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Sport – a varied career
Number one on the list has to be golf. I came to this relatively late in life – well, I was forty. While I never succeeded in acquiring a single-figure handicap, I did get down to 10. I joined the City of Newcastle Golf Club, and before too long, found myself one of a group of four with handicaps ranging from 5 to 12.
I only ever won one competition at the City. I happened to be vice captain at the time, and it was then customary for the captain to wend his way to the club that evening and present the trophy to the winner. Well, on this particular day, my lot were standing on the 17th tee when I was approached by the captain from the adjoining 6th tee, and he asked me if I would stand in for him that evening at the presentation. I agreed, but commented it would be funny if I won. He smiled knowingly.
And I did win! I received the Peeck Cup from the Secretary, who kindly agreed to deputise for me.
I was invited to be captain in 1967 and, in my year, we hosted a large Variety Club of Great Britain competition which was attended by many famous players, including Tony Jacklin and Peter Alliss. I followed the latter for a few holes. He was immensely strong – his forearms were bigger than my thighs! And it was he who walked off with first prize in the draw – a Mini no less! All good clean fun, though there were a few sour faces after somebody remarked he already owned six cars –which I thought was pushing it a bit.
A glutton for punishment, I was captain of the P&G Golfing Society that same year. We frequently visited neighbouring courses during the year and held a competition. In my first year with them, I recall I came last in my very first competition but, in the final one that year a colleague and I won the Collingwood Salvers. They bore a replica signature of each year’s winners, and two years later, I had three signatures on them!
The highlight of my time with the Society came one year at Hexham when our advertising director, Tony Garrett, came in with a terrific 42 Stapleford points, a sure-fire winner … except that, last out, I returned with 44 – the best round of my career, a gross 76 playing off 13. He never forgave me…
No one had ever written a club constitution, so I decided to have a go. Whatever happened to it, I wonder?
For one period of seven years, Walter Ritchie, Stan Craggill, John Bangs and I had a permanent booking at Gleneagles for the final week in May. We stayed at the Dormie House where we had all our meals, plus a sitting room overlooking the Queen’s Course; and we never paid more than £27 for the week, including golf! Fantastic.
We had a drink one lunchtime at Gleneagles Hotel and never went back; it was a tad expensive. Walter had a handicap of 24 (the top in those days), Stan was off 21, John 12 and me 10. One week we played 13 rounds and had a pitch-&-putt on the spare half day. Hey ho.
I played a few sports in my youth but was never outstanding at any of them. Oh yes, I was cricket captain in my last year at school. I think it was because I had been in the team for the previous four years! As a batsman I would not have put Jack Hobbs to shame, definitely, but I could bowl a bit.
I played tennis after the war but gave that up after a dodgy knee injury, and took up bowls. I became reasonably adept at this game, and was in the P&G HQ team, which played in the local league. I enjoyed that. And, I nearly forgot, I won a square wristwatch in an under-fourteen swimming competition; that was something else!
Then there was fishing (coarse of course), another love of my childhood. I used to go to the Top Pond in our nearby park. It was quite a large pond with a small wooded island in the middle where two swans had their nest. The fish included roach, perch and the occasional tench, usually a couple of ounces in weight (in old money) but sometimes up to quarter of a pound. But on one very special day I landed a perch which weighed one pound fourteen ounces! Half an hour later I hooked an enormous tench which flew off the hook when I attempted to pick it up – very slippery fish with tiny scales, tench. What a day! My mother cooked the perch, which was much tastier than we had been led to expect. It was thought to be the biggest fish ever caught in the pond.
When I was about 15 I developed swollen glands on each side of my face, which precluded my playing rugby (no soccer at our school). In default of playing I was appointed secretary and had to send a report on every match (on Saturdays) to the Merthyr Express It was fun to see your scribblings appear in a paper. An operation was eventually scheduled in Cardiff, which turned out to be on the day when I was sitting some examination or other. So I had to cancel. The following week these perishing things disappeared of their own accord; a psychologist could probably account for it! And I played rugby from then on.
All text by ES Rowlands. © 2004
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