Andy's Hey day is here

ANDY HEY

A MAN of many sporting talents, Andy Hey's year as captain at Werneth is set to be rounded off by some family joy.

The former amateur footballer (54), who played for Oldham Town and then Oldham Victoria in the Manchester League for two decades, is a proficient table tennis player who has served his Unison team well.

And while the 12-handicapper is relishing getting stuck into his golfing duties as skipper over the summer, there is a special date in November he has an eye on.

"My youngest son Callum and his partner Demi are expecting a granddaughter," explained Andy, with the senior maintenance engineer set to become a grandfather for the first time.

Andy only took up golf when his football career came to an end and he has been a member at Werneth for 14 years.

In that time, he has enjoyed two major successes - the Vice-Captain's Day in 2004 and the Grasshopper Trophy last year, in which he carded a superb nine-under par 59 - the latter of which he jokes was "well overdue".

Now, as captain, he is keen not just to encourage younger members to sign up at Werneth, but to retain them following the initial discount period.

"We produced a structure to attract the 20-40-year-old age group with discounted fees and that seems to have worked," said Andy, who is raising money for Crohn's and Colitis UK, with his wife Jacqueline having suffered from Crohn's since 1999.

"We have found that it is hard to keep them.

"So our focus now is to make sure our new members stay beyond the end of that first season."