Sue Pigeon waiting to add to half-century of golf titles

Sue Pidgeon, 76, boasts more than 50 county titles after the landmark success last year, but her clubs have been locked away while the coronavirus has kept her away from Wrekin Golf Club.

Pidgeon, who is chair of competitions at the club, has been playing golf for 50 years but the virus – and flooding and wet winter that preceded it – have badly affected both her and Wrekin’s schedule.

“The exercise is the main thing, we’re all thinking that when we get back out there we’ll struggle to get round the Wrekin course. I’ve been out for a few walks,” said Pidgeon, who lives in Wellington. “I’ve not got round to chipping it in the garden yet! I’ve been doing some gardening and cleaning the shed, there might be something I can chip it in tomorrow.”

The medium of technology has helped the former ladies’ president keep in touch with golf pals and colleagues as well as notify players of cancelled events.

Even into her 70s, Pidgeon has a busy schedule – until Covid-19 put a stop to the sport. She qualified for various senior events for 2020 last year, but every competition until the end of June has been cancelled.

Pidgeon plays off a handicap of 11 after playing with a single-figure handicap for 40 years.

“We’ve been kept in touch. Most golf events have been cancelled completely until July,” she explained. “I was meant to go to the French Seniors on Sunday – I’ve played there for 22 years without a break, so that’s quite sad. These events are quite a thing to qualify for.

“I’m at the end of my career. It’s for a young player like Jess Warren, from Wrekin, who I feel sorry for.

“She would’ve made her big move in the English Girls this year and things like that are sad. But for me I’ve been able to have been there and done that.”

Pidgeon, who is a trained insurance broker and worked on the Ladies’ European Tour until the early 1990s, fills her competitive golfing calendar these days with Midlands Veteran events, among others, from Shropshire right across to Lincolnshire against ladies she has been rivals with for up to three decades.

“It’s quite nice, it’s a much more relaxed atmosphere now,” she added. “You have competition in you. My dad was a sportsperson, he helped start the Shropshire School Sports Association, so I think I got it from him.”

Sue was one of four girls, and her three sisters went on to excel in other sports, including tennis, netball and swimming. Sue played tennis and netball to a good standard as a youngster and only turned to golf on a trip to Zambia in her 20s, where a host of South African players showed her a real competitive edge to the ladies’ game at Ndola Golf Club.

Titles have flown in at a fast rate over the years. She added: “I did reach a milestone last year with 50 county tournament wins and won another since so I’m on my next 50 now!

“It’s a nice achievement, I don’t think anybody else has done more than 19. I had a nice little trophy from the county captain Anne Weetman at Llanymynech, who was actually one of the juniors I used to look after, which was quite emotional.”

Pidgeon does confess fears for her club, Wrekin, once normality returns. She has been a member since 1972 and is confident staff are doing all they can to ensure its position.

“I think it might be a little bit of a struggle for us as a club when we get back out there because people have to prioritise other things,” she explained. “The lockdown makes it quite difficult. I hope everybody stays loyal as members.

“The membership is quite low at Wrekin. It’s a hill course so it does not attract older players in early retirement.

“But we’ve got a good group of men in their 30s and 40s. We are very short on women. I think most look at the fees and think it is cheaper to have shoes and a handbag.

“The junior section needs a boost. We are down on that. We don’t have a professional teacher all the time, just an attachment sometimes.”

So why does Pidgeon think numbers are down in the junior section in a sport that, at times, has struggled to attract younger players?

“You can have tournaments like The Open and the Ryder Cup but youngsters don’t seem to pick it up,” she said. “Golf is difficult. You see a ball there for you but you can’t hit it. In hockey you can run and run if you can’t hit it.

“In golf people give up too easily if they can’t hit it.”

The 76-year-old may have to settle with practising her approach play in her own garden for now.

“I’ve not really been able to play since November. We had one match in the Daily Mail Foursomes against Hawkstone Park and a few 12 holes at Wrekin,” she added. “We’ve had some bad winters but before the lockdown the golf club was closed so often with rain.

“I think they are doing a good job at the club and they have kept in touch telling us what they’ve been doing.

“Some staff are on furlough, but others have been making sure the greens are cut nicely.

“I noticed the water system was on when I walked past the other day.

“We will have a golf club when we get back out there, which is what people in any sport want.”