Golf News January 2005 - March 2005

Read all the golf news from the Huddersfield area.

29/03/05 - DISTINCTIONS are coming thick and fast at Bradley Park.

Head pro Parnell Reilly has achieved the highest ranking membership of the PGA, having been awarded the status of a Fellow of the PGA. PGA membership is based on a pyramid system - Class A, Double A, Advanced and Fellow.

Reilly, who can use the letters FPGA after his name, is believed to be the only Yorkshire professional to hold the distinction, awarded to him for outstanding work on PGA courses.

More than 170 members were under consideration for fellowship.

"I'm chuffed about this, delighted," said Reilly, who in 2006 will become captain of the PGA.

He will receive a diploma he intends displaying in the Bradley Park shop.

23/03/05 - BRADLEY PARK professional staff man Jamie Coverley responded to the criticism for more professionals to step forward and play in the Halifax, Huddersfield Alliance events, by scorching to victory in yesterday's Pro-Am section at Halifax.

Playing alongside Ogden member Phil Cox (6), Coverley blasted an 11-under-par total of 59 to win by six clear shots from Outlane professional Dave Chapman and Neil Hughes (15).

Coverley and Cox were an incredible eight under on the back nine, while Chapman (who had earlier hit out at the lack of support from fellow professionals in last week's event at Bradley Park) was still in touch with five to play when he and Hughes were seven under par.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire county player Lee Shepherd and his Willow Valley club colleague Dave Mitchell came in late in the day to win the Am-Am section with a seven-under-par round of 63 to nick it by one shot from host duo Steve Tomlinson and Peter Skinner (winners last week).

Scratch man Shepherd carded on 12 holes, having birdies at the 7th, 9th, 12th, 13th and 15th holes while Mitchell landed a nett eagle at the 18th (all the rest were parred).

"We were only two under on the first nine, but the inward half seemed easier," said Shepherd, who is set to turn professional this season. "We played well on the back nine, and Dave chipped in at the last from off the green for a three nett two, which certainly helped."

16/03/05 - OUTLANE'S David Chapman banked the winner's prize in yesterday's Halifax, Huddersfield Alliance at Bradley Park and then took a swipe at his fellow professionals after only one other pro-am combination entered the event.

"I'm absolutely disgusted that no others turned up to support the Alliance and something needs doing about it," said Chapman, 43, who with Outlane member Nick Hirst shot a one under par 69 to finish five shots clear of West End assistant Darren Arber and Alan Savage.

The event was re-arranged at short notice from last week, but Chapman said of the low entry: "It's not good enough and if professionals don't support the Alliance it's going to finish up as an amateur fourball competition - totally against the original concept."

He said the Alliance had been the brainchild of CH (Colin Swaine), a Huddersfield motor dealer, with club members entertaining professionals to a day's golf with a chance for them to earn something in the lean winter months.

"It seems to me that too many professionals are forgetting what the aims of the Alliance are," he said.

"I'm particularly disappointed with Bradley Park who have so many professionals and assistants. I think they could have made the effort to have one of them representing their club on their own course."

Chapman, a staunch Alliance supporter who has enjoyed many successes over the years, added: "I make efforts to get staff in my shop on Alliance days so I can be certain of supporting events.

"It is embarrassing standing here collecting a prize when only two professionals have competed. I'm very disappointed about the lack of support from my side of the game.

"I know that one or two professionals are away on PGA business but where are the rest? I feel that I have to apologise on their behalf," said Chapman, 16 years the professional at Outlane.

Alliance secretary Roger Heap said he would write to club professionals in a bid to boost support for future events, the next being at Ogden next Tuesday with a mixed competition fixed for Bradley Hall on Easter Tuesday.

The Bradley Park course, unplayable a week ago, was in fine shape yesterday in much milder conditions, numerous competitors complimenting the club's greens staff and commenting on the slick pace of the greens.

Yorkshire county player Chris Hanson and Crosland Heath clubmate John Belfield looked likely winners of the am-am section after carding 66 and heading two other couples on a countback after they tied. But Ogden pair Peter Skinner and Steve Tomlinson posted a late 64 to push them into a fine second place.

15/03/05 - THE Halifax, Huddersfield Union of Golf Clubs showed a surplus of income over expenditure of £387 over the past year thanks largely to the input of sponsors, it was stated at the annual meeting at Woodsome Hall when the host club's Albert Guest moved in as president.

All the Union events are supported by various local companies while sponsors also provide uniforms for the team players.

"It would be difficult to say how we would manage without the generous help of our sponsors, who play a vital role in the progress of the Union, and it's fair to say that our teams are the most smartly dressed in the Yorkshire Inter-District Union League," said Union secretary John Lawrence.

Sponsorship together with advertising brought in £6,150, up by £1,050, and with a slight increase in club subscriptions total income was £18,275 while expenditure ran at £17,888, £1,000 less than the previous year when costs outstripped income by £1,654.

Bradley Park past captain Fred Ibberson was confirmed as Union president-elect and all officials were re-elected. Chris Mear, last year's president who will serve as captain at Meltham this season, became immediate past president.

Treasurer Bob Uttley (Todmorden), who has filled that office for over 25 years, was elected a vice-president with John Crawshaw, of Halifax, stepping down.

Frank Greaves (West End) and Outlane's Phil Tatlock were elected to the executive committee for three-year terms and J David Sutcliffe (Marsden), Fixby's Rodney Taylor and Peter Thompson (Elland), all past Union presidents, were re-elected to serve for three years.

10/03/05 - THE Earl of Dartmouth Trophy, Woodsome Hall's open scratch tournament, misses being part of the Eagle Golf-Yorkshire Order of Merit this season, though it may still go ahead.

Last year the event, scheduled for a date in late June, was cancelled due to lack of entries and no suitable date could be found this time even though the Order of Merit will have a new event, the Seaton Salver at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, the first outside Yorkshire to be accepted.

A date on the merit list was difficult to come up with as Woodsome are heavily committed to Halifax, Huddersfield Union competitions this year with the club's past captain Albert Guest serving as Union president.

The Earl of Dartmouth Trophy could continue as an open competition or be played at club level.

06/03/05 - HALIFAX-Huddersfield Union chiefs have taken the decision to allow the use of "outlawed" drivers in their competitions.

These are clubs that have been banned by the national and county ruling bodies.

The use of so-called `non-conforming' clubs, those with a `spring-like' effect in the face that can provide added distance, were banned by the R&A, English Golf Union and the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs from January 1.

Individual golf clubs and District unions, however, were given an option on the use of the clubs in their competitions and Halifax-Huddersfield have taken that up and gone as far as to say that they will not apply a restriction until the R&A impose a blanket ban on the clubs from January 1, 2008, so giving club golfers who own them three years' grace.

The ban comes under the R&A's Rules of Golf, Appendix II, 5a which states: "The material and construction of, or any treatment to, the face or clubhead must not have the effect at impact of a spring or impart significantly more or less spin to the ball than a standard steel face, or have any other effect which would unduly influence the movement of the ball."

Halifax-Huddersfield are among unions to have ruled the clubs legal for their championships and inter-club league matches, unlike Leeds Union who have followed the edict of the national bodies and Yorkshire on imposing a ban on them in their major events.

Halifax-Huddersfield Union secretary John Lawrence said: "We felt there are so many club golfers who are not in the high ability bracket who own these clubs and play in our competitions that it would be unfair to introduce a ban this year.

"But that is not to say that a restriction will not be imposed in the future, but at the present time we can also state that we have no intention to introduce any new rules making it a condition of a competition that these clubs should be banned before January 1, 2008."

04/03/05 - CROSLAND Heath have joined a select band of golf clubs around the world as members of the prestigious (Alister) MacKenzie Society. They have joined the likes of Augusta National, home of the US Masters, and Royal Melbourne, rated Australia's top course.

To qualify, a club's course must have been designed, in whole or part, by Alister MacKenzie, a doctor from Leeds who was secretary of the Alwoodley club in the early part of the 20th century and who gave up practice to become a golf course architect, achieving ever-lasting fame as the acknowledged leader in that field.

MacKenzie laid out the Crosland Heath course in 1913 and though his original plans and documentation have been misplaced down the years, a report of him carrying out the work was published in the Huddersfield Examiner and that was enough for Nick Leefe, an Alwoodley member and the man behind the MacKenzie Society. He has told Crosland Heath: "The Society is delighted to welcome Crosland Heath as a new member.

"When you finally reach all the dark corners of your clubhouse and hopefully ancient documents turn up, then please do let me know. We would be delighted to have copies as we are trying to keep some sort of archive for future generations of historians. The original MacKenzie routing map of Alwoodley (circa 1907) was only found when we moved into our new clubhouse in 1995, folded many times and in the bottom of an old tin trunk."

Heath secretary-manager Tony Horsfall said: "We are very pleased. It's a feather in our cap to be associated alongside famous courses like Augusta National and Royal Melbourne, and leading Yorkshire courses like Alwoodley and Moortown."

MacKenzie was a founder member at Alwoodley and it was the first course he designed in 1907, followed by Moortown a year later and which in 1929, hosted the first Ryder Cup matches in this country. After sending off their £50 membership fee, Heath's name will be entered on the Society website and they can enter a four-member team in the MacKenzie Medallion, which will be hosted by Tynemouth on September 11.

He will step up to the top office in 2006 following Albert Guest, from Woodsome Hall, who takes over from present incumbent Chris Mear (Meltham) at the annual meeting in March.

Ibberson, 71, a retired bookbinder, is Batley born and bred and lived there all his life until moving recently to Mirfield. He has been a member at Bradley Park since the course opened and in 25 years has served as president and captain, having uniquely held the latter office twice.

Before golf became a passion - he still plays off single figures - he was a well-known league cricketer, playing with Staincliffe and Thornhill in the Central Yorkshire League and ending his playing career with a second spell back at Staincliffe where he was cricket secretary for some years.

Ibberson also played soccer with Ossett Albion in the former Yorkshire League, operating as a winger and a prolific scoring centre forward before switching to play left-back towards the end of his playing days.

He said: "I thought my time as a golf official was over then out of the blue I got a call asking me to be president-elect. It's a great honour for me and especially for Bradley Park.

"We have a full house now, so to speak, as we have the president of the Alliance, president of the Union Rabbits Association and our professional Parnell Reilly will soon become vice-captain of the PGA."

Union team captain Whitworth has a handicap of plus two going into the new season - on the same mark as nine others including Walker Cup international Michael Skelton, who a year ago was off plus three.

Along with Whitworth and Skelton, those off plus two are Neil Walker (Rotherham), Grant Jackson (Garforth), John Parry (Harrogate), Steve Brennan (Wheatley), Alan Wright (Hessle) and Moortown trio William Shucksmith, Stephen East and Nigel Sweet.

Richard Hollins, winner of last season's Yorkshire Order of Merit, would have made it 11 off plus two but the Sand Moor man has just turned professional.

Details of leading players announced by Yorkshire show Whitworth as having improved his handicap by a stroke from 12 months ago.

Whitworth, having cut back his playing schedules along with having retired from team golf, said: "I'm surprised, but it's nice to be in the top 10 in Yorkshire. But as I don't play in big events and not much away from my home course, it could be something of a false situation.

"You never know, I might even get another call-up by Yorkshire. I doubt it, but if something in the way of an invitation dropped through the letter box, I'd have to consider it."

As the Union team captain and selector he's particularly pleased that things are looking up in relation to other Union players. He heads a list of six Halifax, Huddersfield men with handicaps of scratch and better, two more than last year, and there are 14 others on handicaps of one and two.

Whitworth's Bradley Hall clubmates Jim Fairhurst and Andy Shaw and Hebden Bridge's Ian Powell, who was off two 12 months ago, have joined Crosland Heath's Chris Hanson and Meltham's Graham McLean as scratch players.

With handicaps of one are Union strokeplay champion Steve Martin (West End), Richard Oddy (Lightcliffe), Paul Taylor (Bradley Hall), Neil Williams (Huddersfield), Martin Cockroft (Bradley Hall), Ian Marsland (West End) and Chris Gaunt (Dewsbury).

Off two handicap are Chris Mear (Meltham), Neil Wilson (Bradley Hall), Union matchplay champion Richard Broadley (Bradley Hall), Chris Whiteley (Meltham); Martin Broadbent (Woodsome Hall), Edward Battye (Dewsbury) and Mark Garrett (Meltham).

It augurs well for another good year by the Union team. Whitworth, who will turn out himself only in emergencies, said: "Let's hope so. We went close last season with the lads doing brilliantly. It was fantastic to beat Bradford and Leeds and finish second. Let's hope we can kick on from that."

25/01/05 - FORMER Crosland Heath professional John Andrew and his Huddersfield-based golf equipment retail firm Direct Golf UK have been acclaimed nationally as leaders in their field. The company, a partner in the London Golf Show at the ExCel Centre on April 21-24, has been recognised as the best mail order supplier in the UK.

The award has come from one of the country's top golf magazines and was voted for by the readers. It is a great start to 2005 for both the London Golf Show and Direct Golf UK, which now has eight stores nationwide.

Andrew, Direct Golf's founder and managing director, said: "We are delighted to receive this prestigious award. It is gratifying to be recognised by the readers, our customers, in this way.

"It serves to show we are going about things the right way. Direct Golf UK prides itself on giving world-class customer service coupled with the lowest prices on all leading manufacturers' products.

"Our promise is complete customer satisfaction and we take our promises, and our customers, very seriously. This is something we will be bringing with us when we exhibit at the London Golf Show."

Andrew, still a member of the PGA, broke away from life as a club pro a dozen years ago as he was finding it difficult to make ends meet, set up his first retail outlet on Leeds Road and has since branched out to various parts of the country. The company employs more than 130 staff including over 30 qualified PGA professionals.

Andrew, whose headquarters is at Milnsbridge, where he took over a former mill and where he has a 35-seat call centre, said today plans were in hand to extend his number of outlets from eight to 20 over the next two years, concentrating largely on the London area.

Direct Golf UK's presence at the London show will provide visitors with the opportunity to browse in what will be, for the duration of the show, the largest golf store in the UK. Most major manufacturers will be on display - at hugely reduced prices.

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