CONGLETON'S first golf simulator is being put through its paces today . . . just over a week ahead of opening to the general public on Monday August 9.

PGA professional Tom Metcalfe forecasts: "This will help to change the image of the sport in the town for ever."

He may have a point. Thankfully, the sport has left the era when it appeared clubs could be unwelcoming to the outside world and a simulator makes that clear to anybody who fancies having a go at the game.

The simulator is ideal not only for improving the technique of golfers but also creating fun social occasions for groups of non-golfing friends, neighbours or work colleagues.

It is at Congleton Golf Club situated alongside the main Biddulph Road, where today has also brought the re-opening of the golf shop following Covid lockdowns.

The simulator is going through a bedding-in period during which time it is restricted to Congleton Golf Club members.

Tom said: "Our SkyTrak simulator provides more accuracy for my coaching by assessing what the ball does immediately after impact.

"Tracing the ball flight is invaluable and makes it easier for me to help a golfer improve and if the weather is bad, any golfer can use it for practice whether or not he is a member of a club.

"Golfers and non-golfers alike can also simulate playing various golf courses round the world.

"We have a TV and music in the simulator area so anybody can come along, swing away and get a fantastic social vibe going.

"I am only 27, but I can remember a time when women and youngsters encountered some golf club rules which did not always give them the same privileges as men.

"I feel that attitude is a thing of the past which is superb and the massive popularity of golf simulators is another sign of the times."

Along with the arrival of a simulator, the golf club has taken the opportunity of a double first thanks to a scheme devised by club chairman Paul Bennett.

Three 17-year-olds – Alfie Oakes, Phoebe Squires and Cheshire Boys golfer Harry Gittins – are enjoying paid work experience at the golf club during the summer holidays under the supervision of PGA pro Tom.

Alfie signed for the lowest gross score in this year's Crewe Junior Open.

Chairman Paul said: "I have never heard of anything like this before and I am delighted the other decision makers at our club went along with the idea.

"We are giving youngsters a chance to flourish in the golf business under the guidance of Tom, who is also attached to Alderley Edge Golf Club.

"It is significant Tom has learned his trade from their head professional, Charles Le Sueur.

"Anybody with much experience of Cheshire golf will tell you Charles is one of the most highly respected golf club professionals in the county.

"He has built his reputation on excellent coaching skills and painstaking attention to detail in terms of customer service to his club's members and visitors.

"Tom Metcalfe has learned from one of very top guys in the business and with our generation of Congleton youngsters having Tom's guidance laid on, this is a wonderful chance for them to glean gold standard knowledge.

"Both Harry and Alfie are single figure golfers who will help Tom run the simulator and Phoebe, the granddaughter of our senior captain, Max Wellock, will work in the shop.

"Alderley Edge also have a simulator, so Harry and Alfie have another reason to value Tom's knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm."

It's a busy time for golf pro Tom. Wigan born and bred, he's scheduled to move house with his girlfriend Olivia in his hometown during September.

Following lockdowns, the Congleton and Alderley Edge clubs have re-started their reciprocal scheme.

This allows members of either club to play the other club's course at selected times on Mondays and Thursdays.

Non-members and non-golfers looking forward to using Congleton's only public golf simulator will find the link here useable from August 9 onwards.

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WHO'S the daddy now? That's the question at Astbury with Phil Bills having joined his son Daniel to form a Bills Brigade PGA presence in the pro's shop and on the practice ground.

At the age of 16 Daniel started his first job in golf, working part time for his father in the shop at Heyrose in Knutsford, where Phil was then the club professional.

Daniel, now 29, recently left Royal Aberdeen to land the head professional role at Astbury and his first signing was Phil, who says: "I'm very proud of him getting one of the best jobs in Cheshire and really happy for him.

"It is 13 years since my son started at Heyrose, so it has been an interesting exercise for me to see first-hand how he has developed.

"He has come on a ton. Danny is very professional, he has a good head for business and he is making a wonderful job of it.

"I can see how much he has learned from the different golf clubs he has been at and it is important he has been at places like West Lancs and Royal Aberdeen.

"You have to be at the top of your game to work at clubs of that calibre. They are very busy places and you have to get everything right.

"He has clearly gained a lot in terms of having the right sort of experience to bring to one of Cheshire's leading clubs."

Phil, who spent 12 years at Heyrose, lives in Middlewich. He was brought up on the Wirral where he began his own golf career at Brackenwood.

He joined Astbury from Dunham Forest in Altrincham and has also worked at Bidston in Wallasey, Adlington in Macclesfield and Woodside in Holmes Chapel.

As for that million-dollar question surrounding the father and son role reversal, who IS the daddy now?

He says: "Oh, it's still me. I do not call Danny boss or Mr Bills and he still calls me dad so it's alpha male on that one.

"He is not allowed to give me any gyp or lip. I know he won't, of course, but I can still give him a clip round the ear if he ever does.

"When it comes to playing golf though, it's me who coaches him . . . and I still beat him, even at 57!"

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HARRY GITTINS, one of the Congleton club's youngsters mentioned in the lead story to this column, has enjoyed a memorable week.

On Monday he was among six members of the Cheshire Boys team who signed for maximum points in a county match hosted by Astbury.

Harry won his singles match during a 12-3 victory over Staffordshire and his foursomes, in partnership with Ringway's Aaron Lavelle.

A team picture taken on the day (the bottom one of the pictures accompanying this column) yet again features Astbury's splendid centenary planter near the first tee.

By the time Auld Lang Syne is sung at the end of 2022, a planter fast achieving iconic status may well have become more of a national treasure than Kew Gardens. Well, OK, in Congleton at least!

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A FILM about Maurice Flitcroft, the chain-smoking crane operator from Barrow-in-Furness who managed to hoodwink the R&A into letting him take part in final qualifying for the 1976 Open Championship, despite never having played golf before, will hit the cinema screens this autumn.

The Phantom of the Open, distributed in the UK by eOne, sees Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance playing Flitcroft and will be shown in cinemas throughout the UK and Ireland from Bonfire night.

There were certainly fireworks emanating from the R&A's top brass on that summer's day 45 years ago.

Flitcroft signed for a round of 121 at Formby, unsurprisingly the worst in the tournament's history

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FOR more nformation on the golf clubs this column covers every Saturday morning, visit Astbury and Congleton's websites.

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Tim Taylor of timmyteepr is a former national newspaper staff sports reporter and sub-editor who is now chief writer for the online golf magazine Exclusive Golf & Travel.

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