Derek Newcombe will take over as the new captain of Cotswold Edge Golf Club next month.

The 57-year-old will succeed Alan Taylor on Thursday 21st March having served as his vice-captain for the past year.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he told The Local Answer. “I’m looking forward to being involved and supporting the ladies, the juniors and the seniors.

“I’m looking forward to representing the club and having a good, enjoyable year.”

“I have chosen Longfield Hospice as my charity for the year. It’s a great local charity that helps many people through difficult times. I will look forward to raising as many funds as we can.”

Newcombe is a keen golfer, who plays off 15 and first played for the club back in 2002.

“I stopped playing in 2015 because of work but I rejoined the club a couple of years ago when I retired,” he explained.

And while he is looking forward to serving the club over the next 12 months, the one-time 11-handicapper is also hoping to improve his own game.

“The plan is to have some lessons and get my handicap down closer to 10 by the end of Spring,” he said.

That should be very possible, with Newcombe adding: “I don’t hit it very far but I hit it fairly straight.

“That’s a big help at Cotswold Edge because it’s a really tight course. Half the course is really narrow.”

Newcombe is obviously a big supporter of the club, a club that was formed in 1980.

“There are quite a lot of founder members at the club,” he said.

“There’s a really nice atmosphere, everybody is friendly and nobody takes it too seriously.”

And Newcombe knows a good club when he sees one because he is something of a sporting all-rounder.

“I played a lot of rugby and cricket when I was younger,” said the dad of two grown-up children who lives in Wotton-under-Edge.

“I played most of my rugby for Cainscross but I also played for Stroud.

“I played league cricket for Woodchester and Sunday cricket for Randwick where I’m a life member.

“Then I got involved with coaching my son’s cricket team when he was 11 and I ended up playing alongside him for six years in the adult team at Rockhampton.”

Newcombe’s son is Davis and he, like his sister Tarragon, plays golf although not to the same extent as their dad.

And they were certainly brought up in a sporting environment because Newcombe, who is married to Sheleen, also played football, snooker and pool and currently plays table tennis for Wickwar in Division One of the Stroud League.

“I’ve played table tennis for about 30 years,” he said. “I also used to do a lot of running, I’ve run eight to 10 half-marathons and I’ve run the London Marathon.”

He also likes cycling and walking, two pastimes that Sheleen, who is not a sports fan, also enjoys.

“I’ve not been very good at any sport but can play everything competitively,” he said.

“What I have found is that the better you get at a sport, the more competitive it becomes and the less enjoyable it becomes. Hopefully that won’t happen with golf.”

Ask him which is his favourite sport and he says “probably golf”, so what is it about golf that he has grown to love so much over the years?

“I like meeting people and golf is a very sociable game,” he said.

“I particularly enjoy playing with the seniors because they have so much life experience.

“When I play golf I’m not playing my opponent, I’m playing against the course and myself.”

It should be a very good year at Cotswold Edge.