County of the Year 2026

Dan continues his fantastic success in golf Dan Hayes was an outstanding junior with Bramhall, Cheshire and England with many successes in top competitions at club, county, national and international levels. He won a golf scholarship in 2025 to Louisiana State University and has continued to extend his fantastic success in golf. Dan was part of the England team which won the 2026 Men’s Home Internationals and had fifth place finish at the 2026 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. Dan shot the Champions Course Record (-8) at University Club Baton Rouge- the lowest-ever round by a Louisiana State University in the NCAA Championships (USA). He finished third overall in the individual standings, while helping England win the 2025 European Cup of Nations team event by 14 shots at Sotogrande, Spain Dan was also part of the England Men's team which won the 2025 Octagonal Match, and part of the team which won the biennial international match against Spain in 2025. Other successes include a third-place finish at 2025 Portuguese Amateur Championship and top-Five finish at 2025 Scottish Men's Open Championship He won the 2024 Carris Trophy and finished tied-2nd after going to a play-off in the 2024 English U18 Amateur Championship Dan won the 2024 Lancashire Links Trophy before finishing tied-2nd in the 2024 Brabazon Trophy, just a shot behind the winner, but did pick up the George Henriques Salver for being the leading under-20 player at the event. He represented GB&I in 2024 Jacques Leglise Trophy and in 2024, represented England in Octagonal Match in Spain, Junior Golf World Cup in Japan, European Boys’ Team Championship, and Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals and reached the quarter-finals of 2024 R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship.

The Dunham Forest Trophy is one of the biggest Inter Club competitions of its kind in the country. It is organised each year by the Manchester and District Golf Alliance (MDGA) and the teams comprise the club professional and top six amateurs in the very competitive singles match-play contest. There were over 100 clubs in the original entry with nearly 50 Cheshire clubs involved aiming to reach the finals day traditionally hosted each year at Dunham Forest Golf The semi-finals saw Dukinfield beat Chorlton and Wychwood Park beat Heaton Moor to see teams from opposite ends of east Cheshire aiming to win the prestigious trophy. MDGA President Ian Brooks praised and welcomed both teams for being winners in reaching this stage. Dunham Forest set up a terrific stage for the final both on and off the course for both teams and their supporters to enjoy with good weather to back it. Wychwood got off to a flier winning the first three matches through James Voce, 5/3, Gary Pickford two up and Geoff Marchant 4/3. before Colin McWiggan3/2and Nicky Platt 5/3 gave hope for Dukinfield. But the win was secured by Wychwood pro Tom Metcalfe over Dave Green by 5/3 to the delight of his team and supporters. The other match was declared all-square between Martyn Schofield (Dukinfield) and James Picariello (Wychwood) to see Wychwood home by 4.5-2.5. The trophy and prizes were presented on the delightful outside terrace at Dunham with thanks given to all by Ian Brooks and the Captains of Dunham Forest, Dukinfield and Wychwood for a great day of top golf.

Sunday 27th September 2026 saw the first ever mixed gender match between the two recently merged counties of Cheshire and Lancashire competing for the Wilson/Whitehead Salver at Hurlston Hall near Ormskirk.   Lancashire were very kind hosts for this inaugural fixture and even organised the weather.   Six boys and six girls from each County set off playing mixed foursomes in the morning and singles matches in the afternoon.   Sadly the handicaps of Cheshire’s foursomes pairings were not as strong as the Lancashire ones as their girls had some extrememly low handicaps, but everyone gave it a good go and whilst James Clark and Yasmine Chambers managed a half in their match it wasn’t until the final green when Jack Walker and Isobella Donnelly managed to get a full point for Cheshire.   The afternoon singles started with a fine win for Joshua Hockenhull followed by wins for Shane Clayton and halves for Missy Green and Harvey Taylor, who eagled the last hole to bring his match back to all square. The win of the day award goes to Isobella Donnelly who was only asked to play on Saturday due to a late withdrawal due to flu of another girl. Isobella completed her successful morning with a fine win on the 15th green. But by then, Lancashire had enough points and the final match ended with Jack Walker securing a half to see the final score 11:7 to the hosts.   Lancashire did a wonderful job of the presentation after hesitation as to whether to do it inside or outside, but with so many parents there to see the first ever presentation of the Ruth Whitehead/Les Wilson Salver they sensibly opted to do it in the sunshine outside.   Les made a great speech and kept it very short, and next year we are hoping to have both Ruth and Les there and hopefully Cheshire can use home advantage to help them win in 2027. A great event born from the close working relationship between the two counties. The matches were all played in a competitive but friendly manner and events like this can only be good for both Counties and the game of golf. Thank you to Lancashire and to our Junior Managers.

The Senior England Men and Women's teams won the Home Internationals at St David's GC last week. Both the Senior Men and Senior Women won their respective events too, making it a clean sweep for England. Elaine Ratcliffe from Cheshire was the Senior Women's star, winning all 5 points from 5 matches played, while Kerry Smith and Tracey Williamson won all three of their foursomes matches. Smith picked up 5 from 6 points overall.

Not long to go until our Annual County Dinner! There’s still time to join us for what promises to be a fantastic evening of celebration, achievement and recognition at the stunning Chester Racecourse. The evening will celebrate some of the outstanding individual and team achievements from across Cheshire, alongside the presentation of our awards recognising the fantastic work being carried out by Cheshire Golf clubs — and, of course, our ‘County of the Year’ accolade. And to top off an already special evening, we’re delighted to be joined by Cheshire golfer turned LPGA player Bronte Law, who will be sharing her experiences on the evening, alongside European Tour winner Andrew Murray, who will be our Master of Ceremonies. 📅 Friday 9th October 2026 📍 Chester Racecourse 🕕 6.30pm Tickets are still available! Head to the link in our bio to secure your tickets. We’d love to see you there for an evening celebrating the very best of Cheshire Golf! 💛💙⛳

Honours Even at Disley — Cheshire 9, Lancashire 9 Monday 24th August saw some of the most promising young golfers from Cheshire and Lancashire come together at Disley Golf Club for the annual Mixed Age Match, featuring players from the Under 16, Under 15 and Under 14 squads. Cheshire made a flying start in the morning foursomes, winning three of the opening four matches, before a strong Lancashire fightback left the scores level at 3–3 at lunch. The afternoon singles produced some excellent golf and plenty of drama. Wins came from Tom McCann, Max Gilsenan, Shane Clayton, Austin Eastwood, Jeremy Ju and James Priest, while Jack Walker secured a valuable half with a brilliant birdie putt on the 18th. With the match finely balanced, seven of the 12 singles went all the way to the 18th green. Young Harvey Eastwood, making his first appearance, played superbly but was denied a half by a Lancashire birdie at the last. The final result: Cheshire 9 – Lancashire 9 — a fitting outcome to a superbly contested match. Coach Peter Barber praised the whole team for their performances, while Team Manager Andrew Henshall thanked the players, parents and supporters whose commitment makes these matches possible. A great day of junior golf and plenty to be excited about for the future. #CheshireGolf #JuniorGolf #TeamCheshire #GolfDevelopment #DisleyGolfClub #GrowingTheGame