Roy Smethurst
When, in the mid 1960s, a promising young golfer moved from Nottingham to Crewe to pursue a career as a systems analyst, Cheshire golf could not have realised their good fortune. Roy Smethurst was to become not only a stalwart of the Cheshire county golf scene, he was also to go on to dominate seniors golf at national and European levels.
Roy moved from Sherwood Forest and joined Crewe G.C.where he quickly established himself as a top player. His call up to the county side came in 1970 and he was to remain a fixture in the side for 26 years, amassing an incredible 186 appearances.
In 1972 Roy was runner-up to D.K Jones in the County Championship at Sandiway, and he was also second the following year, behind Gordon Edwards. Roy was to reverse the 1973 result in 1978 at Stockport by winning the first of four championships. He won again in 1982 at Delamere and defended his title the following year at Heswall. At the ripe old age of 53 he won again in 1995 at Stockport, and four years later came second to Sandeep Grewal at Sandiway.
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| Roy wins the County Championship at Heswall, 1983 |
Indeed, Roy's golfing powers seemed to be ripening with age, With a very straight long game and a deft touch around the greens, Roy's consistency was to reap dividends in seniors golf, which he was to dominate for over a decade.
Roy won the British Senior Amateur title in 2003, four silver medals for being leading amateur in the British Senior Open, was the European Senior Amateur Champion in 2005, a semi-finalist in the US Senior Amateur in 2003 and won the English Senior Amateur Championship four times, reflecting his total dominance of senior amateur golf in the eraly to mid 2000s. He also made numerous appearances for the England Seniors team.
Roy was County President in 2016, undoubtably the most decorated golfer ever to hold the position in Cheshire.
Most recently, Roy has been non-playing captain of the England Seniors team, with success in the 2019 Home Internationals and in the European Seniors Team Championship.
Few golfers can claim to have beaten their own age, but for Roy this has been a regular event. The day after his 77th birthday in 2019 he shot 72 around Wilmslow in the County President's Day.
In November, 2019 Roy was recognised by England Golf for his enormous contribution to the game.
