Stalwarts keeping counties in swing
May 7 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal
NOBODY hates the sight of blazers at a golf club more than me, but that does nothing to detract from the merits of some of the people who have to wear them.
And as Northumberland and Durham County start their Northern Counties League seasons on Saturday, nobody will be more proud of the men representing their respective counties than the Durham captain James Handy and Elliott Procter, president and secretary of Northumberland, an unusual dual role.
When Durham tee off against Yorkshire at Heworth, Handy, a former Journal champion of champions, will be busy with his captain’s duties, which on other days take in selection and committee meetings plus coaching sessions at The Wynyard.
He’s another man with two key golf roles. Despite the demands of the county captaincy, he refuses to relinquish his title of junior liasion officer at the South Moor club, where his wife, Anne, helps him put on thriving weekly coaching sessions for youngsters.
Oh, then there’s the other night with the junior league team and the two junior competitions on every non-county Saturday, including seven-hole competitions for the younger ones in the afternoon. And he’s a member of both the general committee and the greens committee at South Moor.
Aged 16 when he won the first of his 10 club championships, the 43-year-old Handy is a one-club man and a past captain of the North Durham Union league.
