The club welcomed thirteen Freemasons of Buckley Lodge and their partners to a social croquet afternoon on Sunday, 10 July. All were beginners so were introduced to the rudiments of golf croquet in brilliant sunshine by Dennis Holman and Pat Wheeler, stopping only for cakes and tea at 4.00. The joint winners of the competition were next year’s Master of the Lodge, Andy Turvey, and Alan Gardiner. Everyone had a great time and were looking forward to returning next year but with Pimms rather than tea!
One of Chester’s level play golf croquet teams, the Centurions, played their league match against Bowdon on Thursday, 21 July. Having won all five of their previous 2022 league matches Bowdon were currently at the top of the league table so Chester were expecting a tough match. The Chester team of David Boyd (captain), David Crawford and John Hampson, were faced with a strong opposition but after the hot dry spell the lawns were very dry, very fast and even less predictable than usual so with home advantage the Chester team were optimistic about their chances. However, the visitors became accustomed to the conditions very quickly and took an early lead and, despite Chester’s efforts, with most of the game scores being very close, they were unable to keep up with such a strong opposition resulting in a final score of Bowdon 11 versus Centurions 7.
Chester’s level play golf croquet team lost 7 to 11 at Pendle on Thursday, 21 July. There was a dramatic change to the weather which was cool to cold on occasions with most players wearing fleeces. The previous day it was plus 30. Tom Grievson (captain), Chris Thomas and Pat Clare played a good quality Pendle team, with most games being very closely fought.
Saturday, 23 July, showed the Senators golf handicap team playing away at Llanfairfechan against the Dragons. Chester team of Edward Baskerville (captain), Kerry Dadson, Liz Baskerville and Ian Shaw won 10 – 7 with one game drawn. Chester won both doubles games in the morning and Kerry Dadson played brilliantly in the singles winning all his games. A very pleasant day’s play once the drizzle lifted and there was sunshine in the afternoon accompanied by a near gale blowing off the Menai Straits.
The association croquet handicap weekend league team of David Boyd, Elmyr Hughes, Sally Slater and Brian Walton (captain) played at Bowdon on Sunday, 24 July. By lunch Chester were down 2 – 1, but the heavy rain through the afternoon made conditions extremely difficult and no more games were taken, the final score being 6 – 1 to Bowdon.
On Sunday afternoon, 24 July, Chester Croquet Club hosted another community social event, this time for the Saughall Rotary Club. Despite pouring rain, the group managed to play three games and enjoyed their croquet.