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Lady Captain's Day
Ladies Vets Final - 2016 March for Men Presentation
Our Captain, Mal Fawcett, would like to say special thanks to Tony Myers who joined Jeff Stelling to complete the last 'March for Men' marathon walk in aid of his chosen Charity - Prostate Cancer. Tony has, through sponsorship, raised £1023, £448 of which was raised at the golf club.
A kind gesture, brilliant effort and very well done Tony!
The photo shows Tony handing over the cheque to Mal. Several additional donations were made after this presentation, hence the different total.
Ladies County Vets Team Members Durham County Vets Team
This year, four Brancepeth Ladies have qualified to play in the Durham County Vets team.
During the season they play against Vets teams from Northumberland, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Lyn, our Lady Captain and Vets champion, leads the team out in the opening match against the champion of each county.
Marianne Moore, Lyn Davison, Julia Doughty,and Rosie Preston
Derek Carver 2017 2017 Club Championship Results
Club Championship R1 R2 Total 1st Richard Aisbitt 65 67 135 2nd Dan Fox 72 69 141 3rd Wayne Melles 75 71 146 Lady Boyne Cup R1 R2 Total 1st Dan Fox (scr) 72 69 141 2nd Richard Aisbitt (-3) 68 73 141 3rd Wayne Melles (2) 73 69 142 Bob Marley Trophy R1 R2 Total Tony Myers (6) 78 82 160 Richard Ramm Trophy Shaun Parkinson (6) 64
5 Man Team Championship 2017 5 Man Team Championship 2017
Brancepeth had a fantastic result in the North Durham Union Of Golf Clubs 5-Man Team Championships held at Crook Golf Club on Sunday 4th June, finishing with a total of 298, 18 over par, with four out of five gross scores counting.
This gave Brancepeth second place to Crook, who made home advantage count in testing conditions.
Well done to James Glenn, Dom Salmon, John Gowland, Jeff Willey & Ally Baird.
Click here for the full results of the competition.
Owen Thomas - NJGA Under 18 Stroke Play Champion Owen Thomas - NJGA Under 18 Stroke Play Champion
Owen Thomas won the Northumberland Junior County Under 18 Stroke Play Championship at Longhirst Hall Golf Club on Sunday 4th June 2017. He qualifies as he is also a member of Ponteland GC.
He also won the Under 16 age group, but was only allowed to win one event. He just missed out on winnining the Under 21 age group by one shot.
He had scores of 76 & 77 against a Par of 73.
Click here for the full results of the competition.
Ladies Vets Final - 2016 Durham County Vets Champion
The Durham County Vets Championships commenced on Monday 8th May at Dinsdale Spa GC, with a qualifying stroke play competition.
Marianne Moore won the best gross prize with a superb score of 84 in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, having won the qualifying completion, she was unable to play in the subsequent matchplay competition due work commitments.
The following Brancepeth Castle GC Ladies qualified for the matchplay last 16 on Wednesday 10th May: Barbara Cheetham, Lyn Davison, Jennifer Dixon, Julia Doughty and Rosie Preston.
The Championship culminated in the matchplay Semis and Final on Thursday 11th May.
Lyn Davison won her semi-final against Sarah Hurst of Dinsdale Spa on the 5th extra play-off hole, a superb nail biting 23 holes.
In the second semi-final, Rosie Preston lost to Claire Miller of Tyneside GC, who birdied the first extra play-off hole. Well done Rosie, a superb effort!
In the Final, on the 17th hole, Lyn got up and down from the green side bunker to win 2 and 1 against Claire Miller. A great win by Lyn which means she has retained the County Vets Championship, which she won in 2016 at Billingham GC.
Brilliant Lyn - well done!
Durham County Vets Champion Lyn Davison Photographed with Trish Winnet (left), The Ladies Captain at Dinsdale Spa and Aileen Carter, Durham County Vets Captain
Lyn with loyal caddie Ian
Best Gross winner Marianne Moore
Ladies & Seniors - Spring 2017 Ladies and Seniors - Spring 2017
The biannual Ladies and Seniors competition was held on Tuedsday 11th April 2017. Twelve teams, each consisting of two Ladies and two Seniors, played stableford with the best Ladies and best Seniors score counting towards the team total.In first place, with 75 points, were Marian Goodyear, Jean Atkinson, Jeff Foster and Geoff Raw.
In second place with 74 points were the team of Barbra Cheetham, Jennnifer Dixon, Len Stirling and Mike Goodwin .
Also with 74 points, but beaten on count-back, were the team of Captains and Vice-Captains, Lyn Davison, Marianne Moore, Peter Robson and Will Cowan.
Lyn Davison and Will Cowan had the longest drives at the 17th and in the nearest the pin competition at the 15th hole, Jennifer Dixon was closest.
Following the game, everyone enjoyed an excellent meal in the clubhouse. The Ladies' Captain, Lyn and Seniors' Vice-Captain Will, standing in for Captain Peter Robson, who had holiday commitments, thanked all those who participated and wished everyone a happy and successful season.
Captains' Drive-In 2017 Captains Drive-In
Saturday 1st April at 12 noon saw the official start to the golfing season at Brancepeth with the Captain’s and Lady Captain’s Drive-In, where a large group of members, family and friends turned out to support Mal and Lyn.
Mal, in Lyn's words, smoked it 245 yards down the righthand side while Lyn, "with arms like jelly", hit it 212 yards straight down the middle.
The “Guess the Yardage Competition” raised £230 for Mal's Charity, Prostate Cancer and £80 for Lyn's Charity, Butterwick Childrens Hospice.
Keith Cresswell and Geoff Raw both guessed within a yard of Mal's drive while Ann Charlesworth correctly guessed the exact distance of Lyn’s drive. All three winners very generously donated their winnings to the Charity.
In addition to giving a special vote of thanks to their respective Vice-Captains, David Tweddle and Marianne Moore, both Captains would also like to thank everyone who supported the day and the meal in the evening and wish all members a fantastic 2017.
In the Men's Team Stableford the results were as follows:
Points 1st D Gray, K Patterson, K Williams and J Murray 82 (bb9)) 2nd A Soppitt, S Whitaker & W Melles 82 3rd J Luke, G Lowes, I Oates & V Qehaja 81
The Ladies held a Captain’s Team v Vice-Captain’s Team 4BBB competition, with the Captain emerging victorious by 2 matches to 0
Junior Coaching and Easter Golf Camp
Click here for further details of these events.Ladies Coffee Morning 2017 Ladies Coffee Morning
The Lady Captain, Lyn, would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped out at the Ladies Coffee Morning on Friday 17th March, to all who donated, baked or simply spent money and also to Sheila for the daffodils on the tables.
It was a lot of work but was a huge success and we have raised £841.
AGRONOMIST REPORT - 2017
Click here to view a copy of the latest Agronomist's Report.
The Agronomist made the following comment in his previous Report:
"Golfers who wheel their trolleys along the narrow route between bunker and green are causing a lot of unnecessary damage and wear. In the best interests of course presentation and maintenance costs, golfers should not take trolleys along such narrow routes when there is ample space to walk and spread the wear outside the bunkers."
It is very apparent that many Members still totally ignore this advice. If you want to play your course in the best possible condition, please be careful when using trolleys and buggies.Captains Handover Dinner - 2017 Captain's Handover Dinner 2017
Our Captains, past, present and future, would like to thank the 58 members and guests who attended the Captain's Handover Dinner on Saturday 25th February and made it such a special night.
Peter Schofield presented our new Captain, Mal Fawcett, and Vice-Captain, David Tweddle, with golf caps for the occassion and also presented Mal with a Captain's bell for gaining attention. The bell, however, may not be seen much at the Club as Audra, Mal's wife, intends taking it home for her own use!
During the speeches, those attending the dinner were made very aware of the danger in confiding anything private to our new Captain. The story of Peter visiting the catering cabin behind the tenth tee and his encounter with a member dog-walking will, however, not be further described here!
DURHAM UNIVERSITY SUCCESS
The Durham University 1st Team, who play their home games at Brancepeth Castle, were crowned BUCS Premier North Champions after beating the University of Central Lancashire team by 4.5 points to 1.5 points at home on 8th February 2017. In a strongly contested league of six teams, playing home and away, they won the league by one point from Birmingham University.
Albert Potts, who organises the team and their matches, wrote the following to the Club:
"Could you please pass on our sincere gratitude to your Committee and members for the support and encouragement they have shown the university players in recent years. We would not be where we are today without that support.
Next we are looking forward to becoming National Champions .... watch this space!”
We wish them the best of luck in their forthcoming matches.Captains and Lady Captains Charity - 2016 Captain's and Lady Captain's Charity 2016
I have pleasure in attaching a letter and certificate from Sylvia Stoneham, Community Fund Raising Team Leader at Butterwick House, confirming the total raised for 2016 as £14,876.67. As Directors and Members of Brancepeth Castle Golf Club, I would like to thank you for your tremendous support in achieving this incredible amount. In addition, Mal & I met with Michael Watson of Barclays Bank (who match-funded the Charity Golf Day for up to £1000) for a photo shoot.These photos, shown below, will be distributed throughout the Bank's PR machine and hopefully appear in various magazines produced by Barclays.
I also visited Butterwick House at North Tees Hospital last week, again photos were taken for their in-house publication. Hopefully this will give the Golf Club good exposure.
Thanks again for your tremendous support.
Peter Schofield
Michael Watson and Peter Schofield
Mal Fawcett and Peter Schofield
New Captain's Message - 2017 Message from our New Captain
My very best wishes to you and your family for a Happy New Year. It is an absolute honour and my pleasure to represent Brancepeth Castle Golf Club as your Captain for 2017.
The season will begin with the Captains' Drive-In on Saturday 1st April - I look forward to seeing you there, (only one fool allowed)
I thank David Tweddle for accepting the position as Vice-Captain - with his support I look forward to the year ahead and I wish Lady Captain Lyn Davison and Seniors' Captain Peter Robson every success for 2017 and look forward to working alongside them both.
My chosen charity for 2017 is Prostate Cancer. Your support in raising funds over the year for this worthy cause will be greatly appreciated.
2016 has all in all been a successful year for the Club. I thank Peter Schofield, Elaine Mitchell and Terry Ditchburn for their enthusiasm and commitment over the year.
Wishing each one of you an enjoyable and successful golfing year.
Kind regards
Malcolm Fawcett, Captain
Ladies 2015 Teams Brancepeth's Winning Ladies
The photographs below show this year's Ladies Teams with their trophies.
A Team with the Anderson League Division 1 Trophy which they have won for the sixth time in succession.
Standing, left to right: Julie Rose, Barbara Cheetham, Carol Rae, Pauline Cooper, Yvonne Dunbar, Marianne Moore and Ann Charlesworth. Seated: Lyn Davison, Elaine Mitchell (Lady Captain) and Rosie Preston (Team Captain)
Team players not present for the photograph - Deborah Simpson and Helen Morgan.
B Team with the Anderson League Division 2 Trophy which they won in their first season in that league.
Standing, left to right: Maureen Wigham, Vivien Davis, Avril Rowbotham, Jill Dickinson, Barbara Cheetham, Carol Rae, Sue Farrell, Marian Goodyear, Elizabeth Wood and Marie Thompson. Seated: Yvonne Dunbar (Team Captain), Elaine Mitchell (Lady Captain) and Jean Atkinson.
Sivewright Team who finished second in their division.
Standing, left to right: Kay Cleasby, Jill Dickinson, Maureen Wigham, Avril Rowbotham, Elizabeth Wood, Eileen Robinson and Joan Kelly. Seated: Jane Moore (Team Captain), Elaine Mitchell (Lady Captain) and Marian Goodyear.
Team player not present for the photograph - Barbara Parkin
Seniors Captain Handover
The Seniors held their Annual General Meeting in the Clubhouse on Thursday 8th December 2016.
Unfortunately the golf, which normally precedes this meeting, had to be postponed due to the heavy rain but around 40 members still enjoyed an excellent Christmas Lunch held in the dining room.
At the meeting, Will Cowan was confirmed as the Senior's Vice-Captain and Mike Goodwin and Geoff Pennington were re-elected as Treasurer and Secretary.
The photograph shows the outgoing Captain, Terry Ditchburn, handing over to the 2017 Captain, Peter Robson.
- Play matches against other clubs' Seniors, both home and away
- Enjoy social golf on designated days of the week, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Participate in competitions during the season
DCLGA Annual General Meeting DCLGA Annual General Meeting
Our Lady Captain, Lady Vice-Captain and several other Brancepeth members attended the Durham County Ladies Golf Association AGM on Saturday 26th November where the winning league teams were presented with their shields for the 2016 season.
The photograph on the left shows our Lady Captain, Elaine Mitchell, along with "A Team" captain, Rosie Preston, being presented with the Anderson Shield for winning Division 1, which they have also won for the previous five years.
The photograph on the right shows Elaine receiving the Division 2 shield on behalf of the "B Team" who won the 2nd Division after having been promoted from the 3rd division last year.
Also mentioned for their success were the team consisting of Helen Morgan, Julie Rose and Deborah Simpson who won the American Scramble at South Shields, Maureen Wigham who had the best gross score in the Bronze Division at Woodham in the Spring Meeting and Barbara Parkin who had the best gross score in the Bronze Championship at Bishop Auckland.
Anderson Shield Division 1 
Anderson Shield Division 2 For a full list of all the Ladies Competition Winners in 2016, click here
Doreen Wallace Mixed Greensomes - 29th August 2016
The Doreen Wallace Mixed Greensomes was held on Monday, 29th August 2016 on a bright sunny afternoon with 18 couples taking part. The winners were George and Carol Rae with 40 stableford points and are shown here being presented with the trophy by Doreen herself.
Charlie and Elaine Mitchell finished second with 38 points, narrowly beating David Tweddle and Jean Atkinson on countback.
Doreen appreciated so many couples taking part and looks forward to even more playing next year in what, although a competition for a trophy, is meant to be as much a social occasion as well.Junior Summer Camp
To find out what went on at our Junior Summer Camp, click here.David Hay Mixed Greensomes - 20th August 2016
The David Hay Mixed Greensomes was held on Saturday, 20th August 2016 in very wet windy conditions. 18 couples took part in a very close competition with only 4 points separating the first nine places
The winners, with 37 points, were Barry and Jill Dickinson, shown here with the trophy.
Ian and Lyn Davison were second with 36 points, beating Kevin Kelly and Tracie Smith on countback
Well done to all the couples who participated and continued playing despite the terrible weather.Our Successful Teams
The Ladies Teams have done very well again this year.
The "A" Team (Scratch) finished top of Division 1 by winning 7 matches and halving 1 and will retain the Anderson Shield for the 6th consecutive year!
The "B" Team (Scratch) were promoted last year from Division 3 and are now top of Division 2. They won 5 matches, halved 2 and lost 1. They cannot be promoted into Division 1 because the league rules state that a club can't have more than one team in the same division.
The Sivewright Team (Handicap) finished 2nd to Barnard Castle in the South Durham Division.
The Men's Team, although not quite enjoying the success of the Ladies Teams, consolidated their position in Division 2 after gaining promotion last year.
And last, but not least, our Mens Senior Team are undefeated in 2016 with only three matches remaining.New Ladies Club Champion
Congratulations to Lyn Davison on winning the Ladies Club Championship on Sunday 7th August with two superb gross rounds of 79 and 84 given the strong winds all day. These good scores were also achieved on the Ladies "Long Course" which involves playing over the ravines at the 8th and 11th holes from the Men's tees.
Winner of the Anson / Gibson Trophy for the best nett aggregate score was Helen Morgan.
In the Bronze Division, Avril Rowbotham won the Gross Championship and Tracie Smith won the Nett Championship.
Well done to all the Ladies who took part and completed the 36 holes on a very difficult day for low scoring.PAST CAPTAINS DAY 2016
The annual Past Captains Day was held on Sunday, 24th July. Eighteen past captains played in a singles stableford competition and were later joined by John Pennington, who initiated this competition in 1989, and the present captain for a meal afterwards.
Charlie Mitchell won the trophy with 38 points followed by Steve Rose and Tony Myers on 36 points. The picture below shows Peter Schofield presenting Charlie with the trophy, a crystal port decanter which is then filled and passed round the company.
Following the meal and toasts, the group were regally entertained by Ian Shepherd in his own inimitable style.
Juan Miguel Heredia
Further to the article below on the International Honorary Membership given to Juan Miguel, click here to see the letter of appreciation he sent thanking the Club for the honour.DCLGA Charity Texas Scramble
There has been more success for our Ladies, this time at the Charity American Texas Scramble held by Durham County Ladies Golf Association on 7th July 2016 at South Shields.
Julie Rose, Helen Morgan, Deborah Simpson and Anne Wraith (Rockcliffe) finished first with Barbara Cheetham in the second placed team. More Ladies from Brancepeth were in the teams finishing in 6th and 15th place.
For full details of the results, click here.Breast Cancer day 2016 Ladies Breast Cancer Day
The Lady Captain, Elaine, thanks all members who contributed to the Ladies Breast Cancer Charity Day on Tuesday 12th July for their generous donations for the raffle and for buying tickets
The raffle raised £269, £112.60 was raised from the sale of the tea, coffee, cakes and scones which were kindly donated by Dave and Jackie and a further £165 was raised from the entries to our Pink Ball Competition.
With further donations and money raised previously, the total which will be sent to a Breast Cancer Charity is £635.30.
Your support for this very worthwhile charity is very much appreciated.
The winners of the Pink Ball competition with 108pts were Helen Morgan, Julie Rose and Lyn Davison. Second with 103 pts were Tracie Smith, Marie Thompson and Kay Cleasby.
Juan Miguel Heredia
Juan has now departed Durham for Ecuador and may not return to us for a long time.
The Captain, Committee and members therefore decided to give him International Honorary Membership because of his commitment to the Club and his personable manner to recognise his time with us at Brancepeth.
You can see from the photograph, which was taken by his sister in Germany, that he is delighted with our honour to him.
We wish him all the best for the future.
Lady Captain's Day Results - 26th June 2016
Ladies Captains Day Results - 2016 Winner Points Captain's Prize Elizabeth Wood 38 Lowest Gross Marianne Moore 32 1st Silver Helen Morgan 34 (on count back) 2nd Silver Barbara Cheetham 34 3rd Silver Lyn Davison 33 (on count back) 1st Bronze Maureen Wigham 37 2nd Bronze Eileen Robinson 36 3rd Bronze Kay Cleasby 34 Best Front 9 Margaret Campbell 20 Best Back 9 Deborah Simpson 17 (on count back) Best Past Captain Yvonne Dunbar 31 Best Committee Member Jane Moore 24 Best Senior (70 plus) Jean Atkinson 29 (on count back) Best Guest Gill Heslop 31 Nearest the Pin - 15th Deborah Simpson Nearest the Pin in 2 - 9th Sue Farrell
Captains Day Results - 25th June 2016
Best Nett 1st John Foster 2nd Tony Myers 3rd John Hunter Best Gross 1st John Gowland 2nd Alastair Baird Best Senior Nett Steve Schofield Longest Drive - 12th Adam Twiss Nearest the Pin - 15th Peter Gourlay Best Guest Nett 1st Steven Kyle 2nd James Glenn Ladies Best Nett 1st Barbara Parkin 2nd Elaine Mitchell 3rd Sheena Murray Ladies Nearest the Pin - 9th Barbara Parkin
Unfortunately no-one managed a hole-in-one on the 10th so Peter will have to keep polishing the car until the next time
Spare a thought for Nick Patterson who had holed out on the 2nd. If only he had waited 8 more holes!
Do you know any Ladies looking to start playing golf or have been away from the game for a while?
If so, David Fletcher, our PGA Professional, is running a weekly Get in to Golf Coaching Session for Ladies starting this Saturday 21st May from 10.00 to 11.00am. The hour long sessions will run for 5 weeks for the price of £25.
No equipment or special clothing / footwear is required.
To book a place at these sessions, please contact David at the Pro Shop on 0191 378 4115.
For further details or to book online, click on the image.On Friday 22nd April, the Captain held a "Captain's Charity Sportspersons Dinner" in aid of Butterwick House Children’s Hospice which raised in excess of £2500 for the Charity.
A great evening was had by the 66 guests and members attending, with first class entertainment from
Kevin Connelly, Gordon Sherry and Graham Sheldon.
I would like to thank all concerned for making the night one to remember, especially Jackie, Dave and their staff for the catering, Jean Atkinson and Lady Captain Elaine Mitchell for managing the Auction and Raffle & Roll a Pound.
I would also like to thank the Sponsors for donating very generous auction and raffle prizes and more importantly, I thank the guests for attending and giving their financial support.
Peter Schofield
Captain