Eileen Parkes
Eileen Parkes - Ladies Captain of Dartmouth Golf & Country Club
Eileen Parkes was a late convert to golf - taking her architect husband Sid to the Dartmouth Golf and Country Club for his fiftieth birthday with friends, she found this was a hobby they both could share.
‘I started too late to be good,’ she laughs, ‘but we had a lesson and went round that beautiful course and had a fun time. When my husband started to get into it I realised I either had to join in or become a golf widow! It’s a fantastic game and I love the social side. We’ve made so many good friends at the club and even go on holiday with friends we’ve made there. There’s a great atmosphere throughout the club. We’ve been going for more than a decade, and we are still enjoying it.’
Chatting to Eileen you get a sense of how a hobby can be both a challenge and a social opportunity to meet new people and find firm friends. Born in Tipton in the Black Country, Eileen and her husband Sid moved to Kingswear after coming to Hillhead on a camping holiday.
‘I loved where I grew up but we had a slaughterhouse on one side of our house and a factory on the other,’ she laughed. ‘To come here – and 34 years ago it was much quieter and harder to get to because the roads were worse – was just amazing. We fell in love with it and moved down. We’ve brought up three children here and couldn’t have been happier. It’s so fabulous being close to the sea and with the landscape that surrounds us.’
The beauty of the countryside also features strongly in Eileen’s love of golf, which has developed after she began to play with the ladies from the club.
‘At Dartmouth the ladies play on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in a mixture of fun and competitive games,’ said Eileen. ‘The courses around here are just staggering. When you play friendly matches and away days you get to see how amazing the countryside is in this area. You are often near to lots of wildlife which you simply wouldn’t see in the normal run of things. But I also have found I love match play competition. It’s not just hitting a ball, you really have to think and that is a great challenge. It also keeps you fit – it’s six miles round the championship course and about four miles around the Dartmouth course - and if you think I can play two or three times a week, that’s going to keep you in shape!’
Eileen joined the ladies committee a few years ago, she then became vice captain in 2010, and Captain in 2011. ‘It was such an honour,’ said Eileen, ‘and of course at Dartmouth we have this wonderful tradition on New Year’s Day when the all new captains – ladies’, men’s, seniors and juniors - take it in turns to drive from the tee on the nine-hole course to the green on the championship course. The retiring captains then finish playing the hole. When your last putt has gone in, your year in office is over. Lots of members come up, refreshments are provided by the captains and it’s a great social event. It also starts the charity fundraising for the year because members pay to guess the distance the captains’ drive will be from the pin. As I was closest it was a fantastic day!’
Each year the captains choose a charity which will receive the funds they raise during the year – Eileen chose Save the Children as her charity this year. Events arranged by both the men and women’s teams have brought in nearly £5,000 so far this year. This will be shared between Save the Children and Rowcroft, the chosen charity of the men’s team.
‘I wondered if the current economic climate would affect how generous people would be,’ said Eileen, ‘but it has passed all my expectations – people have been so generous with their time and money, for example the regatta fireworks party, organised by Mike and Sylvia Shalders, which raised more than £1,000.’
Eileen is now coming to the end of her year as captain - after which she will leave the committee for a well-earned year off.
‘After our annual awards ceremony, I’ve got Christmas competitions to organise, which is lots of great fun but after the New Year’s Day Captains’ event I’ll be done. It seems strange to think about because it takes up a lot of your time, but I’m so glad I did it. Sid won’t be cooking for one so much!’
‘It’s been brilliant.’ she beams. ‘The people at the club are why I got involved, the ladies have been so kind and supportive - they have helped me to have a great year. I’ve enjoyed it immensely. We are always looking for new ladies to join the club and if you would like to come along, please give me a call on 01803 752497 or pop into the pro shop at the club or call them on 01803 712686. We look forward to meeting you.’
First Published November 2011 By The Dart