Woodsome Win Big in Seniors

Results of matches played in the Lawrence Batley Seniors League on the 29th May can be seen below. Woodsome Hall moved to second place in their league with an 8-0 victory over Saddleworth. Meanwhile Bradley Hall sit at the top of their division following a 6-2 triumph against Lightcliffe.

View the latest league tables or all the 2009 results so far.

Section A:
Calverley 5, Oldham 3
Hebden Bridge 5, Ryburn 3
Silkstone 7, Wortley 1

Section B:
Bradley Hall 6, Lightcliffe 2
Hanging Heaton 4, Queensbury 4
Huddersfield 6, Werneth 2
Outlane 5, West Bradford 3

Section C:
Blackley 8, Crow Nest Park 0
Bradford Moor 4, Low Laithes 4
Dewsbury 5, South Leeds 3

Section D:
Bradley Park 5, Elland 3
Branshaw 6, Meltham 2
Todmorden 6, Halifax 2
Woodsome Hall 8, Saddleworth 0

Last Hole Birdie Gives Whitworth Best Gross

The Rabbits Section captain, Alan Teale, welcomed 176 players to the annual Rabbit Captains Day competition at Bradley Hall on Saturday.

Following recent rains the weather could not have been better with a clear blue sky, light winds and warm temperatures which reflected in the immaculate condition of the course. However, the resulting scores were not ridiculously low with the competition standard scratch score returning at 71.

Teeing off first at ten minutes to seven were Andy Whitworth, Paul Taylor and Clive McFadzean, whose combined handicaps amounted to just six, and a close battle ensued between the group to the very last hole where both Taylor and Whitworth were both standing 'level gross' - Andy (pictured) returned a birdie two and Paul a bogey four which enabled the plus-handicapper to take the best gross prize for the day.

Division One was won by Phil Gatehouse with a nett 67, narrowly beating Dan Dennett, junior Josh Bailes and John Greenwood on a card count back. In Division Two Gordon Bedford was the winner with a nett 68 closely followed by Kevin Megson and Brian Hadcroft.

The prize for the nearest-the-pin on the 18th hole was won by one of the early starters, Tony Wormald, who holed in one!

Other prize winners included Bailes who won the Junior Cup which was played on the previous day with a nett 64 and Peter and Jackie Olson who won the mixed greensome over 13 holes with a nett score of 42.5.

Division 1:
P.Gatehouse 80 - 13 = 67
D.Dennett 75 - 8 = 67
J.Bailes 78 - 11 = 67
J.M.Greenwood 80 - 13 = 67
A.R.Whitworth 69 - 0 = 69
P.A.Taylor 71 - 2 = 69
P.Olson 80 - 11 = 69
J.Gledhill 82 - 12 = 70
N.Stevens 82 - 12 = 70
J.Dale 76 - 6 = 70
B.Crowther 85 - 15 = 70
M.Firth 82 - 12 = 70

Division 2:
G.D.Bedford 89 - 21 = 68
K.Megson 87 - 17 = 70
B.Hadcroft 88 - 18 = 70
A.Hanson 89 - 18 = 71
A.Wormald 89 - 17 = 72
G.Layfield 89 - 17 = 72
S.Dean 89 - 17 = 72
R.Ward 89 - 17 = 72

Henry Leads Crow Nest to Claret Cup Victory

The Junior Claret Cup was played at a slightly damp Bradley Park Golf Club earlier this week with 79 youngsters taking part.

A delighted sponsor, David Cox of Hebden Bridge, who with his wife Janet put on a splendid day, were extremely pleased with the record turnout of juniors.

The competition has been run for five years now and gives the young juniors, who don't get to play in competitions because of their high handicaps, a chance to play and gain experience. Clubs can enter as many juniors as they want and whilst there are individual prizes on offer there is also a team prize to win the Claret Cup.

This year the event was won by Crow Nest Park with 87 points (Scott Henry and Lewis Hobson - pictured above with Mr Cox) with the former taking the individual prize with a magnificent 45 points.

Crosland Heath came second with Outlane third. Georgia Wilson (pictured right) was the leading girl.

Results:
1st: Crow Nest Park = 87 points
2nd: Crosland Heath = 82 points
3rd: Outlane = 81 points

Individuals:
BOYS:
Scott Henry = 45 points (Crow Nest)
Chris Mattimoe = 44 points (Crosland Heath)
Lewis Hobson = 42 points (Crow Nest)

GIRLS:
Georgia Wilson = 40 points (Bradley Park)

First Ace for Fred

George 'Fred' Fisher scored his first ever hole-in-one today!

71-year-old Fred scored his ace on the famous 'Tom Morris' 9th hole during a midweek medal competition at Dewsbury District Golf Club using an 8 iron from the white tees.

Much to his astonishment and that of his playing partners, George Mitchel and Gerry McHugh, the ball disappeared into the cup.

As tradition goes a drink was bought by Fred for fellow competitors in the clubhouse.

Ellis & Pearson Cap Great Weekend

Crow Nest members James Ellis and Helen Pearson capped a great bank holiday weekend on Monday night when they landed the respective gents and ladies competitions in the third Crow Nest Masters tournament, a competitions contested by all the 'Major' winners at the Brighouse club.

As reported yesterday Ellis won the Rabbit Captain's day on Saturday to qualify for this special tournament.

Meanwhile on Sunday Lady Captain Pearson had successfully defended the Ellisford Trophy.

The 'Masters' event was formatted some three years ago and was designed to reward the winners of club 'Major' competitions with a special annual exclusive event.

The competition has proved very successful over the first two years and this year was no exception.

The sun shone during the day and the Clubs Junior section held a Barbecue which raised funds for their Section.

The Barbecue was run by the Junior Organiser, Mark Campbell, and he was helped on the day by Mike Walton and Barry & Liz Seymour. The Barbecue and the Presentation were very well attended.

James Ellis scored 40 stableford points to pip runner-up, Nick Day, by a point who beat Ian Donald on a count back. Pearson accumulated 38 points to take the ladies prize.

Both Ellis and Pearson are pictured with their trophies.

Shaw Shines But Title Hopes Disappear at Woodsome

Any hopes of a Yorkshire IDU League title charge by the HHDUGC Junior side all but disappeared at Woodsome Hall on a sunny Bank Holiday Sunday.

Whilst with only three games played it is still mathematically possible to top the league history shows that a team losing two matches in a season very rarely goes on to be crowned champions.

Taking on a side who have high expectations this season at both senior and junior level the Halifax, Huddersfield side were unable to take advantage of a home venue and stamp their authority on the game. Playing against a Bradford team with superior handicaps Adam Cryer and Joe Hill (pictured) were the only players to register a home victory in the morning foursomes and whilst Saddleworth pair Stephen Pullen & Ben Simpson recorded a point in their halved game the writing was on the wall from an early stage with the score 9-3 at lunch in favour of the away side.

Needing an explosive start to the singles to get back into the game the top four games were all lost effectively handing victory to Bradford who maintain their 100% record in the league.

Despite the loss Junior Team Selector, Frank Greaves, will be pleased with the way in which his middle order and the tail responded with fine victories by Tom Goodair, Tom Calvert, Lewis Howell and debutant Ethan Shaw who put in a spirited performance to win his match 2&1. The Marsden youngster has shown some excellent form over the past couple of years, reducing his handicap to five, and will now be hoping to secure a regular place in the team.

The full score sheet can be seen here whilst the order of merit remains much unchanged with Simpson leading the way on 18 points.

Ellis is Crow Nest Champ

James 'Chunk' Ellis continued his purple patch of good form when he landed the annual Rabbit Captain's Day prize at Crow Nest Park Golf Club on Saturday. He amassed 41 points to fight off a number of strong contenders including another form man, Dave Hawksworth, who finished as runner-up on 40 points.

Meanwhile Jim Roberts must have felt the pressure when drawn with two former winners of the competition at the nine-hole Brighouse course, recently voted one of the best in the UK by National Club Golfer and Lady Golfer magazines, but he totalled 37 points to upstage playing partners, Jim Lough and Paul Scothorne, to take third place. The trio are pictured below with the Rabbit Captain, Peter Horrocks - left to right; Lough, Scothorne, Roberts, Horrocks.

The popular winner of the inaugural Past Rabbit Captains Trophy was Alan Stafford with 32 points whilst in a separate Tigers competition the winner was Craig Helliwell (40 points) with Steve Brown second (39 points) and Simon Ireland in third place (38 points).

Mark Tiffany and Paul Jackson captured nearest-the-pin prizes with Dave Wade and Martin Broadbent the Longest Drive champions.

In contrast to the near perfect conditions at the par 70 club on the Bank Holiday weekend the Lady and Junior members played their competitions the week prior for their respective prizes in wet and windy conditions.

Andrew Durrant was the star of the show in the Juniors with a whopping 49 points whilst Kath Jackson's 35 points was good enough to take first place in the Ladies section.

At the prize presentation held in the clubhouse Horrocks congratulated all the winners and thanked all the sections of the Club for helping to make his day so special. Peter went on to thank Greenkeeper Mark Widdop and his staff for presenting the course in first class condition, Dean Wilson and his staff for their excellent hospitality in the clubhouse and the 130+ members who entered the competitions. Thanks were also expressed to the Rabbits Committee and Peter's Vice- Captain, John Cryer for organising the days' events.

Following the prize presentation a packed clubhouse was entertained by DJs Steve Yendley and Eddie Spencer.

Clark Continues Great Form

Early starter Paul Walker set the standard in the prestigious Centenary Trophy at Outlane Golf Club with an excellent round of 63 at the weekend. And it looked like it was going to be the winning score until Steve McNair came in with a splendid 62 from the second division to snatch the lead and then junior player Matthew Clark, who had lost three shots from his win the previous week, again produced the goods to take the honours with a late and magnificent 61 nett.

Clark later learnt that he had lost another three shots to his handicap now meaning he has dropped six strokes in just two weeks of golf! A special mention also goes to another junior, Bryn Jenkinson, who again finished third in the first division and now stands just one shot off a single figure handicap.

Division 1:
Paul Walker = 63 nett
John Follows = 64 nett
Bryn Jenkinson = 66 nett

Division 2:
Matthew Clark = 61 nett
Steve McNair = 62 nett
Gary Moulson = 65 nett

Bailey & Nicholson Land Darnton Cup

The Darnton Cup, a gents betterball competition at Bradley Hall, attracted a field of 160 members yesterday. Remaining relatively dry for most of the day and with only light winds, which for a change were of the prevailing kind, good scores were inevitable.

The winners decided on a back nine countback were current Mexborough Cup holder, Mark Bailey, and his playing partner Andrew Nicholson who returned a nett 63. In second place with the same nett score were scratch team members, Martin Cockcroft (pictured) and David Whitaker, also the current vice captain of the Club.

Only one shot further adrift were Gary Parker and Andrew Garnett with a nett 64.

In 12th place were Mike Fisher and Brian Hadcroft whose nett 67 was helped in no small way by a 'hole in one' at the last hole by Brian - with such a large field, the whisky soon disappeared!

Leading scores:
1. M.Bailey & A.Nicholson = 63
2. M.Cockcroft & D.Whitaker = 63
3. G.Parker & A.Garnett = 64
4. M.Firth & P.Gatehouse = 65
5. S.Sandie & M.Appleyard = 65
6. M.Murphy & R.Dubaj = 65
7. N.Crowther & M.Calligan = 66
8. G.Todd & F.Buck = 66
9. P.Taylor & A.Whitworth = 66
10 R.Lofts & J.Gledhill = 66

Mather Leaves Field in his Wake

The first 'midweek medal' of the season was played at Bradley Hall on Wednesday and gave the '5 day members' an opportunity to get in some competitive golf.

Following his debut for the Scratch Team the previous week at Ogden, Chris Mather put in another encouraging performance in shooting a level gross score of 70 to lead the field of 50 competitors in his wake. In second place was a relatively new member of the club, Richard Spencer, who came in with a gross 82 off his 15 handicap and signed for a nett 77! .... no doubt he will be very surprised and pleased to note that his nett score was in fact 67.

Another good score from junior member Josh Bailes, in third place with his nett 68, has reduced his handicap to 12.

Leading Scores:
1. C.Mather 70 - 6 = 64
2. R.M.Spencer 82 - 15 = 67
3. J.Bailes 81 - 13 = 68
4. A.Beddis 94 - 26 = 68
5. P.Buckley 76 - 7 = 69
6. K.Ellis 87 - 18 = 69

East Riding Top Yorkshire IDU League

East Riding Union are the early leaders in the Yorkshire Inter-District Union League. The 2008 runners-up scored a hefty victory (27-9) over Teesside in their opening fixture at Scarborough South Cliff and therefore lead the other three victorious teams on the opening day - Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield - on points difference. The full league table can be seen here.

As reported earlier in the week the HHDUGC suffered 23-13 at the hands of Leeds at Wetherby. The full scoresheet is now available by clicking here.

Meanwhile Dewsbury's Ben Crowther heads the order of merit after a foursomes victory and a halved singles game in the encounter against Leeds. Crowther, who has an impressive record in the order of merit after finishing as runner-up in 2006, first in 2007 and third last year, leads by a point from Iain Powell, Steve Martin and Sam Bridges. Full Table.

Opening Day Defeat for Union

The Halifax, Huddersfield & District Union of Golf Clubs senior team started this seasons campaign in the YIDU golf league yesterday with an away defeat against a strong Leeds side at Wetherby Golf Club.

The Leeds track has recently undergone several alterations, including the building of three new greens, and with the lengthening of some holes the course now provides an impressive test at just over 6,500 yards. The first hole in particular, a par four playing into the wind, really tested the elite golfers and at 468 yards was only reached in two shots by a handful of players.

The foursomes started badly for our local side with Richard Broadley & Andy Shaw, Jim Fairhurst & Iain Powell and Sam Bridges & Steve Martin all going behind in their matches early on in the round. The West End pair of Bridges & Martin rallied but eventually lost 2&1 whilst Broadley & Shaw lost 4&3 and Fairhurst & Powell went down 5&4.

However in the lower order Graham McLean & Chris Ingham were able to turn their match around with birdies on holes 16 and 17 to win by one hole plus Frank Greaves and debutant Brad Tupman also turned their game on its head after being three down after three to also win by a single hole. In the final game of the morning Ben Crowther & Danny Stocchero gained control of their match around the turn, after losing the first two holes, to score a victory to leave the foursomes shared at six points each.

The Leeds Union put their top three players out first in the afternoon singles and former Yorkshire champion David Appleyard beat Broadley 5&4 in a one sided contest. Richard Law, the current Yorkshire champion, had a much tougher match against Shaw but eventually won on the 17th green.

Despite the early setbacks for the Halifax, Huddersfield team at one point they were up in five matches; Bridges, Powell, Martin, Crowther, and Stocchero were all ahead and with Fairhurst level and Greaves just one down an away victory was on the cards.

Mear admitted, "As the afternoon unfolded a win by Powell against county player Simon Coumbe and a victory for Bridges beating Ashley Smith I felt that we were in with a chance of creating a shock result once we got back on level terms."

However, as the day progressed matches began to swing in the Leeds Unions favour. Fairhurst lost on the penultimate green whilst McLean, Ingham, Greaves and Tupman all fell well behind. Martin secured another two points for the HHDUGC when he closed out the Leeds Union Captain Andy Wiltshire 2&1 but McLean, who has been playing well, was out of sorts with his game and eventually lost 5&4. Ingham also lost by the same margin and whilst Greaves battled, as he always does, he still went down 3&2.

Tupman lost by the margin of 4&2 and although Crowther was battling away, and got into a winning position of three up with four to play, a bogey on the par five 15th and a visit to water on the last meant that he had to settle for a halved match. Stocchero (pictured) was two down with four to play but fought right to the end only to make the same error as Crowther on the 18th by visiting the water to eventually lose two down.

The final result was a 23-13 home win for Leeds. Order of Merit Table & Full Scorecard to follow.

Outlane Round-up

Outlane greenkeeper John Firth must have positioned the flags on the greens correctly for him and his partner Patrick Wray because they found them to their liking with a 62 nett to win the Spring Fourball last weekend. They secured the victory by a stroke from Club President, Trevor Pickles, and his partner Stuart Eastwood. First pairing out John Jackson and Jim Pryce had earlier set the pace with a 64.

Spring Fourball:
John Firth / Patrick Wray --- -------------62
Stuart Eastwood / Trevor Pickles ---------63
John Jackson / Jim Pryce ---------------- 64

Meanwhile Steven Beeby won the first division in the Midsummer Championship Qualifier on Saturday, however, it was junior player Matthew Clark who stole the show with his second division win which saw his handicap tumble three shots to 23.

The top 30 players now play off later in the season with the leading scores going out last to add to their scores from their first round total.

Midsummer Championship Qualifier:
Division 1:
Steve Beeby ------- 62 nett
Keith Johson ------- 65 nett
Steve Howlett ------- 66 nett

Division 2:
Matthew Clark ---------- 60 nett
Steve Marshall ---------- 63 nett
Robert Senior ---------- 64 nett

Finally the junior fixtures at the Slack Lane club have been hit with terrible weather in their second and third matches. Both games had to be abandoned with first hail and rain waterlogging the greens and then rain, thunder and lightning contributed to the course being unplayable as well as being unsafe.

No Play in the Seniors

The Lawrence Batley Seniors League suffered a total wash-out this week with not one game taking place due to the heavy rainfall.

View the latest league tables.

Yorkshire PGA Championship Pro-Am

Entries are now being taken for the Yorkshire PGA Championship Pro-Am at Willow Valley on Thursday 16th July 2009.

The team event, which comprises of three amateurs and one professional, is a popular competition consisting of 18 holes of golf on the championship Willow Valley course, a 2-course carvery followed by a Prize Presentation.

The cost of entering a team of three is £180 with the each team being paired with a Yorkshire based PGA Professional.

Entry can be completed using any of the methods below:
-Telephone Willow Valley Golf: 01274 878624
-Telephone J Pape of the YPGA: 01132828984
-Email: wpendlebury@wvgc.co.uk
-Website: www.wvgc.o.uk/pro-am
-Person: Call into the clubhouse and collect an entry form

The actual Yorkshire PGA Championship is played over 36 Holes with the first round on Wednesday 8th July with the top 50 and ties qualifying for the final round on the following day. Catering will be available throughout both days and spectators are welcome.

Tough Test at Ryburn for Final Alliance Meeting

The final Alliance event of the 2008/9 season took place yesterday at a wind swept Ryburn.

Having had several attempts before to hold the Ronnie Parkinson Memorial surely a revised date in May would not be a problem....? However, the wind at Ryburn made the course an extremely tough test with some of the par three's being unreachable with drivers whilst others at 225 yards were being hit with nine irons.

The extreme conditions didn't deter 60 golfers attempting to tame the nine-hole course and the wind didn't prove to be a problem for Am-Am winners - Gary Gough (20 hcp) and Keon Ryall (15 hcp) from Outlane - who scored a magnificent 43 points ensuring a comfortable six point victory to claim the Ronnie Parkinson Memorial Trophy.

Their front nine of 23 points was the highest tally all day and backing that up with 20 points on the back nine ensured the win. In second place came Gary Broadbent (12 hcp) and David Hawksworth (20 hcp) from Crow Nest Park with 37 points.

In the professional section there was a tie in the clubhouse for the top spot between Dave Astin and Chris Hanson on 37 points. However, the last professional in to complete his round was Rob Booth and his partner Clive McFadzean (4 hcp) from Bradley Hall who amassed 40 points in the tough conditions to grab victory from Astin and Hanson. The win was Booth's first in the Alliance this season but for Clive it was a nice addition to his previous success at Willow Valley.

It wasn't all disappointment for Astin and Hanson though as their points today confirmed them as first and second in the Professionals Order of Merit. This new competition has been kindly sponsored by The Beckside Bed Company with Astin picking up £150 for first place whilst Hanson collected £100 for second spot.

There was a nearest-the-pin competition on the ninth hole at Ryburn which, with the wind, was proving difficult and up until the last group was being led with a measure of 24 feet. However, teeing off last in the final fourball was home member Ray Attiwell who coaxed his 3-iron shot straight into the hole for his second ever hole-in-one!

At the presentation many thanks were offered to all the clubs, caterers and professionals who had helped to make this seasons Winter Alliance a very successful programme of events. Thanks were also offered to Barry Isles for the great amount of work he does sitting on the desk, organising competition times and dealing with peoples requests. James Washington was thanked for his assistance to Barry and it was hoped that they longed continued their good work.

The President of the Alliance, professional Jim Crompton, also announced during the presentation that Richard Badrock of Castlefields Golf Club had accepted the offer of being next years President and wished him all the best in his forthcoming year.

Washington told the Huddersfield Blog, "The Alliance would like to thank everyone who has played in an event this season and with next years programme being even bigger I would hope to see everyone again next year. We would also like to wish everyone a successful summer season."

Full Results

Halifax Golf Club 'Open Week'

Halifax Golf Club start their annual Open Week on the 6th of June. The week kicks-off with the traditional 4BBB tournament on the Saturday whilst the festival of golf ends the following Saturday with the prestigious Ogden Cup.

Entry to all competitions is available until Sunday 24th May and bookings can be made by calling their Pro Shop on 01422 240047.

The 4BBB starts the week off on Saturday the 6th (£22 per pair) followed by a Mixed Greensomes on the Sunday (£22 per couple). Monday the 8th is the popular Seniors 4BBB Stableford (£20 per pair) whilst Tuesday see's the hosting of the Tri-Am (£21 per 3 man team - 2 scores to count) - all these events have their prize presentation on the actual day of the competition.

The scheduled Junior Open (£5 per player) for Sunday the 7th has now been re-arranged to be played on Thursday 28th of May 10am - 12.30pm with the presentation on the 13th of June after the Mens Ogden Cup.

Wednesday the 10th is the Ladies Ogden Cup which has had a re-vamp this year to a 4BBB Stableford from its traditional individual medal to attract more players to the Ogden course. The presentation for this will follow the completion of the Mens Ogden Cup on Saturday the 13th.

Thursday the 11th will host the Mens Individual Stableford Full Handicap (£10 per player) and the presentation for this will follow the completion of the Mens Ogden Cup on Saturday the 13th.

Saturday 13th is the end to Halifax Golf Club's Open Week with the 36 hole Ogden Cup (£22 per player). This medal was won last year by West End's Ian Marsland a long time entrant to the competition. Ian will be chased to this years title by a host of Union stars form Huddersfield Golf Club under the guidance of David Hughes which include; Andy Shaw (+1), Richard Broadley (+1), Jim Fairhurst (Scr), Andy Appleyard (3) and Danny Stocchero (3). Also chasing the title will be Halifax own stars of Simon Wilson (3), Steve Smith (5), Mark Birkett (2) Tim Pollard (5) and previous winners Clive Crawshaw (2) and Luke Mudd (5). A handful of double winners which include Spencer Nicholson (12) Chris Whitehead (5) and Junior Organiser Darren Davison (6) will be hoping to make it a treble.

The Ogden Cup will be played for the first time on the newly created Blue course set out by Vice Captain, David Peel, and Head Green Keeper Michael Harris.

This year's Captain Mr Gene Gerrard would like to wish all competitors a successful and enjoyable Open Week and hope the weather gives the players a week to remember.

Re-arranged Junior Open

The Junior Open originally planned for Sunday the 7th June as part of the Halifax Golf Club 'Open Week' has now been re-arranged due to the HHDUGC Junior Team Championship being played on the same day.

The Ogden club are now holding the event on Thursday 28th May (Spring Bank school holiday period) with tee times available from 10am until 12.30pm. Entry is just £5 per person and available through the Pro Shop at Halifax Golf Club, competitors should ring David Delaney on 01422 240047 to book a time. The Prize Presentation will be held on the 13th June from 7.30pm onwards after the final event of the week and prestigious Ogden Cup.

Union Entry Forms Now Available

Entry-forms are now available for the three HHDUGC individual championships to be held in 2009.

The Individual Strokeplay Championship (£20) for the P.S. Cockroft Trophy will take place on the 9th August at Dewsbury District Golf Club, the Junior Strokeplay Championship (£7) for the Lightcliffe Tankard will be held at Outlane Golf Club on the 5th July whilst the Seniors Strokeplay Championship (£10) takes place at West End Golf Club on the 2nd July.

Block booking sheets should already be available at golf clubs, however, entry-forms can also be found by clicking on the links above for those golfers wishing to enter individually. Competitors are urged to enter as soon as possible especially if they have a particular start time preference which although cannot be guaranteed will be accommodated as much as possible.

Bradley Hall Union Fourball Qualifiers

Results from Bradley Hall Golf Club's Union Fourball qualifying round are shown below. The event was played on Sunday 10th May.

Leading Scores:
D.Alexis & C.Gillespie = 62
M.Bird & I.Ambler = 63
M.Appleyard & S.Sandie = 63
---------------
J.Bailes & A.Hare = 64
S.J.Wilkinson & C.Doyle = 65
C.Walker & M.White = 65
A.Whitfield & K.Wright = 66
R.Leeming & D.Ward = 66
J.M.Woodhouse & P.Toon = 67
C.McFadzean & S.Hopkinson = 67
K.Barker & M.Worsick = 67
S.Crossley & A.Heywood = 67
D.Roebuck & N.Dare = 67

Juniors Bounce Back

The HHDUGC Junior team bounced straight back with a victory over East Riding at Bradley Park on Sunday following their opening day defeat last week at the hands of an impressive Harrogate.

A convincing display in the morning foursomes gave the home side a strong platform for the afternoon singles which despite only halving was enough to give them a 21-15 win, the same margin they lost by seven days prior. The triumph would have been by a greater margin had the local side not lost the final three individual games.

Crow Nest Park's Ben Adamson (pictured) was the top performer on the day, firstly he partnered club team mate Nathan Scott to claim a 5&3 victory in the doubles and then totally outplayed his opponent in the singles to win by a huge 7&6 margin.

Adam Walker (Longley Park) and Ben Simpson (Saddleworth) also both collected maximum points for their side. Simpson and Adamson head the order of merit table after the opening two matches with Willow Valley's Lewis Howell in third place just two points behind.

Full Score Sheet.

Josh Leads the Way

On Saturday The Woodruff Cup was played at a very windy and certainly in the morning, cold Bradley Hall Golf Club. However, conditions improved slightly in the afternoon and this was to be reflected in the scoring. The handicap limit for the competition was 15, meaning that those with a lower handicap had a distinct advantage.

Playing together in a field of 150 golfers, were two members of the Junior Team, Junior Captain Andy Hare (6 hcp) and Josh Bailes (15 hcp) and they obviously sparked each other with some almost unbelievable scoring. Josh recorded a 79 gross to give him a nett score of 64 and Andy shot the joint lowest gross score of the day with a 72 for a 66 nett.

Also matching that 72 gross was the Vice Captain, David Whitaker (4 hcp) giving him a nett 68. A shot further back were Chris Mather (6 hcp) and Ian Roebuck (15 hcp).

Such was the difficulty experienced by most of the field that the Competition Standard Scratch closed at 72.

Leading Scores:
J.Bailes 72 - 15 = 64
A.P.C.Hare 72 - 6 = 66
D.Whitaker 72- 4 = 68
C.Mather 75 - 6 = 69
I.Roebuck 84 - 15 = 69
S.J.Wilkinson 80 - 10 = 70
C.Walker 82 - 12 = 70
G.Dutton 85 - 15 = 70

Jason Lands York Rose Bowl

Jason Jones Outclasses the Field at Strensall!

The 30th staging of the York Rose Bowl took place yesterday at York Golf Club and a strong field of 66 players played. Despite the poor weather conditions that have existed this year, the Greens Staff at the Club had prepared the course to the best standard it might be in under those circumstances and generally players were impressed with the quality of the course.

The morning round was lead by Tony Cole of Scarcroft as the only player to shoot below par with a 69 to lead by 1 shot but with 16 players within 3 shots of him.

The afternoon round saw, as expected, improved scores as players were more accustomed to the greens and pin placements. Six sub par rounds were achieved in the afternoon lead by Jason Jones (Saltburn) and Justin Sloan (Brough) who both shot 67’s. The 67 of Jason Jones was enough to secure him his first win at the Rose Bowl with a 36 hole score of 138 – 3 clear of Nigel Sweet (Moortown) and Steve Brennan (Wheatley)

Jones is pictured below receiving the trophy from Captain Keith Griffiths. CSS was 71 for the first round and 70 in the afternoon.

Full Results

Lawrence Batley Latest Scores & Leagues

Results of matches in the Lawrence Batley Seniors League played on the 8th May are shown below.

You can also see the latest league tables and a full list of fixtures and results.

Section A:
Calverley 6 Hebden Bridge 2
Oldham 6 Silkstone 2
Ryburn 8 West End 6

Section B:
Huddersfield 8 Outlane 0
Lightcliffe 8 Queensbury 0
Werneth 6 Bradley Hall 2
West Bradford 6 Hanging Heaton 0

Section C:
Bradford Moor 5 South Leeds 3
Dewsbury 3 Crosland Heath 5
Low Laithes 8 Crow Nest 0

Section D:
Elland 6 Meltham 2
Woodsome Hall 4 Halifax 4

Hanson Upbeat Despite Losing Lead

Cumberwell Park's Steve Surry won The Michael Ward UK Open at Collingtree Park today snatching victory from overnight leader Chris Hanson who missed the chance to capture his second PGA EuroPro title.

On a tough scoring day Surry heaped real pressure on Hanson from the start and was four under par after the 11th whilst Hanson ran into difficulties with a bogey on his opening hole and although he cancelled that out with a birdie at the third, a bogey at five and a double at the par three eighth saw his lead reduce.

A battling back-nine looked like it might still be enough for Hanson leaving him one ahead going down the final hole. However, disaster struck when his drive caught the wind and finished out of bounds and although his provisional found the fairway his approach to the green landed in the water ending any hopes of victory.

“I’m obviously disappointed but I was 100 per cent committed today and it just wasn’t there for me,” said Hanson. “I can still take a lot from the tournament – from leading and being in contention to my first two rounds where I played really well.”

THE MICHAEL WARD UK OPEN FINAL RESULTS:
1 Steve Surry 70, 73, 72 = 215 - £10,000
=2 Paul Dwyer 77, 72, 67 = 216 - £3,066.66
=2 Elliot Saltman 74, 74, 68 = 216 - £3,066.66
=2 Simon Lilly 70, 75, 71 = 216 - £3,066.66
=5 Mark Ramsdale 71, 72, 74 = 217 - £1,200
=5 Paul Streeter 71, 71, 75 = 217 - £1,200
=5 George Woolgar 72, 70, 75 = 217 - £1,200
=8 Daniel Gaunt 73, 75, 70 = 218 - £875
=8 Chris Hanson 70, 67, 81 = 218 - £875

Ronnie Parkinson Memorial Start Times

The starting times for the final Alliance meeting of the 2008/9 season, the Ronnie Parkinson Memorial at Ryburn Golf Club, are now available online. The event will (hopefully) go ahead at the third time of asking on Wednesday 13th May - the competition has previously been postponed twice due to bad weather!

This event takes the new format of £20.00 per couple which includes soup and sandwiches with no need to change into jacket and tie afterwards - although a change of clothing is required.

Alliance representative James Washington said, "Support from the professionals is good again and given that the main season has now fully begun we are happy with the number of entries."

See the full start sheet.

Local Sides Fail to Progress

Both Dewsbury District and Hanging Heaton failed to progress to the 5th Division of the Yorkshire Team Championships at Abbeydale Golf Club on Wednesday. However, both retained their status in the 6th tier of the county league system for the 2010 season.

Dewsbury finished 12 strokes off the qualifying mark for promotion in tenth position whilst Hanging Heaton just avoided relegation by three strokes in twelfth spot. Home side Abbeydale took the title whilst Bonday continued their climb through the ranks finishing 14 shots back as runners-up.

Full Scores.

Hanson in Control at Collingtree Park

Chris Hanson holds a commanding five shot lead at The Collingtree Park Masters in Northampton following a fine second round 67. The local professional, who recently finished second in The Page Trophy at Dewsbury, leads the field ahead of the final round of the EuroPro Tour event in Northampton.

The Crosland Heath man was in a pack of six players at two under par after the opening round of the first tournament of the 2009 Tour, but he instantly improved that with a birdie on his first hole – the tenth – with two further birdies seeing him turn at three under.

He avoided dropping a shot on the first seven holes of his back nine before birdies on the eighth and ninth holes ended his round in style – and gave him vital breathing space at seven under for the tournament (137).

“It’s a little extra cushion going in to the final day which gives me a boost and it’s a wake up for the others to get good scores, which puts them under pressure,” said Hanson of his birdie-birdie finish.

“My confidence is high going into the final round – I’ve played two good days of golf and I’ve had a fantastic caddy too. The fitness work I’ve put in over the winter is paying off as well so I’m really pleased.”

Hanson is chasing his second EuroPro Tour victory – his first came in 2006 at Bovey Castle – with three players five shots behind him on two under par (142). Two of them – George Woolgar (Capitalservices.com) and Kevin Harper (East Devon) – started the day at level par, with Woolgar producing four birdies in his move up the leaderboard and Harper one fewer in his. They are joined by Paul Streeter (Belton Woods) who produced his second round of 71 with three birdies and an eagle. Woolgar will tee-off with Hanson in Friday’s final pairing at 12.21pm.

A clutch of players are one shot behind that trio at one under (143). Steven Tiley (Club ISM) will count himself in the reckoning after shooting 70 to follow an opening 73 – although he will rue not pressing home a blistering start where he posted four birdies in five holes. Overnight leader Cian McNamara (Limerick) had a frustrating day and was unable to build on his opening round of 69, with two bogeys and a double bogey in his 74. Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park) fell from two under to one under with a 73, while Mark Ramsdale (Formby GC) consolidated his position with a solid level par round. Daniel Brooks (Mill Hill) makes up the quintet with a birdie on his final hole making the difference.

Nine players sit on level par ahead of the final day, which sees the 56 players at five over or better taking part in Friday’s final round.

Full scores for The Collingtree Park Masters are available at http://www.europrotour.com/ by clicking on the Score Updates tab, where you will find live scoring when the final round begins at 8am.

Juniors Defeated in Season Opener

The Halifax, Huddersfield & District Union of Golf Clubs Junior side kicked off their 2009 Yorkshire IDU League campaign at Dewsbury District Golf Club on Sunday but came up against an impressive Harrogate side and eventually went down by 21 points to 15.

A late rally in the morning foursomes, where the HHDUGC won the last two matches, gave the home side hope of a comeback in the afternoon singles as they trailed just 7-5 at lunch. However, when the top three singles matches went the way of the North Yorkshire team victory looked unlikely.

A middle order rally with wins for Bradley Park's Joe Hill and Crow Nest Park pair Ben Adamson and Nathan Scott brought the scores closer together but when the following three matches resulted in defeats the contest was over.

Despite the opening loss and a poor return from the teams top order team selector, Frank Greaves, will be able to take some positives from the defeat. Willow Valley's Lewis Howell was one of those to impress and the only player to take maximum points from his games whilst Scott was also impressive with a comprehensive 5&4 victory in his tie following a halved game in his foursomes. Two star performers from last year, Saddleworth's Ben Simpson and Stephen Pullen (pictured), continued their fine form after securing a win in their doubles match and then both halving their individual games

The side have a good opportunity to bounce straight back when East Riding Union visit Bradley Park this coming Sunday.

See the full scorecard and latest league table.

Hanson Opens EuroPro Season with a 70

Chris Hanson fired a two under par round of 70 on the opening day of the first event on the 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour at Collingtree Park in Northampton. The Crosland Heath player was one over after five holes but recovered well with three birdies to shoot 70.

Richard Edginton leads the field by a stroke at the top of the leaderboard. The Effingham player was three under after 13 holes with an eagle and three birdies in his round before he added a fourth birdie at the last to sneak ahead of Cian McNamara and Chris Evans in second spot.

Hanson is joined by Francis McGuirk (Princes GC), Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park), Jason Levermore (Clacton-on-Sea), Matthew Evans (Rotherham GC) and Simon Lilly at two under par. Evans produced a fine comeback to sit just behind the pacesetters, after starting his round on the back nine with two bogeys. The Rotherham man gained a shot back with a birdie on the second before a birdie-eagle finish saw him turn his indifferent start on its head.

Castlefields Charity Open Day - 4th July 2009

Castlefields Golf Club, who have organised and run a Charity Golf Day for the past 18 years, will be holding this years event on Saturday the 4th July.

Over the years thay have supported many different charities including last year when they raised over £1,700 for Epilepsy Action. This year the tournament organiser and Vice-Captain of the Rastrick club is hoping to better that total for their chosen charity, 'Make a Wish’.

Make a Wish is a charity which grants magical wishes to children and young adults who have life-threatening illnesses. The Charity was founded in the UK in 1986 and since then has granted over 5,300 wishes, A wish come true brings so much to any Childs life, and provides memories for the family that last a lifetime. For more details see; http://www.make-a-wish.org.uk/

As in previous years, all proceeds will go to the nominated charity – NO monies will be taken out for administration or prizes - and you can support the Golf Day and ‘Make a wish’ in a number of ways:

1. Sponsor pairs in the golf event: Put together a four ball for £32 or simply a pair for £16. Men, Ladies and juniors are all welcome but prizewinners will be expected to produce a handicap certificate.

2. Sponsor a tee: From £16 your company name would be listed at the event and passed to our local press.

3. Donate a Golf or Raffle Prize: In order to eliminate overheads, we depend on generous sponsors donating all the prizes for the Golf and for the Charity raffle that will be drawn on the day. Again all sponsors will be advertised in the clubhouse and passed to the local press.

4. Make a Donation: If you can’t be there on the day, but would like to show your support for ‘Make a Wish’, then a simple financial donation would be just as welcome – please make cheques payable to 'Castlefields Golf Club (Charity Day)'.

For more information interested parties can write, call or email Mr. Goldspink using the contact details below.

Paul Goldspink – Vice Captain
10 Kimberley Street, Brighouse, West Yorkshire.

Tel: 07855 285996

E-mail: paul01484@yahoo.com

Tuesday Special at Outlane

Outlane Golf Club are currently running a 'Tuesday Special' where golfers can play a round of golf followed by pie & peas for just £12.50.

Tee times are only available between 10am - 12noon & 1.30pm - 3.30pm and bookings must be made prior by calling 01422 374762 to confirm availability.

Bradley Hall Weekend Results

The weekly competitions continued at Bradley Hall on Saturday with a Gents Stableford which attracted over 150 players in the two divisions.

Although there was bright sunshine for the majority of the day, a cool wind made scoring difficult for many golfers but this not not deter the handful of good scores particularly in Division One with six-handicapper, Chris Mather, accumulating an impressive 41 points just beating David Maguire (8 hcp) and Alan Heywood (12 hcp) by a single point.

In fourth place was one of the clubs 'older statesmen' John Dolan with 38 points, along with category one player Ian Hallett.

In Division Two a popular winner was Roy Lofts (16 hcp) who has been out of the game for some time due to persistent back problems so it was good to see him winning that section with 38 points.

Division 1:
C.Mather 41
D.M.Maguire 40
A.Heywood 40
J.F.Dolan 38
I.Hallett 38

Division 2:
R.Lofts 38
K.Ellis 37
R.Morgan 36
T.Brearley 36

Alsop Leads Outlane Qualifiers

Outlane junior player, Matthew Alsop, had the round of his life on Saturday as he shot a 77 gross to lead the eight Marchant Cup qualifiers who now play off in knockout matches throughout the season.

Captains Charity, May Medal and Marchant Cup Qualifier
Division 1 :
Kevin Pendlebury = 63 nett
Simon Wagstaff = 65 nett
Timothy Brook = 65 nett
Peter Hey = 65 nett

Division 2:
Matthew Alsop = 59 nett
Ken Robinson = 63 nett
Chris Booth = 64 nett
Stuart Chaplin = 65 nett

Meanwhile the following day Lady Vice Captain, Davina Pallister, got the better of the Current Lady Captain, Cherril Smallburn, to win the Mixed 3-club greensome competition in testing windy conditions .

Mixed 3-Club Competition
1st: Stuart West / Davina Pallister = 65.5 nett
2nd: Richard Wilson / Ann Hesseldon = 68.5 nett
3rd: Mark Walker / Cherril Smallburn = 71 nett

Senior League Results

Results from the latest round of the Lawrence Batley Seniors League are featured below. This week saw big wins for local clubs Hebden Bridge, Marsden and Lightcliffe.

Section A:
Hebden Bridge 8, Oldham 0
Marsden 8, Ryburn 0
Silkstone 6, Calverley 2
West End 6, Wortley 2

Section B:
Lightcliffe 8, Hanging Heaton 0
Outlane 6, Werneth 2
Queensbury 5, West Bradford 3

Section C:
Bradford Moor 6, Crow Nest 2
Dewsbury 4, South Bradford 4
Low Laithes 8, South Leeds 0

Section D:
Bradley Park 2, Woodsome Hall 6
Halifax 5, Saddleworth 3
Meltham 6, Todmorden 2

See the latest League Tables and Fixtures.

Astin and Binns are Major Page Winners

David Astin and Jonathan Binns were both celebrating yesterday after taking top honours in the prestigious Huddersfield, Halifax & District Alliance 36-hole Individual Championship.

Played at Dewsbury District Golf Club on a day when nearly everybody expected to get wet the day could hardly have been better - especially for the two winners. The rain never materialised and with only a blustery wind the scoring proved to be excellent.

Dewsbury member Binns, a 4-handicapper, collected The Page Trophy for his excellent rounds of 67 and 68 over his home course although it was a close run thing and he had to suffer an excruciating wait.

The victory was only decided on the last hole of a card play-off after both he and John Doherty (6 hcp) from Longley Park finished with a total of 135. Agonisingly for the Longley Park youngster his bogey on the par three 18th to the champions par sealed the outcome.

Binns' win in the Page Trophy is the second highlight this season for him in Alliance fixtures following his hole-in-one whilst representing the HHDGA at the National Championships in Nottinghamshire late last Autumn.

In third place was Andrew Williams, also from Dewsbury, who had an excellent second round 63 to fly up the leaderboard and finish with a total of 136. Williams also won the Am-Am competition at Meltham back in March. Fourth place went to Union Junior player, Adam Walker from Longley Park, with a total of 138.

Meanwhile in the Professionals competition victory went to Hebden Bridge's Astin with a superb five-under par 66 in his first round followed by a level par 71 in the second.

Astin's first round began well including seven pars, one birdie and one bogey on the outward nine for a level par 35. On the back nine, however, he blistered around the Pinnacle course in just 31 strokes which included three birdies and one eagle to give him his excellent 66. Astin was presented with the Colin Swain Trophy for his splendid efforts.

The victory for Astin capped an excellent season after he also landed the inaugural order of merit title last week.

In second place was Chris Hanson who had rounds of 68 and 70 to give him a total of 138, just one behind the winner. Whilst in joint third position, with a 36 hole total of 145, was Darren Arber from West End and home club professional Nigel Hirst.

In total 12 professionals took part with Alliance organiser James Washington praising their commitment, "The executive would like to thank them all for supporting not only this event but other alliance fixtures throughout the year."

The J.W. Peet Trophy for best amateur gross score went to Dave Stafford (above-right) from Todmorden Golf Club with a 145 Total.

The team prize, playing for Emmie Smith Trophy was won by Longley Park from (Ind) Fixby on a card play-off. With two of their team being in the top four (both pictured below) in the competition it only required their third member, Eddie Doherty to get around without any disasters... but with a nett 160 to go with the 135 from John Doherty and the 137 from Adam Walker it left the door open for Fixby who with 3 consistent totals of 140, 145, 147 just missed out on the countback.

The Best amateur first round was collected by Craig Regan from West End with a nett 67 playing off 15. However it will be his second round he will remember the most as he scored a hole-in-one at the Par 3 ninth. The best second amateur round went to Dennis Law (10 hcp) from Meltham with a scintillating 64.

Washington added, "The day was a tremendous success and thanks must go to all the competitors who took part in the 36 Hole competition at Dewsbury. The course was in excellent condition for the day's competition and the effort from green-staff, the indoor staff and the professional, Mr. Nigel Hirst, was very clear to see and the Alliance would like to thank all them. The Alliance would also like to thank Dewsbury Captain Phil Smith for his help with the Presentation and to everyone at Dewsbury who made the day the success it was."

The final event of the season is on Wednesday 13th May at Ryburn Golf Club. It is a fourball betterball stableford for the Ronnie Parkinson Memorial Trophy. Entry is just £20.00 per couple which includes soup and sandwiches. Competitors are reminded that although this event will not require a jacket and tie afterwards, a change of attire is expected.

Full scores can be seen here. CSS for each round was 71.