Simkin Strikes An Unfortunate Blow

When we read on Facebook that Darren Simkin had hit the lady captain in a game of golf, we felt compelled to investigate a little further.

Surely this mild-mannered 1990s defender hadn’t suffered a very ungentlemanly descent of red mist that would have warranted a card of the same colour?

Thankfully not. But this normally steady navigator of the fairways had rather mislaid his radar as he ‘snap-hooked’ a drive dangerously in the direction of a group on another hole at Wishaw Golf Club, near The Belfry.

“I shouted straightaway but the ball hit the lady captain on the hand,” he told us. “It was worrying for a moment and I was very relieved when she assured me she was all right.

“She had been marking her card on the side of the green on the fifth but was able to finish what she told me was a successful round for her. I apologised profusely and bought her a drink afterwards, which proves my concern. My friends know I don’t often do that sort of thing!”

Simkin, now a member of the Fire Service, plays off a respectable handicap of 16, which is coming down again after he got as low as 12 during a 16-game Wolves career that started 20 years ago this year.

He is a member of Calderfields, between Walsall and Aldridge, but was frequently seen at Patshull Park and Oxley Park while making some modest head-way at first-team level Molineux.

“We were lucky in as much as we used to be able to virtually just walk on those courses when we were at Wolves,” he added. “If I remember right, Andy Thompson was the best player among us.

“I played quite a bit round that time and later on with Wayne Clarke, who was a member at Bloxwich.

“I was a team-mate of his at Shrewsbury after leaving Wolves and he was also my manager at Telford, so I saw plenty of him.”

Simkin, now 43, was playing at his brother Mark’s club when the drama involving the women’s captain occured.