Our Swingers 'Good for Golf' Award gives you the opportunity to nominate an unsung hero at your golf club or in your community who has helped the game of golf or provided outstanding customer service in golf over the years.

The nominated person should be:

a) Someone who has displayed real passion in their role within golf and are always prepared to go the extra mile
b) Someone who shows can-do attitude and always shows a positive approach
c) Someone who has shown real creativity and forward-thinking
d) Someone who has inspired others through their passion, energy and personality
e) Someone who has been a great team player
f) Someone who always listens and treats everyone with respect
g) Someone who has shown exceptional customer service

Whether it’s a pro, a green keeper, a bar person or someone else involved at the club or in the community who has gone the extra mile in golf, email us at golf@flyingclubevents.com giving your nomination and your reasons.

The monthly winner will win a trophy from Virgin Atlantic together with £100 worth of Marriott reward vouchers and a pair of Serengeti Sunglasses whilst the nominator* of that winner will win £100 of Stewart Golf Vouchers.

Please view Terms and conditions for full details. 

*The nominator must have a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Partner earning activity credited to their Flying Club account, at the time of the prize being awarded and this activity must be no more than 1 calendar year old. However the nominated does not need to be a Flying Club member.

The thoughts of our Season 9 Winners appear below:

Peter Blaze, Worfield Golf Club (nominated by Geoff Camm)

Congratulations to Peter Blaze, one of the UK’s hardest working golf professionals, who wins our April Swingers Good for Golf award. Peter has been involved in golf for over 50 years, having taken over from Peter Allis at Moor Allerton Golf Club in 1961, when Mr Allis moved into the world of television.

Says his nominator Geoff Camm, “Despite his illustrious career Peter Blaze took on the job of coaching and running the junior section at Worfield Golf Club during my year as Captain in 2011. Through all weathers and during a time when his eyesight was not good due to an operation he never missed a weekly coaching session which he gave free of any charge. He took junior golfers through the basics of the game including etiquette, ran matches against other clubs, and attended county meetings to ensure our junior members had good representation at important events.”

Adds Geoff “Without Peter Blaze by my side as Club Captain the Junior members of Worfield golf club would have been without a fabulous opportunity to learn the skills and etiquette of this great game. I just had to nominate him for the outstanding work he has done.”

After hearing the news about his award, Peter said  "I am thrilled that Geoff has nominated me for the award and I am over the moon to be a prizewinner. In fact I am "tickled pink"!"

Continues Peter "The prize of a Marriott hotel voucher is ironic! I was the first Golf Pro at Hanbury Manor Golf & Country Club in Hertfordshire when it opened in 1990. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus Jr and I had the priviledge of meeting Jack Senior when he visited to give his approval of his son's design and course construction. I was employed at Hanbury for 11 years until I retired and during that time the hotel changed hands to became a 5 star Marriott hotel. I shall use the prize voucher to visit Hanbury and catch up the the members there. I have not been back for several years!"

Brian Griffiths, Cotswold Hills Golf Club (nominated by Steve Faulkner)

Our first Swingers Good for Golf award winner is Brian Griffiths, the current Junior Organiser at Cotswold Hills Golf Club in Gloucestershire. Brian has dedicated his time over the years to the golf club as a committee member and for the last 3 years has looked after the Junior section, organising competitions, matches and giving them guidance on how they should conduct themselves both on and off the course.

Says his nominator Steve Faulkner, “Brian organises an end of year Junior prize giving and dinner where he presents a wide variety of prizes to the Junior Section, rewarding them for their best endeavours over the year. The pride and joy expressed on the faces of our juniors is a vision to behold and properly reflects the time and effort Brian puts in to running and supporting the Junior Section.”

Adds Steve “It will be Brian's last year of running the Junior Section of Cotswold Hills and I believe it would be a truly well deserved reward for Brian to be recognised for all the hours and the dedication put into this very important role.”

Brian wrote us a letter to thank us for his award:

"Thank you very much for awarding me your ‘Good for Golf ‘award from Virgin Atlantic, it has taken me very much by surprise. It was very nice of Steve to enter my name and to say such kind things about me. I am 73 years old and have been a member of my club Cotswold Hills Golf Club, Ullenwood, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, for 40 years."

"I have been a sports-person all my life, but it was mainly with football until at the age of 32 I then moved to Cheltenham and became a member of CHGC. Since then golf has been my “passion”. "

"I was a motor engineer and back in the fifties was apprenticed to a garage for 6 years. I learned there that to make things work you have to have the right ingredients, just like you see on the TV these days with modern cookery programmes, if the ingredients are not right then the end product will fail."

"For the last 35 years of my working life I was employed by the Glos.Constabulary as a “vehicle examiner” assisting the traffic police unit in vehicle examinations, at road checks and accident investigations."

"At that time I was unable to become involved with Committee work at my golf club due to the pressure of my business life. When I retired in 2005 I offered to do voluntary work for the club and was elected to serve a three year term on the main Committee in December of that year. In 2009 I was asked to take on the role of Junior Organiser, and will, somewhat reluctantly, be relinquishing that role at the end of 2012. This role has also coincided with my second term of office on the main Committee as Chairman of Competitions."

"The Junior Section at our Club is thriving due to the hard work of our Members and the General Committee who are dedicated to the future of golf through young people. All our juniors are taught the fundamentals of golf, not just by playing, but by learning and obeying the rules and most importantly the social aspects that are associated with golf."

"During the year they can take part in medals and knockout competitions for which they are awarded medals and trophies at the end of the year during our annual AGM and luncheon. We play matches against other local clubs in league format organised by The Glos. Junior League which is an offshoot of the Glos. Golf Union, as well as matches against our own Members, including the Ladies, Seniors and ‘A’ Team Sections. All our Juniors are encouraged to enter open competitions at other golf clubs during the summer holidays."

"During the summer season between April and August we have a club meeting every Monday night when the juniors can play 6 holes of foursomes golf. It is at these meetings that the lower handicap junior golfers are paired with learners, helping and encouraging them to reach a good standard of golf that is suitable for any golfer. At the end of these meetings, the juniors have a chance to socialize and enjoy nibbles and soft drinks to round off the evening. We currently have about 54 male and 4 female juniors many of them single figure golfers and they are a credit to the Club. The Junior Captain and Vice-Captain take pride in their roles, and represent their fellow juniors at functions during the year."

"You may recall that I mentioned “Ingredients” well, this is my point, and all I have to do is keep things in order. The ingredients are supplied by the members, the various committees, our Professional Mr James Latham and the parents of our juniors, especially those parents who help me in the year by year running of the junior section. It is these people who are the back bone of the section, acting as taxi drivers etc. without them it would not work. If I did not have the ingredients, then I could not make our junior section work."


The thoughts of our Season 8 Swingers 'Good for Golf' Winners appear below:

Paul Dean, UAE online, Dubai (nominated by Andrew Costelow)

This month’s winner is Paul Dean, creator and editor of UAE online in Dubai, and nominated by ROW Swinger Andrew Costelow.

Says Andrew “I saw your competition to nominate an unsung ‘hero’ and immediately thought of Paul who does so much work for Golf and sport in general in the United Arab Emirates."

Adds Andrew "Despite the professional image and concise information detailed within UAE online he receives surprisingly low sponsorship and support from local businesses and/or golf clubs. I personally feel he does not get recognition for his huge efforts in producing something which people take for granted maybe and don’t appreciate the long hours he puts in.”

Says Prize-winner Paul "I would like to thank my nominee Andrew Costelow not only for this mention but his support for what I am building with UAE Golf Online. Secondly thanks to Virgin for the prize, mention and promotion, this was a genuine surprise and I really appreciate it. If any of you want to look at the Golf Scene in the UAE then take a look at my website and digital magazine on UAE Golf www.uae-golf-online.com."

Albert Bone, Rosemary Grange Golf Club (nominated by Margaret Tindale)

This month’s winner is Albert Bone (pictured), of Rosemary Grange GC in Durham nominated by European Club Swinger Margaret Tindale.

Margaret says “I have known Albert for 11 years and in that time I have been amazed at his dedication to our club.
He is over 80 yrs of age but still manages to come to the golf club on most days. He no longer plays due to his health but he is always there to give advice to anyone seeking it.

“He is always willing to give his time. If we need a starter for competitions, rain hail, or shine he never lets us down. He gives his time to collect membership money for the County Junior Patrons Society. This is not always easy, but Albert manages to convince most people to join and support the juniors. He will travel to junior away days to ensure we have enough adults to supervise. He often gives prizes for raffles and sells the tickets to raise money for all sections within the club. For years he has spent his Saturday and Sunday mornings collecting forecast money which is used to support the junior section.”

“Our course belongs to the council and as I am sure everyone is aware the councils are making lots of cuts. The course was running at a loss so they decided close it. Our golf club made a bid to lease the course from the council and we have been in a consultation period with the council to see if this was possible. Thankfully we have been successful. “

“While this has been on going we have had to run the clubhouse without staff. This has been done with volunteers from within the club, who have served tea and coffee and yes who was first to volunteer? Albert. He serves the drinks, puts the hoover on and generally does what he can to help. Without people like Albert working unpaid I am sure we would not have been able to convince the council that we can make a success of the club.”

“Albert is a treasure and I would like to say thank you to him for all he has done and I am sure will continue to do for Roseberry Grange GC.”

Brian Gower, proprietor of Golf De Barthe, France (nominated by Keith Eustace-Pedlar)

Our second winner, Brian Gower, is the proprietor of Golf de Barthe in South West France. His nominator Keith Eustace-Pedlar explains why.

“Brian is the proprietor of Golf de Barthe in South West France and is also a British PGA Professional. He left his Club professional position in South East England and purchased Golf de Barthe six years ago. He, with his wife and two daughters, have transformed the course from passable to excellent purely by their own hard work.

However my nomination has nothing to do with the course but for the unselfish support by Brian in helping me to overcome my problems over the past year. Last year I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and went into hospital for the removal of the prostate. I was there for ten days but following complications had to return for a further two weeks. This was extremely difficult for me as my wife is housebound and I am her carer. I was able to arrange help at home for my wife but without fully realising it at the time needed support for myself. Brian was terrific visiting me in hospital and keeping me informed of events at the Golf club and really supported me during this period.

Following my hospitalisation I had to undergo Radiotherapy for a period of nine weeks. I had problems with infections but Brian was there to cheer me up and really kept me going during this difficult period. Following about 5 months of hell things had not really improved and I was given several options regarding my future treatment. It was recommended I had a few months break to build up strength and to decide my future treatment. Brian immediately recommended that I went on a couple of weeks holiday in the United States. I checked on my medical insurance, and at the end of September flew off, with Virgin Atlantic of course, to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I have to be perfectly honest it was just what was required as after arriving back I felt like a new person and ready for whatever the medical profession could throw at me (little did I know).

I needed more time to build up strength so it was decided that I would go to Toulouse University Hospital to have a bladder removal at the beginning of January. In all this time I was not able to play golf but was always made welcome at the golf club. Toulouse is a two hour drive from my home so I told everyone not to visit me as I would be there for just ten days. On my arrival home I was extremely weak and getting used to my new way of life. Needless to say Brian visited me and kept my spirit up keeping me up to date on the happenings at the Club.

Unfortunately my health did not improve and I had to return to Toulouse Hospital with acute kidney failure a few weeks later. Just what I needed! Brian again kept me going and helped me stay sane and two weeks later I was able to return home. Kidneys were working well, new water works performing well but due to a dip in my immune system I was very weak and natural pretty demoralised. Brian came to the rescue fetching me from home and taking me to golf events to meet all the members and enjoy the 19th although orange juice is not my preferred tipple. He arranged with a retired physioterrorist member to visit me to help me build up my strength again. Thank you Trish.

Again problems as the damage to my immune system has left me with arthritis in the wrists which is just what any golfer needs like a hole in the head. Still I am undergoing treatment for that and am now back driving the car. I go to the Club as much as I am able and take out a buggy to caddy for members which at least keeps me involved. I hope it will not be too long before I am back playing and entering my scores in the Swingers League. I have so much to thank Brian for as without his help and encouragement I don't think I would have got out of the black tunnel and recovered so quickly.

It is, therefore why I wish to nominate Brian Gower for the "Good for Golf" reward."

Adds Brian, himself, "As a PGA pro. I am very lucky to meet different and interesting people and Keith is up there at the top. His enthusiasm of life and golf Is there for people to see and rubs off to those around him including me and my family.

When Keith became unwell last year he needed all the support he could get and I would visit him as often as possible just talking about the golf club days out we had been on and others we would do again. It has been very difficult for him and he has had a tough time, thankfully he is on his way again and recently we have played golf again which we both enjoyed very much, it is great to have him about again and I feel sure next season will see him challenging for a place in your team again.

I thank you for the prize and would like to thank Keith for nominating me, finally I wish you and all flying club golf swingers a great golfing season."

Ted Moule,  former coach of Sefton Juniors (nominated by Tom Crickmore)

We are pleased to announce that the first winner of our Swingers 'Good for Golf' Award is fomer junior coach Ted Moule. Ted looked after Sefton Juniors at the local municipal golf course for over 20 years.

Says his nominator Tom Crickmore, “Under his auspices, the likes of Lee Slattery and Tommy Fleetwood (pictured with Ted) were grounded in their golf skills and came through the amatuer ranks to make an impact on the professional scene."

Adds Tom “Ted received no money or recognition for his services, but still gave of his time and resources with no thought for himself in order to help get children started in the game. He has these last couple of years handed the reigns of the juniors to a succession of youger men, but during his time he truly was good for golf.”

The following is taken from the Liverpool Daily Post in 2009:

Ted Moule was the organiser of Sefton Juniors in Southport for two decades and a father figure to many young golfers in their early years in the game. He has organised events for many youngsters from the time when they were not much higher than a golf bag and has seen many graduated to distinction in golf. In particular Ted is known for his work with Sefton Juniors and with the Sefton Junior Open for 18 years with more than 100 juniors taking part each year. Ted, now in his 80s, had a heart by-pass in 2004 and suffers from a frozen shoulder, leading him to hand the reigns over to some one else.

With the support of others he started the Sefton Juniors in 1989 and reflects on the many who he has seen take their early steps in golf on the municipal links on Southport Promenade, in one of the early tournaments or in the Sefton Junior Open which attracts entries from around Merseyside and beyond. His memories include a young Tommy Fleetwood, of Southport, aged about five, playing on the putting green when his brother played in a competition. The municipal, the Southport Links as it is now known, has been a big part of his Moule’s life, a course which has been developed across the years, which some believe to be among the best municipals in the north. It is also believed to be the oldest municipal links in England.

As a teenager Moule worked for a Southport firm of shopfitters. He was a 19-year-old when he first played golf and recalls hiring clubs for two shillings and sixpence (12½pence) and it cost the same to play a round. He joined nearby Hesketh at the age of 23, paying the £8.50 entrance fee and three guineas a year and then Southport Old Links before he moved to the Park, based at the municipal. There nearing the end of his playing days, after almost 60 years and approaching his 80th birthday he had his first golf hole-in-one.
 
His Sefton Juniors started with about 30 boys and while the numbers increased dramatically, in more recent times they have declined considerabley. He is disappointed about that and blames the fall at least in part on the cost of green fees. Other costs have risen and junior golf, like other areas of society, is not immune from the credit crunch. But with Sefton Juniors, which held about 30 competitions a year, and the Sefton Junior Open he has seen the talent of many boys develop. Some have become professionals, at golf clubs or on the tournament circuit including Lee Slattery. Moule records include a return from Slattery aged about 10, 63 for nine holes. “And now he has earned about one million Euros,” says Moule. Fleetwood, from Formby Hall and now in the Walker Cup squad, still holds the record for the Sefton Junior Open with 65 gross. Even with his busy golf calendar he has made the effort to maintain his links with Sefton Juniors, returning to where his golf career began. Moule says that with Slattery and Fleetwood it was apparent from an early age they were destined to succeed. Usually the youngsters have been boys. Moule, like many, is puzzled by the lack of girls in junior golf, no more than perhaps three or four at any one time with Sefton Juniors. But the Sefton Junior Open has seen some outstanding performances from girls, including dual winners Corisande Lee and Ami Cox, both now at West Lancashire.

Moule says: “I have enjoyed it all. I have always been keen on seeing young people play golf. Apart from other things it keeps them occupied.”