CAPTAIN 2026/2027
This year marks a milestone that very few institutions—let alone golf clubs—ever reach. We are celebrating our quasquicentennial, our 125th anniversary. It’s a term that may sound uncommon… because it is. Not many clubs can proudly say they’ve stood the test of one and a quarter centuries.
I moved to Helsby in 1986, when my sporting life revolved around rugby at the BI Sports & Social Club. I finally hung up my boots at the age of 50 and soon after joined Helsby Golf Club, swapping rucks and scrums for fairways and greens.
Sixteen years later, I’m still reminded of the same feeling I had when I first arrived: Helsby Golf Club welcomes you the moment you step through the door. You’re greeted with a warm smile, a helpful hand, and a genuine sense of community. We are known not only for our beautiful Cheshire parkland course, but also for the friendly, welcoming atmosphere that makes every golfer—new or experienced—feel right at home.
So please, enjoy everything Helsby has to offer:
• our stunning, well-kept course
• our warm and lively clubhouse
• our competitive matches and social events
• and of course, those rare perfect shots… along with the many, many entertaining ones that keep us humble.
I am also pleased to announce that the Captain’s Charity for 2026/2027 will be the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. They are the sole charity supporting the Clatterbridge Cancer Centres, caring for cancer patients across Cheshire, Merseyside, and the Wirral. Every single day, 50 new patients walk through the doors of a Clatterbridge
Centre, including the unit at Halton Hospital in Runcorn. Their work touches countless local families, and I’m proud that we will be supporting them this year.
Thank you for being part of this wonderful club—its history, its spirit, and its future.
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead at Helsby Golf Club:
a year of golf, laughter, community…
and maybe the occasional miracle on the greens.
Captain,
Bal Matu
LADY CAPTAIN 2026/2027
It is both an honour and a privilege to nominated as your Lady Captain.
When I first became a member of Helsby Golf Club, I never imagined one day I’d be given the opportunity to represent such a wonderful group of people — not just as golfers, but as teammates and friends, especially in this coming season when we are celebrating 125 years since Helsby Golf Club was designed and built by James Braid.
I am not quite sure how all this happened but here I am. It was only 3 ½ years ago that I started to play golf again after having 16 years off.
I want to begin by thanking our outgoing Lady Captain, Viv, for her dedication, hard work, and the warmth she has brought to the role over the past year. She has set a high bar to follow. On behalf of all the ladies, thank you for your leadership, your encouragement, and for keeping the spirit of the ladies section alive.
To the ladies committee, volunteers, and everyone who works behind the scenes – from the greenkeepers who keep our course in such good condition throughout the season, to the catering and clubhouse teams who make our gatherings so enjoyable, without you, there would be no Helsby Golf Club.
I thought it would be nice if I gave you a little background information about myself for those who do not know me.
I was born in East Kilbride near Glasgow in 1965 and for those that are good at sums that makes me 61 this year. Do you know how many famous people there are from East Kilbride? Ally McCoist, Lorraine Kelly, John Hannah, Kirsty Young, Muriel Gray, Liam Fox – just to name a few and of course me.
I always had an urge to play golf (don’t know why) but playing badminton at an International level for Scotland meant there was little time for anything never mind golf as I was playing and training 7 days a week. Also, my dad said he would only finance one sport and he didn’t know if I could play golf or not! He was Scottish after all!
In 1987, after graduating with a degree in mathematics I moved to Warrington to take up a graduate trainee positon with British Nuclear Fuels where I spent all or my career, starting out as a health statistician and finishing in Cyber Security travelling all over the world from USA, Japan to Russia.
In 1991, I seriously injured my back playing badminton and had to retire from the sport I loved. However, over 35 years later I am now back playing badminton for Frodsham Badminton Club albeit a little slower than previously.
In 1996, the urge to play golf returned so I had some lessons at the local American Golf driving range. I then joined Alder Root Golf Club a 9 hole course near Newton-Le-Willows that had only just opened but was still a very challenging course. I played in the Ladies’ team and the Daily Mail Challenge reaching the quarterfinals in 2005.
However, in 2006, I stopped playing golf as I was finding it difficult to find the time due to my life taking a different direction. As we, all know golf takes up a lot of your time and it is difficult sometimes to fit golf into a busy lifestyle especially when you are working.
In 2022, I took early retirement, after working for BNFL for 35 years, and decided it was time to start playing golf again. I looked at a couple of local clubs. However, after stepping into the clubhouse, meeting Kieran and having a courtesy round with Chris Marsden, I decided to join Helsby as I felt instantly at home and was warmly welcomed into Helsby’s fantastic Ladies section.
Since then I have enjoyed resuming my love of golf at Helsby, I play in the Ladies’ teams and proud to have been a part of the team that won the West Cheshire A Team Shield for the first time in 2024 for Helsby Ladies, which ranked on a par with my badminton achievements.
I am thrilled to announce that my charity for the coming year is Breast Cancer Now, a charity very close to my heart. It is important to note that Breast Cancer does affect both men and women. So I hope that you will all support my Lady Captain’s Charity day on 12th August – it is open to any 4 ball combination of teams, made up of men and women.
Finally, I’d like to thank you all for the trust you’ve placed in me. I promise to give my very best to this role, to listen, to maintain the traditions of our club and to ensure that our ladies’ section continues to thrive.
So, here’s to a year of great golf, good company, and plenty of laughter. May our drives be long, our putts be true, and our spirits always high — no matter what the scorecard says.
Janette Wark
Lady Captain.
PRESIDENT 2026/2027
When I became a member of Helsby Golf Club in late 1980 I was made aware of who were the officers of the club at that time and their roles in managing the golf club whilst maintaining our long-standing traditions. Whilst no longer required to manage the day to day running affairs the officers are still the figureheads of the club as they have been for the past 125 years. When I joined the club, it never crossed my mind that one day I might be asked to be the President of Helsby Golf Club or to write a message to our members, I just wanted to learn to play golf, take part in social events and make new friends.
However, that day has now arrived, and I feel honoured to be asked to become your President for 2026/27. The role is less demanding than that of the Captain and Lady Captain, but it is my intention to support them and of course you, our members over the coming months.
Firstly, a warm welcome to our new members. Thank you for choosing to join Helsby Golf Club. As you will see later in this message, we have a wide age range of members in the club who are pleased to welcome newcomers.
We are lucky that we have a relatively flat golf course that can be played and enjoyed by golfers of all ages. It is noticeable that we now have several juniors in the club which is encouraging for the future. They not only go out to play golf but are often seen in the clubhouse mixing socially with other members which is good to see.
We also have well-supported Ladies and Seniors memberships. The ladies this year led by Janette Wark, the new Lady Captain will have another good year. They are a very sociable group and the Captain, and I spent a very enjoyable evening with them at their recent coffee evening. The Senior section go from strength to strength each year. From team games against other clubs to competitions at home they have full calendar that bodes well for the year ahead. I have not forgotten our new Captain, Bal Matu. Bal competes regularly in golf club competitions and has arranged an away day and other events to enjoy both on and off the golf course this year. Everyone wishes him well for the year ahead. Being the Captains in the 125th year celebrations is a great honour for Bal and Janette. I wish them both well for the year ahead.
On the golf course a lot of work has been done over the Winter period. More wet areas have been drained, overgrown areas cleared and new boundary fencing installed. Thanks go to Danny and his Greens Team along with Brian Prince and the Artisans for their efforts.
In the Clubhouse we have several events scheduled for the coming year with the highlight being the 125th Anniversary celebrations in September. Apart from the day-to-day needs of the membership there are golf societies and other groups who use the Clubhouse. This demands a lot of organisation and work for which we thank Rob and his bar staff along with Peter and his kitchen helpers.
In the office our thanks go to our Secretary Kieran along with Gill, his Assistant for the essential overall day-to-day management of the golf club. Lastly there are the Board of Directors, thanks go to them too for their part in managing the golf club.
My home is in Manley which is less than 3 miles from the golf club as the crow flies. Apart from my wife Pauline who many of you will know we have two daughters and one son who all live less than 20 miles away. Our two daughters, Emma and Claire were members at Helsby until work took them too far away. They both feature far more frequently on the honour’s boards than their father! Golf was new to me until my membership began at Helsby. Ball game sports have always interested me, and I have played football, cricket, tennis, table tennis, snooker and billiards. Almost immediately after taking up golf it became the dominant sport for me!
Finally, I wish all members the very best for the new season. Hopefully the weather will be kind. We can’t all win the competitions, but we can play with a smile on our face and enjoy the fun of playing golf.
Colin Ford
President