Golf round-up: The latest news from Harrogate & district's courses

Knaresborough GC

Ivor Roy (4) may have set some kind of record by chalking up his third successive stroke play triumph in three weeks.

Since August 19, he has topped the monthly medal, captured the annual Almond Trophy and in his third and latest, the September Medal, outstripped his previous efforts by shooting 68, his best round of the three.

To put it mildly, he has, as he says, found a bit of form and confidence, bolstered no doubt by the four birdies at the weekend.

With the bonus of solid driving throughout, it made reaching greens in regulation that much likelier.

Three of his birdies came down the front stretch. The first at the fourth was after an easy nine iron to 15 feet, smoothly converted. Luck just deserted him when he lipped out for birdie at the short fifth but another 15 footer at the sixth and again from similar length at the long eighth saw him round the halfway point two under.

The only lapse was at the dog leg 10th when a mud-caked ball flew right and settled behind a tree. A side ways chip out saw him get up and down with a double bogey six.

The final birdie came after his four iron drifted rightwards into a bunker. He splashed out and watched the ball bounce and roll into the hole for three.

A handsome conclusion to his three week charge, though he acknowledges that five practice rounds in the previous week may have sharpened his game.

Carl Peirson (1), who led for much of the day, was disappointed to slip into second spot on 71 while David Lund (12) finished third on 72.

In Division two, there was a somewhat different story. That of a man relieved after many years to overcome some of his card-killing woes.

Bob Hough (16) was delighted to see his driver hitting more fairways than usual, a recurring hook contained, and re-discovering his touch around the greens.

Gone were the thinned and duffed chips while single putts were finding their targets. It was all looking very promising - till the 18th.

After driving into trees down the left, it was three off the tee for a lost ball and an expensive eight on the par four. A costly last hole but his 74 still left him top of the table. Nigel Saville (16) was second on the countback with Henry Webster (17) third on 75.

No inspired short game discovery for Robin Sharp (24) in Division Three. But early disaster was averted after a lost ball re-load at three. When that found the bunker, he was grateful to splash out up to 12 inches and salvage a five.

After that, consistency was his best friend as he closed out with a 73 followed by Tony Roper (25) on 74 and Andy Galloway (27) on 76.

Two couples matched each other point-for-point as they contested the Beaumont Silver Salver over the front-nine.

Both turned halfway with 24 points, but it was Arthur and Di Hayward who did just enough over the rising back nine, with an additional 20 points, to lead the field with a total of 44.

Pannal GC

More than 100 young golfers competed in the North of England Under-16s Strokeplay Championships at Pannal GC recently.

The event got underway with an international match that saw England Girls Under-16s defeat their Swiss counterparts by 3½ to 2½.

The competition proper got underway with Under-16 and Under-14 boys and girls sections all playing their first round, with members and visitors witnessing top-class golf across all three days.

In the Under-14s section, the boys winner was Alexander Boyes of Teesside GC with a three-under-par score of 285. In the girls Under-14s, Annabel Peaford of Walton Heath GC won with a total score of 293 (3 under par), beating her twin sister Emily by one shot.

The winner of the Girls Under-16s section was Charlotte Naughton of Ponteland GC with a seven-under-par score of 289.

The Boys section winner was Archie Cook (Goswick GC) with rounds of 71, 70, 72 and 68 to give him a seven-under-par aggregate score of 281, which also secured him the North of England Under-16s Championship Trophy.

The event returns to Pannal in August 2024 and the club thanks all volunteers and sponsors who made the 2023 event such success.

Members also managed three separate competitions either side of the main event. On Sunday August 20, an Open Stableford was won by Alistair How with a nett 68, two shots better than Stuart McClements, who in turn was four ahead of Freddie Eyre

Saturday saw one of Pannal’s honours board competitions with the playing of the Pannal Trophy. In total, 56 players tackled this 36-hole handicap event with pin positions retained from the previous day’s scratch event.

Three players carded a two-round score of 143 nett, with Joshua Chi (2) coming out on top to decide third place after a card count.

Alan North (6) secured second with nett scores of 68 and 74 but it was Alan Pater (4) who was the clear winner by three shots with a two round nett aggregate of 139, following which he was presented with the Pannal Trophy by Men’s Captain Martin Boyle

Other noteworthy performances on Saturday were the best gross scores of 71 by Will Eardley (+1) in Round One and a 72 by Will Caldecott (+1) in Round Two. There were also 27 twos across the 36 holes with Chris Hastings managing one at the 10th in both rounds.

On August 27, one of the club’s most keenly-contested matches took place when the Men’s Captain’s team took on the Ladies’ Captain’s team for the Fisher Trophy.

It turned out to be a win for the men by 5½ to 2½ and was followed by a highly convivial lunch enjoyed by players and guests

Oakdale GC

On August 26, Charlie Hayfield (2) achieved an ALBATROSS 2 at Oakdale’s par-five 11th hole (479 yards).

Hitting a 3 iron second, he confirmed “I was just looking around the green for my ball and jokingly checked the hole – and there it was!”

Meanwhile, congratulation go to Mila Dodds on finishing fourth in the girls’ 11 and under competition at the recent Venice Open.

This is an amazing result as Dodds faced competition from golfers from around the world.

As a result of her fourth-placed finish, she has qualified for the Amundi Evian Juniors Cup in Geneva in September and the Rome Classic in October.

Sixty-six pairs entered Oakdale’s Mixed Open. Carl Burnett (15) & Emma Dwyer (27) won with 47 points, second was Antony Shrivell (9) & Helen Shrivell (25) with 46 points and third were Seth Lambert (20) & Helen Lambert (21).

The Ladies’ August Medal & Charity Plate was won by Carol Healey (29) with 72 nett on count-back. She also won Division Two.

Division One was taken by Olivia Lambert with 72 nett and third overall, again on count-back, was Elfie Bowles (39) with 74 nett.

The Ladies’ Nine-hole Q August Medal was played on August 29 and won by Lindsey Holt. Second place went to Andrea Draper, third was Maxine Hartley.

The Men’s Wednesday Medal attracted 110 entrants and generated 18 twos, with James Wilcox getting two of them and also producing the best gross of 76.

The overall winner on count-back was Paul Bushell (7) from Mark Indriks (7) and Geoff Scott (24) with 70 nett.

Bushell won Division One, Robert Morgan (16) won Division Two with 71 nett and Geoff Scott took Division Three with 70 nett.

The Monthly Medal was held on Saturday September 2, with 129 players taking part.

Three players achieved gross 71s - Alan Yuill, James Wilcox and John Watchorn, but the overall winner was Samuel Webster (6) on count-back from Graham Ball (7), Matthew Erasmus (29) and Jeremy Knight (18) with 68 nett.

Webster won Division One on count-back from Graham Ball, Knight won Division Two with 68 nett and Division Three was won by Erasmus (29) with 68 nett.

The final of the MAP Trophy was played recently, with John Robson beating Peter Baxter.

The Seniors’ Nine-hole Stableford was played off red tees on August 28th. The winner, on count-back, was Graham Jelley from Ken Richardson and Bryan Dexter with 21 points.

An 18-hole Junior Stableford (J11) also took place on August 28th. The winner was Sam Johnson (42) with an outstanding 49 points.

Second was Archie Stoner (7) with 39 points and third was William Roeloffs (27) with 38 points.

Oakdale Rabbits completed the away leg of the Pike Hills/Oakdale Trophy, carrying forward a slim 3.5 to 2.5 lead from the home leg.

The Pike Hills team shot their way through to a 4:2 victory, however, giving them an overall narrow success.

Harrogate GC

Harrogate GC’s Individual Stableford was played with a ‘twist’ at the end of August, in that it was a qualifier which took place over 17 holes.

Work on the 10th fairway to improve drainage overran and consequently the 10th hole was taken out of play. Undeterred and on a fine day a large field took on the challenge of a course still playing long after heavy overnight rain.

David Keywood’s fine form in the previous week’s Midweek Stableford continued and he won Division One comfortably on 36 points.

Matt Roberts’ long hitting from the tee didn’t always end up on the short stuff, but his scrambling skills rescued him several times to earn him second place after a count-back with 34 points.

Steve Wright got back on the leader-board after a bit of an absence, also scoring 34 points.

Things were very crowded at the head of Division Two, with four players tied on 31 points, vying for second place as Len Walters had taken the top spot, one point better on 32.

Sean Stanton had the better run-in to grab second from Kevin Howe, Bill Fraser & David May.

There was a similar fight for second place in Division Three, with Derek Moorhouse’s 34 points securing it from Graham Denison and Colin McCaw after the required count-back.

However, in the end they were well beaten in to the minor positions after Robin Nicholls produced another fine performance to finish on 37 points.

The Rabbits Section played for the Rabbits Captains Prize in a competition run in conjunction with their Stableford.

Mike Thomas (18) thrives in these Rabbits trophy contests and he made sure that he held on to the cup he won last year, bagging top spot once again with 36 points. That left him three clear of the runner-up, Mel Goody (28).

There were some fine scores to report in the recent Midweek Stableford. Four players - Christopher Ball, Scott Droy, Larry McLemore and Keith Rogers - signed for 36 points but on the day, this was only good enough to be in the countback for fourth to seventh places.

Tim Fox played an outstanding game, winning with an impressive 41 points, while Vince McLaughlin held off Robert Gray by one point as they took second and third respectively.

Ladies Captain, Charlotte Franks, recently hosted her Captains Day. She reported that she had enjoyed a fabulous day when it’s fair to say that the Texas Scramble took second place to the super social occasion marked out by a fine array of snacks served by Men’s Captain David Underwood amongst others.

In the Sorrell Salver, the 36-hole Club Championship, Caroline Wood produced both the best gross and nett scores to be crowned Ladies Section Club Champion 2023.

Harrogate GC’s ‘Women in Golf Champion’, Maggi Gobbi was delighted to announce that, following a review with our England Golf representative and the Regional Director, the club’s Women in Golf Charter has been renewed.

Harrogate GC was one of the first club’s in the country and the first in Yorkshire to be awarded Charter status back in 2019.

The Charter commitments demonstrate the club’s intent to promote gender balance at every level supporting measures to increase the number of women, girls and families playing golf.

Elsewhere, Harrogate GC’s Junior Section hosted over 30 juniors from across the Harrogate & District Union, providing a golfing festival accessible across all abilities.

This is one of three festivals held this year to pilot different formats aimed at building participation, especially among developing juniors.

Meanwhile, Josh Chi, Harrogate GC’s Junior Vice-Captain, has been selected to represent Yorkshire, while Fletcher Ball has qualified for finals day for his section of the Northern Junior Golf Tour.

Bedale GC

August 16 – Water Rats: 1st Peter Kirkbride 34 pts; 2nd Jim Shaw 33 pts (countback required); 3rd Alan Haresnape 33 pts (countback).

Ladies President’s Putter: 1st Clare Bevan nett 70; 2nd Val Abbey nett 73 ; 3rd Hannah Bowe nett 75 (countback) ; 4th Patricia Knox nett 75 (countback).

August 17 – Thursday Stableford:1st Mark Edmondson 40 pts (countback); 2nd Ric Noble 40 pts (countback); 3rd Al Aurelius 36 pts (countback); 4th Terry Jobling 36 pts (countback ).

August 18 – Friday Animals:1st Dave Hennessey 38 pts; 2nd Mark Allison 37 pts; 3rd Dave Fleming 36 pts.

August 18 – Seniors Medal: 1st Dave Adams nett 71 (countback); 2nd Roger Hole nett 71 (countback).

August 18 – Sponsors Day: A great day to thank Bedale GC’s sponsors for their support throughout the year. Congratulations to the 2023 winners, Deansbury Kitchens, and a big well done to Tim Brown from Emma Brown Interiors for best individual score.

August 19 – Junior Stableford: 1st Oliver Moody 42 pts; 2nd Thomas Moody 36 pts; 3rd Oliver Crannage 33 pts.

August 23 – Water Rats: 1st Peter Kirkbride 35 pts (countback); 2nd Ian Sykes 35 pts (countback); 3rd Ken Fay 29 pts.

August 23 – Ladies Medal: Division 1 - 1st Linda Mableson nett 73; 2nd Sally Hunt nett 74; 3rd Patricia Knox nett 75.

Division 2 - 1st Pam Rawlin nett 71; 2nd Maggie Tuer nett 72; 3rd Barbara Calvert nett 75.

Division 3 - 1st Helen Wyks nett 79.