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

Knaresborough GC

Uncharacteristic bogeys at the first and second didn’t bode well for Ivor Roy (4) in the Almond Trophy. But a tee shot to two feet at the par three third for a birdie signalled a sharp change of tempo.

Sharp enough to go on to mark back to back victories, firstly in the August Medal the week before, secondly in the Almond event for competitors with a maximum HI of 13.6.

A four at the long eighth was the second of four birdies. It came via driver, three wood and a gap wedge which overran by 20 feet, but found the hole coming back with the putter.

Two over at the turn, Roy tucked away two pars and then two more birdies to haul himself into pole position. A birdie at the 12th was carded after he missed the green left with a four iron, then chipped in for the three.

The slope side green at 13, tricky to see fully from distance and easy to miss, is always a great test; after a solid drive downhill, Roy struck a rescue club to 18 inches to clinch his final birdie.

Near birdie misses at 16 and 17 plus a bogey five at the last closed his round on level par 72, two shots ahead of Nigel Crowther (14), who edged Ian Hartley (12) on the countback.

The Coleman trophy, open to golfers of HI 13.7 upwards, commemorates former member Air Gunner EH Coleman who died in World War II in 1941.

This year’s winner John Tonkinson (19) described his scoring as “not exceptional”, but his game-management was certainly on song as he finished the Medal competition with a two-under 70. If there was regret it was over the putts left short which would have added a real burnish to his winning round.

Steve Stancer (19) was second on the countback with Cameron Reid (24) third on 72.

Ah, those crucial lessons from the the Pro when despair is setting in. Thus Carol Wakelin (28), acclaiming Pro Gareth Murray for restoring her faith when her driver was close to being deposited in “the nearest skip”.

A birdie two at the third also helped renew confidence as she took the Granma’s Cup with a decisive margin, finishing with a sub-par round of 39 points, seven points ahead of Janette Parker (27) with Suzanne Robertson (21) third on 31.

In the Sinclair Trophy, Jo McBratney (8) topped the table with 31 points followed by Kim Jones (24) on 29 and Anne Wylie (26) on 26 points.

Pannal GC

The ladies opened the competition week at Pannal GC when they played for the Marjorie Whitehead Trophy, a medal competition in two divisions.

The trophy is in the form of a watercolour painting donated by Mrs Jaki Moorhouse in memory of her mother Marjorie who had a distinguished sporting history, having played tennis at the Paris Olympics.

In Division One, Carole Whiles led the way with a nett 75, followed in second by Ros Samuels on nett 76. It took a card count of no less than 6 players on nett 81 to determine third with Ladies’ Vice Captain Lynn Sheldrake prevailing.

Third place in Division Two went to Kate Jesper (nett 76), second place to Debbie Bruce (nett 74) with top slot secured by Sue White (nett 72) making her the winner of the Marjorie Whitehead Trophy.

In the Nine-hole Green Course Ladies Stableford Betsey Haldon secured first with 15 points, two ahead of Margaret Kershaw and Daphne Slater

On Thursday August 17, the club welcomed 92 players to the Ladies Open Day. Mesdames George, Kilvington, Hewitt and Dunham from York (Strensall) Golf Club won the team format competition with 83 Stableford points.

The usual large field took to the course on August 19 for the Pannal Salver Stableford competition, where scoring proved difficult with a strong breeze after heavy overnight rain.

Of the 135 competitors only 6 managed points scores of 36 or better, best gross of the day going to Tom Hesketh (+2) with a 70.

In the twos club, 12 players managed at least one, but the highlight was Ian Davison’s career first hole-in-one at the 15th, where his 4-iron covered the pin all the way.

It took a card count to decide the winner of the Pannal Salver, where the 40 points of Peter Ingham saw him take the honours over Tim Considine.

Third place went to Kjeld Rasmussen, where again a countback was needed to separate him from Rob Booth.

Alistair How won Sunday 20th’s Open Medal with a nett 68, beating Stuart McClements (70) into second with Freddie Eyre in third on 74

Harrogate GC

The August Medal, originally scheduled for two weeks earlier, was played on another day when players had to contend with very strong, blustery winds, which tested their club and shot selection.

There was also silverware to be won, with Gill Cup being played for in conjunction with the medal competition. The Gill Cup is awarded to the player who records the lowest nett score on the day.

Played in three divisions, a terrific set of battles unfolded in each one, perhaps illustrated most obviously in the top tier.

Division One saw four players tied on nett 71, with Jacques Clarkson securing third place with the better back-nine ahead of Vince McLaughlin, Tim Fox & John Kirkby.

Paul Mitchell pushed Richard Geary all the way, finishing on nett 70 with Geary winning the division with a very good nett 69.

Regular playing-friends-turned-rivals as they engaged in the fight to be top of Division Two, Patrick Harper and Roger Willacott constructed impressive rounds until both faltered towards the end of the tricky back nine.

Harper’s 7 on the long par-4, 16th proved to be the less damaging than Willacott’s skirmish with trees on the 15th, which left him, sadly, signing for an 8!

They finished first and second on nett 67 and nett 69 with Bob Fox taking third after another steady round on nett 70.

Mike Thomas continued his good form, winning Division Three on nett 68. Peter Watson hasn’t featured on any leaderboards for a little while, so he must have been delighted to take second with nett 70, while Keir Parker came in third, just one shot behind.

So, congratulations to this year’s winner of the Gill Cup, Patrick Harper, whose nett 67 was the lowest score of the day.

There was a massive entry for Wednesday’s Mid-week Stableford, and what a great result for David Keywood playing off scratch, as he scored a remarkable gross 65 for 40 points, including an eagle on the par-five, 7th hole.

Richard Jefferson and Ian Dick ran him very close, finishing just behind on 39 and 38 points respectively.

On Tuesday, the Ladies played a Par/Bogey competition for the ‘Boxed Spoons’. In this format, the players are effectively playing the course.

The course made it difficult, playing long after the horrendous rain the day before and no player managed to beat the course. Those who came closest were Pat Capps (-1), Anne Lawson (-2) and Wendy Skaife (-4).

Harrogate Golf Club Rabbits won the inaugural tri-series Rosa Alba Trophy.

Trailing going into the final leg and playing in atrocious conditions last Monday at Scarcroft GC, they scored solidly to overhaul Knaresborough GC Rabbits.

They secured the trophy with 686 Stableford points, a winning margin of nine points.

Richard MacKenzie, Junior Co-ordinator at Harrogate GC, was thrilled to report that the Harrogate Junior team won the HDUGC Division Two title, securing promotion to the Reed-Helem Shield.

What a great way to celebrate the 50th year of Junior Golf at the club.

Oakdale GC

Saturday’s Men’s Stableford attracted 55 players. The winner with 40 points was Lee Jones (11), with Laurence Turner (15) second on countback from Matthew Murgatroyd with 38 points.

Congratulations go to James Wilcox, who played in the Yorkshire Amateur Championship at Headingley GC.

Although he didn’t win the event, he made the cut and went on to score rounds of 78, 72, 74 and 75 while competing against a very strong field.

On August 27, the Oakdale Junior Gala took place. Nearly 40 juniors from nine clubs across the Harrogate & District Union dodged the heavy rain showers, braved the weather and competed in a range of competitions including a 4BBB Stableford, a 9-hole competition off the red tees and a short course competition for beginners.

There were also side competitions of nearest the pin, longest putt and a 5-hole putting competition.

Results: 4BBB Competition - 1st Hope Williams & George Bayne, 44 pts; 2nd Josh Chi & Bella Mountain, 41 pts; 3rd Isabella Knowles & Charlie Richardson, 40 pts.

Nearest the pin – Hope Williams & Charlie Richardson.

Nine-hole Red Tee Competition – 1st James Chalmers, 24 pts; 2nd Tyler Perkins, 17 pts.

Short Course Competition - 1st Zach Hayward, 48 pts; 2nd Spencer Harrison-Manning, 49 pts.

The longest putt was sunk by George Bayne and the Five-hole Putting Competition winner was James Watkin.

The Men’s Senior Trophy was played on August 19, with 91 players taking part. The winner with 43 points was Geoff Allsopp (25).

Second was Anthony Comerford (22) with 42 and Adrian Blackburn (10) with 40 points.

Thirty-five pairs entered round five of Oakdale’s Open Series on August 16, played from yellow and red tees.

The winners with 46 points were Tom Stephenson (13) & Ryan Digings (13) with 46 points. Second were Marcus Bowsher (19) & Richard Cassells-Smith (10) with 45 and third were Adam Fisher (15) & Liam Storm (12) with 44 points.

A home match was played between Oakdale Seniors and Cobble Hall Seniors on August 14 in heavy rain. Despite the levels of precipitation, the match was completed with Oakdale winning 3.5 to 2.5.

A Juniors Stableford competition was played on August 10 where all three tees were in use.

The winner was Sam Johnson (47) with 41 points. Second was Ben Stratford (18) with 34 points and third was Archie Fountain (30) with 33 points.

Masham GC

The Theakston Trophies annual competition always draws a high number competitors, something which may or may not be related to the fact that participants receive a free pint of best bitter at the end of play.

More than 50 men and women took to the fairways of Masham GC in sunny, mild conditions and although damp underfoot, the day stayed dry throughout.

The scores on the day were not particularly startling overall, mainly due to those straying off the fairways, finding conditions challenging.

However, once on the greens, it was a very different story, as they ran true and fast, probably in as good condition as they have been for some time, even though pin positions were interesting on a few holes.

That said, it is the game golf, where expectations can be dashed in a few strokes and positive surprises can change gloom into broad smiles, in as many strokes.

As is custom on Theakston Trophies Day, Simon Theakston, joint managing director of T&R Theakston Ltd, officiated over the prize-giving, in addition to his company sponsoring the event.

Masham captain, Craig Nicholls, introduced and welcomed Simon, stating that Theakston had supported this event for 51 years and thanked Simon on behalf of the club for his continuing support.

Simon explained that he was proud to stand where his father had stood for so many years, presenting the prizes for the day.

He said that it had been his father’s delight to have been associated with Masham Golf Club for so many years, especially when he passed the golf club twice every day, to and from work, throughout his working life.

Results: Ladies - 1st Penny Nicklas (trophy winner); 2nd Jackie Thirsk; 3rd Mandy Boak; 4th Sheila Alsop.

Nearest the Pin - Pat Watts

Men - 1st Andrew Fallows (net 70); 2nd Craig Nicholls (net 73) (b9); 3rd Gerard Peace(73)(b9); 4th Keith Bain (73) (b9).

Nearest the Pin – 8th/17th Arthur Franks

Nearest the Pin in 2 shots - 3rd/12th Andrew Fallows.

Bedale GC

August 11 – Seniors Stableford: 1st Andrew Calder 36 pts; 2nd Dave Adams 35 pts (countback required); 3rd Les Morley 35 pts (countback); 4th Harry Dyke 35 pts (countback).

August 11 – Friday Animals: 1st Dave Fleming 33 pts; 2nd Gavin Symons 32 pts (countback); 3rd Kathleen Allison 32 pts (countback).

August 11 – Gents Crab & Lobster Away Day: Bedale Golf Club travelled to Cleveland to play the Crab and Lobster golf event (48 players). The course staff and food were first class all day, thank you. The main prize, ‘the crab’, was won by Colin Baines and John Condon. Best gross Ross Hodgson and Matthew Gibb.

August 12 – Junior August Medal: Division 1 - 1st Jaicob Saunders nett 64; 2nd Josh Askew nett 68; 3rd Shona Lawson nett 76.

Division 2 - 1st Harry Balsillie nett 72.

August 13 – Gents Rouse Cup: Division 1 - 1st Richard Lee nett 68; 2nd Jonny Rayner nett 71 (countback); 3rd Andrew Hawkswell nett 71 (countback); 4th Andrew Scott nett 72.

Division 2 - 1st Alan Hutchinson nett 67; 2nd Marcus Pennock nett 70; 3rd Tim Brown nett 71 (countback); 4th Trevor Dale nett 71 (countback).

Division 3 - 1st Peter Robinson nett 70 (countback); 2nd Mo Kamali nett 70 (countback); 3rd Henry Anderson nett 71.

Congratulations to Alan Hutchinson for winning the Rouse Cup with the best score on the day.