ELEVEN YEAR OLD SWEEPS TO VICTORY AT PONTELAND

Eleven year old Owen Thomas turned a few heads with an incredible 48 points as he carried off the prize as overall winner at the Ponteland Golf Club’s annual junior golf competition this week.

With his handicap now down to 21 after his recent win, he is a regular player during the summer months at Ponteland where he has been a member since 2010.

Sponsored for the fifth year running by the Newcastle office of Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), a national commercial property consultancy, the competition had a strong turn out with 45 entries. Players had to be under 21 years of age to take part and this year, nine of the entrants were girls.

Darron Barker, head of office at LSH’s Grey Street office, awarded the prizes, congratulating everyone who took part.  He said:

“My two sons have both come through Ponteland Juniors and it gives me great pleasure to be able to put something back into junior golf today, thanks to the generosity of Lambert Smith Hampton. 

“Playing golf is a great training ground for life – not just the camaraderie and the competition - but it is a way of meeting new people and when your swing is not so good, it teaches you to deal with life’s disappointments too.

“It is the fifth year we have sponsored this competition and I am delighted to see such a great turn out, including nine girls, which is a record.”

Ponteland Golf Club’s Greg Waugh, regular organiser of the competition was delighted with the standard of play and the enthusiasm shown by the entrants.  He said:  “The good summer weather has undoubtedly been a big factor, but this year there have been around 20 or more young people playing on the course each day, which is great for the game and for the future of the club.”

Other winners were Michael James from Ramside Hall who was runner up with 47 points and Marcus Grove from Tynemouth who won ‘best visitor’ category with 39 points. Best player for the 0-12 handicap was Andy White from Roxburgh with 39 points and in the 13-30 handicap category, Ali Dodds from Ponteland won with 40 points.  Best girl was Katie Thirwell, also from Ponteland, with 34 points.

Caption:  (L to R) Simon McStravick, Ponteland Golf Club Junior Liaison Officer,
Ian Latimer, Captain of Ponteland Golf Club, Robbie Robertson, Owen Thomas,
Michael James and Darron BarkerIan Latimer, Captain of Ponteland Golf Club, Robbie Robertson, Owen Thomas,Michael James and Darron Barker

In Memory of Golfer Dick

A NEW bench has been installed in Ponteland in memory of a respected businessman.

The Ponteland Masters golf event was set up by pals Bob Frame, Brian Parker, the late Dick Dodsworth and Paul Syron 31 years ago as a friendly round, followed by dinner at Ponteland Golf Club.

The tradition is still going strong today and at the last event a raffle was held in memory of Mr Dodsworth.

He had been an active member of the Rotary Club of Ponteland so the funds were passed on to the group and, as Mr Dodsworth had been a keen walker, gardener and countryman, members decided the ideal way to splash the cash in tribute to their friend would be to provide a bench at the junction of Rotary Way and the bridle path.

The seat has now been installed and is proving a welcome addition for local residents.

The club has also provided a new wall plaque for Ponteland Golf Club to show its appreciation for being able to hold meetings and functions at the venue.

Source: Morpeth Herald

Busy Down Ponteland Way This Winter

Four prominent, highly respected Ponteland business men, the late Dick Dodsworth and Paul Syron, Bob Frame, now in his late nineties, and the evergreen Brian Parker, agreed, some 31 years ago, to entertain a number of customers, colleagues and friends to an afternoon's golf, followed by dinner, at Ponteland Golf Club.  "The Ponteland Masters" was born.  This wonderful tradition has continued thanks to the sterling efforts of Brian, now ably assisted by Graham Minett and Graham Wilson.

Last summer a raffle was held in memory of Dick and the proceeds donated to the Rotary Club of Ponteland of which he was, for many years a very active and productive member, including two terms as President.  He was a keen walker, gardener and countryman so it was mutually agreed that a fitting tribute would be to place a park bench at the junction of Rotary Way and the bridle path, a feature many local residents would find afforded a welcome few minutes' respite from their exercise.  As can be seen from the photograph, it does, indeed, look perfect.

In January 2008 the Rotary Club approached Ponteland Golf Club to determine if they could hold their weekly meetings and a number of annual functions there.  This suggestion was very warmly received and Rotarians are now frequent, welcome visitors to the clubhouse.  Almost simultaneously the wall plaque advertising the Club fell into disrepair so the opportunity was taken to replace it.  Within a few days of the positioning of the park bench this new plaque was fixed to enhance the entrance to the Golf Club.

Now the Club returns to normal arranging and organizing its many annual activities and so helping those less fortunate than themselves locally, nationally and, perhaps especially in these distressing times, internationally.

Stewart Blair

Ponteland golfers' aim is true

THE women golfers at Ponteland have come out on top in two divisions of the county leagues.

The first division Shield is coming back to Ponteland after an impressive season when the first team had convincing wins over clubs around Northumberland and Tyneside.

They have beaten teams from the City, Gosforth, Bridlepath, Hexham, Bamburgh and Alnmouth.

Their top player, 21-year-old Ami Storey, is playing off plus one and has already returned to Kansas, where she is halfway through her four-year golf and education course.

On vacation this summer, she played in a number of national events and her best finish was seventh in the English Amateur championships at Whittingham Heath in Staffordshire out of a field of 120 players.

Her coach, John Harrison at Matfen, still helps Ami and is in constant e-mail contact to help her improve her consistency. Ami is obviously very happy in Kansas.

"I have made many friends at college and they have invited me to their homes in many different parts of the States," she said.

"I love the golf and I am aiming to be an automatic pick for the college team this year."

The youngest player on the team is 15-year-old Rachel Bruce, who plays off a five handicap.

She is the County Junior Matchplay champion and produced a memorable round this year in a club competition. She carded a round of 72 which is three shots below the par for the course of 75.

Rachel says she is thinking about a golf scholarship in America but is also keen on studying engineering.

Lesley Marsh and Val Crute are veteran team players in both senses. They have played on the Ponteland team for more than 30 years and also play for the county Vets.

Lesley won the Vets championship this year. The other team members have single figure handicaps and they have all contributed to a winning season.

The Ladies' third team won their division six and will be promoted.

It was a nail-biting finish for them when they played Prudhoe Ladies at home last week.

They needed at least four points from their last match and were waiting for the last game to come in before Helen Woodhouse won the crucial point by beating her opponent.

Ponteland Golf Club Lady Captain Margaret Cobb poured the champagne for the third team and their opponents and said: "This is fantastic to win two divisions and to get the Shield back to Ponteland. Well done everyone."

By Muriel Sobo

Source: Morpeth herald

Ponteland duo top of the golfing crop

JULIE Ross, eight times the Northumberland champion, talked in Teeing Off recently about a promising crop of youngsters the county have high hopes for.

At the time, she was highlighting Nicola Haynes, the 14-year-old over half her age she had just beaten in the women’s final but, as if to underline Ross’s point, another good prospect, Rachel Bruce, 15, from the Ponteland club, has beaten Haynes in the junior county matchplay final.

In turn, that has completed a double for Ponteland. Another of their members, 18-year-old Richard Robson-Crosby, has won his county junior matchplay title.

This was also a double for the Ponteland professional, Alan Robson-Crosby, Richard’s father and coach, who also coaches Bruce, and quite a tribute to his teaching skills.

Two years ago, when Richard was 16, he became the youngest club champion in what was then the 82-year-old history of Ponteland and last year he won the St Andrews Boys’ Open. A pupil at Newcastle RGS, his latest trophy came when he beat Bellingham’s Will Robson 3&2 in the county final. His superior putting, and an ability to get up and down enabled him to ease out to victory against an opponent with top ten finishes this season in the county strokeplay championship and the individual places of the county teams event.

Bruce, who goes to Ponteland High School and has a another coach in the Hexham professional, Andy Paisley, was involved in an altogether different sort of final.

Like Robson-Crosby’s match, it was played at the Bedlingtonshire club, but this one went to the 19th, where Bruce rounded off a memorable comeback, having teed off at the 15th three down.

When Haynes found a bunker and Bruce went through the green, it was Bruce who handled her problem better, bending a wedge round a tree, when 15 yards from the green, to escape with a bogey against Haynes’ double bogey.

The 16th was halved, at 17 the margin was reduced to one when Haynes went through the green via a bunker and wiped out altogether at 18, where she drove out of bounds.

When it came to the first extra hole the decisive blow was struck when Bruce kept her composure after sending a six foot putt seven feet past the hole. She made no mistake on the return journey.

Source: JournalLive

Ladies In Winning Mode

The Lady golfers of Ponteland Golf Club held their AGM recently when the retiring Captain, Ethel Arthur, presented the trophies and medals to the 2009 winners.  Three of the Ponteland ladies take up County positions next year when Linda Hoyle becomes County Captain, Hazel Furniss takes over as the Vets Captain and Rachel Bruce is the Junior Captain.  We wish them all well and success for their teams.  Margaret Bates, formerly Margaret Cobb is the newly elected Captain of Ponteland Ladies’ Section.

By Muriel Sobo

Panache Charity Fashion Show

Monday February 23rd 2009, 7pm for 7.30pm start at
Ponteland Golf Club, Bell Villas, Ponteland
(no denim or trainers to be worn in the clubhouse)
Tickets £10 (to include refreshments)
All proceeds towards The Lady Captain’s Charity Appeal
supporting Age-Related Macular Degeneration
~Raffle ~ Jewellery & Accessories available to purchase ~
(at 10% discount during the evening)
Panache, 34 Merton Rd, Ponteland, 01661 824100
www.panachefashions.co.uk