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

Knaresborough GC

Caroline Day (17) enjoys a fair degree of confidence in her driving and chipping but often falls short with the putting.

In the Lady Captain’s Trophy, a hot putter joined the rest of her repertoire to help return an outstanding four-under 71. The best exemplar came at the par-four 14th when, after a “below-par” drive, she struck a pitching wedge to 12 feet and holed it first time for a birdie.

A powerful drive at 15 was followed by a fine five iron and a nine iron into the green where two putts saw her clinch an impressive par on the par-five hole.

Memorably, the top six in the competition all played to par or better round the par-75 course with second and third, Pat Eve (34) and Alex Mournian (15) finishing on 73 each.

The latter counted birdies at the long second and the short fifth in her sub-par round.

Gerry Huyts, Chris Fitchett and Chris Shield logged a decisive win with 47 points in the Eleven-hole Waltz.

Lady Captain Di Hayward capped a great week by hosting a Florida Scramble, won by Brenda Moore, Hilary Ingram and Caroline Day.

As if muffins washed down with Pimms at the Oasis weren’t enough, the annual ladies dinner in the evening concluded with a rousing disco that had the whole section bouncing on the dance floor.

They may have been well back among the starters, but David Wilkinson and Bill Smith returned with a decisive 46-point victory in the Theakston Trophy.

Despite day-long drizzle, the doused duo produced perfect betterball golf, sharing scoring duties equally.

Smith struck a birdie at the short fifth with a 10-foot putt being fairly typical of the pair’s putting success throughout the round.

The other crucial element was Wilkinson’s knack of parring all the par-fives. Smith’s ‘sandy save’ from a bunker at the 12th and a corking 20-foot par putt at the 18th sealed a brilliant win.

Also late in the day to finish a valiant second were Neil Kilvington and Phil Thacker with 44 points. Kilvington holed a 25-foot putt for birdie at the 11th then followed that with even better, a chip in from rough at the 12th for another birdie.

Thacker sank his share of pars and was unlucky to just miss a final birdie at the 18th

In third spot were Bob Hough and Robin Sharp, leaders on countback in a pack of six pairs on 42 points.

Lee Richardson (24) edged victory in the Rabbits’ Summer Rollup with 35 points, followed by Gordon Knights (20) on 34 and Gordon Collins (27), third on the countback.

David Gooch shrugged off a double bogey at the sixth to compensate immediately with a birdie three at the seventh - a response which clinched victory with 19 points in the Wednesday nine-hole Stableford, Division One.

Graeme Sharp had the edge on countback when he topped Division Two with 20 points, while Tony Stead enjoyed the best total of the competition with a solid 21 points in Division Three.

Pannal GC

Monday July 17 saw a healthy field of Pannal members competing in an Open Stableford: Colin Wilding proved himself to be best on the day with 36 points, with Phil Brown in close attendance on 35 and Henry Wright a further two points back on 33.

Ladies' Captain Clare Davies was delighted to share her Ladies’ Captain’s Day with ladies playing both the 18-hole and nine-hole competitions, plus 12 ladies who played Bridge in the afternoon, all of whom enjoyed an evening meal when trophies and prizes were presented together with some house members .

In the 18-Hole Individual Stableford, the Ladies’ Captain’s Day Prize for the overall winner went to Julie Smith with 39 points.

In Division One the winner was Claire Hutchinson with 36 points and Sophie Jacob was runner-up on 34 points. In Division Two, Lydia Scott’s 38 points saw her comfortably home ahead of Becs Booth on 35 points.

In the skills competitions, Nearest the Pin at the 10th was won in Division One by Pam Dodds and in Division Two by Susan Asquith. The straightest drive for both divisions was won by Alison Stratford and in the Green Course Nine-hole Individual Stableford, the winner was Rae Long on 17 Points.

On Wednesday July 19 there was further strong support for Captains’ Night where Paul Barnard scored 28 points to pip his playing partner Chris Matthewman to first place on a back-six countback.

Ian Shay was third on 27 points, but as Matthewman was already qualified to play for the Chadwick Trophy, Shay achieved a much-cherished place in the final, which takes place on August 9.

Saturday’s field was somewhat diminished by the threat of heavy rain, but for those who did turn out, conditions were mostly dry and playable.

Eventually, 73 golfers took part in the Jock Ballantine Trophy presented by CG Craven as a tribute to the club’s professional between 1950-1965 and Ryder Cup player for his 50 years as a PGA Professional.

The in-form Gary MacNair (10) took the trophy with a nett 69, with Nick Rusling (13) two shots behind on 71. There was a close contest for third with a card count giving that position to Chris Hastings (2) on nett 72 over Ross Kneller (14).

These four players were the only ones to make nett par or better, however Jason Taylor had the best gross on the day with a 72.

Harrogate GC

The team of Joe Buckley, Matt Fowler and Jack Ward recently gained promotion to Division One of the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs championships.

They Harrogate GC quartet came sixth at the Division Two Championship at Hessle GC to secure their place in the top flight and now go on to play in this year’s competition’s final round at Hornsea GC.

A top-10 finish will ensure that they play in Division One once again next season.

Men’s Captain, David Underwood must have wondered what he had done to deserve such a dodgy weather forecast for his recent Captain’s Day. Sadly for him, the meteorologists predictions were accurate with frequent and very heavy showers with very strong and blustery winds throughout the day.

Nevertheless, a full and enthusiastic field turned out to play in the individual Stableford competition, which featured some additional challenges including ‘nearest the pin’ on the 9th and a wager to challenge the pro’s on the 12th.

The captain has chosen Saint Michael’s Hospice as his charity of the year and, aided by an army of helpers, mainly from the club’s Ladies section, and Sandra Gilbert representing the hospice, windswept and bedraggled players were provided with very warm welcome by Captain at the half way stage.

Suitably fortified, they were then ready to take on the challenge of the back-nine especially as holes 15, 16 and 18 were playing directly into the wild, squally weather.

It’s a measure of the difficulty in constructing a good score in those conditions that out of 122 entrants, only seven players managed a par score or better.

There was a very keen contest to come out top in Division One, with the first five players separated by just two points.

Andy Tipling and David Keywood were tied on 36 points, with the second and third players coming home on 37 points. In the end, a countback gave Sam Bainbridge second place ahead of Sam Frankland, while Tim Fox headed the division with a hard-earned 38 points.

As in the top tier, there were ties for fourth and fifth as well as second and third in Division Two.

John Clark’s better back nine earned him fourth spot over Andrew Fowler, both scoring 33 points. With 35 points, Keith Harrison’s back-nine saw him hold off Patrick Harper to take second.

But, the outstanding performance of the day came from Mike Kent, scoring a superb 39 points and easily winning the division.

Robin Nicholls has been playing solid golf over the season so far and this form helped him to score 37 points and win Division Three.

Stephen McPhee’s 35 points brought him home seconnd with Adrian Skinner just one point behind.

The pro’s challenge on the 12th saw players wager with the pro’s that their tee shot would end up on the Green. Jack Ward, fresh from helping his team gain promotion to YUGC Division One, took on the challenge and promptly hit the perfect shot for a wonderful hole-in-one.

Finally, at the prize giving, captain Underdwood awarded Kent his prize for his excellent winning round.

Modest as ever when asked to reflect on his success, the victor said “What can I say? I just kept going through difficult conditions”.

Ward was not the only player last week to record an ‘ace’ as he was wonderfully preceded by Carl Winston, playing in the Mid-week Stableford on Wednesday.

Winston, happily sank his hole-in-one on the 14th on his way to a top three finish. In a high scoring competition, it was Mark O’Brien who came out on top with a terrific 41 points.

Paul Farrand scored a superb 39 points to take second, with Winston finishing on 37 points for his third place, one point ahead of Paul Mayfield.

Oakdale GC

Oakdale Ladies’ Extra July Medal was played on Sunday 16 and Tuesday 18. Sixteen players took part.

The overall and Division Two winner was Lady Captain Margaret Liddle (24) with 68 nett. Second in Division Two was Christine Walters (25) with 69 nett.

The Division One winner was Louise Eardley (19) with 69 nett and second was Olivia Lambert (18) with 70 nett.

Sixty players entered the Men’s Wednesday Stableford and 10 twos were recorded on the day. The winner with an outstanding 44 points was Chris Harwood (20).

Second place went to Peter Brown (9) with 43 points, followed by Simon Clemerson (4) on 42 points.

In quick succession, the Saturday Stableford took place on July 22. The winner was Gavin Ritchie (20) on countback from Peter Nesbitt (24) and Adam Gray (14) with 42 points.

Thirty-eight players took part and just five twos were recorded on the day.

Harrogate & District Union

Oakdale GC hosted the 2023 Harrogate Union Ladies Bronze Championships. Sixteen teams of four entered, with three scores to count in a Stableford format.The Ilkley ‘A’ team, going out in the first groups, held the lead for most of day with 106 points. Kate Spencer were their best performer with 39 points. She would come second in the individual competition.

However, never rule out the home team, and Oakdale ‘A’, playing in the very last groups, pipped the West Yorkshire club by two, led by Christine Downing’s 38 points. Defending champions, Bedale ‘A’, came third on 103 points.

Result: 1. Oakdale ‘A’ ( C Heatley 36, C Downing 38, P James 34) 108pts; 2. Ilkley ‘A’ (K Spencer 39, C Kordowicz 36, M Dix 31) 106pts.The individual first prize was won by the Harrogate GC Ladies Captain, Charlotte Franks (48) with 40 points. In second place was Kate Spencer (29) with 39 points, and third was Sarah Newby (41) from Masham on 38 points.

Rudding Park GC

Rudding Park’s Club Championships were played on July 22, with 13 brave golfers braving some very trying conditions.

Despite this, some great scores were produced as the club used live scoring for this event for the first time. This went down well with the players and the members following it at home.

Congratulations go to eventual champion Nathan Ali for serving up two rounds of fantastic golf. He won with two rounds of 69 & 71 for a total of four-under par.

Ali triumphed by four shots from Phil Kitching, who produced rounds of 73 & 71. Matt Wharldall finished third with rounds of 74 & 74.

The Seniors Club Championships was played over two days, with 52 seniors playing.

James Crowther was crowned the Senior Club Champion for 2023, beating Carl Kennady on countback. The nett champion was Jeff Jones, also beating Kennady, who finished second by one shot.

Bedale GC

July 5 – Ladies Stableford: Division One - 1st Joan Sanderson 40 pts; 2nd Di Clark 39 pts; 3rd Kathleen Allison 38 pts.

Division 2 - 1st Carol Shaw 42 pts; 2nd Debbie Palethorpe 41 pts; 3rd Fiona Blaken 39 pts.

Division 3 - 1st Jean Court 41 pts; 2nd Barbara Mongon 40 pts; 3rd Claire Retchless 36 pts.

July 5 – Water Rats: 1st Alan Haresnape 44 pts; 2nd Gary Clark 43 pts; 3rd Michael English 42 pts.

July 6 – Thursday Stableford:1st Andy Jamieson 45 pts; 2nd John Norwood 42 pts; 3rd Colin Williamson 41 pts (countback required); 4th Geoff Bush 41 pts (countback).

July 7 – Seniors Medal: 1st Kevin Clinton nett 70; 2nd Neil Hammond nett 72 (countback); 3rd Dave Adams net 72 (countback).

July 7 – Friday Animals: 1st Andy Lawrence 37 pts (countback); 2nd Jim Hargan 37 pts (countback); 3rd Pam Rawlin 36 pts.

July 9 – Gents Club Championships: Gross - 1st Dominic Moon 72+73=145; 2nd Josh Newell 72+77=149; 3rd Jonny Rayner 78+79=157; 4th Tim Morris 79+79=158.

Nett - 1st Andrew Scott 66+72=138; 2nd Jez Corner 69+73=142; 3rd Max Weighell 74+69=143; 4th Kevin Palethorpe 71+72=143.

July 9 – Ladies Club Championships:

Gross -1st Hannah Bowe 85+76=161; 2nd Terri Williamson 92+82=174; 3rd Clare Bevan 89+85=174; 4th Sally Hunt 90+87=177.

Nett - 1st Julie Noble 72+72=144; 2nd Hannah Bowe 79+70=149; 3rd Terri Williamson 81+71=152; 4th Sally Hunt 78+75=153.

July 11 – Air Ambulance Round 12: 1st Lee Thompson 43 pts; 2nd Jez Corner 42 pts; 3rd Mick Watts 41 pts; 4th Adrian Lazenby 40 pts.

July 12 – Ladies Medal: Division 1 - 1st Sally Hunt nett 64 ; 2nd Emma Poulton-White nett 65; 3rd Sheila Grant nett 73.

Division 2 - 1st Evelyn Weighell nett 71; 2nd Pat Richardson nett 77; 3rd Pam Rawlin nett 78.

Division 3 - 1st Claire Retchless nett 73.

July 12 – Water Rats: 1st Peter Kirkbride 39 pts; 2nd Steve Livesey 36 pts; 3rd Kevin Quigley 34 pts.