What is a chap to do when he is playing in a county golf tournament at a time when he needs to use his mobile phone to apply online for a ticket to watch his beloved Manchester City play in the Champions League final?

That was the situation Andrew Henshall found himself in when he reached the 15th green at Astbury in a Cheshire Union Life Members Meeting.

To make this Blues fan even more red faced, Andrew is the county chairman. But, hey, even the top brass have to bend the rules sometimes.

"I needed to get on the phone at precisely 5pm to apply for my ticket," he said.

"So I asked my playing partners if I could putt out first then get on my phone and join them on the next tee.

"They said yes so I got the job done and now I am off to Portugal next Saturday to watch City play in their first ever final of the Champions League, or the European Cup as it used to be called.

"If the county executive chastises me for using my phone on the golf course, I shall just have to hope it was worth it."

Meanwhile Astbury's head greenkeeper Andy Brougham will be delighted to hear the county chairman's verdict on his greens.

"They were fantastic," said Andrew, a good judge of such matters given his name appears on several of the honours boards at his club, Wilmslow.

"It was lovely to putt on them because they were quick and true like all great courses should be.

"I have been playing in events at Astbury for around a quarter of a century and I have never seen the course in such a good condition.

"You can see the bunkers have had a lot of work done on them. I was particularly impressed by the work around the first tee and the way the new sandstone dry wall blended in so well with the surroundings and the stream at the third looked even more attractive than I remember it.

"The Cheshire Union are looking forward to playing the Cheshire Matchplay Championships at Astbury next year in the club's centenary, and I am sure the elite players in the county will enjoy playing such a fine course."

After the tournament, the county presented the club with a copy of the Cheshire Union centenary book.

The week before the county life members meeting, Astbury was the venue for a tournament organised by the Cheshire County Ladies Association.

"Hosting two county events in successive weeks, was a privilege and an enormous honour for our club," said Astbury chairman Phil Richards.

The ladies' event was a team stableford won by the home club and among the field was the county captain Frances Gell, another golfer who has been competing happily in events at Astbury for 25 years.

"The Astbury ladies could not do too much for us," said Frances, a member at Bramhall.

"They laid on flowers in the Cheshire colours of yellow and blue and put a bowl of sweets in the locker room.

"I always enjoy playing Astbury. It is a challenging course but a fair course and so scenic with all those lovely views, which seem to have been opened up quite a bit by work on the course in recent years."

Jill Sanders, secretary of the county ladies' association, added: "The course was in excellent condition, especially the greens, and everyone we came across on the day was most welcoming.

"In particular it was appreciated Astbury provided a starter."

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FANCY a job in golf . . . without having to leave town?

Work starts at Congleton Golf Club on Monday on a golf simulator and teaching studio with completion expected around halfway through July.

Coaching is in the hands of one of the region's leading independent teaching pros in Tom Metcalfe, who also coaches at Alderley Edge Golf Club (AEGC).

AEGC have had similar facilities installed and their resident club professional, Charles Le Sueur, said: "The concept has worked extremely well here.

"It is excellent for introducing people of all ages to the sport and because everything happens indoors it is a facility guaranteed to be in use all year round."

Congleton chairman Paul Bennett said: "We know any beginner's golf game, including youngsters, will be in good hands because we have Tom on board.

"There is another factor. Some people these days only like to play fun golf on simulators – frequently mixed indoor golf - and this brings our club slap bang up to date with one of the changing faces of modern life."

The chair of marketing at Congleton, Anthony Goodwin, said: "Our simulator will require a new employee to oversee its running and the same person will take charge of the club's golf shop."

Anybody interested in applying can request details by emailing the club secretary, Dave Lancake, and copying in chairman Paul via [email protected] and [email protected]

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THE England Golf awards night is back following last year's cancellation.

It will be a virtual ceremony broadcast live on England Golf's YouTube channel on Thursday 3 June (6.30pm).

The host is broadcaster, journalist and avid golfer Naga Munchetty and the Chester club, on the short list for two awards, is the only nominee from among the 98 clubs affiliated to the Cheshire Union.

Chester are in contention for the Sustainability Project of the Year. Their on-course work over lockdown helped develop wildflower areas, bug hotels, natural grasslands and wildlife habitats.

A new link with Chester Zoo on tree maintenance drove ecological improvements.

Chester are also up for Volunteer of the Year. Owen Evans and Keith Thomas, despite their joint role as honorary secretaries being on a volunteer basis, each put in 50-hour weeks to help the club survive the pandemic.

For details on how to receive information and updates about the England Golf

Awards visit here.

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FOR more information, visit Astbury and Congleton's websites.

Tim Taylor of timmyteepr is a former national newspaper staff sports writer and sub-editor.

He is a member of the Association of Golf Writers, the Football Writers Association and the Cricket Writers Club.