PETER ‘Pep’ Smith’s sporting affinity with Wilmslow and Alderley Edge has a fresh chapter this year.

A lover of detective and horror novels, the highlight of Pep’s golfing life to date comes with being handed the 2017 captaincy at Wilmslow Golf Club.

It is a story that began with joining the club in 2005 but he is far from being a closed book when it comes to ball games.

He is a relative newcomer to golf compared to involvement with Wilmslow Cricket Club for 46 years, Wilmslow Hockey Club for 41 years and Alderley Edge Cricket Club for 38 years.

The captaincy, a huge honour, heralds an exciting 12 months for a man who loves his golf at home and abroad.

Pep, who plays off a handicap of 17, said: “Wilmslow Golf Club is a very friendly and traditional members club and we are lucky to have such a top quality staff.

“These include Ged Heaslip, our very knowledgeable and affable general manager; Simon and Karen Ward, winners of the National Golf Club Stewards of the Year in 2013 and regional winners and finalists on numerous other occasions; Matt Gillingham, winner of the Club Golf Professional of the Year in 2009; and Steve Oultram, our course manager who has been with the club for 25 years and keeps our course in such tremendous condition.

“My favourite hole at Wilmslow is the 440-yard par-four 16th as it is both tricky and picturesque – you need to hit a long and precise drive down the left side of the fairway leaving about 160 yards slightly downhill to a green with bunkers left and right and surrounded by mature trees.

“In summer the second shot to the green is one that all golfers would savour.

“While I have played golf in the USA, Portugal and Spain, for me there is really only one place to play – and that is Scotland.

“My brothers, who gave me the nickname of Pep over 50 years ago, and I travel to Scotland in May every year to play golf and visit distilleries.

“My favourite three courses are Kingsbarns, the Kings Course at Gleneagles and Machrihanish, which all have great and varied qualities to enjoy.”

Pep, who has chosen The Stroke Association as his year’s charity, hopes to find some time for his other interests too during what will be a busy 12 months.

“My hobbies, other than golf, are reading – I always have several books on the go at once – detective novels, horror novels, true life crime stories and true life unexplained mysteries, sports books (mainly cricket and golf) and I also have a keen interest in whisky and I look forward to the annual publication of The Whisky Bible by Jim Murray.

“If I could choose three people to join me in a four-ball they would be Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest detective), Stephen King (writer of the finest horror stories) and Jim Murray from The Whisky Bible.

“I also follow cricket closely, having played each Saturday for more than 30 years, and I like to watch live games whenever I can but this may be limited in 2017 due to the extra rounds I will be playing in my captain’s role.

“I have fallen out of love with football in the past few years but if pushed these days I loosely follow Manchester City – a Pep connection!”