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GOLF: England to rely on experience
England Women's Golf Association have appointed three women with more than 100 years of golfing experience between them to captain this season's national teams, writes Ernie Newell.
Sally Watkins, from Teignmouth, will take charge of the women's team. She has played golf for 37 years and has been a England selector for the past two seasons.
Last year England won the Home Internationals for the 13th time in 16 years and collected the bronze medal in the European Championships.
Cathy Bowerbank (Dinsdale Spa, Durham) will continue as seniors' captain having steered England to victory in the 2007 Home Internationals and to a silver medal in the European Championships.
She has been a golfer for more than 50 years and is a former England girls international.
The best known member of the trio, Julie Brown (Brocton Hall, Staffordshire), will lead the girls.
A former England international, she had seven years on the Women's European Professional Tour and won the German Open.
She was reinstated to the amateur ranks in 2006 and is the current Staffordshire county captain.
"It will be an exciting year," she said. "We have some very good girls coming through."
Thirteen-year-old Wiltshire county player Hannah Turland, from Tidworth, is one of the county's brightest young prospects.
She won the South Western Girls Under 15s Championship in 2005 when she was only 11 and last year picked up the England girls' Under 13s title. She has been a member of the Wiltshire county team since 2006 and has a handicap of two.
Next week, she heads for Scotland to represent England in the Scottish Girls' Under 16s Open Championship and Nations Cup at Craigielaw (East Lothian) which starts on Thursday.
Retired civil engineer Richard Pickles drove himself into office as the new club captain at Marlborough in the traditional way, writes Ernie Newell.
And the 16-handicapper launched his year at the helm in style, hitting a screamer down the first of some 240 yards.
Pickles, who was taking over the reins of the 120-year-old club from Frank Nicholls, said: "I was fuelled by adrenalin and hit probably the best drive of my life."
Pickles, 62, has been a member of the club since 1999. He is married with two grown-up children and lives in Marlborough.
Neil Patch and Gwen Stuart won Pickles' drive-in stableford with a betterball score of 45 points.
They edged out former top National Hunt trainer Jeff King and Rod Trimboy by one. Their 44 points included a hole in one by Trimboy at the 192-yard "Turnpoike" 14th.
The competition raised £1,200 for the skipper's designated charities for the year, riding for the Disabled, Prostate Cancer and the club's Freddie Boardman Junior Foundation.
Vice-captain Alan Biggins won Carswell's winter league.
The 16-handicapper from Swindon amassed 348 stableford points (best eight scores from 16 rounds counting).
He finished seven points clear of Kevin Howe (12), with Graham Palmer (19) third, five points further back with 336.
The North Wilts club are holding their biennial free golf week for boys and girls under 18 from Monday to Friday of next week.
There will be coaching and other activities every day and all equipment will be provided.
Said club professional Graham Laing: "It is a great opportunity for youngsters to try golf and see if they like it without having to incur the cost of equipment or lessons."
Registration takes place in the clubhouse at 10am on Monday.
The free junior golf week will be followed next Saturday with the club's annual adult/junior open.
Further details can be obtained from the pro shop on 01380 860330.
North Wilts qualifying stableford was won by Pete Dolman with 40 points. Norman Brown and Rob Fry came next with 39.
9:46am Saturday 5th April 2008
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