My paternal grandparents retired to St Annes in the late 1960s and my grandfather took up golf. His club was Lytham Green Drive and he played there three mornings a week. Always with the same 4-ball, never in a competition, and usually just 12 holes.
I spent a fair bit of time in St Annes as a kid and my grandfather introduced me to golf - firstly at the splendid links pitch and putt course on the seafront, and subsequently at Lytham Green Drive. After 50 years my abiding memory of the place is watching in wonder as the pro carefully machined the heads of persimmon woods in his workshop.
I remember a very flat, tree-lined course which probably wouldn't interest me much now. At nine years old however, it was a place of magic. I used to pull my Grandad's trolley and then, when we were out of sight of the clubhouse, he'd let me have a go. He had cut down an old half-set of clubs for my grandmother but she'd never been tempted to try them. They became my prized possession and I couldn't wait for the moment when it was safe to pull one out and tee a ball up. I still have that half set of "Dia Rees Pinseekers"!
My early love of golf was cemented when Grandad took my brother and myself to the Open at Royal Lytham in 1974. He was marshalling so he sneaked us in and then left us to our own devices. I remember following Lee Trevino for a few holes because he made us laugh, and then watching from the stands as Gary Player putted left-handed from the clubhouse wall to win the Claret Jug.
Inevitably teenage distractions intervened shortly thereafter and I didn't pick up a golf club again for over 30 years. The wanderer returned however, and I get the same enjoyment now from golf as Grandad did all those years ago. My five year-old grandson is as golf obsessed as I was!
I've a lot to thank Lytham Green Drive for. Not only for the golf - I've subsequently made a living from woodworking!
Grandad died in 1986. I still miss him.
RIP Charlie Cheslett 1907-1986 xxx