, Batman and Robin or Phil Turrell and Captain Pat, as we call them, who have lived and breathed this event for many weeks finally producing the excellent result we all had pleasure in experiencing. Very well done Phil and Pat and our immense thanks for all your hard work both before and on the day.
Awaiting Photos, members will be advised when Pat has finished editing them!
Captain's Day Wednesday 30 July 2014
47 Seniors plus Tim Price the Hotel Manager competed in this combined Captains Day plus July Stableford.
George arranged for good weather even if the Sun was not keen to show itself at times.
George's wife, Jane, also kindly baked up a wide variety of cakes for all to enjoy at the half way house which went down very well with those taking part.
Despite the good conditions and the feast at half way only 3 Players managed to play to handicap and they took the first 3 places.
Pat Stanford took the Captains Trophy and the July Stableford with his round of 37 followed by Tony Slipper with 36 on count back and Colin Musson also on 36.
Being Captains Day a forth and fifth place were awarded to Phillip Turrell and John Williams who both scored 35s with Phillip taking forth on count back.
Also a nearest the pin prize was won by Colin Thornton and a nearest the pin in two went to Brian B White.
Tim Price who also carded a very creditable 37 points, being almost a boy could not win the main competitions but was also awarded a prize by George.
Ray Woodcock ran a raffle to help boost the Captains Charity which also allowed a few others to go home with a prize.
The staff in Stantons added to the day with a good meal and service.
Well done George and all those who took part.
Captain's Day 2014
photos - Jane's Fighting Photos and mussonpics.org
To view the photos in an album and download them if you wish then hover the cursor over the slideshow and click on the small coloured circle that appears at the bottom-right. Then click on the word "Captain's" at the top-left.
Captain's Day Wednesday 24 July 2013
The Captain's Prayer should be marketed as it has come up trumps now for a number of years. Relying on the Met Office is a chancy business at the best of times but this knocks that into a cocked hat!
Anyway, despite thunderstorms and floods affecting areas all around the night before, the 52 BW Seniors (a record) gaily turned up and played on a warm and beautiful day. The halfway house was staffed by the Lowen distaff side with tea, coffee and quite the most exquisite cup cakes we have ever seen. The chocolate one I had was to die for. I'm told they were made by Alan's daughter and I imagine her transfer fee would be too high for us should we decide to take her on permanently. We would all die early but what a way to go.
So, the golf, for the first time this year The Lakes WAS TAMED! Yes, 7 Seniors played to or bettered their handicap helped it should be acknowledged by a course that was beautifully presented. The results can be seen below and in addition our guest Andrew Cameron scored 42 points!!!.
We all then retired to Stantons for an excellent meal, prize giving and the usual Raffle which managed to raise £275 for Alan's charity LIVES - well done to all on that front.
I think we can all agree it was one of the best days BW Seniors have enjoyed in it's 21 years.
As usual, the chances of all this happening by accident are pretty slim, and so we all owe a debt of gratitude to those who worked to make the event the success it was. From the Green Keepers who have produced a superb course, the Pro Shop staff for arranging the separate hole by hole competitions, Justine et al in The Claret Jug for their unstinting cheerfulness and service very early in the morning, the Stantons staff for dealing with the invasion of 50 odd (some very odd) Seniors and their foibles on the drink front, the chefs for preparing and presenting an excellent spread, Mick Hall for co-ordinating the event the raffle prizes etc, Colin for gathering the results, Messrs Bratt and Toule for extricating a fiver from every Senior's wallet (a remarkable task akin to circumcising a tiger whilst it is still awake), Peter Bishop for arranging the finances and Alan and George for running between all this ensuring not a plate was allowed to stop spinning.
The Results:
Winner - Bob Blake 41 points
Runner Up - Les Vine 39 OCB
3rd - Eric Bailey 39 OCB
Best Team - Billot, Thornton, Lamin, Hall 125 pts
Runner Up - Slipper, Adlard, Astil, Inglis 121 pts
Nearest the Pin - Tony Wilcox
Nearest Pin in Two - Roy Adlard
Nearest Centre Line - David Toule
Best Over 75 - Les Vine
Best Value - Roland Sheperson
Finally a big THANK YOU to ALL the Seniors for joining in and making the day a BIG SUCCESS.
The full result sheet is here and photos are below courtesy mussongrumble snaps.
Captain's Day Wednesday 27 June 2012
The Captain's Prayer still has some mileage it seems. A warm, slightly overcast day dawned, a one club wind and the prospect of a tiring battle against the Lakes Course didn't stop 40 Seniors turning up to test their golfing ability (or did the £5 Carvery enter their thoughts?). Either way Captain Ian had marshalled his team well and the cards were marked and even some Fererro Roche chocolates were available for the more discerning Senior.
So out we went determined that today was going to be different. And of course it wasn't! Only one player, again, played to their handicap. Nevertheless "today" was different, as afterwards it was delightful to be able to sit outside nursing a beer and watch the late finishers do battle with the 18th Lake.
Then it was off to Stantons to sample the excellent Carvery and even more excellent puddings on offer (there really ought to be a health warning on these as nothing deserves to be that good)!
And so the the Captain's Speech, Raffle and Prizegiving. The surprise of the Captain's reign has surely been the standard of jokes - for a dour Scot (aren't they all?) Ian can actually tell a joke and what's more some of them are quite funny. Certainly those of us hearing his speeches after the matches can attest that he wins more of these than he loses. Acres of prizes were handed out for the raffle - luckily I had kept back all the counterfoils over 399 to ensure the prizes went to the earlier purchasers!
Then the prizegiving - the usual competitions were up for grabs including the Mystery Holes (apparently three holes chosen completely randomly using the latest computer technology - or some young waitress Steve had collared earlier). These are below.
Before that we need to to consider and thank the many people involved in ensuring the day was a great success, Captain Ian, Steve Hudson, Colin Thornton, Alan Lowen and many others. Thank you for a great day.
Everyone a Winner - these especially:
Overall Winner 37 pts - Mike Gulliford
Runner-up 35 pts - Pat Stanford
Third Place 34 pts - Bob Clarke
Winner Over 70s - Mick Hall
Longest Drive - John Billot
Nearest the Pin - Steve Hudson
Nearest the Centre-Line - Phil Stannard
Mystery Holes - Pat Stanford
Full Stableford Table here.
Photos of the Day