My name is Christian Lindley and I am married with 2 young daughters. I have lived in Alvanley and the surrounding area since 1976. I first joined Helsby golf club at the age of 14 when Ian Wright was Secretary and resident professional. I was fortunate enough to be part of one of the strongest junior sections in the history of the golf club and this in no small part was down to the guidance and influence of Mr Norman Littler.
My contribution to Helsby Golf Club over the years has consisted of being a member of various committees, being voted onto the Board of Directors and holding the position of Chairman since January 2020. My company was also the main sponsor of the Powered Wheelchair appeal golf day for a number of years and we have sponsored the 1st hole at Helsby for many years. In addition to this I helped support our Captain’s, Neil Johnson and Graham Poland by organising and coordinating their Captain’s charity golf day’s that raised nearly £20,000 for Claire House Hospice.
In brief, I am a huge fan and a loyal member of Helsby Golf Club and always will be. There have been many years where I have not played golf due to work and family commitments but still paid my subscriptions. Why is this? Because I remember how fortunate and lucky, I felt to be associated to Helsby Golf Club and I retain those same feelings 36 years later.
I am hugely honoured to have been asked to be Captain of Helsby Golf Club and I full intend to play lots of golf and attend many events with friends both new and old!
Happy Golfing
Captain Christian Lindley
I am the 91st elected Lady Captain of Helsby Golf Club. I have lived in this area all my life and much of my working life was spent at ICI where I worked at the largest purpose-built computer centre in the UK. We were outsourced several times and eventually I worked for Atos, selling IT services and support across Europe and the UK.
I have two daughters – one who makes mozzarella and spend much of her time on aeroplanes visiting factories and the other who has recently become resident on the Isle of Man where she is a senior lawyer working for the Attorney General (I haven’t won an argument with this daughter since she was 7).
I have bilateral wet age-related macular degeneration and my charity this year is the Macular Society which provides world class research, advice and support to those suffering from this disease.
I was a keen clay shooter. Patsy Perazzi (my 12 bore) and I spent many happy hours blasting bits of clay out of the sky. One particular Saturday I was shooting at Catton Hall and chatting to Martin Mann (who was at the time Captain of Helsby Golf Club) and he introduced my husband and I to golf. And that was the start of it!
I joined Helsby aged 60 and, never having played golf before, I thought ‘how hard can it be?’ Little did I know. I was quickly assigned a golf mentor and an etiquette mentor. Sadly, they have both gone to that great golf course in the sky but I shall never forget them.
I discovered quickly that it can be difficult to find partners when you have L plates on your golf bag. Hence, I am very much in favour of both informal roll-ups and drawn competitions. We currently have a roll-up every Monday and as drawn competitions are proving very popular the Ladies Committee has taken the decision to have more of them This means of course that new members are quickly integrated into the club and ladies play with partners with a more diverse range of skills than they perhaps would do otherwise. I find it uplifting to play with a member of the A team and watch how the game should be played! But, more importantly, one meets new people and this is how friendships start.
We have a very active Ladies Committee and I am hoping that over the coming year we will have several evening social activities for the ladies (though of course the gents are welcome to join us). In the past we have had such things as a fashion show; gin tasting; a beetle drive and a sale of second-hand golf clothes. I hope we can do even better this year.
My mantra is – “We are Helsby Ladies. The golf is not always great but the friendships are wonderful”.
Carolyn Clothier
Lady Captain 2023/2024
I was born in Edinburgh but brought up and schooled in Hertfordshire. In 1984, at the tender age of 41, I was relocated to Northwich by ICI, for whom I worked for 36 years, and settled in Utkinton near Tarporley where I still live. I took up golf around 1990, initially joining Pryors Hayes GC but on my retirement in 1999 my wife Frances and I managed to join Helsby GC – I say “managed” because there was a waiting list in those days! I have always played, and watched, a great deal of sport and in my time played rugby, cricket and squash, but my participation these days, outside golf, is limited to snooker and billiards, not to mention fly fishing which is also a long-time great passion of mine.
In 2004 I was elected to the then management committee and found myself on the Match & Handicap subcommittee and soon after became chairman, a role I held until I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the Club Captain for 2012/13. After 11 years of active involvement in management of the club I stood down in 2015.
It is a great honour to have been nominated as President and I am proud to follow in the footsteps of the 48 gentlemen who have held this position since 1901. The structure of the club has of course changed since my time on “management”. While the President is an officer of the club, the role has no executive powers but I hope my experience will offer some benefit to the board. I will be looking to offer support and advice to both the incoming Club Captain and the Lady Captain who will be embarking on busy years. That apart, I believe it is fundamental that the President seeks to uphold the traditions of the club established over more than 120 years – something perhaps some of our newer members may not initially recognise or appreciate – it is an important strength of a members’ club
I look forward to participating in the club’s activities throughout the year and meeting many of the new members, particularly on the President’s Day and the President’s Day for ladies.
Ray Feldwick
President