GOLF: When Joyce Rothwell joined Bolton Golf Club (Lostock Park) at the tender age of 13 no one would have predicted she would still be a playing member 75 years later.

Remarkably, Joyce Crowther — as she became when she married fighter pilot Jack during the war — is still going strong and to celebrate her recent 88th birthday the lady members held a dinner in her honour.

She may not be challenging for the major prizes these days — content to encourage her grandsons to develop their love of the game — but she recently bought some new clubs and enrolled for a course of lessons from the club’s new professional, Dominic Fitzgerald — and her only concession to age is the small buggy she uses when she competes on Ladies’ Day and in the club’s 12-hole competitions.

Born in 1922 at her grandmother’s house in Lostock Hall, Joyce joined Bolton GC in 1935 and for many years she was the only junior girl.

She started playing golf when she was 10 on family holidays in the Isle of Man with her parents who were both keen players. Her father Carlton Rothwell became captain when she was 17 and she then became a full member. Her best handicap has been 13.

Today she plays off the same handicap of 29 she started on in 1939.

She has achieved much over the years. In 1947 and 1956 she won the Best Scratch Score, and in 1949 and 1954 she won the President’s Cup.

In 1965 Joyce became Lady Captain and the highlight of her year was captaining the Bolton GC handicap team to victory the Lancashire Shield.

She is still competitive and recently returned from a golfing cruise with another trophy for the overall lady winner.