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

Pannal GC

As a consequence of the recent wet weather, social events have been at the forefront on Pannal GC's calendar in recent weeks.

The Pannal Ladies' Annual Dinner was held on Tuesday November 14. Nearly 70 ladies were welcomed by Ladies' Captain, Clare Davies, before sitting down to dinner, after which there was the presentation of trophies and annual awards - a real celebration of a successful year.

Ladies' Club Champion for 2023, Julie Parry, gave a vote of thanks speech to round off an excellent evening.

There was some golf played on Friday November 17, when Men’s Captain Martin Boyle entertained his special guests to 13 holes ahead of the Men’s Annual Dinner.

A very friendly fourball better ball Stableford resulted in a win for Otley captain Steve Moorcraft and his partner, Pannal Men’s Vice-President Lindsay Mckenzie.

Later that evening, more than 100 members and guests enjoyed a three-course dinner followed by a toast to the club given by Jonathan Plaxton, Secretary of the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs and a response from Martin Boyle which included congratulations to all the 2023 trophy winners.

Men’s Vice-Captain David Everingham welcomed the guests, in particular the guest of honour, 1989 European Open winner and current BBC Radio and TV golf commentator Andrew Murray.

He entertained everyone with stories both from his own playing career and from ‘inside the ropes’ as a media reporter.

He even included some reminiscences from his childhood when he and captain Martin Boyle attended the same primary school in Didsbury, Manchester prior to careers taking them in very different directions.

Harrogate GC

Sadly, the relentless rainfall which has continued from October and well into November has resulted in the course at Harrogate GC being closed for long periods.

Fortunately, the rain eventually abated and the club was able to open 13 holes again, which allowed the competition set for Armistice Day to go ahead.

This was a Team of Four Stableford, with two scores to count on each hole. With the course playing very long it was surprising to see such high scores, especially from the leading groups.

The winners, with a very impressive 12 points better than par, were the team of Max Sowery, Harvey Auckland, Jack Carolan & Wiliam Bailey.

Two points behind on 62, was the low handicap team of David Keywood, Richard Danby, Paul Mitchell & Darren Swales.

Third place was determined after a countback with two teams tied on 61 points. Andrew Whilteley, Mark Winter, Andrew Consodine & Paul Martin made up the team taking that third place from David Frayne, Harry Frankland, Richard Jefferson & Sam Frankland.

Results: 1st M. Sowery/H. Auckland/J. Carolan/W. Bailey, 64 pts; 2nd D. Keywood/R. Danby/P. Mitchell/D. Swales, 62 pts; 3rd A. Whiteley/M. Winter/A. Consodine/P. Martin, 61 pts (bb9).

That small window was soon closed and almost another two weeks of ‘Course Closed following heavy rain’ notices had to be posted as the greenkeepers reported their early dawn inspections.

The end of last week gave members some respite with 13 holes declared open for play on Friday.

With the same number of holes in play, a Team of Four Texas Scramble took place on Saturday, however, the weather still had another ‘Joker’ to play.

A hard overnight frost enforced the need to employ temporary Greens. Post match conversations in the ‘19th’ included the word “lottery” but definitely not from those players populating the prize-winning places.

The scores against a nominal par of 52 were impressive, with three teams tied on nett 39 and just one shot behind the winners, who scored a 14-under-par 38.

Richard Jefferson, Sam & Harry Frankland, this time joined by Phil Turpin, picked up their good form and teamwork from last time out to win on that 14-under score.

Of the three teams tied on nett 39, it was the group of Andy Tipling, Derek Helme, Peter Bainbridge & Peter Nelson who claimed second place after a back-three countback.

Third and fourth places also required a back-nine countback.

Results: 1st R. Jefferson, S. Frankland, P. Turpin & H. Frankland, nett 38; 2nd A. Tipling, D. Helme, P. Bainbridge & P. Nelson, nett 39 (bb3); 3rd S. Edmundson, D. Rowe, J. Kirkby & R. Whellans, nett 39 (bb9); 4th J. Peel, S. English, W. Bailey & G. Manby, nett 39.

Oakdale GC

On Friday November 24, Oakdale Captain Paul Dutton held his supper and prize-giving.

Dutton thanked all the section captains, with a special thank you to Lady Captain Margaret Liddle, for all their support during 2023.

He outlined the outstanding performances achieved by all the teams representing the club. The Golfer of the Year Trophy was awarded to Mark Hudson by the Captain and supported by our guest speaker, golfer Howard Clark.

Clark played in six Ryder Cups and was on three winning European teams and also the 1989 team, which tied the match and retained the trophy.

Throughout 2023, Vice-Captain Jamie Letts had managed the Oakdale Juniors. Despite fulfilling all of their Division One fixtures, the team was unfortunately relegated.

However, one of the main highlights of the year was the Oakdale Junior Gala, where 40 juniors from eight different Harrogate & District Union clubs played a four-ball better-ball competition, with a high and a low pairing from different clubs.

The section said a fond farewell to Charlie Hayfield (-1) who has recently accepted a place at Ottawa University, Arizona, to continue his golfing studies.

Junior Captain Archie Stoner was thanked for his efforts during the season and the new Junior Captain Cameron Gallagher was wished every success for 2024.