Phil Smith likes everything about Cirencester Golf Club.

The 62-year-old joined the club in 2018 and it's fair to say he hasn’t looked back.

He took over as captain in December last year and said: “From the very first day everybody has been very friendly, very welcoming.

“The club is very well run, the competitions are excellent and the course is really good.”

And when he spoke to The Local Answer, Smith was enjoying being at the club even better than normal because he and his vice-captain Ade Marchant had just won the club’s President’s Day.

“It was run by Christine Park, our president,” said Smith, a former Bournside School pupil who lives in Stroud.

“It was a very good win. It was mostly down to Ade, he played very well. It was a betterball, we scored 46 points.”

That was three points more than the rest of the field on what was a very good day for the club.

And the club have another big day coming up because Smith’s Captain’s Day takes place on Sunday 5^th July.

About 140 players are expected to take part and Smith, who used to play football and cricket for Chalford, said: “It should be a good day.”

Smith, who has a handicap of 13 off the yellow tees, has had a lot of good days over recent years.

He was vice-captain to Mark Griffin for a year and he said: “When I was asked I was very honoured, I couldn’t say no. I’ve really enjoyed my time at Cirencester.”

“I love the social aspect, the camaraderie and I love playing in the competitions.

“The course has a great layout. The 18^th is our signature hole, it shares a fairway with the fourth but there are great views at the top.

“We’ve also got a couple of challenging par 3s and a couple of hilly holes which are very challenging.

The par 3s are the 9^th and the 11^th while the hilly holes are the 5^th and 17^th.

“The 5^th is a par 4 but the 17^th is a long par 5 although it’s not quite as hilly,” continued Smith, a retired financial adviser.

Smith drove the ball 180 yards as part of the Captain’s Drive-in back in March and said: “There was about 60 or 70 people watching, I did feel a bit of pressure.

“It was a wet, cold and windy day so I was pleased with my drive.”

Smith says his short game is his strength – “I'm better around the greens than on the greens,” he added – and his best score around the par 71 course is 75.

He was pleased with that round, of course, but admitted: “I very rarely get round in the 70s, usually in the 80s, or 90s!”

He was enjoying the first of a couple of golf-free days when he spoke to The Local Answer after playing for five days in a row.

That’s a pretty big commitment but Smith said: “Golf is like a drug, you’ve just got to keep on playing.”