Yorkshire Golfer - August edition

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SEVENTH HEAVEN BEN ADDS CARRIS TO BRABAZON – RISES TO 7th IN WORLD RANKINGS

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August 2019

YORKSHIRE JUNIORS ON TOP

HOLLY’S DREAM DEBUT

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August 2019 Yorkshire Golfer is published by League Weekly Ltd, 31 Branch Road, Batley, W. Yorks WF17 5SB Tel 01924 470296 for subscriptions & deliveries Contents are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced wholly or in part without permission of the publishers

IN THIS ISSUE PYMAN AT PORTRUSH A return to The Open venue where he won the Amateur Championship has rekindled Ian Pyman’s love affair with golf p4

ADVERTISING:

EDITORIAL:

Sandra Kirton 07771 885757 sandra@yorkshire-golfer.com mike@yorkshire-golfer.com @yorkshiregolfer

find us online: www.yorkshiregolfer.net HOLLY HITS HEIGHTS Hallamshire pro Holly Morgan made a winning debut in the PGS One-Day Series p9

WATH A PAIR Ben Schmidt isn’t the only young South Yorkshire golfer making headlines – his caddie and schoolmate Luca Houlgate has been on fire too p5

HALLOWED COMPANY YG visits Sky pundit Mark Roe’s ‘home’ 14-15

ACTION STATIONS Yorkshire players were involved across all categories as England contested the European Team Championships p6

SWEET RETURN Appearing in the Seniors Open at Royal Lytham was a career highlight for Nigel Sweet p11

BERRY GOOD! Josh, 14, lands under 16 title to earn spot in Faldo Series finals in Abu Dhabi later this year p13

HISTORY BOYS Top golfers will descend on Cobble Hall to compete for the Leeds Cup, the oldest professional tournament p20-21 COLT CLASSICS We take a look at some of the Harry Colt creations which every golfer should experience and enjoy p23-25

Spread your club's good news... email your results, open events, photographs and news items to us on: mike@yorkshire-golfer.com and follow us on Twitter @yorkshiregolfer THE NEXT ISSUE OF YORKSHIRE GOLFER WILL BE DELIVERED TO CLUBS ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2019

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August 2019

BOY WONDER Ben making an irresistible case for Walker Cup call-up

Schmidt on fire, landing Brabazon-Carris double YORKSHIRE’S Ben Schmidt became just the fourth golfer in history to win both the Brabazon Trophy and the Carris Trophy in the same calendar year when he won the English Boys’ Under 18 Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Moor Park Golf Club.

The teenager from Rotherham Golf Club, who also plays at Waterfront Golf, became the youngest ever winner of the English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship (Brabazon Trophy) at Alwoodley in June and he completed a rare double when he claimed his second national title of the season in the boys’ equivalent in Hertfordshire.

His latest win saw him rise to a lofty seventh in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and must have strengthened his chances of a wildcard pick for the Walker Cup next month at Royal Liverpool.

He was not part of the initial 26man squad or the revised 16 but was invited to the last get together at Hoylake – he couldn’t attend because it clashed with the Carris. However it’s hard to see how the selectors can leave him out.

He’s now ranked four places above Scot Euan Walker, who is in the 16, and the next highest ranked English player is Sheffield born Joe Pagdin in 30th spot. But he did not make the cut when it came to the final 16 and the next English player is Tom Sloman at 33rd, who is in the squad.

“I would love to make the team, but I will just have to wait and see,” said Schmidt who turned 17 a few days after his win at Moor Park. “It might take one more win this year, but I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.”

His wins in both the Brabazon

Trophy and the Carris Trophy mean he joins Patrick Hine (1949), Sandy Lyle (1975) and Peter Baker (1985) as the only players to have achieved that feat.

Schmidt started the last day as favourite after opening with rounds of 72, 67 and 72, but in the end he had to battle all the way after dropping three shots over the first five holes before recovering to post a level par 72 and finish tied with Spain’s Rodrigo Martin on five-under par 283.

Martin holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd green to tie with Schmidt but on the first extra hole he carved his tee shot into the trees on the right of

TWO young Yorkshire greenkeepers have been nominated for a national award. James Dawson from Oulton Hall and Rudding Park’s Jason Norwood will be joined by five other students in the final of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards. Organised by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, a record 46 students were originally nominated with seven making it through to the final at BIGGA House in North Yorkshire next month (September 9-10). The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner will receive an eight-week all expenses paid scholarship to America.

the fairway and ultimately failed to get up and down from the edge of the green. Schmidt hit a wedge to 20-feet and two-putted for a winning par.

“It’s been a tough day,” Schmidt admitted.

“I’ve not played my best golf, or anything like it, but I dug in and eventually found something on the back nine to help me get across the line.

“I didn’t really feel comfortable all day,” he added, “but I got the job done and I’m very pleased with that. It’s great to get another win under my belt.

“My goal this year was simply to play as much good golf as I could. I put a lot of work in over the winter. I was hoping that would pay off but not for one second did I think it would be anything like this. It’s been a bit mad but I’m really enjoying it.”

His puts his confidence down the stretch to a win early last year in the Yorkshire Boys.

“That wasn’t a big event in the scheme of things, but I came from behind there and it made me realise how important the back nine is. It gave me that winning feeling and thankfully it has continued.”

His performance at Alwoodley was witnessed by former Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards who is now England Golf’s Performance Director and Yorkshire secretary Jonathan Plaxton, a former chairman of the R&A selection committee.

Alistair MacKenzie created a fearsome back nine at Alwoodley, but Schmidt took it apart, fearlessly hitting arrow like tee shots followed by superb approach shots, and the powers that be must have been mightily impressed.

“Playing the back nine so well all week at Alwoodley has been massive for my confidence and I drew upon that in the Carris,” he said.

The next stage of his amazing year will take place at Pinehurst when he tees it up at the US Amateur on Pinehurst’s no.2 and no.4 courses (Aug 1219) and he goes there full of confidence. “I played there in a US Kids event and I’m really looking forward to going back.”

Once again, the Houlgate team of coach Frank and son Luca, who is Ben’s regular caddie, will be there to support him and Houlgate Snr is rightfully proud of his pupil who along with Luca and Charlie Daughtrey is a member of the Wath Comprehensive Golf Scholars’ programme.

If Ben emulates fellow Yorkshireman Matt Fitzpatrick, who became the first English winner since 1911 when he won at Brookline in 2013, he might just be the first name on the team sheet to face the Americans.

Girls lead the way in North junior champs

THE future looks bright for Yorkshire after four players collected silverware at the North of England under 14 and under 12 Junior Strokeplay Championships at South Moor in Durham.

The first day was washed out and conditions were very challenging when golf resumed on Yorkshire Day! Doncaster’s Josh Berry added to his haul of trophies in successfully defending his title with rounds of 74 and 69 to edge out Louis Vallis from Thorndon Park GC, Essex by a shot.

Huddersfield’s Dylan Shaw Radfors tied with Vallis with rounds of 73 and 71 but lost the runner-up spot in a card play-off.

And three girls made it a memorable day for Yorkshire with a clean sweep in the Girls event.

Fulford’s Alex Bonfield (4) came from one shot behind the leaders and a second successive 78 saw her win the gross event by four shots and with it a place in the North of England under 16 finals.

Next, Charlotte Colley, from Phoenix GC, took the nett prize with an 8 under par 138 and the success continued in the under 12 division with Lucia Maturi (Lindrick GC) finishing runner up in the gross but winning the nett prize with a score of 152.

Pictured from left – Lucia, Alex and Charlotte

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August 2019

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Yorkshire figures and connection enjoy the Northern Irish championship

Return to Portrush rekindles Pyman’s love affair with golf THE course of true love never did run smooth but watching the Open Championship from Royal Portrush helped rekindle Ian Pyman’s affection for a game that has given him wonderful highs and equally despairing lows.

The Dunluce course was the scene for Pyman’s win in the 1993 Amateur Championship with the final against Paul Page going to the 37th hole.

The biggest win of his career earned him a place in the Open Championship at Royal St George’s a few weeks later, where he won the Silver Medal as the low amateur, and an invite to Augusta for the 1994 Masters.

Pyman recalled: “I had a chance to beat Paul on the last but missed from three feet. Stood over that putt was the first time I had said to myself ‘hole this and you are in the Open and the Masters’ so I can’t even start to imagine what kind of things were going through Shane’s mind during the latter part of his final round.

“But what I liked most about it was how much he enjoyed the walk up the last hole. You haven’t seen a winner in recent times be able to enjoy it as much as Shane did and that’s the way it should be. “ The vociferous yet knowledgeable local crowd typified Irish golf fans.

“The Amateur wasn’t anywhere near

Dad and lad – Iain and Thomas Pyman

as big a deal as the Open but it drew a lot of interest and because I had beaten a local guy in the semi-finals, they really got behind me and cheered me on in the final.”

He stayed in a local B&B with fellow Sand Moor members the Pullan twins and Stuart Cage in what was a golden age for the north Leeds club.

Cage, who lost in a play-off for the 1995 Irish Open in his rookie year is now a successful agent and was also back at Portrush during the Open to watch his star client Eric Van Rooyen, who was in contention before falling away.

Pyman, however, hasn’t been back since his win which came when he was

20, but has fond memories.

“I will never forget Royal Portrush.

They have made a few changes and on TV it looked like the putting green was the 18th green as we played it. But it was a fantastic course back then as well.” Pyman went on to play over 300 events on the European Tour and won well over £1m, but it’s fair to say that he never fully realised the potential he had shown in a stellar amateur career – although he did win a record eight times on the Challenge Tour in a tournament career that spanned 16 years.

“Towards the end of my career I really didn’t want to be out there and when you are struggling it can be soul destroying. I really fell out of love with the game,” he added.

Pyman pretty much turned his back on golf and returned to his native Whitby to work in the hospitality industry and until last month had played only two rounds in the past two and a half years. But he played six times in July including the Yorkshire Open and has rediscovered his passion for the game.

“I’m really enjoying playing again and have set myself a four-year plan to get on the European Senior Tour so that’s my goal. And watching the Open over a course where I won also made me realise how much I have missed that winning feeling.”

“The challenge at the moment is that I might have to work for seven days straight and then turn up to play without any preparation but the desire is back and that’s what really counts.”

Pyman was speaking to Yorkshire Golfer as he followed his son Thomas round Moor Park in a practice round for the English under 18 Boys’ Open Amateur Strokeplay (Carris Trophy) which Pyman Snr won back in 1991.

“Unfortunately, I won it at Long Ashton in Bristol so I wasn’t able to tell him much about the course.”

He’s very much hands off with his son’s golf game preferring to leave it to Thomas and the coaches around him.

“I’m his dad not his coach. I will offer advice on course management and on the odd occasion he will ask me something and I will give him my opinion, but that’s as far as it goes.”

Thomas is in the Yorkshire Boys set-up playing off a handicap of plus 1 at the age of 16 which is a few shots in front of where his father was at the same stage in his life. “I was off 2 at 16 but I grew up under the old system where it was unheard of to get to plus 4 or 5 and I only took the game up aged 14.”

Thomas is considering a golf scholarship in the USA and if his game continues to progress the Pyman’s will

Zen centre stage at Open

THE adjustable Zen Green Stage which was developed by a Sheffield company completed a hat-trick of Open appearances last week, as the dynamic centrepiece for the Open Zone during Sky’s coverage of the 148th Open from Royal Portrush.

Its TV appearance in Northern Ireland last week meant that the Zen Green Stage was present at each of this year’s four Majors – in Augusta for The Masters, at Bethpage Black in New York for the PGA Championship, at Pebble Beach for the US Open, and at the Open, each time with the Sky team.

At Royal Portrush the world’s leading golfers and coaches used the Green Stage’s adjustable slopes to put on Open Championship masterclasses for the watching TV audience.

Sheffield’s Danny Willett (joint 6th) and Tom Lewis (joint 11th) used the Green Stage in full-swing mode to show how to hit approach shots from sloping lies, and five-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel used the Green Stage to give viewers tips on reading green contours in a live putting clinic – as did former European Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson.

Superstars such as Adam Scott and last year’s Open Champion Francesco Molinari also showed off their skills on it as did Ryan Fox, Branden Grace and Dame Laura Davies and numerous others who took part in Sky Sports’ entertaining 148-Yard Challenge.

Yorkshire coaches Pete Cowen and Graham Walker also presented from the Zen Green Stage, with the latter talking about how he helps last week’s runner-up Tommy

Fleetwood with his short game.

Sky Sports pundits Paul McGinley, David Howell and Andrew Coltart took part in a live putting contest on the Zen Green Stage, tackling a variety of real-world slopes, and the rest of Sky Sport’s talented presenting team also took their turns, including Nick Dougherty, Sarah Stirk, Tim Barter and Iona Stephen.

“The team at Sky Sports is incredibly receptive to new ideas, and it is a privilege to have such a profound relationship with Europe’s leading sports broadcaster” said Zen Green Stage founder, Nick Middleton who operates Zen from Sheffield . “Being able to put superstars onto real-world slopes in the live Open Zone environment creates brilliant flexibility when planning a TV feature.”

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August 2019

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Cowen saw Shane’s win coming...

Talent-spotter Pete worked with champs AS ONE of Europe’s leading coaches Sheffield swing guru Pete Cowen has long had an eye for spotting talent as he did over 20 years ago with new Open champion Shane Lowry.

Last December during the annual Q&A he puts on for members of the Pete Cowen Golf Academy in Rotherham, he recalled the first session he conducted as the new coach of the Irish Boys squad.

The player with the most potential was a young kid by the name of Rory McIlroy. And at the end of the day, officials from the Irish Golf Union were keen to hear what Cowen thought of their potentially outstanding prospect.

“Rory’s going to be great,” confirmed the man who these days works with the likes of last week’s WGC champion and multi major winner Brooks Koepka, plus Henrik Stenson. “But there’s another good one out there. The little fat lad with the glasses.”

Today, the spectacles are gone and a beard has grown. But the talent so astutely identified by Cowen is still there. In fact, it has matured nicely. Shane Lowry went on to win the Irish Amateur and the Irish Open – before he turned professional. There has been a World Golf Championship victory, too, as

Boy wonders Shane and Rory

well as a couple of other European Tour titles. And now, the 32-yearold County Offaly native is the champion golfer of the year. Not for the first time Cowen clearly knew what he was talking about.

Following Lowry’s victory Rory sent him a picture of when they were foursomes partners in that same Irish boys team. In return, McIlroy’s presence in his teenage life is something Lowry views as a huge plus in his own development.

“I got to play with a superstar,” he said. “And when I was younger, playing amateur events, thousands of people used to come and watch.

Because of him. So, I was playing in front of big crowds early on. It was all great training for me.

“At the end of each round, we would speak with the journalists.

So, when I won the Irish Open as an amateur, I was used to playing in front of big crowds and answering questions afterwards. I’d done plenty of interviews. That all helped. The minuses were that I was always living in Rory’s shadow. When I turned pro, and even now, people in Ireland expect me to be as good as Rory.”

Lowry may not quite be there yet. But, along with compatriots Harrington, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, he and McIlroy have now won 10 Grand Slam titles since 2007 which is a remarkable record for a small nation with a population of fewer than five million.

No luck in Luca’s month of magic THEY say the best things in life come in threes as Waterfront’s Luca Houlgate can testify.

He shot a course record of 66 in the July monthly medal and followed up the next day at Lees Hall with a one under par round of 70 to win the Sheffield Union junior strokeplay championship.

Houlgate, 16, who is part of the Wath Academy Sixth Form Scholars’ Programme, then added the Waterfront club championship in his red hot month.

The Scholars’ Programme started last September and is a joint collaboration between the school and Waterfront Golf which lies just over a mile away.

It provides students with Level 3 qualifications alongside the opportunity to experience a range of other progression routes into a variety of careers in golf. It also gives them at least 10 hours tuition per week with Waterfront owner and PGA Professional Frank Houlgate, who is also Luca’s Dad. Luca is slouch as a caddy either having helped steer fellow Wath pupil Ben Schmidt to become the youngest ever winner of the Brabazon Trophy at Alwoodley in May and he will once again be on the bag when Schmidt, 16, tees it up in the US Amateur at Pinehurst later this month (August 12-19) thanks to his World Amateur Golf Ranking of 7.

Schmidt is now the highest ranked English player and the top 50 earn exemption into what will be the 119th playing of America’s most prestigious amateur event, and which was won by Hallamshire’s Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.

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6

Gill, Fitz make Walker Cup but Hague omitted TWO Yorkshire players have been named in a revised squad of players in contention for a place in the Great Britain and Ireland team for the Walker Cup match at Royal Liverpool next month.

Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick and Bailey Gill from Lindrick Golf Club have made it through – but there’s no place for Malton & Norton’s David Hague or Sheffield born Joe Pagdin, who were also both named in the original 26-man squad back in April.

Three new English players have also been added to the new 16-man squad. Matty Lamb (Hexham), David Langley (Castle Royle) and Joshua McMahon (Wallasey) have all been drafted in, in recognition of their results in recent weeks.

The trio join Jake Burnage (Saunton), Fitzpatrick, Gill, Harry Hall (West Cornwall), Ben Jones (Northamptonshire County), Tom Plumb (Yeovil) and Tom Sloman (Taunton & Puckeridge).

That means there are 10 English players in the new 16-man squad who had a get-together at Royal Liverpool during the last week of July.

“We have been monitoring results of the players originally selected since we last got together as a squad while also keeping an eye on the performances of other players not included,” said GB & I captain Craig Watson.

“We have brought in three new players who have had encouraging results in recent events and we look forward to working with them and the other players.”

The new 16-man squad also includes Ireland’s Mark Power (Kilkenny), Conor Purcell (Portmarnock), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) and James Sugrue (Mallow) and Scotland’s Sandy Scott (Nairn) and Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie).

The Walker Cup is to be played at Royal Liverpool on September 7-8 when GB & I will be aiming to win back the trophy after losing 19-7 at the Los Angeles Country Club two years ago.

August 2019

EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Yorkshire represented across three groups

Top 10 finish for Alex but England come up just short THERE were mixed fortunes for the Yorkshire players who represented their country in the European Team Championships England narrowly missed out on the chance to win the European Men’s Team Championship for a record 12th time when they lost to hosts Sweden in the final at Llunghusen.

Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick claimed a top-10 finish as England finished second behind Ireland in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier and they went on to defeat both Wales and Scotland by 4-3 before losing 4.5-2.5 to the home team in a keenly contested final in which all but one of the matches went at least as far as the 17th green.

The English team comprising Tom Sloman, Fitzpatrick, Ben Jones, Tom Plumb, Harry Hall and Matty Lamb were the first to put a point on the board when Sloman and Plumb recorded their third foursomes win of the tournament with a 2&1 win over Ludvig Aberg and Christoffer Palsson but David Nyfjall and Vincent Norrman ensured the scoreline was level at lunch with a 4&3 victory over Fitzpatrick and Lamb.

In the afternoon Hall made it three out of three in the singles with a 2&1 victory over Norrman and Plumb also halved with Nyfjall but that was not quite enough to see the team over the line. The result means that England have won three silver medals in a row having also achieved that feat in Austria in 2017 and then again in Germany 12 months later.

There was a fifth-place finish for the English team at the European Boys’ Team Championship where hosts France won in front of their own fans at Chantilly, north of Paris.

England, represented by Hallamshire’s

Alex Fitzpatrick (bottom left) helped England to the silver medal in the European Championships Barclay Brown, Conor Gough, Max Hopkins, Sheffield born Joe Pagdin, Rotherham’s Brabazon winner Ben Schmidt and Robin Williams lost 4-3 to Ireland in the opening round of match play but then defeated Italy 3.51.5 before rounding things off by beating Spain by the same scoreline.

The English girls’ team comprising Jessica

Baker, Rosie Belsham, Ellie Gower, Huddersfield’s Charlotte Heath, Euphemie Rhodes and Caitlin Whitehead finished fifth in qualifying at the European Girls’ Team Championship at Parador El Saler in Spain but then lost 4-3 to Spain, 3-2 to The Netherlands and 3.5-1.5 to Sweden. Denmark won for the first time beating Spain in the final.

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August 2019

Lily lifts the juniors title WOODSOME Hall’s Lily Hirst won the Yorkshire Ladies County Golf Association Junior Championship with rounds of 70 and 71 at Hessle Golf Club.

Lily now goes on to represent Yorkshire in the England Champion of Champion Finals at Woodhall Spa in September. Nett champion on her debut in Yorkshire event was Rebecca Oates (Hallamshire) with scores of 74 and 68.

Ace? Maybe not...

ONE unlucky golfer could have driven away with a brand new Volkswagen car worth £30,000 after making a hole in one during an open event at Skipton Golf Club. But he chose not to buy a £5 ticket that would have given him an entry into the separate competition to win the prize put up

by Skipton VW.

Terry Hodgkinson YORKSHIRE businessman and former Low Laithes Golf Club captain Terry Hodgkinson has died at the age of 70.

Terry was active in Yorkshire business for decades and served as chairman of regional development agency

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Yorkshire Forward for seven years.

During his time in this role he oversaw a number of notable regeneration projects in the region and was awarded a CBE for his services. He was also a member at Wakefield Golf Club.

YORKSHIRE OPEN Silverware stays close to home

Home sweet home for Howley’s Hutchinson HOME club member Ben Hutchinson enjoyed an early birthday present when he won the Yorkshire Open at Howley Hall Golf Club.

But England squad member Hutchinson, who turned 25 the following week, needed a three hole play off against Abbeydale professional Gareth Davies to get over the line, after blowing a big lead in his second and final round.

The pair had tied on -4 and were the only players under par in a field which comprised 48 of the best professional and amateurs in the county.

Hutchinson also retained the Howley Hall Scratch Trophy which is played in tandem with the event.

Cookridge Hall amateur Tom Broxup was next best placed on one over par.

In the three-hole play off over 16, 17 and 18, Hutchinson immediately seized the advantage with a birdie at the par 5 opening hole and two pars were good enough to see off Sheffield born Davies – who won twice on the Challenge Tour in the mid 2000’s – as he was unable to make a par over the extra holes.

‘Hutch’ admitted he was

Ben doubled up on the trophies at his home club

eyeing Marcus Armitage’s course record of 64 when he got it to five under par after nine holes in his second round.

He bogeyed the 10th but immediately hit back with a birdie on the following hole before missing from five feet on 12 for yet another birdie.

But he made a double bogey on 13 and dropped a shot on the next hole before spurning opportunities to pick up further shots on 16 and 17.

“I definitely thought Marcus’s course record was on,” said Hutchinson who will head to the European Tour

Qualifying School this autumn.

“But it all went downhill after 13. I was freewheeling a bit because I was so tired from playing so much golf in a short space of time, including 36 holes the day before in the Open Final Qualifying at St Anne’s Old Links.

“That was a gruelling day,” he said.

He admitted that playing the two rounds with his ‘boss’ Howley Hall professional Ryan Rastall made for a fun day as Hutchinson works two days a week in Rastall’s shop.

“It was all dead relaxed but I have to admit I struggled to get going again for the play-off after sitting in the clubhouse for two hours waiting for the last players to come in.”

The event also saw a return to tournament action for former European Tour player Iain Pyman who is now part of the hospitality team on the Endeavour in Whitby, a replica of the ship Captain James Cook used to sail to Australia and New Zealand.

He carded rounds of 75 and 76 to finish in a tie for 17th place after a long lay-off from playing the game (see report, page 4).

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August 2019

WOMEN’S PGA GB & Ireland stars left trailing behind

Hallamshire pro Holly hits the heights HALLAMSHIRE Golf Club professional Holly Morgan’s first appearance in the Women’s PGA One-Day Series was one to remember.

Morgan, who is in her first year of training to become a PGA professional, posted a sixunder-par score of 68 at Kedleston Park, Derbyshire, to secure victory with five shots to spare.

In doing so, she left two of the WPGA’s most accomplished players in her wake.

Suzanne Dickens and Ali Gray, who will represent Great Britain and Ireland in the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup in Austin, Texas, later this year, finished six and nine shots respectively behind the 22-yearold.

Playing alongside Dickens, Morgan showed it was possible to score well without dawdling or going through tortuous preshot routines.

As a result, the pair com-

pleted their rounds in a brisk three hours 25 minutes and, traffic permitting, were in time to return to their home clubs for a late lunch.

Hallamshire is the home club of the Fitzpatrick brothers and the club where the late John Jacobs and Pete Cowen embarked on PGA careers that saw them become Master Professionals and worldrenowned coaches.

And both would surely have been impressed by Morgan’s negotiation of a course which hosted regional qualifying for the Open Championship last month.

Holly, who played for Yorkshire for a number of years as an amateur and completed a golf scholarship at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, finished with an eagle at the par-five 18th after starting with four birdies and no dropped shots on the front nine.

Hallamshire professional Holly Morgan – not fazed on the big stage

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Yorkshire trio join team for Wentworth THREE greenkeepers from Yorkshire have been named in the support team to assist with course maintenance during the BMW PGA Championship this September.

Members of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association will head to Wentworth for the European Tour’s flagship event, which for the 2019 season has shifted from its traditional May hosting to September.

The shift in dates has been necessitated by changes to the world golf calendar and reduced competition from other events should mean a star-studded field of players head to Virginia Water for the Rolex Tour event, taking place from September 19-22.

Two separate support teams drawn up from BIGGA members will help prepare and maintain the West Course at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship and Stevie-Jon Hood, from the Forest of Galtres, will be joined by Rudding Park’s Jakob Schur, and Lee Williams from Phoenix Golf Club, Rotherham in the bunker support team.

Kenny Mackay, the Director of Golf and Greenkeeping at

Wentworth is eager for the BIGGA volunteers to get the most out of their time as part of the team and so the group is divided between those who will undertake bunker raking duties and those who will play an active role in the preparation and maintenance of the West Course for the duration of the event.

He said: “With the change in the schedule, the hosting of the BMW PGA Championship is going to be a completely new experience for the Wentworth team. The preparation of the course each morning is going to be very tight if we’re to stay ahead of the golf, and so the BIGGA volunteers will prove vital as we work to achieve our aims of preparing a course fit for the European Tour’s flagship event.

“Over the last two years we’ve really evolved the support team experience, so a portion of the volunteers have the opportunity to fully integrate with the Wentworth team. If you ask the volunteers who come regularly, every year is getting better and better. We want to ensure they learn many things that they can then take back to their own club.”

10

August 2019

DRESS CODE National resort group backs Oulton Hall pro in relaxing rules for youngsters learning the game

‘We’re backing Tom’ A LEADING golf resort group has followed the lead of Oulton Hall coach Thomas Devine by allowing juniors to wear what they want when practising and learning at any of its seven family-friendly venues.

The Almarose-managed group – comprising five QHotels and two DoubleTree by Hilton properties – has backed the stance of Devine, the junior coach at Oulton Hall, in Leeds, who made headlines recently after being criticised for not applying a dress code to his pupils.

The bold approach saw Devine come under fire on social media from some traditionalists, and the story was picked up by national golf magazines and even the BBC. A survey conducted by a golfing website also discovered that golfers were almost split down the middle on the topic.

But the management at Almarose has shown its support for Devine and its determination to bring more people into the game by now applying the same relaxed approach to juniors’ clothing at its other six venues: Belton Woods and DoubleTree by Hilton Forest Pines Spa & Golf Resort, both in Lincolnshire; Dunston Hall, Norwich; Slaley Hall, in Northumberland; Telford Hotel & Golf Resort, in Shropshire; and, in Scotland, DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Westerwood Spa & Golf Resort.

Alan Foley, Almarose’s director of golf and spa sales, explained: “We were quite astonished by the response in some quarters to Tom’s approach at Oulton Hall, which we support fully. His stance reflects perfectly our approach to junior golf: it should be relaxed, fun and easily accessible, with no barriers to participation.

“If youngsters want to learn in a hoodie and tracksuit bottoms then they can. We’re not going to stop them learning and enjoying a game we all love merely because they don’t think the dress code is cool or simply don’t feel comfortable in it.

“And the best way we could show that we were fully behind Tom is to extend his approach to all of

our golf resorts. We hope to see more youngsters take up the sport and also hope to see a wider softening of views from, what might be called, more ‘traditional’ golfers.”

Devine added: “To be honest, I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from across the spectrum: students’ parents, members, the media, golfers at other clubs, and fellow teaching pros, have all contacted me to wish me success with the move.

“I never imagined one simple picture on Twitter could create such a storm – but if, in doing so, we’ve highlighted an issue that still prevails in the sport and can make a change that will benefit junior golfers and, in the long term, the sport itself, then it will all have been worthwhile. I’m delighted that the other venues in the group have put their collective heads above the parapet to adopt the same practice. It can only be a good thing in the long run.”

Romanby in the swing ROMANBY Golf and Country Club has marked its 25th anniversary with the opening of a new golf academy.

The new Romanby Golf Academy will be managed and operated by Performance Managed Golf, the brainchild of academy director Mark Pearson.

Mark, who is a former academy manager at The Belfry and coach to a number of European Tour players will, be joined by head teaching professional Brian Ridley who is a former Durham county coach and Aimpoint specialist.

Romanby have invested in a new performance

studio and will offer sessions using both Trackman 4 and MySwing 3D Biomechanics. Both coaches will be available for coaching programmes with learning based on fast improvement and sustained development using the 5P’s.

In addition Romanby will prioritise ‘growing the game’ with PMG’s proprietary FUEL Junior scheme and StartGolf beginner programme.

More information is available on Romanby’s website. Golfers can also join in the 25th birthday celebrations with discounted green fees for online bookings.

11

August 2019

SENIORS OPEN Long injury lay-off hampers preparations for Royal Lytham debut

Sweet laps up biggest test NIGEL SWEET says his first Senior Open Championship was the best experience of his professional career so far.

Due to injury he only picked up a club again five weeks before the prequalifying event at Hillside on the Monday of the championship week, and turned up at the Southport course which had hosted the Betfred British Masters a few weeks earlier with minimal expectations.

“I developed polymyalgia in my shoulder and wasn’t able to play or practise for 6 months.

“I couldn’t even get my arms above my shoulders during that time, but I started taking steroids and they eventually worked so I didn’t go there with much hope.”

And Nigel had to endure a sevenand-a-half hour wait in the clubhouse to see if he had qualified after three putting the last green from 15ft.

“I thought I had blown it and because I was first out at 7am I had to hang on until everybody had finished but luckily, I scraped through.

“I was gutted to finish so badly as I played really well and only missed two greens all the way round, but three putted three times.”

That marked the start of a golfing adventure he will never forget which included playing a practice round Bernhard Langer who went on to win the championship for a record fourth time.

“What a gentleman and what an experience. I saw there was a spare

place on the sheet so I put my name down alongside his.

“He chatted to me all the way round and my daughter Ellie and her boyfriend Sam had planned to walk the first few holes but went the whole way around because they were enjoying themselves so much.

“I birdied the last and I figured that if I could get through a round with somebody like Bernhard Langer then I might not feel so nervous on the first tee. “ He started out his first round with a brilliant iron shot to 12ft on the opening par 3 hole and left the putt in the jaws, but then struggled to cope with the wind and length of the front nine.

“Because of the injury I have lost 20 yards from the tee and those first eight holes were pretty much all into the

Dan drops back in with a win

Star attraction: Nigel with Seniors Open winner Bernhard Langer

wind and I hit driver four wood to both the second and third which are

both par fours. Because I haven’t been playing much, I also wasn’t fit enough but in truth the course was just too long for me and the front nine played ridiculously long.

“In fact, I think they made a mistake putting the tees so far back.

Seniors golf doesn’t get a lot of publicity or coverage on Sky and viewers don’t want to see guys struggling to make par or bogeys when they are used the watching the PGA Tour and European Tour players make birdie after birdie.”

Despite easily missing the 36-hole cut he gained plenty from the experience.

“Gary Player gave me a really warm handshake as I went into the clubhouse and I also met Tom Watson,” he added.

“Being around players like that who are icons of the game I have watched all my life was a bit surreal really.

“To be with Watson during what he announced would be his last Open was a bit special. I had a decent amount of success as an amateur but this was definitely the highlight of my career as a professional.

“The experience has given me a real thirst for next year. And Sunningdale might just suit my game a bit better than the back pots at Royal Lytham.”

WAKEFIELD’S Dan Bradbury celebrated his time back at home from a golf scholarship in the USA by winning the club championship.

The former Kettlethorpe School pupil was in fine form for Lincoln Memorial University this year and helped the Railsplitters, as they are known, to a second-place finish at the Division II National Championship after closing with a 68.

The Golf Coaches Association of America also named Bradbury to the Division II PING All-America team following five top five tournament finishes during the 2018-19 season, including wins at the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate and Bearcat Classic.

For the season Bradbury, who will be entering his junior year when he returns to the school’s base in Harrogate, Tennessee in September, finished with a 71.74 scoring average, carding ten of his 38 rounds at par or better He collected the Charlesworth Trophy from club captain Mike Fewster (pictured) after shooting rounds of 73 and 71.

August 2019

12

CHRIS HANSON THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR BLOG

Life on the road is a real Challenge I

DIDN’T have the chance to take you through my European road trip during my column last month so here goes.

How would you normally get to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland?

Probably jump on a plane for a few hours to Zurich and drive an hour straight to the course. But when the tournament there is followed by one in France that I normally drive to, I had to look at the option of adding another week behind the wheel.

The St Omer course is near Calais making it pretty easy to drive to and motoring down to Switzerland was going to be a much cheaper option than flying me and my caddie Jacob to Zurich where we would have had to hire a car and then fly back to England before going back to France by car So, we jumped in a car early Monday morning and picked up fellow CT player Marcus Mohr with a planned stopover in Nancy, France, en-route to Switzerland.

The traffic was great, the weather was perfect, so apart from a few French toll stops the journey was extremely simple.

Everything went to plan until arriving at Nancy, after 12 hours on the road, to find our hotel for the night had cancelled our booking with no notice. After a bit of a rush around we found somewhere out of town, got our heads down, then polished off the last four hour drive the next morning.

I’ve played Golf Sempach a few times and it’s certainly one of the better courses on the Challenge Tour and where the rough is brutal.

Preparation felt good, as it normally does, and I was playing ok but just made a couple of poor errors around the turn in the first round. I had a positive game plan, maybe too positive (aggressive) and my play down the 5th didn’t pay off; it was my first visit to the rough and after one lost ball and then a few swipes in the rough, I made an 8 and then straightaway it felt like game over!

Day two I tried to restore some pride and battle to make the cut but I needed a low score. It was windy and I got it to -3 after 17 holes thanks to some good golf and I was playing quite nicely but just not quite piecing it all together.

A double bogey at the last didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things but just served to just p*** me off

Getting to Switzerland was the easy part of Chris’s European adventures more than anything.

So, with a long a long weekend ahead because of the missed cut we decided to take it easy and start the travel back towards Calais to prep for the next week at St Omer. Missing cuts never gets easier but I think I’m a little better at moving forward than I used to be.

After a stopover in St Dizier where we enjoyed a couple of craft beers followed by a morning visit through the famous Champagne city of Reims, we arrived at St Omer late Sunday afternoon.

When I finally teed off on Thursday it felt like we had been at St Omer forever, and in golf terms we had – getting to a venue on a Sunday is very early and keeping the practice constructive and resting is key.

It’s easy to spend all day every day at the course and just end up hitting balls for the sake of it. It was certainly a long few days for Jacob as well, and in the end an extremely long week.

On the Sunday of Switzerland, he was wiped out with tonsillitis and come Thursday he wasn’t much better, which meant he was side-lined for the week and just rested.

I couldn’t think of anything much worse than dragging a Tour bag around the hills of St Omer, so I managed to get one of the caddies who had failed to get a bag that week to stand in.

Day 1 couldn’t have gone much better for me; the weather was poor early morning, horrific by midday and then when I started late afternoon the

Teeing it up in the Open final qualifier at Hollinwell – Notts Golf Club.

Definitely in the Hanson top 5 of UK courses

rain pretty much stopped and we had a dry round, if a bit windswept.

I played solidly, went out in -4, made a few nice back nine saves and finished with a 67 (-4) to take the firstround lead. I didn’t play too dissimilar through the rest of the week but shot 74, 73, 73 to slowly move down the pack to finish the week T34th.

I’ve played St Omer many times and find it an extremely challenging test and you have to be so patient on a course certainly tests everything in your game. I passed many of those tests, so know I’m doing plenty things well, despite some more criticism of late.

T

HE Italian event also didn’t go to plan, missing the cut by one; I really dread to think how many cuts I’ve missed by one over the years, so let’s not go there.

It was a disaster trying to get home too from Monterosi with limited flights from Rome and with most of them sold out meant spending €400 to get back on Saturday morning, and that was an indirect flight too To make it worse my clubs didn’t make the tight connection – which was half expected – and with Open Qualifying happening on Tuesday they needed to show up sharpish.

They arrived Sunday, thankfully, and I headed off Monday afternoon to Hollinwell for some prep. I hadn’t played there for years and, wow, it’s in my top 5 UK courses for sure, I loved it!

I played solid too, and, bar a few mistakes, I had a real shot to qualify for my second Open Championship, but I finally signed for 71 and 72 which was four shots shy of getting into a playoff for one of the spots.

After some family time and practice, it was bags packed again for a two-week stint in France and Austria on the Challenge Tour.

My admin is normally pretty good and I’ve found some good value travel over the years due to being well organised. So, to book flights for me and my caddie a week later than we actually needed them was pretty strange.

Luckily, three days before flying I was trying to book a hire car and the error came to light.

Thankfully, I was able to change those at a little cost but then I turned up at Manchester Airport to park the car for two weeks and realised I’d only booked one week and my reservation actually started the following Tuesday … oh dear!

They let us in, and, for some reason unknown to us, even let us have a free week’s parking prior to the booking started! Phew!

So, a bit of luck, but that wasn’t the end of it. On landing in Paris, we headed off to the car hire office for me to joke “wow, can you imagine if I messed this up too!”.

And I bloody had, a week later too.

Thankfully I managed to cancel the booking, we just then had to pray we could get a car on the day which is never that easy.

So, at the Enterprise Car desk the man was extremely helpful but then these words followed: “Sure, we have a Fiat 500 available, it will be €638 for the five days”. You can imagine the expression on my face!

We managed to book one online with the same company for a few hundred euros and that was damage limitation …we were on the road and headed for Le Vaudreuil.

It’s a pretty good course located in Normandy, extremely tight, tree lined with long rough and definitely the smallest greens we play all year.

I shot +1 in the first round which was on the cut line – I played ok but again it left me some work to do on day two.

In the afternoon it got really windy which made it very tricky. For 8 holes I battled well but missed a good chance on that green and that felt like the turning point as I made double down the next hole.

I know this is golf and full of ‘ifs and buts’ but a birdie on 8 would have got me back to +1 and in with a chance to make it.

So, on the back foot and chasing it, I made an easy birdie on 12 but didn’t give myself the chances down the stretch, comfortably missing the cut and it was a weekend of working on my game running through the woods to try and clear my mind.

But there’s always another opportunity ... let’s do this!

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August 2019

FALDO SERIES Josh is Abu Dhabi-bound

Fixby captains witness worthy champions

Berry is top of the tree again

HUDDERSFIELD GC’S Andrew Russell wanted competitors to get a brief taste of what it is like to play elite golf so he hired a tournament-style leaderboard for his Captain’s Weekend.

It recorded a dramatic climax that saw Alex McFadzean defeat Shaun Wood in a sudden-death play-off at the first extra hole.

Nine-handicapper McFadzean and Wood (12) tied on 138 net (4) with respective scores of 67 71 and 69 69. Wood overcame a par-3 fourth hole triplebogey on day one and having set the clubhouse lead on day two he looked on with McFadzean’s group last to finish.

McFadzean began walking in a birdie putt on the par-5 18th, but it lipped out and the pair had to make their way to the eighth for the playoff, where Wood received a shot.

However his pulled tee shot buried deep under the lip of a bunker and McFadzean’s bogey gave him the title. The nine-handicapper had a superb gross 76 in his first round that included two birdies but also a double bogey at the 180-yard par-3 11th, but he made partial amends in round two with a birdie there.

DONCASTER’S Josh Berry is heading for a date with Sir Nick Faldo in Abu Dhabi later this year.

Berry, 14, won the under16 division of the England North event of the 2019 Faldo Series Europe calendar by an eight shot margin with scores of 68, 76, 70 to secure his place at Al Ain Equestrian Shooting & Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, for the Europe Grand Final in November.

But there was disappointment for Howley Hall’s Tom North who led the under 21s by two shots going into the last round. North, who has just completed his second year of a golf scholarship at William Woods University in Missouri, was overhauled by Jake Benson in the last round after shooting a one-over par round of 72.

Benson, who made 15 birdies across the three rounds over one of the country’s finest inland courses, remained in control and shot an impressing 3-under par 68 to finish two shots clear of North who finished on six under.

The event saw 67 of the most talented boys head to Moortown Golf Club where series founder Sir Nick won the 1984 Car Care Plan International after shooting two over par for 72 holes over the Dr Alister MacKenzie-designed course.

Berry’s first round put him in pole position and he recovered from a second round of 76 with a closing round of one under par. The plus one handicapper will now

take on the best players in Europe as well as take in a clinic from the six-time major winner. Matthew Faldo, Faldo Series Director, said: “It’s always great to come back to Moortown Golf Club – the course was set up tough all week and it was great to see the boys battle it out on the heathland design.”

Some 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, involving thousands of junior golfers each year. Past winners include major champions Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett.

Photo: Josh Berry pictured with Moortown vice-captain Steve Johnson

Other prize winners were - Fallon Course: Roy Green; Junior Prize: Oliver Hughes; Super Senior Prize: Bryan Webb; Senior: Allan Doherty; Best Gross 1st round: Brad Tupman; Best Gross 2nd round: Frank Greaves; Best Gross over 36 holes: James Skirrow; Div 1: Phillip Coombes; Div 2: Tom Russell; Div 3: Jamie Green; Junior Academy: Ryan Tempest.

Andrew Russell, back row fourth left, with some of the winners LESLEY INGHAM emerged three shots clear of the field to win first prize during June Sowden’s Lady Captain’s Week at Huddersfield GC. Ingham (15) shot 88 on the Tuesday and followed up with 84 on the Thursday for a 142 net aggregate.

Second place went to Sandra Paul, runner-up earlier this year on her home course to Richmond’s Karen Jobling in the Yorkshire Veteran Ladies championship final.

Other prizes winners were - Best combined gross: Megan Lockett (71 76); Best Silver Division Tuesday net: Georgia Holden (70); Best Bronze Division Tuesday net: Brenda Parker (72); Best Silver Division Thursday net: Megan Clarke (71); Best Bronze Division Thursday net: Lynne Saxton (74); Ninehole competition: Jane Twiss (23pts); Junior prize: Aaliyah <CORRECT> Irwin (71); Putting competition: Sue SpencerJowett (34); Nearest the pin: Alison Tracey; Nearest the line: Linda Mallinson;

Best improvement from Tuesday to Thursday: Maria Tempest (12 shots).

Photo: Huddersfield GC Lady Captain June Sowden (right) with overall winner Lesley Ingham

14

T

HERE aren’t many older golf clubs in Yorkshire than Hallowes, the place Sky Sports’ Mark Roe calls his golfing home, and if there’s one with an older clubhouse, then I’ve yet to hear of it. Enter through the front or back doors of the Grade II listed Hallowes Hall and you’re stepping into more than 350 years of history – it dates back to 1657, when even Peter Alliss wasn’t around!

It seems 1892 was a popular year for new golf clubs beginning with ‘H’ – Harrogate and Headingley, like Hallowes, were founded that year – although admittedly this picturesque course, perched on the hillside between Sheffield and Chesterfield, was originally called Dronfield Golf Club.

Back in 1892 however, the clubhouse was very briefly a tent – not that the original 35 members knocking their gutty balls around Farmer Ashton’s fields were prone to standing still for long.

Within four years they had grown their course to its 18 original holes and become Hallowes, joining the fledgling Yorkshire Union in 1898 and acquiring the now-demolished Rose

August 2019

Steeped in its Hallowed history Yorkshire Golfer publisher Danny Lockwood pays a visit to one of the county’s oldest golf clubs Cottage for a clubhouse, before finally settling in the hall in 1921.

The most striking evidence of this rich heritage comes the moment you step into the men’s locker room – golfers change amongst ranks of old oak lockers, in what was built as an oakbeamed barn in the late 17th century. You won’t see many things like this on your travels.

Indeed, the Grade II listed status means the Mature parkland is a distinctive feature of Hallowes – this is the uphill par 3 8th hole

distinct character of the old hall remains evident, with the original doors, windows and wood panelling still in situ.

In Hallowes’ early years, some of the hazards golfers might encounter could be sheep, cattle, horses or the occasional haystack, as part of the land remained in farming use. These days, it is sweeping uphill or downhill doglegs, encased in mature parkland, with a proliferation of strategically placed bunkers, that pose the biggest test of golf.

Not the longest course you’ll encounter – 6,300 yards off the whites – nevertheless there is plenty to make visitors think, with perhaps the occasional pause to take in the fabulous views over the hills of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Not all of the property is listed however, which means additions made later provided the club with a function/dining room that can seat more than 100 guests, complete with dance floor and stage – as with so many modern golf clubs, Hallowes has evolved its business model to accommodate all varieties of visitors, functions and even conferences.

More land was scquired over the years resulting in Hallowes boasting a handsome footprint which includes excellent short and longgame practice areas. Current PGA professional John Oates – a protégé of Pete Cowen – has more than 50 tournament wins to his name and his work with the club’s junior members has borne rich fruit in recent years, with current Yorkshire Boys’ captain Jack Wilson a Hallowes product.

“We’ve had an excellent crop of juniors recently,” said Club Manager Phil Joynes, “although obviously as they get older, the challenge is always to develop the next generation.”

Apart from John’s tuition, a partnership with the Moorview Golf Centre close to the Dore &

Totley Club sees more sessions taken on Sundays with youngsters.

Hallowes has a healthy all-around membership of close to 600, although as Phil stresses, most membership categories remain open. Visitors and societies are also warmly welcomed, with Mondays and Fridays the most popular days, although occasional weekend openings are available depending on the members’ activities.

The course has changed much over the years, with a particular boon being the drilling in 1935 which found water still used to feed the course. It has been pretty much in its current layout since 1973 though, and the club is working towards a course plan they commissioned a few years back. New Course Manager Stephen Warne, joining from Chesterfield Golf Club, was due to take up position just last week.

August 2019

15 Clockwise from left – fabulous views over the Yorkshire and Derbyshire countryside; a traditional feel in the listed clubhouse; the approach to the tough 5th hole; step back in time in the 17th century locker rooms

HALLOWES GOLF CLUB Yellow Tees 1- 417yds par 4 A long opener, a sharp dogleg right, driving uphill to a plateau and then flat approach into a gently undulating green with bunkers front left and right.

2- 330yds par 4 A shorter hole from a elevated tee and an inviting wide fairway, but a mass of fairway bunkers keep anyone but the bravest drivers honest, before coming into a flattish bunkered green.

3- 392yds par 4 Another dogleg right, with OB right, but this one rises all the way to a green sloping distinctly back to front, with bunkers short left and right. If taking driver, beware running through the dogleg into the long stuff.

HALLOWES GOLF CLUB Hallowes Lane, Dronfield, Sheffield, S18 1UR Tel: 01246 413734 www.hallowesgolfclub.co.uk

4- 129yds par 4 A short hole from another elevated tee, well protected by sand but the main danger is a green sloping from front to back and if the pin’s at the front, good luck.

5- 431yds par 4 Index 1, and a handsome hole with views over the countryside. Another raised tee and a sweeping downhill dogleg right. Beware OB beyond the trees down the right. The hole rises the last 50 yards to an elevated, undulating green with tricky run-offs and bunkers.

6- 320yds par 4 The first flat hole, a gentle left-to-righter, with a fairway bunker you can’t see from the tee, to catch anyone too ambitious with driver. A narrowfronted green with a slight false front, and three greenside traps.

7- 462yds par 5 Not a long par 5, pretty straight, with fairway bunkers and a deep swale before the approach to a green which has a steep run-off at the back.

8- 136yds par 3 An uphill par 3 with a tricky mid-right trap, but it’s not the biggest green, deeper than it is wide with some interesting breaks.

9- 326yds par 4 Straight on, but the fairways rises twice before coming into a MacKenzie style tiered green, with a false front bringing anything short back to you. Sand front left and right.

10- 423yds par 4 A sweeping dogleg left that dips before steeply siring to an elevated green that slopes towards you, plus the ubiquitous bunkers.

11- 174yds par 3 A longer par 3, slightly downhill again sloping away from you once the bunkers are carried, with run-offs for extra protection.

12- 358yds par 4 A sign warns golfers wanting to drive the green to do so with caution. I couldn’t see

how they could get over the mature trees on this 90-degree dogleg right. It really only needs an iron or utility to the corner, and another into a flat green this time with steep runoff to the left.

13- 413yds par 4 Trust the marker post from the tee, once over it the hole falls away to the left and another protected green that runs from front to back, with left/rear run-offs.

14- 129yds par 3 A pretty, short hole, just take enough club to get over the four bunkers guarding an undulating green.

15- 463yds par 5 The first of back-to-back, shortish par 5s. The 15th is slightly tougher, just don’t get blocked out by trees on a picturesque hole.

16- 457yds par 5

Downhill from an elevated tee behind the 3rd green, so get a good drive away and you can go for the target with your second. Avoid the trees on the right though. There’s sand front left, but the difficult green slopes both away from you and from the right.

17- 375yds par 4 Dogleg left-to-right, just get decent position off the tee and you’re going into one of the bigger greens, again well protected front left and sloping slightly left to right.

18- 356yds par 4 A blind tee shot to finish, but favour right of the marker post, as anything left can run down the fairway that drops away. You’ve a lovely view of the final green with the imposing clubhouse looking on from the left. Sand below left and above right, and another typically undulating putting surface.

16

August 2019

US JUNIOR AMATEUR Great trans-Atlantic effort

Pagdin so close to making history JOE PAGDIN overcame tiredness and jet lag to make it through to the semi-finals of the US Junior Amateur.

The Sheffield born golfer, who lives in Orlando, Florida, played eight rounds of golf in four days for England in the European Boys’ Championship at Chantilly before jumping on a flight back to the USA, leaving no time for practice at Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio.

He was bidding to become the first European to reach the final in its history and built a two-hole lead early on against Preston Summerhays of Scottsdale, Arizona, but lost six of the last seven holes finally going down 4&3.

Pagdin, 17, no. 41 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was 1 down to George Duangmanee, of Fairfax, Virginia, after 10 holes of the quarter final but made three birdies, including a 20-footer on 17, to win 2&1.

Joe, who moved to the USA when he was four, revealed that he picked the brains of Ian Poulter on matchplay golf before heading to the tournament.

As a youngster Joe met Poulter in a Subway after the star pulled up in his red Ferrari. He famously asked his

dad who he was and got Poulter’s autograph and started talking about home and football. When Joe asked dad how he could get a Ferrari, dad replied: “Become a tour golfer like Ian”. Son promptly switched a soccer ball for golf clubs.

Joe tells the story: “I then started playing golf seriously and in tournaments and within a few months I finished in the top 50 of the Junior World Championships at Pinehurst. I started having lessons with a better instructor at Lake Nona Golf Club which was five minutes from my house.

Subsequently we bought a house in the Lake Nona community as I was travelling to practice before school and then after school.

“We figured since I was there practising all the time we might as well live there too!”

Joe now counts Poults as a good friend, as well as being good pals with Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and several other tour pros.

Joe added: “I am also very close friends with Sam Horsfield, now on the European Tour and he moved from Manchester when he was the same age. People often confuse us as brothers as our stories are so similar and coincidentally, we are both mates with Poults. He also went to the University of Florida which is where I am going to go to college to play golf.”

Joe represented GB in last year’s Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and was one of four Yorkshire players in the original 26-man Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup squad to face the United States at Royal Liverpool next month However he and Malton’s David Hague missed out with Lindrick’s Bailey Gill and Alex Fitzpatrick, making it.

Girl power rules at Cookridge with Leeds & District victory

THE girls are showing the boys the way at Cookridge Hall Golf Club. An all-girl combination gave Cookridge their first win of the season in the Leeds & District Junior League with a 4-2 victory away at Howley Hall.

Junior organiser Ray Agar is delighted and said: “We have not made a great start to the season because we have a lot of low handicap players giving lots of shots away. So, for the first time in the history of our junior section and probably in the Leeds & District League we decided to go with girl power and all three players in our team at Howley Hall were girls.”

Despite giving away a combined 30 shots to their opponents Adel Watt, 17 who plays off 6 won 3&1 followed by 13-year-old Zara Ali who also plays off 6, who came from two down to

win 2&1. Amelia Wormald (15) battled but just failed to claw back a two-hole deficit.

Ray added: “Cookridge Hall is fortunate in having 12 girls in the junior section including younger ones coming through and playing 9 holes. The girls in the junior academy then feed into the junior section of the club and there are 12 girls in the academy at present.”

A Girls Golf Rocks session organised by teaching professional Paul O’Donnell attracted 48 girls which is unheard of and prompted Ray to say: “It is great to see so many girls getting involved with golf, having fun, enjoying themselves, and becoming the future Adels, Zaras, and Amelias.’

From left: Adel, Zara and Amelia

17

August 2019

WOMEN IN GOLF Club signs up to England Golf charter

Didn’t they do well...? to-back victories in the NCGU Seniors’ Amateur Championship.

Norton fired rounds of 70 and 73 around Ormskirk to win by a shot from Hillside’s Robert Godley. It was also a good day for Stephen East from Leeds Golf Centre who topped the 6064 age group.

Harrogate leads way professionals Gary HARROGATE Golf Club has Stothard and Sam become the latest English club Everson to promote a to sign up to The R&A’s Women series of trial packages in Golf Charter. for beginner ladies and, The club already has 85 with the support of the women and girl members and it ladies’ section, is has committed to increasing that arranging social and membership level by at least practice sessions for the five per cent over the next three participants. years.

William, who plays They aim to provide a weloff 22, and who has coming environment to encourbeen a member for 34 age more women and girls to years is helping the junenjoy the sport and to particiior co-ordinator with pate at every level. efforts to bolster the “Harrogate Golf Club has junior section. been at the forefront in golf England Golf’s since its inception in 1892 and Women and Girls is a founder member of The Manager, Lauren Spray, Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs,” Club President Alastair Davidson and Women in Golf said “It’s been fantastic said club President, Alastair Champions Maggie Gobbie and William Watson to work with Harrogate on Davidson. the Women in Golf Charter “More recently, it was the first inclusive we have also introduced a and to see how they have addressed a club in Yorkshire to gain Golf Mark shorter 18-hole course called the variety of aspects within the club from accreditation, so it is no surprise the club Belmont which will soon be available their initial recruitment campaigns is rising to the challenge of encouraging for qualifying competitions,” added through to the female representation on female participation in all levels of golf.

Davidson, who is also a past President of boards.

“Over the last couple of years, we the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs.

“We are looking forward to working have introduced nine-hole stableford Harrogate has named immediate past with them over the coming year to competitions which are open to all gencaptains, Maggie Gobbi and William ensure their commitments are a success.” ders and we have reviewed our competiWatson, as its Women in Golf The Women in Golf Charter was tion structure so that seven-day lady Champions and both have already been launched last year to encourage more members can play in the monthly medal working with the current captains and women and girls to play the game and to competitions on Saturdays. captains elect to formulise the club’s increase the number of job opportunities “We have a thriving mixed section commitment to the Women in Golf for women within the sport. and run competitions such as Texas England Golf was one of the first sigScrambles where members from all secCharter moving forwards. natories to the Charter and subsequently tions (men, ladies and juniors) play Maggie, who has been a member at more than 100 organisations have comtogether in the same team.

Harrogate for 12 years and has a handimitted to it.

'As part of our drive to be more cap of 22, is working with the club’s

BEDALE past captain Gary Boothroyd bagged the third ace of his career when his crisply struck 8-iron found the bottom of the hole at Knaresborough’s downhill 130-yard par 3 third hole during the club’s first team match.

BEVERLEY and East Riding’s Richard Norton became only the third competitor to enjoy back-

BEN RHODES from Woodhall Hills Golf Club won the 67th Bradford Open at Cleckheaton Golf Club with a nine under par total of 131 over 36 holes. He triumphed by a shot from Chris Green of the host club and the two were a full 10 shots better than the rest of the field.

FORMER English Amateur Strokeplay champion Peter Fenton who was a member at Cleckheaton & District when he won the Brabazon Trophy looks to have regained the Midas touch with his Swingform tipping service. The 40/1 shot Bernd Wiesberger became his seventh winner of 2019 and his second in as many weeks after the recommended backing Andalucía Masters champion Christiaan Bezuidenhout at 80/1.

A SUPERBLY prepared Sickleholme course played host to the Sheffield Union Team Championship where Rotherham retained the trophy with a score of 301. They edged out Sandhill by two shots with Hallamshire third on 305. Sickleholme led for much of the day but eventually finished 4th although they did produce the winner of the Executive Trophy with a gross 1 over par 70 from Joe Thompson.

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August 2019

Garforth pair storm to Staysure nationals FORMER amateur boxer Lee Bazeley punched well above his golfing weight in helping Garforth Golf Club qualify for the final of the Staysure Trophy.

Bazeley, a 13-handicapper, reckoned he played to eight as he and Gareth Johnson, the club’s joint head PGA Professional, won the PGA North regional qualifier at the Manchester Golf Club to book their place in the final at the London Golf Club in Kent.

The pair posted 46 stableford points in the better-ball competition that, sponsored by Staysure, the insurance specialists for over 50s, features a PGA pro playing in tandem with a senior amateur golfer.

That left them at the head of the 56-strong field, a point clear of the six pairs tied for second place which included teams from Beverley & East Riding, Lindrick and Rockliffe Hall. And Johnson has no doubt his partner was key to their success.

“Lee played super today,” he said. “He got us off to a great start with a nett eagle at the par four first and didn’t look back.”

Five birdies followed on the front nine to give them 25 points at the turn and another three were recorded on the homeward stretch to take their tally to 46.

Johnson was convinced that would not be enough to qualify for the 36-hole final that carries a £30,000 prize fund with £7,500 going to the winner.

“I felt we were one or two short,” he added. “But then when I saw 45 was the top score, I told Lee we were top of the tree and in line to go to London for the final.”

Qualifiers – Bazeley (left) and Johnson That, however, came as a big surprise to his partner who took up golf 16 years ago after playing football regularly and boxing as an amateur at national level.

He admitted: “To be honest I turned up thinking the medal I’d won at the club had qualified me to play in the Staysure Northern Pro-Am! “I didn’t know it was a qualifier for a national final – but I should have guessed.

You’re not used to arriving on the tee with all the banners, having your name announced and seeing the big scoreboard. It was a really good day and everything was brilliantly done.

“I also played well, which was a bonus.

My handicap has crept up to 13 but I played to eight today.”

In addition to winning the event, Bazeley’s enjoyment of the day was enhanced by the camaraderie he and Johnson enjoyed with their playing partners.

“The two chaps we played with were from Widnes Golf Club,” he added. “Jason (O’Brien) the pro, and Pete (Hurstfield) the amateur were two real top blokes.

“They’d played the course before and, as it’s one where there are some dog-legs and blind shots, they were really helpful. They saw we had a good score going and encouraged us. It was really in the spirit of golf.”

Club rescue a winner for Fame PGA Professional Fame Tate, the owner of Stanedge Golf Club in Derbyshire, has won the Oustanding Achievement Award at The English Women’s Awards – North, held in Manchester. Fame was nominated for her achievements over the past six months in acquiring Stanedge Golf Club when it was on the brink of closure.

She took over in March and since that time has totally transformed the place from a run down clubhouse and golf course to a thriving facility, which now sees over 50 players of all ages and gender coming on Wednesday nights for the new 6@6 golf league. Tate set out a vision to make Stanedge an accessible and welcoming place where people of all ages, gender and backgrounds can come enjoy having fun playing the golf course or socially in the clubhouse.

Tate is quick to acknowledge the role her small team have played. She said: “The resurrection of the golf club has not been easy; it really has been a monumental effort by many people who put many unsociable hours into making the club a place people now want to visit and enjoy being at the club.

“Since we acquired the club in February, we have attracted over 80 new members and many visitors in response to our various offers, with different groups getting involved in our coaching and learn to play offers.”

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August 2019

Hallowes at a romp

HALLOWES enjoyed a runaway win in the 3rd Division of the YUGC Team Championship played at Bedale Golf Club. Led by Sam Bairstow who claimed the 36-hole prize for the best score on the day with rounds of 71 and 68 they triumphed by 17 shots over Skipton with a total score of 437. From left - winning team George Ash, Sam Bairstow and Robert Wragg

Ronan marks club’s big day ROCKLIFFE Hall marked its 10th anniversary with a golf day hosted by former European no.1 Ronan Rafferty.

While the hotel doesn’t celebrate its 10 year anniversary until later this year, the course was the first part of the resort to open in July 2009 with hotel chairman Warwick Brindle the first person to hit a ball on the course designed by golf architects Hawtree.

Guests joined the seven-time European Tour winner, 1989 European Tour Order of Merit winner and member of the winning Ryder Cup Team in the same year for a 45 minute golf clinic followed by a BBQ dinner and a Q&A session.

Ronan Rafferty is pictured, front centre, with guests.

ADVERTORIAL Focus on a course that’s literally only a drive from Huddersfield town centre

Right under their noses!

G

OLFERS looking for a quick nine holes in the Huddersfield area may be surprised to stumble on Longley Park which sits right on the edge of the biggest town in the UK. Its unique location was not lost on the BBC’S Peter Allis who, whilst commenting during an Open Championship from St Andrews, mentioned that the only other club he could think of that was as close to the town centre as St Andrews was Longley Park in Huddersfield.

An oasis of calm and countryside yet only a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Huddersfield, Longley Park offers an interesting, challenging and well- presented nine-hole layout to golfers of all abilities.

Although one of the shorter courses at 5,188 yards, players need to be on

top of their game to cope with narrow fairways and slick greens if they are to match the par of 66.

Formally the grounds of Longley Hall which was owned by the Ramsden family, it was renamed Longley Park when the Ramsdens, in the tradition of altruistic land owners of the 19th century, opened up areas of their grounds to the public on special occasions, such as the marriage of the Duke of York to Princess Mary of Tech in 1893 – later to become King George V and Queen Mary.

The Yorkshire show was held here in 1888 when over 66,000 people attended. Between 1902 and 1948 the Huddersfield Co-operative Society organised a children’s field day for Huddersfield, and there are many other examples of how the res-

idents of the town were able to enjoy this very pleasant area.

The club’s greenkeepers are extremely pleased that such gatherings no longer take place, although because these fields go back such a long way in time, they do enjoy – as do the members – working and playing alongside well-established trees and an environment which touches all the senses.

Fortunately, one member of the Ramsden family, John Frenshville Ramsden, was very enthusiastic when proposals were put to him to turn his grounds into a golf course and on April 27, 1911 the course was opened.

One amusing chapter in Longley Park’s history happened back in 1922 when the membership requested that a telephone be installed at the club. This was rejected by the committee as they felt that it was not required because the course was so adjacent to the town’s market place, and members could access a phone box with little difficulty.

The Ramsden family eventually sold the course to the Huddersfield Corporation who insisted on certain rules including that it be closed on a Sunday. In 1930 the club bought a large house close to the course which was converted to a clubhouse. The need to cross the road for a pint was eventually overcome late in 1965 when a new clubhouse was erected within the course itself.

Over many years the future of the club was in the hands of the council but Longley Park now Longley Park – has a lengthy lease which mature parkland, has enabled it to operate purely in the interests of but the town its members. centre very Longley Park has sevclose by eral thriving sections including Tigers, Rabbits, retired gents, ladies and juniors. There are numerous competitions which receive good support and new members will find an extremely friendly welcome, as indeed will any visitors and visiting parties wishing to enjoy a relaxed round of golf.

Longley Park also offers a great range of new membership packages and a phone call to the secretary on 01484 431885 will give you all the options available.

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August 2019

YORKSHIRE GOLFER FEATURE Following in the footsteps of greatness the best in the north will descend on Leeds

Where Leeds golf history A

RECENTLY discovered article written by the late Dr Archie Glover gives a fascinating insight into the early days of golf in Leeds and in particular Cobble Hall. Dr Glover was a member at Cobble Hall from 1913 until 1969.

Interwoven in the history of the Leeds Golf Club is the story of the beginning of golf in Leeds. It was in 1883 on an area called Soldiers Field at Roundhay that the first golf ball was struck in the Leeds district when three local gentlemen got permission from the tenant to play “a sort of golf”.

It was all very informal, but after the original trio had been joined by a few more ambitious golfers in around 1890 they rented from the then farmer at Cobble Hall, for 30 shillings a year, the horse pastures which form what is now known as the “top nine” of the Leeds Golf Club’s present course. Without constituting themselves as a club in any way, they played there from 1890 to 1893, and so became the pioneers of golf in Leeds.

The players at Cobble Hall continued in an informal way but difficulties with their landlords led to them breaking new ground and fashioning a nine-hole course on a hilly piece of land nearby. The course was opened by a certain Mr. Herbert Gladstone, MP, (afterwards Lord Gladstone).

They played there for some years with Tom Renouf, from Jersey, as their professional.

Renouf was the first of the “Channel Island” professionals who came to Yorkshire and was followed by Tom Vardon at Ilkley, and his more famous brother, Harry Vardon, at Ganton.

The Roundhay Club, in its sojourn on the hill course, had a considerable vogue among the leisured people of the neighbourhood, and they enjoyed their golf on a distinctly sporting course, with golf clubs costing no more than £2 for a complete set and gutta-percha balls at half-aguinea a dozen.

In the last few years of the Roundhay Club’s existence there had come about a division of golfing interests in the districts by the re-constitution of a club at Cobble Hall. That club, formed in May 1896, was the genesis of the present Leeds Golf Club. The club started with an annual subscription of two guineas and an entrance fee of one guinea.

Although progress was slow at the start, the club made headway and, in the summer of 1898,

Ted Ray already had his name inscribed on the Leeds Cup – before tee-off! when there was a membership of 71, a modest wooden clubhouse was erected from donations subscribed by the members.

Previously they had been allowed the use of a room in Cobble Hall where they dressed and ate their sandwiches. The first club-house was destroyed by fire in 1902, and in its place was built a more extensive wood and iron structure which eventually, when the present commodious stone building took its place, was transported to Baildon Moor to become the clubhouse of Baildon Golf Club.

Meanwhile, to hark back to the 1890s, the Roundhay and Leeds Golf Clubs continued side by side until, through a mutual desire to consolidate their interests, the Roundhay Club became amalgamated with the organisation at Cobble Hall. The merger took place in April 1900, and with its strengthened foundation the Leeds Club of that date took over.

Under the new regime the course was extended to 18 holes and marked by an exhibition match between James Braid and Alec Herd on July 14 1900, which Braid won 5&4.

Those who played there in the early days

Cobble Hall in all of its splendour – the 7th hole at Leeds Golf Club

remember the extraordinary original “Quarry” hole fashioned for a mashie shot over trees and gorse with the base of the quarry itself as the green. That had a very short reign, and, likewise, such stone walls and hedges as constituted readymade hazards were soon dispensed with.

By the time the new clubhouse was built in

1909, the course had assumed a definite character so far as the “top nine” was concerned, but it was not until the Ring Road was constructed in the 1930s that the development of the north side of the course took its present shape.

Municipal developments including the Ring Road which forms the boundary on the north side

have contributed to the layout of the course as it is today and on the let-well-alone principle. One hole indeed which has a famous or notorious character remains in all its essentials exactly as it has been played for nigh on a century – that is the 15th, aptly named “Tribulation”.

The steep climb to the green of this par 3

The great Harry Vardon set the

I

T’S DIFFICULT to imagine that the great Harry Vardon, in his last year as Ganton professional in 1902, was the first winner of the iconic Leeds Cup which will once again be played for at its spiritual home of Leeds Golf Club this week (Aug 7- 8).

Since then many other famous names have been inscribed on what is the oldest trophy in professional golf including former Open champions, Ryder Cup players and notable club professionals from both sides of the Pennines.

A report in the Golf Illustrated magazine of the opening tournament recognised the generosity and enterprising spirit of the committee.

Vardon’s winning score was 149 followed by Alex Herd and JH Taylor, both on 153 and played over for 36 holes.

Prize money in the early days was derisory and yet the tournament attracted most of the big names of that era. It is recorded that in the 1911 tournament, the Leeds Club had generously given £18 to provide £2 each for the first 14 players who would qualify for a foursomes competition at Walton Heath.

The PGA had provided £20 in prize money for which £4 was voted as assistants’ prizes, divided into four prizes of £2, £1, 10s, and 10s.

William Penrose-Green, the club president, also donated a prize of 5 guineas to any player breaking the course record of 72.

The 1911 tournament was won by Ted Ray for the second year in succession. When he arrived at Leeds, he brought the trophy which had been kept at Ganton Golf Club – and it was found to be already engraved with his name and the date for being the champion in 1910 and 1911. Yet the cup was still to be played for!

The Ganton secretary apologised for what he claimed to be a mistake by the engraver. PenroseGreen, who had donated the trophy and would go on

One old test on the course used to be playing over the actual quarry – hence its name!

to become Lord Mayor of Leeds, presented the cup to Ted Ray amid much laughter.

The tournament has continued to this day, although from the early 1930s it was decided by the PGA North Region to restrict entry to their regional members, except when overseas professionals were playing in the Northern qualifying section of the PGA Match Play Championship.

On one such occasion at Huddersfield Golf Club in 1955, Gary Player, then only 19-yearsold, narrowly failed to win on his first visit to Britain. And he sent his memories of that occasion to mark the tournament’s return to Cobble Hall in 2006.

“As I came to the last hole, I needed five to win the tournament. There was a stone wall on the 18th and I thought that I could bank my shot off the wall on to the green. I went for it ... and the ball hit me in the jaw and knocked me down!

“They gave me some smelling salts. Dazed, I then chipped the ball on to the green. I thought, great... four shots. I then holed the putt for five and thought I’d won the tournament, only to find out I was given a two-shot penalty for hitting myself!”

August 2019

21

Golf Club – Cobble Hall – for the Leeds Cup

ry runs deep exerts a good degree of physical strain and older golfers who have played “Tribulation” down the years have a veneration for the hole which overrides its physical drawbacks. True enough, it is a one-shot hole that can become a golfer’s nightmare.

It need only be added that the hole was originally planned and was indeed played for a short while in the reverse direction.

One tee shot was taken from the plateau on to a pan green across the valley (subsequently the 14th now disused) but planners were glad enough to discard it after a brief trial.

The 14th is famed as the “Quarry” hole, for in the old days the approach to the green was over the old quarry which could make a fool of any golfer.

This month some of the best professionals in the North of England will take on holes like “The Quarry” and “Tribulation” in the iconic Leeds Cup which was first won by Harry Vardon in 1902 and remains the oldest trophy in professional golf.

Don’t be fooled by the camera – “Tribulation” is a very tough tee-shot and an equally tough trek up the steep incline

Leeds Cup bar high The event was interrupted by both World Wars and the 1939 winner, Bill Davies of Wallasey, at the outbreak of WW2 buried the Leeds Cup along with other silverware from his club in an ice box and sacks in the sand dunes along the coast until the end of hostilities in 1945.

Some of the greatest names in golf have their names on the famous old trophy and winners and also Open Champions between 1902-1930 were Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Sandy Herd and George Duncan.

Other notable winners around that time included Huddersfield’s Ryder Cup star Johnny Fallon in 1937, and one of Australia’s great all-round sportsmen Bill Shankland in 1948.

Shankland, who was the professional at Temple Newsam at the time, went on to employ both Tony Jacklin and the late Alex Hay as assistants when moving to Potters Bar in Hertfordshire. The former Kangaroo tourist led Warrington in two Wembley Challenge Cup finals before retiring and switching to his other sporting passion.

Shankland was a notoriously hard taskmaster, but raised over a million pounds for charity by

playing exhibition matches. He also finished third twice in the Open Championship and was runnerup at Royal Liverpool in 1947 having led with two holes to play.

Fellow Ryder Cuppers Alex Caygill, Howard Clark and Gordon J Brand all went on the lift the trophy, as did PGA Cup captain Mike Ingham, and in 2013 Nick Ludwell followed in the footsteps of another Selby professional David Jagger who tasted victory in 1980. Ben Mason was the last Yorkshire born winner in 2014.

This year’s contestants and pro-am participants will be treated to a course which is in fantastic condition thanks to the work of head greenkeeper Ian Pullan and his team. Pullan returned home to Leeds last summer after working at Slaley Hall and the impact he has had is now clear for all to see.

Above left, the Club President Mr WS Sykes tees-off before an audience.

Below – hitting into the 15th hole at Cobble Hall

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August 2019

Busy time – but it pays off with Europro victory ROCKLIFFE Hall’s Andrew Wilson overcame the excitement of qualifying to play in his first Open Championship to win The Motocaddy Masters on the PGA EuroPro Tour.

Wilson (Rockliffe Hall) carded rounds of 67, 72 and 67 and his closing round of five under par gave him victory by one shot from Alfie Plant of Sundridge Park.

It was some week for Wilson.

The day before the first round of the Motocaddy Masters at Macdonald Linden Hall he had played two rounds of tough Open qualifying at Hollinwell where he qualified for the 146th Open at Royal Portrush.

Wilson said: “It was really tough. The entire day was really tough. I was just happy to finish and even better to win.

“I played here on Sunday for practice then practice round on Monday (Open qualifying), then two rounds on Tuesday, plus regional qualifying then Dudsbury. I don’t know many rounds of golf I’ve had over the last two weeks.”

“I didn’t expect to be up there to be honest. I struggled a bit in the second round. I just sort of held it and my caddie did a really good job.”

He went out in his last round

Around the greens...

ENGLAND international Bailey Gill produced the low round of the last day to finish third at the Chiberta Grand Prix in France. Gill, 20, from Lindrick, went into the final round in fourth place after rounds of 67, 71 and 65 but started his final round with an eagle three on his way to recording a four under par 66 which saw him climb to third place on 11-under 269.

THE PGA Super 60s Championship at Wike Ridge (Aug 7-8) will see former Yorkshire county foursomes partners Paul Carrigill and Dave McCarthy join

forces once again. First staged in 1994 in response to the increasing popularity of seniors’ golf both at professional and amateur level, it will be played on a betterball basis over 36 holes and is open to teams of a professional and an amateur aged 60 or over.

THE Sheffield Union’s Turner Shield attracted a class field of old and young international and county players at Wath, home club of Union President Alan Marriott. England international Barclay Brown made it a winning rare appearance as he teamed up with Hallamshire assistant professional James Brooks to return and impressive score of 3 under par 67.

Wortley’s Lewis Gill and Will Hawksworth came second after a level par 70, and in third place were the 2018 winners Lee Hopwood and Luke Palmowski from Hickleton with 71.

ADARE Manor in Limerick will host The Ryder Cup 2026 – the last major course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr, opened in 1995.

FORMER European Tour player Ben Mason, teaching pro at iGolf Studio in Sheffield, won the PGA in Yorkshire Premier Pro-Am at the eighth time of asking. Mason amassed 79 points at Ganton and Fulford.

Leeds Utd business link is a brand winner with six birdies and only one bogey to put himself right into contention – something that seemed unlikely at the start of play.

It wasn’t to be for Richard Mansell (Beau Desert Golf Club) and James Allan (Chelsmford Golf Club) who both ran Wilson close at the end, with Mansell finding the water on 18 and Allan going close with a putt to tie for a playoff.

It was nearly a case of deja vu for Plant who was leading by two shots at one stage on ten under before finishing tied for second.

BRANDLINK Golf has celebrated its Yorkshire roots by partnering with the Leeds United Business Club. The company offers online retail services for golf products, coupled with an event management service and exclusively representing several brands within the UK. The Honley based business was formed by ex-caddie Andy Broughton in 2017 following encouragement from professional golfing friends. With an extensive list of contacts throughout the sport, Brandlink began by organising corporate and charity golf events, before

expanding into the retail market.

Given the opportunity to represent a variety of golfing brands in the UK, the company offer a range of products spanning from custom-fit clubs to spike-less golf shoes. Broughton explained why he believes joining the Leeds United Business Club will benefit the business: “I know from personal experience of going to Elland Road year after year, of seeing the companies around the stadium, that over time you know exactly who the business is. I spoke to a few people who were also members,

and everyone said it had worked for them.

“Because we’re a bit different to most companies, we’ve got more chance of catching people’s eye if golf is something that they’re interested in. I’ve had a couple of emails come through the website that have said they didn’t realise anyone related to golf was involved with the Business Club and they wanted to do business together. It helps the company gain brand recognition and brand respectability.”

The Leeds United Business Club is formed through a partnership

between Eleven Sports Media and the club, providing businesses with opportunity to showcase their brand throughout every home game. Brandlink see the company’s logo displayed on both pitch and crowd-facing digital LED screens.

Supplying a range of products, such as trolleys and markers, Brandlink also arrange for customers interested in bespoke clubs to be flown to their client in Germany. A committed Leeds United fan, Broughton is hopeful that the Business Club can help the business reach like-minded people.

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August 2019

23

YORKSHIRE GOLFER FEATURE The Cambridge University golf captain showcased at the 2019 Open

Harry Colt classics are found both near and far

T

HE Dunluce course at Royal Portrush received rave reviews during the Open Championship with architect Harry Colt’s work showcased to a worldwide TV audience of more than 50 million.

Two new holes were constructed by R&A designers McKenzie and Ebert to create extra space around the clubhouse to allow the venue to house the last major of the year, and in the words of Martin Ebert were “inspired by Colt’s creativi-

Striding down the lush fairway of the 11th at Ulverston ty” so highly regarded was his original layout.

Henry Shapland ‘Harry’ Colt captained the Cambridge University Golf Club before becoming a prolific golf course architect, working on over 300 courses of which 115 were solely his.

Some of his best-known works included Sunningdale New, the West course at Wentworth, Swinley Forest and St George’s Hill.

The Dunluce is one of three Colt designs on the Open Championship rota, the others being Muirfield and Royal Liverpool and in 1918 he teamed up with George Crump to create Pine Valley, ranked the number one course in the United States.

Colt designs can A feature of be found across Ulverston GC North America, is the fabulous South America, views across Europe, Australia, Morecambe Bay Asia and Africa – and the Lakeland fells but you don’t have

to travel too far to be able to savour his work.

Harry Colt’s courses may not be the most difficult but they are definitely fun to play and there’s no better example than ULVERSTON GOLF CLUB in South Cumbria.

It is unquestionably one of the most beautiful courses you will ever have the chance to play with sweeping vistas over Morecambe Bay and the Lake District Fells, and if you can focus on your game rather than the spectacular views you will be faced with a challenging parkland layout beautifully framed by mature trees.

At 6,264 it is no bombers paradise but matching the par of 71 is no mean feat with every hole having its own special feel and nuances, where good shots are rewarded and bad ones require skill and ingenuity to save the day.

Last year it hosted the Northern Counties Senior Amateur Championships when Beverley Continued over the page

24

August 2019

YORKSHIRE GOLFER FEATURE Harry Colt creations celebrate the fantastic natural landscapes

No horseplay here! The perfectly kept 2nd green at Northumberland & East Riding Golf Club’s Richard Norton had a magnificent first round of seven under par to set a new course record of 64.

Aside from Colt’s creation, Ulverston has a range of super facilities including practice amenities to keep even the most ardent golfers occupied with a 4 bay covered driving range – floodlit until 9pm in winter – plus a swing room where Professional Alyn Cousins uses the GC2 launch monitor and video swing analysis in his coaching and club fitting sessions.

Two chipping areas, two practice nets, a 100-yard pitching area and a putting green are on hand to keep the short game sharp, and the clubhouse serves up a great combination of food and drink and boasts a spike bar and terrace with the now customary breathtaking views.

Visitors are welcome seven days a week with large parties and societies well catered for, although it’s worth noting that ladies have priority on Tuesdays, and on Saturdays the tee is usually reserved until 3pm for men’s competitions. Some Sundays will also be busy due to competitions so it is advisable to check in advance, which you can do online or by calling the office.

Next year sees another landmark when Ulverston celebrates its 125th anniversary which will be marked by a series of special events during the month of August which promises to be a salutation not to be missed.

NORTHUMBERLAND GOLF CLUB is not one of those forgettable courses where you struggle to distinguish one hole from another. Nor is it an unrelenting slog – tactical golf is

Harry Colt worked with James Braid on the Northumberland track required, typical of Colt who collaborated on the layout with one of golf’s other great architects of the time, James Braid.

Firm and fast greens and wellplaced bunkers are the hallmarks of this heathland classic, features which prompted the R&A to make it a regional Open Championship qualifying course back in 2013.

Despite being known as ‘The Park’ the course has a linksy feel to it, especially around the greens which have putting surfaces worthy of special mention, always true and with a lovely pace.

The majority of the holes are played within the Newcastle Racecourse with both the first and last holes played over a valley from high tees, down to their fairways below, and then back up to the greens.

Holes two to 17 are played on flatter, more heathland-like terrain with firm and tight fairways that make playing from them a joy.

There is a beautiful open expansive feel to these holes yet each one retains its individuality. The fairways are generous but protected by juicy enough rough, but there’s not a weak hole on the course.

Naturally some of the holes border the race track itself, but it never interferes with play and is more of a unique feature than distraction.

The only exceptions to this are at the par five third hole and par four 13th where players must drive over the running rails which obscure what would otherwise be superb views down the holes, the third in particular with strategic bunkers to contend with all the way down its 497 yards.

Northumberland is a real Angel of the North when it comes to golf in this region and its close proximity to the A1 make it an ideal stopping off point for golfers travelling to and from Scotland. The traditional clubhouse has a modern feel and offers the same level of excellence.

Travel a little more than 30 miles up the coast and you will find ALNMOUTH GOLF CLUB, established in 1869, and the 4th oldest golf club in England. It is often referred to as the jewel in Northumberland’s golfing crown.

Overlooking the splendours of both Foxton and Alnmouth Bay on the Northumberland coastline in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, it has parkland turf despite the coastal location and has earned a great reputation for the fine quality of the

August 2019

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Doncaster ladies put on the style

greens and superb overall presentation.

Recently chosen as one of the ‘Top 100 Hidden Gem’ golf courses in the UK by Golf Monthly magazine, Alnmouth is a very active private members club with the superb Foxton Hall serving as the clubhouse which also features a 26-bed Dormy House offering hotel accommodation at Visit England 3-star rating to groups of visiting golfers in very comfortable twin or single rooms with en-suite facilities.

In the late 1920’s the Duke of Northumberland was approached and consented to lease a further piece of land in order to make a new 18 hole course which was surveyed by Colt and his report was published in the Newcastle Journal on July 4th 1929.

The course measures a relatively modest 6,525 from the tips but also attracts a standard scratch score rating of 72 which is one above the par, so it’s a true test of golf.

The parkland layout can often experience the

windy conditions Beside the seaside – associated with the par-3 5th at links golf with the Alnmouth, a parkland holes routed across feel despite its an interesting landproximity to the coast scape which comes to a crescendo on the 15th, where many linger a little longer to take in the superb views.

The 179 yard fifth is rightfully recognised as the signature hole and plays to a heavily bunkered raised green which offers no hiding place from the elements.

This year is a special one for ‘Foxton Hall’ and they have a number of events planned to celebrate their sesquicentennial year, an honour they share with Royal Liverpool GC and Stirling GC. The highlight of their 150 year history falls in September when they host the England Senior Home Internationals.

THE ladies at Doncaster Golf Club recreated an original photograph from 1914 as part of a week of celebrations to mark the club’s 125th anniversary.

Those wishing to know more about the history of the club, which moved to its current site in 1909, can purchase a booklet written by David Horncastle, who has spent the last two years researching and writing the publication.

Copies are available from behind the bar for a minimum donation is £3 with proceeds going towards this year’s captains’ charities Parkinson’s UK and St John’s Hospice, Doncaster.

England Golf’s insurance benefit for club members EVERY member of a golf club affiliated to England Golf is now covered by a major new personal liability insurance policy.

England Golf – one of the country’s largest sports governing bodies, which looks after the interests of around 1,900 golf clubs and 651,000 members – is collaborating with Bluefin Sport, part of global insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh, to provide £10m personal liability insurance for all its affiliated club members.

The cover came into effect on July 1, 2019 and is being described as an additional benefit for members.

The announcement comes after a number of high-profile incidents, including at last year’s Ryder Cup when a spectator was hit in the eye by a ball, and after a famous case that started in 2007 when a golfer at Niddry Castle Golf Club lost an eye also after being struck by a ball.

England Golf chief executive Nick Pink said: “We are absolutely delighted to work with

Super Sid is just ace A HOLE in one from Sid Summers helped Normanton to victory in the Leeds & District’s Yorkshire Post Trophy.

Sid’s ace came at the fourth hole at Moor Allerton and spurred on his team of Dean Mountain, Des Lawson and Mark Griffiths to a score of 123 which was 3 better than another Normanton team.

Leeds & District Union President Mike Gallagher (centre) presenting the trophy to Dean Mountain (left) and Sid Summers.

Bluefin Sport to provide this cover as an additional benefit of affiliating to England Golf.

“The safety of our sport is a concern at every level of the game and this is a very exciting step forward which will provide peace of mind to all our clubs that their members are covered.”

England Golf is launching a promotional campaign to help clubs tell their members about the offer and encourage them to visit their website www.englandgolf.org/my-account to activate their cover.

Clubs will be provided with marketing materials and social media assets.

All clubs have to do is to retain a list of their members which matches their affiliation fee return.

This may be required when insurers are assessing claims and need to check that an individual golfer has a right to the cover.

The insurance is underwritten by Allianz and provided through Bluefin Sport.

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August 2019

TONY HOWARTH, Academy Director at Scarthingwell Golf Academy

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Does your lower body work right in your swing?

NE OF the most difficult things about golf is that because the golf ball is sitting on the ground, the logical thing to do is hit up on it to try to help the ball into the air.

The minute that thought influences a golfer’s swing, the player will invariably fall onto the back foot to try to hit up on the golf ball.

One of the most important things to learn after a correct set-up is how to hit down on the golf ball and to learn to overcome the natural instinct of trying to help the ball into the air.

Also, most golfers strive for distance and accuracy on longer shots and for pinpoint control on approach shots to the green.

Without a controlled weight shift throughout the swing, you cannot achieve any of these objectives on a consistent basis.

A controlled weight shift allows you to have better control of the club and deliver it squarely to the ball, ensuring accuracy and generating the clubhead speed necessary to maximize power.

Weight transfer during the swing is the key to good ball striking, power and accuracy.

At the address position, your weight should feel evenly balanced across both feet. On the backswing, you shift the majority of weight to your back foot and on the downswing you should finish with most of your weight on your front foot.

This allows your body to turn fully on the follow through and allows you to finish in a strong, balanced position.

Incorrect weight shift leads to most of your weight on your back foot at the finish of your follow-through. This tends to lead to a lack of power and wayward shots.

Here is the correct sequence of manoeuvres:

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Address: Equal weight on both feet as in picture 1.

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Top of the backswing: Approximately 6070% of your weight should be on your back foot, as in picture 2.

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Follow-through: The majority of your weight should now have shifted to your front foot - picture 4, not your back foot still, as in picture 3

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TONY HOWARTH, 2004 Sinclair Award Winner, Academy Director and Golf and Marketing Manager at Scarthingwell Golf Course, has over 25 years PGA experience and has taught all levels of golfers. This experience ranges from European Tour, Ladies European Tour and County players through to club golfers and complete beginners. Tony has appeared as guest speaker at many events including the Junior Golf Partnership seminar held at the Belfry, as Key Note Speaker at the inaugural Golf Careers Convention at the University of Northumbria,

guest speaker at the UK Golf Show, the Turkish Golf Federation 1st Annual Coaching Conference and most recently at the GolfEurope Show in Augsburg, Germany. In his role as SNAG Master Trainer, Tony works with International Golf Development implementing first touch coaching and development programmes across the world including Europe, Africa and Asia. Tony’s simplistic style of coaching has been his road to success and he has become known as an expert not just on the golf swing but especially on the short game and putting.