Fairway to go for leading lady

Feb 27 2003 Christopher Beesley, Ellesmere Port Pioneer

GOLF: ANGELA Casey is a worthy choice as captain of Hooton Ladies.

For such is her dedication to the club that she moved more than 40 miles from her Manchester home to be nearer the Ellesmere Port course.

She said: 'I'd never picked up a golf club before I joined the Hooton Ladies but I was dragged along with a friend and became instantly hooked.

'As well as playing, I became very involved in the administrative side of the club and joined the committee. I was travelling down the M56 several nights each week and arriving back home at around midnight so I decided to move closer to the club.

'I was playing here at the weekend and socialising during the week, so it made sense to come and live in the area.'

Angela, 36, now lives in Parkgate and in addition to being skipper this season she is also the club's handicap secretary.

Although she currently plays off just nine, making her the third lowest player at the club, Angela tasted sporting success several years before she took up golf at the age of 26.

A former Sale Harriers athlete, she was a Commonwealth Games discus thrower in the late 1970s and competed in international competitions in both Ireland and Austria.

One of her first moves on taking on the captaincy was to reintroduce a charity day at the club.

She said: 'We haven't had a fundraiser at Hooton since 1995 but I was determined to arrange one during my time as skipper. Last year one of our members was diagnosed with cancer and I went along with her to the hospital during her treatment. In light of that, all of the proceeds of our 2003 charity day in June will be going to Clatterbridge Hospital.'

Angela is also looking forward to the Municipal Championships in July as the competition holds fond memories for her.

She said: 'My greatest achievement on the golf course was probably when I won the silver division of the Municipals at Southport with the lowest gross score.'

Angela once held the vice-captaincy at Hooton but had to give it up due to work commitments in London, where she was a managing director in a network computing company.

She is now using her IT skills to run an on-line store for women's golf clothing.

Angela said: 'There was a real gap in the market for quality equipment at affordable prices. If female players go into a golf store then they often have to get men's clothing or pay something ridiculous like £60 for a pair of trousers.

'I had worked in computers in the past so I was delighted to be able to run my own golf business on the Internet.

'I launched the store back in August and it's called XIXth Golf Clothing, with XIXth being 19th in Roman numerals.

'As well as operating on the Internet I also do parties at people's houses, which have proved to be really popular as guests are able to try before they buy.

'It's great to see the growing number of female golf players around the country being kitted out properly.'

* To visit Angela's on-line store, log on to www.xixth.golf.co.uk, or call 0151 353 8555 for more details on women's golf clothing house parties.