ASHTON-on- Mersey’s new captain Jim Reynolds brings a strong Welsh influence to his new role after the former teacher moved to Sale from mid Wales 40 years ago.

He has been a member of his club for 20 years with a current handicap of 17½ and a best of 15.

He joins his lady captain, Fiona Vaughan-Thomas, who is in office for a second successive year, and she also has very strong Welsh heritage.

She was captain of the Welsh Girls Under-18s team, leading them to victory in the home internationals for the first time in their history and they also won the Triple Crown and her team were selected to play in the home internationals at Royal St Davids where they did the double.

Like Reynolds, she is a teacher, of PE at Sale Moor High School, and she honed her skills at Nefyn and District GC with a best handicap of +1.

Reynolds' favourite course is Llangollen and his favourite hole at Ashton is the eighth/17th because it looks fantastic in spring.

He said: “I play three to four times a week and my other hobbies are watching Sale Sharks Rugby Club, gardening and cooking and I also support Manchester United but as a youngster I was a big Spurs supporter.

“The charity I am supporting is The Christie Cancer Research UK because cancer affects approximately 370,000 people each year and touches most families’ lives at some time.

“My own personal highlight in golf was to play the Old Course at St Andrews – what an experience teeing off at the first in front of the R&A building with a gallery of tourists watching.

"You can’t fail to hit the first fairway – unlike the first at Ashton.

“My chosen fourball in golf would be with Gareth Edwards the fantastic Welsh, Barbarian and British Lions scrum-half and we could chat about the great Welsh sides of the 60’s and 70’s.

"I would also love to have Rory McIlroy so that he could show me how to play golf properly and finally would be my old friend and teaching colleague Roger Clark – he can talk to anybody about anything and still make sense when playing golf.

“Finally I would like to invite people to give golf a go at my club – it is very welcoming club, a superb clubhouse with panoramic views over the challenging course and a nine-hole course which is becoming increasingly popular for people with busy lifestyles and time constraints.”

Joining the two captains in office is president Paul Thornton.

Pic ltr Jim, Fiona, Paul