Cheshire Boys warm up for new golf season in Menorca

Mar 18 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

CHESHIRE’S most promising young golfers have been warming up for the new season by escaping the worst of England’s winter conditions.

For the first time, the Cheshire Golf Union has taken a group of 12 boys to Menorca as part of their coaching programme.

The squad was based at Son Parc Golf Club and enjoyed a week's decent weather with the chance to play on dry, firm surfaces – a far cry from the conditions back home.

A full schedule was planned to ensure the boys got the most from the experience with breakfast at 7.30am followed by tuition and skills testing in the morning sessions.

Various forms of the game were played in the afternoons, with some more practice before dinner. A detailed de-briefing was carried out each night.

A lot of emphasis was put on polishing up the players’ short game and distance control, areas which are hard to work on in winter conditions in England.

Players picked up points for their efforts throughout the week with Josh Evans, a 0.4 handicap player from Mere, coming out on top.

Junior committee chairman Colin Shadbolt said: “We believe that all the boys got a great deal from the week, which hopefully may rub off into some of matches throughout the season. They showed an excellent attitude.”

He praised the contribution of coaches Alan Thompson and Peter Barber for “the enthusiasm, skills and dedication which they give us” and the support of executive members Mike Jones and Chris Peterson. He also thanked Hugh Brown, Paola Ferroni and their team at Son Parc for their co-operation.