March Trophy - Formby Ladies Friday 13th March 2026

 Well Friday 13th duly arrived with an unpleasant weather forecast....we were all wrapped up and expecting the worst, and for the early starters the first few holes were tricky in a howling gale.  Then the wind eased a little and the sun appeared, making the later holes quite pleasant to play.  A bonus, no rain to speak of, so a good start to Captain Paul's year.

As for the Competition, the results were as follows:

1st     36 pts     Lee Morris, well done Lee.  Your golf has developed brilliantly over the year.

2nd    35 pts    Barrie Minero

3rd    33pts      Mike Simonsen in his shorts, yes you read correctly!

Longest Drive    Paul Yates

Ladies LD          Allison Hyde

NTP                   Peter Watson

NTP in 2            Paul Yates

Some familiar names there, well done all. We enjoyed a warming meal afterwards courtesy of the lovely staff.

Footnote:  Prior to playing the Society made a presentation to Formby Ladies Secretary Anne who was retiring. A pair of crystal goblets and a bottle of bubbly to fill them was donated as an appreciation of the society's involvement over the years at Formby Ladies GC.  Long may it continue.

Victoria Society AGM Thursday January 2026 Hesketh GC

The Victoria Society AGM was held at the Hesketh Golf Club attended by 18 members with 11 apologies. Reports from the Captain Bryan described a very enjoyable year and the fund raising from the members generous contributions to blobs, and the biscuits made by Sue raised over £600 gratefully received by the British Heart Foundation.

Secretary Chris outlined the golfing program for next year:

March 13            Formby Ladies 1st tee 10.40

April 10              Warrington GC 11.45

May 15               Hesketh GC 13.40

June 5                Bramhall including Andrew Murray putting school

July 3                Bromborough GC

August 7           Hesvic Trophy - Formby Ladies

Sept 4               Chorley GC

Oct 9                Wilpshire GC

Nov 7               Southport and Ainsdale - Captains Day

Dec 13             Formby Ladies - and Auberge Dinner - looking forward to it already!

Treasurer Peter summarised the finances, we are ok, subs remain at £20.

Golfer of the Year was Paul Hooton, and Paul is also the Society Captain for 2026.

Formby Ladies Christmas Comp and Auberge Dinner December 7th 2025

 Sunday December 7th Formby Ladies Christmas Competition

Apologies for this late report.....I thought I'd done it..!

A  cold wet day made for tough going but all those who turned up made a go of it.  Scoring wasn't easy but some didn't have problems!  18 golfers braved the day.

Results...

Longest Drive                    

Ladies longest Drive

NTP

NTP in 2

1st 39 points Lee Morris

2nd 38pts Mike Simonsen

3rd 37 pts John Wilson

2's Terry Broderick, Mike Simonsen and Chris Edwards

Evening at the Auberge - Excellent - thanks to Linda and the staff there for hosting us grandly.

 Captain Bryan's Day at Hillside Golf Club, 

Monday November 10th 2025

Well I must start by saying on behalf of the 21 players yesterday, a big thank you to Captain Bryan, Secretary Chris and Treasurer Pete, for organizing the most excellent day out at one of the best golf courses in the British Isles.  It was just beautiful to play and was, with benign weather, apart from a shower a lovely experience.  Scoring well helped (me) as well I might add.  The course was a tad more friendly because at this time of year the rough has died down and most errant drives were easy to find.  Well I didn't lose any balls.

However, can anyone explain how, when I came in with 39 points, I came in halfway down the scoreboard, the lowest of 5 other players with 39 points, and several with more than that, one with many more points!  Oh well that's golf!

So the results:

Longest Drive                    Peter S Watson

Ladies Longest Drive        Alison Hyde

NTP in 2                            Ant Webster

NTP                                   Lee Morris on the 7th via one of the few tree woods

                                          surrounding the green!

Overall Results:                

Winner                              Paul Hooton, with just 45 points....say no more!

2nd                                    Alison Hyde with 44 points, well done Alison

3rd                                     Mary Bale with 43 points.

TWO's                               Paul Hassall, Mark Murray, Kevin O'Donnell benefitting 

                                          from a 50' put!

A mention must got to Mark Murray who stood in for Evan Bale at short notice and managed to scrape 48 points.  Where did he get his handicap from?  Unfortunately (or perhaps not) as a guest he is not eligible for prizes.  And another one, who had a good day, Sue had a tap in at one of the challenging par 5s, which she was pleased with.

A lovely meal in the classy clubhouse, completed an excellent day.  Onwards to Formby Ladies in December, Sunday the 7th.

Captain Bryan presenting Paul with the impressive Captains trophy, assisted by Chris

Here's someone who was admiring the quality of the golf, or perhaps after a snack!

Which hole is this then?

Friday 10th October 2025 at Pleasington Golf Club

The second Friday of October found the Victoria Golf Society enjoying a pleasant dry, still day in the heart of Lancashire at Pleasington Gold Club.  The course was beautifully presented giving a really good impression of how a golf course should be set up.  The signage was excellent as were the information boards around the course.  The Blue plaque on the 12th tee described the occasion at nearby Hoghton Tower in 1671 when King James I enjoyed a nice bit of beef and proudly anointed it SIR LOIN, and so it has been that ever since. There is also the nearby Sir Loin pub which is well worth a visit...

Back to the golf... on such a good golfing day the scores should have been good and they were, with several young (bandits) guns featuring.....

First Prize, winning the Alan Bleaze (bless him) trophy:

Winner                       Gareth Ball    41pts

2nd place                    Lee Morris 38 pts cpo

3rd place                    Michael Simonsen 38 pts

For a change the other prizes were shared with the ladies....

Longest Drive (mens)     Paul Yates

Ladies LD                              Nuala Robinson

Nearest the pin on the 16th    Sue O'Donnell

NTP in 2 on the 6th               Alan Dean - on his home course....

Yours truly did a spot of directing and ball spotting on the 7th for those who didn't know where to go!  Believe me the hole is easier than it used too be thanks to extensive ground work an d tree removal in the last 2 years.  I was suitably entertained by a variety of shots, some closer to me than others (thanks Evan).  Michael Simonsen hit his tee shot into the rubbish on the left, but chipped it out and it ran all the way down the chute to the fairway below. Lee Morris went one better with his drive ending up on the lower fairway.  Well done guys....

Other highlights (for me) included Bryan on the 12th topping his tee shot which smacked into one of the roped posts and bounced 50 yds back down to the bottom of the cliff face where the tees were!  He still managed a 4. 

Alan Dean on the 9th green, with Hoghton Tower hill behind.

A lovely meal was served to finish off a very enjoyable day.  Thanks to all......and Captain Bryan's charity fund is now well over £400......

Looking down to the 7th fairway and green, and the final group of hardy souls, who had yet to slog their way back up to the rest of the course!

John Wilson on the approach to the 5th green with fabulous autumn colours....

 Friday September 5th - BOLTON GOLF CLUB

After the showers of early September we were blessed with a lovely afternoon for a round at BOLTON (LOSTOCK) GOLF CLUB.  The course was in splendid condition, lovely underfoot, fast fairways which rewarded long straight drives but punished anything not quite in the right slot.  The greens were true, well at least I thought that, but many seemed challenged by them.  That's golf I Suppose.

Well Alan Dean wasn't challenged scoring an impressive 37 points to win the September Rose Bowl.  Second on a card playoff was Gareth Ball, and third your write (Kevin O'D) both with 34 points.  (Gareth must have had a good back nine, because I had 19 points on my 9 holes!)

Other results:

Longest Drives:            Men        Alan Dean

                                     Ladies     Val Sumner - well done Val....

NTP                                             Gareth Ball

NTP in 2                                      Evan Bale  

A put from just 3' from the pin, an excellent drive followed by an even better chip.  We're glad to report Evan didn't need 3 puts as someone suggested, but got his birdie as well as another later.

Chris Edwards came in with a 2 - another wag suggested the tee shot must have been very close to the pin.  How far was the put Chris?

We enjoyed a very nice meal, the pastry from the chef for the meat pie and apple tart was to die for. And thank you for your generosity towards the blobs and biscuits.  Captain Bryan's fund raised £80 on the night.  (Perhaps a nod to Bolton GC's tricky greens?)

The sublime view from the 10th tee.  On the day the Peak District and Welsh hills were clear.

A 'shocked' Alan (on the right) receiving the lovely Rose Bowl from Captain Bryan.

HESVIC TROPHY - Friday 1st August 

The Victoria golf team were again triumphant in the annual Ryder Cup style event held at Formby Ladies Golf Club. It was a sunny but blustery day making playing conditions difficult. After the morning greensomes the match was very close with Victoria leading by 3.5 points to 2.5.

The team came good in the afternoon taking  the fourballs by 4.5 to 1.5 making the overall match score 8 points Victoria to 4 points Hesketh.

A highlight of the day was a hole in one at the 16th by Victoria member Terry Broderick.

Judging by the photos a sunny day was enjoyed by all.....ed.

 Friday 4th July - Helsby Golf Club

We had a breezy summers day on an interesting Helsby Course, particularly those holes with some magnificent trees in the middle of several fairways.  So accuracy off the tee was at a premium.  Coupled with the hard ground which sent errant shots off into goodness knows where, as usual a course presented with its own variety of difficulties!  Having said that, even light rain for an hour or so, didn't dampen anyone's spirits!

The Fazackerleys experienced varying fortunes, Susan with her new driver winning the ladies longest drive, so that is working well.  Then James added to his buddies entertainment in retrieving a ball in a bog and doing a 'MUD' walk much to their amusement.  Muddy shoes and ankles resulted.

To the prizes:

Winner of the Summer Trophy:    Mary Bale 41 pts

                                 Runner up:   Barrie Minerro  39 pts

                                            3rd:    Val Sumner 38 pts

Longest Drive                               Captain Bryan

Ladies LD                                     Sue Fazackerly

NTP                                               No -one!

NTP in 2                                       Captain Bryan - well done mate!

The Helsby staff served a lovely meal afterwards in their elevated dining room.  Thank you...and here's Mary with the Summer Trophy......

     

   

Lymm Golf Club - Friday 6th June 2025

 The June Trophy was played at Lymm GC.  The tree lined course required much use of the tree-woods for some of us!  However as long as you hit the ball straight you'd be ok, as was proved by the scores.  The tricky closing holes proved troublesome for many, including the blogger, and probably dented some ambitions.  Gareth Ball nearly defended the trophy he won in 2024, well done Gareth.  However an enjoyable afternoon with a pleasant meal in the comfortable club house.

Results:

Winner of the June Trophy            Alan Dean     41 pts cpo

                       Runner up               Mary Bale     41 pts

                       Third                      Gareth Ball    40pts

Longest Drive (a monster)            Chris Edwards

Ladies LD                                      Sue O'Donnell

(with a tricky ditch proving crucial)  

NTP                                                Alison Hyde ( and getting the 2!)

NTP in 2 Captains Prize                Gareth Ball (small consolation)

2's                                                  Alison Hyde, Alan Dean, Paul Yates

£66 raised for the Captain's Charity from blobs and biscuits.... thank you everyone.

      Ahhhhhh!  Geese and their goslings on the 12th tee.... Protective parents hissed aggressively at us!

                                    Captain Bryan presenting the June Trophy to Alan Dean.....

The Hesketh - Monday May 12th 2025

 In this summer which is evoking memories of 1976 (apologies to anyone not over 50) we had a glorious day at the Hesketh in Southport.  Glorious in the weather, glorious with the course fighting the heat, but slowly getting scorched, and glorious with the scoring, 12 of the 28 players under par!  This was partly because if you hit the ball straight it would run and run and run.....sometimes, particularly in my case, into bunkers, which were fair but a challenge nevertheless.  

Yes it was slow, with our 4 ball finishing at around 7.45pm but it was such a lovely evening, it was no hardship to sit and enjoy the weather and the view.

So to the results....

First        Paul Yates with      44 pts and winner of the May Cup

2nd         Denise McInerney 42 points, well played Denise....

3rd          Evan Bale              40 points

Longest Drive        James Fazackerly

Ladies LD              Denise McInerney

NTP                       Terry Broderick

NTP in 2                Susan Fazackerly - Captains Prize

2s - Mark Field, Bernard Quigley.

A great vote of thanks must go to Peter Watson for his organisation of the day, with an excellent meal  beautifully served by the attentive Hesketh Staff.  Thanks to the Hesketh members who helped to facilitate the day, which will long live in the memory.

2025 Captain Bryan Robinson presenting Paul Yates with the May Trophy

Evening sun on the 14th hole at the Hesketh

Grange Park Friday April 11th 2025

 A lovely afternoon during this prolonged beautiful spring weather, and 26 golfers arrived at pretty Grange Park GC for the afternoon.  The course was firm but fair with tricky greens, but playing golf in tee shirt and shorts in early April is a bonus, for which we are very grateful.  Some of the scenery as we worked our way around the course was lovely, with ponds and other water features adding to the interest without affecting the golf too much!  Another feature was the almost complete absence of traffic noise which these days is a real blessing.

A comfortable winner with 36pts was Graham Greene, followed by second and third places with a distant 31 pts.

Winner of the Spring Trophy            Graham Greene        36 pts

                                    2nd cpo         Mary Bale                 31 pts

                                    3rd                Denise McInerney     31 pts

Longest Drive            Michael Simonsen

Ladies LD                  Yvonne Greene

NTP                            Yvonne Greene -  completing a successful afternoon for the Greene's. Well done.

NTP in 2                     Keith Robinson - Captains Prize a bottle of bubbly!

We sat down to a very pleasant meal served in the upstairs restaurant, having been very impressed by the all round presentation of Grange Park GC (St Helens). 

Captain Bryan Robinson on the right, presenting the Spring Trophy to Graham Greene.  (I must ask him to autograph some books.)  Secretary of the Victoria Golf Society Chris Edwards assisting.

Next meeting, May 12th at that top Southport venue THE HESKETH.

Formby Ladies March 14th 2025

 24 golfers turned out on a cold but dry day at Formby Ladies for our opening comp of the year, and Captain Bryan Robinson's first event of the year.  The course was dry after all this favourable weather but the greens were a little lumpy but work has to be done on them sometime.

Newbie Lee Morris started with a birdie on the 1st for 4 points then repeated it on the 7th.  This was the NTP in2 hole and Lee was just 3ft form the pin in 2!  But in the same group Evan Bale hit a huge (straight this time) drive and putted onto the green to within a foot from the hole to claim the prize!  The closest ever!  Well done Evan.

Winner of the Dave Martin Trophy         Paul Hooton  40 pts  and a £25 M&S Voucher (Captains Prize)

                                            2nd place     Alan Dean      37pts cpo

                                            3rd               Paul Yates      37 pts

Longest Drive                    Chris Prescott

Ladies LD                          Denise McInerney

NTP                                    Chris Prescott

NTP in 2                            Evan Bale

2s                                       Paul Yates

As usual we had a lovely meal in the clubhouse after a largely very pleasant day.

Nick Pilkington caught this lovely image of the sun setting just as we were about to dine.....

And here's Captain Bryan presenting Paul with the Trophy......and the blobs and biscuits raised £71 for the Captain's charity, the British Heart Foundation.

Next meeting is Grange Park on 11th April.

 

Heswall 8th November 2024

Apologies - I thought I'd done this....

A cold dank day made golf hard work and the condition of the course did not help.  It was a pleasure to finish have a hot shower and a warm meal.

Winner Chris Edwards     39 points

2nd Susan Fazackerly     37 pts

3rd Denise McInerney    35 pts

Don't know who won the other prizes.....if you did please let me know.