Golfers bid farewell to long-serving pro Peter

A special competition, the Captain/Pro Challenge, was held in honour of Peter Grindley, who has just retired after 37 years of loyal service to Selsey Golf Club.
Peter Grindley (middle row, 2nd from right) with Selsey GC membersPeter Grindley (middle row, 2nd from right) with Selsey GC members
Peter Grindley (middle row, 2nd from right) with Selsey GC members

Eighteen teams of four took part from the ladies, vets and men’s sections. Despite a few rumbles of thunder and drops of rain towards the end, everyone completed their rounds.

Club captain Mick Liddell, with help from vice-captain Andy Terry organised the event which also included a raffle and buffet at the new Links restaurant.

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There were prizes for nearest the pin on six holes and for the longest drive. The longest drive was won by Simon Brooks. Nearest the pin winners were Keith Homer, a past president of the club, Martin Sharpe (two), Ray deBuse, Tony Nelson and Matt Hurst.

The competition was won by Ian Jones, Ash Houghton, Dan Russell and Chris Lyon. Runners-up were Peter Grindley, Mick Liddell, Andy Terry and Tony Nelson.

Tony Terry made a speech thanking Peter for all he had done for the club over the years and mentioned a few of the things he had achieved in his time.

Peter was presented with an honorary lifetime membership of the club and cards and good wishes from members and staff. Mick Liddell announced the pro putter competition played annually by the men’s section would now be called the Peter Grindley Pro Putter competition.

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Peter spent his childhood in Ifield East Sussex and from a very early age he had a keen interest in golf. He worked in school holidays at the Ifield Golf Club helping the greens staff and on leaving school took full-time employment and qualified as a greenkeeper. His love for golf led him to study and eventually qualify as a golf professional.

He worked at Ifield for ten years as assistant pro and in March 1980 he came to Selsey as the professional. Over 37 years Peter has continually been available to help and advise all the sections of the club seven days a week, taking a break just a few times a year to play golf at tournaments all over Great Britain and the continent, representing Selsey GC.

One of his achievements was helping set up an annual pro-am championship, the brainchild of then club captain Clive Cockayne, together with Cliff Pluck, secretary of the Sussex Professional Golf Union.

This was first held in 1989 and has been played every year since. Teams from the golf club and firms from the Chichester area take part. It is the longest running pro-am in Sussex and probably one of the most important days of Selsey golf calendar.

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During Peter’s time with the Club many juniors have gone on to be very low handicap players and four have become professionals themselves.

Peter worked tirelessly for the good of the club and its members during his long service.

COWDRAY PARK

Cowdray seniors hosted The Dyke and after a huge breakfast, the first pair out were match manager Derek Smith and Roy Penrose, who had a Titanic battle against The Dyke’s Ray Dennett and David Boys that went all the way to the very last putt, with a win for the home team.

The winning streak continued with William Hunter and Colin Tebbutt overpowering their opponents 4&3, followed by Robin Phillips and Dave Gaff victorious 3&2.

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The winning run was slightly halted by a loss in the fourth match where Cowdray’s Mike Hughes and Barry Overington battled well but lost the last two holes. But a surge of three wins in the remaining four matches with excellent wins for Cowdray pairings of Austin and Wickham and Nichols and Carpenter brought a very successful day to a close with the overall match result 6-2 to Cowdray.

Results: Smith and Penrose won 1up, Hunter and Tebbutt won 4&3, Phillips and Gaff won 3&2, Hughes and Overington lost 2 down, Austin and Wickham won 3&2, Nichols and Carpenter won 2 up, Kelley and Bradley lost 5&3, West and Burden won 1 up.

Cowdray ladies competed in the Diamond Jubilee Cup. The format was 18 holes of medal-play.

The winner of the cup was Caroline Haynes with a nett 73. Runner-up was Brenda Rees, also on 73, missing out on countback. Ann Robertson was third with 74.

BOGNOR

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Bognor’s prestigious Purley Trophy was held. It is the club’s 36-hole county scratch event.

There were numerous members supporting the event with administration, ball spotting and manning the leaderboards and the clubhouse scoreboard.

All the competitors were very appreciative of the attention to detail. Big events like this are a chance to showcase the course, which was presented in wonderful condition.

Thanks also went to the catering and bar staff, who did an excellent job.

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Tim Cooper, an ex-Bognor player and who now resides and plays golf in Bolton, came down and took first prize with scores of 68 and 69 for a total of 137.

Tied second were Nigel Harrington from Worthing Golf Club with scores of 71 and 72 (143) and Bognor GC manager James Maclean with 70 and 73.

In tied fourth were Joe Doherty from Worthing and Bognor’s Jack Taylor with 147. Club captain Norman Lee presented the prizes.

Forty brave Bognor men took to the course on a wet and windy day to compete in the men’s midweek Stableford. Winner with 39 points was John Harnett; second was Phil Lee with 35 and third on countback was Gez White.

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Bognor seniors got up early to make the long journey to Singing Hills GC for an 8.30am tee-off. The lack of sleep affected Bognor’s first two pairings, who both lost heavily. This set the scene and Singing Hills won 5-3. Both clubs look forward to the return game in October.

Results: Terry Kuhler & Mike Watts lost 6&4, Roy Kempson & David Turner lost 5&4, Jim Stephenson & Andy Isitt won 2 up, Sean Francis & Ken Catt halved, Trevor Till & Allan Delves lost 4&2, Richard Beresford & Roger Selway won 2 up, Ian Bright & Mike Matthews lost 2 down, Alan Fitzgerald & Clive Millett halved.

Fourteen pairs of ladies took part on a hot day for the Bognor ladies’ invitation four-ball better-ball competition.

The winning pair was Louise Colvin and her guest Jenny Elliott from Brighton & Hove. Second were Bridget Samuels and her guest Monica Seeley from Parkstone.

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It was great to see ‘old’ faces returning and ‘new’ faces experiencing Bognor for the first time.

The lady captain’s prize medal competition was held in cooler temperatures, making play more pleasant. Overall winner was Sara Stoneham.

Results - Silver division: 1 Sue Monger, 2 Sheila Sargeant, 3 Sue Meloy; Bronze Division A: 1 Sara Stoneham, 2 Barbara Trenchard, 3 Jacqui Humphreys. Bronze B & C divisions: 1 Suzanne Burns, 2 Val Robertson, 3 Rita West

Bognor ladies took part in two county events. The Kathleen Rider foursomes, played this year at Cooden Beach. They managed a credible 12th place, out of 51 entries.

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At ladies county week, held at Littlestone Golf Club in Kent, Chloe Court and Heather Tidy played in the Sussex team. In the singles matches Heather won matches against Surrey and Kent and Chloe won against Kent.

In the foursomes Chloe and Heather won against Middlesex.

Hampshire emerged as overall winners, Sussex were runners-up.

CHICHESTER

The vets held a charity adventure golf challenge on the Jungle course and several ladies supported this event. It was a lovely evening.

The winning pair were Nigel and Linda Wood, with Sue Bond winning the prize for the most birdies for the ladies (pictured).

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Other results: Qualifying Stableford - 1 Pauline Beale 37, 2 Marie Conner 31, 3 Vena Lee 26.

Twenty-two ladies entered the Granny Goblet competition, won by Sue Ward (42pts), with Rachel Hutchison second (40) from Vena Lee on countback.

Qualifying Stableford: 1 Pauline Beale 43, 2 Lynn Plowman 40, 3 Carol Stride 37. Qualifying Stableford: 1 Fiona Walsh, 39, 2 Helen Ball 36, 3 Lisa Mitchelmore 34.

Sixteen ladies travelled to sister club Hill Barn to play in their annual Breast Cancer charity day. It was a lovely day for all and Pam Hart won the visitors’ prize with 40 points (pictured).

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Congratulations also to Kathy Donohoe, who beat the pro on the par-three fifth.

GOODWOOD

More than 100 people attended the Golf At Goodwood academy open day, enjoying a variety of complimentary coaching sessions and activities.

Sixty-five people had lessons with the academy’s PGA professionals, including academy manager Chris McDonnell.

The junior coaching sessions were enjoyed by children of all ages, who got to grips with the basics of swing technique and received advice on how to improve their accuracy with fun challenges and games.

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The academy also hosted women’s specific Get Into Golf taster sessions, showcasing the programme, which is designed to offer a social and relaxed way for ladies to learn the game, encouraging greater participation in the sport.

In addition to the coaching and lessons, the academy also put on a ‘nearest to the flag’ competition, challenging people to hit their ball as close to a designated flag on the driving range as possible.

Face-painting for children and fun-loving adults was held and golf ‘goodie bags’ were given out. Golfers were also given the chance to try the latest clubs, testing them against their existing kit.

Academy manager McDonnell, said: “The Academy Open Day was the perfect opportunity for the whole family to come and try golf in a fun and relaxed environment. We offered activities for complete beginners and those who are learning from all across the West Sussex area.

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“The Golf At Goodwood Academy is focused on increasing golf participation for children and women, whilst also making the game enjoyable for the whole family with innovative coaching sessions and events. The popular junior golf camps and affordable women’s Get Into Golf programme are making the Academy the preferred choice for learning the game.”

LITTLEHAMPTON

Simon French managed to beat off a determined finish from 2015 champion Sam Dix to win the Littlehampton GC premier prize as club champion for the year.

In blustery conditions, French returned a very creditable seven over par gross score of 147 for the two rounds, defeating Dix by a single stroke. Kevin Miles came in third just three shots behind.

In the President’s Cup, played simultaneously but with handicaps, there was a remarkable result with Drew Sykes winning with a nett 137.

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Sykes, who comes from a family of golfers and plays off a handicap of 11, only turned 11 in February and is believed to be the youngest ever winner of this prestigious competition. He beat former club champion Dave Baker, by two shots after two very consistent rounds of steady play. Peter Jones edged Neil Medcraft into third on countback.

A new prize, presented by club captain Bill Hoal for the best nett second round score, was won by Vaso Lazareski with 68.

There was a record turnout for this event, reflecting the ever-increasing membership at the club. All the winners paid tribute to the excellent condition of the course, now being recognised in national golf magazines as one of the best around.

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