During the recent Annual General Meeting at Woodlake Park Golf Club the new Club Captain & Lady Captain formally took up their posts. On the next day they were grateful that the incessant rain of the previous week abated, and so were able to perform their ceremonial ‘drive-in’ in relatively sunny weather. A large crowd of members watched the Lady Captain, Janet Sadler, hit a superb shot down the 18th fairway to start her year.

The new Club Captain, Brian Fisher, followed this using the now traditional old wooden club for his drive. On the morning they were also joined by Alex Haddow, the Junior Captain. The day continued with a shotgun start competition that was very well supported by 96 members. The enjoyable day finished with an evening function where the young band, ‘Innovence’, played to an appreciative audience. Fortunately the weather remained good for the ladies section to play their usual texas scramble competition on the Sunday morning. We wish them all a successful year.

During the recent Annual General Meeting at Woodlake Park Golf Club the new Club Captain & Lady Captain formally took up their posts. On the next day they were grateful that the incessant rain of the previous week abated, and so were able to perform their ceremonial ‘drive-in’ in relatively sunny weather. A large crowd of members watched the Lady Captain, Janet Sadler, hit a superb shot down the 18th fairway to start her year.

The new Club Captain, Brian Fisher, followed this using the now traditional old wooden club for his drive. On the morning they were also joined by Alex Haddow, the Junior Captain. The day continued with a shotgun start competition that was very well supported by 96 members. The enjoyable day finished with an evening function where the young band, ‘Innovence’, played to an appreciative audience. Fortunately the weather remained good for the ladies section to play their usual texas scramble competition on the Sunday morning. We wish them all a successful year.

Welsh golf professionals Craig Smith, Kyron Sullivan, Mark Laskey and Tim Dykes (pictured) will have the opportunity to fulfil their European Tour dreams with invitations in 2010 to play on the Challenge Tour, negotiated for them by Ryder Cup Wales The quartet have been selected to receive a series of invites to Challenge Tour events, the launch pad that helped Rhys Davies make his breakthrough when winning his first Challenge Tour event at the Vale Resort in 2009, from which he has gone from strength to strength. The opportunity to play in the SWALEC Wales Challenge event, as well as a series of others throughout Europe, is one of the benefits received by Wales as part of hosting the 38th Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor later this year.

Smith was third at the Welsh Challenge Tour event in 2007 and now he will also receive invites to seven other tournaments at the level below the full European Tour. Barry’s Kyron Sullivan and Mark Laskey of Brocket Hall also have seven invites, while Wrexham’s Tim Dykes will receive four invites, plus the chance to play in the SWALEC Wales Challenge. Ryder Cup Wales, in partnership with the Sports Council for Wales’ Elite Cymru programme and the Golf Union of Wales, have an integrated development programme to help young Welsh golfers and playing on the Challenge Tour is an important part of that initiative.

North Wales golf fans will have the chance to create their own Ryder Cup fever when the top women’s players in Europe compete in Conwy a few weeks before the main event at Celtic Manor. The £300,000 S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe will take place at Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club as part of the Ryder Cup Wales Summer of Golf programme, with many of the top names in European ladies golf, including Becky Brewerton looking for victory a few miles from where she learned to play at Abergele.

The event will be held from August 12th-15th, just seven weeks before The Ryder Cup stars arrive in Newport at the end of September, and offers another opportunity to watch the very best players competing in Wales. Former British Open champion Karen Stupples is expected to return to defend the title she won further down the North West Wales coast at Royal St David’s, Harlech, last year, while other star names who have regularly taken part in Wales include Laura Davies.