Family ties

HONOUR . . . Charles Nicholson.

GOLF: 

CHARLES Nicholson is keeping up the family tradition at Saddleworth.

For the 51-year-old from Grasscroft is the third member of the Nicholson clan to captain the Mountain Ash club.

Granddad Fred held the role in 1954 and dad Keith filled the position in 1986. Now it’s Charles’s turn to take on the coveted mantle.

He said: “I’m very proud and honoured. It has never been done before at Saddleworth where three generations of the same family have captained the club.

“My family are grown up, which means I can devote more time to golf and everything that the year entails. I’m playing off six — my handicap has been five before — and the plan is to bring it down. That’s one of my aims for this year.”

Charles has been a member of Saddleworth for close to four decades. In that time he has won four majors — Vice-Captain’s Cup, Committee Cup, Wharton Cup and Ladcastle pairs Knock-out, which he won alongside his dad in 1984.

His chosen charity, and also that of Saddleworth lady-captain Pam Tomlinson, is the Alzheimer’s Society.

Charles works for Baker Tilly Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers in Spinningfields, and is married to Christine. They have two children, but neither plays golf, which rules out a fourth generation becoming captain of the club.