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     Message from the 2020 Centenary County President, Mr David Durling

I was a late comer to the great game of golf having played football and cricket until my mid-forties. I joined a Company that had a strong golfing-culture and so decided that I had better take up the game. Through a friend I became a member of Kidderminster Golf Club and when my wife and I moved back up to the North West, I joined Tytherington Golf Club, about 200 yards from our new home.
After a year or two, I decided to switch to the beautiful Shrigley Hall Golf Club where I have been a member ever since. In 2010 I was honoured to become their Captain and then in 2012 the President.
I had long had a desire to improve my knowledge of the rules of golf and in 2012, whilst attending a Rules School organised by the County, it was suggested that I might like to qualify to become a referee. This I did and then as a result, I was invited to become a Director of the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs in 2013.
When the County decided to set up the Cheshire Golf Development Group in 2015, I was asked to become its first Chairman and for four years, with the assistance of members from the Cheshire County Ladies Golf Association, the PGA and two excellent Club Support Officers from England Golf, we worked hard to increase the number of Ladies playing golf, mainly through the “Girls Golf Rocks” initiative. The Group then started work on introducing more young people to our wonderful game and we were selected as one of England Golf’s Priority Junior Counties. The work of the Development Group resulted in our being shortlisted for the County of the Year at the England Golf Awards, eventually securing the runner-up spot.
For the past 100 years, the Union has continued to serve our Clubs and today we represent over 90 Clubs, arrange over 50 events each year including Tournaments and Championships, competitive matches against other counties at 6 different age levels and, in addition, run a number of Life Members’ meetings for those Club members who love their golf but maybe would not aspire to play for the County teams.
As you will appreciate, this takes a lot of hard work and I would like to express my thanks to all of the volunteers who work tirelessly for the County, giving up their time to ensure that everything runs smoothly, and to all of our Vice Presidents who have given so much to the County over the years.
​I would like our Centenary Year to be a celebration of the wonderful game of golf in Cheshire and we cannot achieve that without our Clubs, who we invite to join us at one of two Centenary Conferences in April, to provide a representative for the Centenary Tournament Final in September and to attend our Centenary Dinner in October. Further details can be found on the website.

I look forward to visiting as many of our affiliated Clubs as possible during the coming year.

David Durling
​Cheshire County President 2020