2026 AGM Minutes. The Manor Golf Club, 27th August 2026

/in /by

The 2026 BRGS AGM was held at The Manor Golf Club on Thursday 27th August 2026.

Here are the minutes from the AGM.

 

2026 Leeds British Rail Golf Society AGM, Secretary notes.

AGM held at The Manor Golf Club on Thursday 27th August 2026 & commenced at 1600. 23 in attendance

  1. Apologies were sent from anyone not in attendance. Saves me typing a load of names

2. Minutes from 2025 AGM.

These were handed out to the group. A chance to question anything contained within them was offered & there were none. The minutes were proposed as a true reflection by Pete Ferris, seconded by Adrian Hope & signed off.

3. BRGS Secretary report

The circumstances that brought me here for the 2026 season are well known & I’d like to pass on my gratitude to Alan, Ian & Nigel who felt enough trust in me to run the society this year. This is the 49th year the BRGS has been running so to be given that trust to take us through 2026, into 2027 & our 50th year has been a great privilege.

Up to press, we have seen a total of 164 members join our Society days this year & that is a fantastic turn out. I am very grateful for your cooperation, prompt replies to emails & payments made into the account. Not only do these great turnouts generate much needed funds for the society, but they also make the time it takes to plan & book these days worthwhile.

My hope for the final BRGS day at The Bradford Golf Club & heading into the 2027 season, you will continue to support the society by turning out in your numbers again.

I have also placed on record to each club individually our gratitude for how they have looked after us & I’ve always tried to remember to do a little collection for the staff at the end of each day so thank you for all your contributions. Which reminds me………… (Started collection)

The weather has been very good for us on all our days (Edit: NOT AT THE MANOR IT WASN’T), we haven’t been drowned & we haven’t melted although there have been some pink arms & legs at the end of some days.

I’ve really enjoyed running the Society this year & seeing so many of you turning up has been fantastic. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your support.

4. Treasurer Report

BRGS DRAFT ACCOUNTS AS OF 31st JULY 2026

Cash in account:                                                            £759.04

Deposits due back in 2026:                                        £300.00

Estimated subs for remaining events:                     £48.00

2027 Deposits paid:                                                    £200.00

Overpayments received:                                            £56.00

2026 closing balance:                                                £1251.04

The treasurer, who wasn’t at the AGM has advised he will do a full years accounts after the season has ended.

The report was proposed as by Adam Littlewood, seconded by Roger Worth & signed off as correct at the time of writing.

4a. A lively discussion took place regarding subs going forward which the secretary noted lasted just shy of 25 minutes. The secretary spoke of the need to look at raising subs with a two-fold reason behind this. Firstly was the Golf Clubs asking for larger deposits for each BRGS day & secondly, to look at replacing some of the damaged trophies we have. The trophy situation was resolved by offers of trophies from Billy Milne & Pete Ferris as well as Lee Wetherill offering to look at & repair some of our current trophies. The deposit issue remains a major one as there is a reasonably good chance that the funds we currently hold won’t be enough to pay 2027 deposits. After much too-ing & fro-ing & several ideas put forward, it was unanimously voted in to introduce an initial £5 subs payment for the 2027 season followed by £2 subs per day thereafter. This will be for the 2027 season only, where hopefully by the end of the 2027 season, we’ll have built up a good bank account balance to return to a simple £2 subs per day in 2028. The secretary placed on record his gratitude to Billy for offering to donate 2 trophies.

4b. The method of advance payment to the BRGS Account, cash prize fund on the day & Members booking and paying for their own buggies will continue into the 2027 season.

5. Handicaps

The handicaps at the end of the 2026 season will all be rolled over to the 2027 season. The next planned WHS adjustment, based on the 3 year reset agreed at the 2024 AGM, will take place at the end of the 2027 season.

6. 2027 Fixtures

Woolley Park has already been secured at the same price as 2026 & a £200 deposit paid. Several courses were put forward as venues for 2027. From what the secretary noted, the following courses will be considered for 2027 and contact made. Based on 7 or 8 events in 2027.

Richmond, Horsforth, The Manor, Normanby Hall (27 Holes), Sandhills, Headingley, Moortown, Wath, Bingley St Ives, Northcliffe, Silkstone, Halifax Ogden, Crossland Heath & Thirsk/ Northallerton. We will do our best to secure some new courses & revisit previous ones and also do our best to secure the best price possible. Please note though that clubs are becoming increasingly reluctant to do deals, Richmond being a prime example who want an extra £16pp for 2027 compared to 2026. So off-putting this is, we are looking at a possibility of removing lunch from Richmond to save cash.

7. Election of Officials

The secretary notified the members that he would be standing down at the end of the 2026 season as Ian Dyson had decided he would be prepared to return to the secretary role in 2027. There were no further applicants for the secretary role so Ian was duly voted in. It will be great to see him back in 2027.

The Treasurer advised he was happy to continue in the role into 2027. There were no further applicants so Alan Ashbee was voted in to continue the great work he is doing.

The Handicap committee currently consists of Nigel Owram & Ian Dyson. Both indicated they were prepared to continue their roles and with no further applicants, were duly voted in.

8. Any other Business.

A suggestion to make any 27 hole days we book a team event for the morning 9 holes & individual event for the afternoon 18 holes was proposed by Wayne Jackson. Whilst this wouldn’t work for the Richmond Trophy, it was agreed it should be looked at if there are any further 27 hole days in the future.

Ian Dyson gave a small speech in which he thanked the Secretary for all his efforts in 2026 & for standing in during his absence. The group as a whole concurred with Ian’s sentiments & said they’d enjoyed the year and were grateful for the job the secretary had done.

The floor was opened up to any further questions or comments but no were forthcoming so the buffet was opened & meeting closed at 1702.

Hopefully these reflect what you recall of the AGM, some of my notes weren’t very legible so if anyone would like to see any corrections/ additions, please let me know ASAP

 

Hickling trophy report – Low Laithes 27th July 2026

/in , /by

This years Hickling trophy was played for at Low Laithes Golf Club.  Another superb turnout of 24 players took to a barren & rock hard course with Sunday night’s rainfall doing nothing to soften up the fairways. The greens were cracking though and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Whilst we hit some speckles of rain early on, we played mostly in glorious sunshine albeit a stiff breeze swept across the course which along with the dry conditions, made the course a tricky adversary.

A buffet full English was enjoyed before taking to the course.

Onto the prizes:

With there only being 3 par 3 holes, 2’s were difficult enough and more so with firm greens. So much so, there was only one player taking the kitty, ME!!!!!!!!! And let me tell you about it. Hitting a sweet pitch wedge that I thought was all over the flag, I was a bit disappointed to see that my ball had rolled to the back of the green leaving me with a 40 footer back across the green. Turned out it was nothing more than a mere tap in.

Nearest The Pins were…. Lee Wetherill (Hole 4), Alan Ashbee (Hole 8) & Roger Worth (Hole 12)

The all important main prizes………

Third place …..Craig Allen with 37 Points.

Second Place…..Stewart Cochrane, 38 points.

First Place & the winner of the 2026 Hickling Trophy…… Joe Cooper with a fantastic 42 point haul.

Well played Joe and well done to all others who won a prize.

The average score for the day was 30 Points so the buffer Zone sits from 27 to 33.

26 down gets a shot back

34 gets a shot off & 35 points and above loses 2!!

Handicap page has been updated.

Next up is the AGM trophy which will be held at The Manor Golf Club, Driglington. This is a 2 meal – 18 hole stableford day and sometime after the golf, we’ll do the presentation & AGM. The meal after the golf is also yet TBC as I’m trying to get the club to do us a hot buffet. Will report back on that when I open up bookings in the next week or so.

Thank you to all who attended, another great turn out which whilst adding much needed funds into the society’s funds, it also makes my time organising the days very worth while & it is very much appreciated.

Keeble Cup Report. Woolley Park Golf Club, 24th April 2026

/in /by

The first BRGS competition day, the Keeble Cup, was held at Woolley Park Golf Club. A glorious spring day welcomed us to a the course which was in fantastic condition. After the very good, and large bacon rolls, 21 of us took to the course. Woolley is a great early season course and even though the greens hadn’t long been scarified, they rolled well and you didn’t want a downhill putt that’s for sure.

We played 3 par 3’s. 2 were won by Ian Dyson and the other by me.

There were 2 x 2’s claimed by Lee Cooper & me.

For the Keeble Cup,

3rd place on 34 points, on a lower back 9 countback went to Nigel Owram

2nd place also on 34 points with a better back 9 was Me (Had a good day at last)

And the Winner, Winner Winner with 36 points was Jon Winner. Well done Jon, the only player to hit par.

A spot vote of the attendees voted unanimously to play at Woolley next year so that has been booked.

I’m about to attempt the handicaps but in a nutshell, 25 points or less, you’ll get a shot back. 34 Points loses a shot, 36 loses 2!!

Thank you for the 21 turning out to play, a great turnout & hopefully a sign of things to come this season.

 

Next up is The Mel Smart Memorial trophy which will be played at a new venue to us, Wath Golf Club. Details are already on the website and I’ll open up bookings for it soon.

Cheers

Pete

The AGM Trophy, The Manor Golf Club

/in , /by

The penultimate fixture of the 2026 season was the AGM trophy which, this year was played for at The Manor Golf Club where another bumper turnout of 24 players playing for the trophy.

After another fine summer of golfing weather, the weather gods turned on us this time and whilst it was dry when we tee’d off, eventually, the forecasted rain arrived, in style, and stayed with us the rest of the day. So to have 24 turn out with the forecast as it was is fantastic & very much appreciated.

Nearest the pins were won by Craig Allen (5) , Ian Dyson (7) , Lee Wetherill (11) and Roger Worth (13)

There were 3 x 2’s on the day so the pot was shared between Ian Dyson, Pete Ferris & Lee Wetherill.

In third place with 34 points & with a better back 9 was Pete Ferris

In second place with 36 points was Lee Wetherill.

The winner of the 2026 AGM Trophy with a super score of 37 points was Ian Linfoot.

Well done to everyone who took away a prize.

With thanks to Billy Milne’s score of 16 SIXTEEN points, the Stableford score average for the day was 29. With the buffer zone being 26 to 32 points, 33 & 34 points lose a shot & 35 – 37 lose 2. Anyone 25 & below gets one back. The handicap page has been updated with the scores from the day.

The AGM was held after the presentation & I thank everyone for their input & respectful debating. I’ll get the minutes typed up and posted in due course as well as Emailing them out. Some great courses were suggested for 2026 including Moortown, Thirsk & Silkstone, amongst a list of around 15 for us to sift through & get prices. Enquiries will be made regarding pricing and potential dates in the coming months running up to the new year and I’ll let you know ASAP some confirmed dates & costs.

The final BRGS day of the year is on 14th September where we’ll contest the Webster Cup at The Bradford Golf Club. Bookings are already open & there’s very few places remaining so please act quickly to secure your place.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to the greatest golfing day there is, The Pete Ferris Memorial Trophy which this year will be held at Bracken Ghyll Golf Club. With a 1200 meet up for Bacon Rolls & Brews, 18 hole of stableford madness followed by a Burger & Chips Tea, it is sure to be a cracking day out & great value too at £40pp. Bookings are open for this and for more information, please get in touch with me via 07790756120 or townfanpete@gmail.com

Looking forward to hopefully 2 sell out days to finish off the seaon.

Happy golfing folks

Pete

 

 

Webster Cup report

/in , /by

The weather was once again fantastic for the 24 players who turned out to play at Bradford G.C.

A warm and friendly welcome, together with a dry but otherwise well presented course awaited us to play for this years Webster Cup.  The scoring was possibly the most diverse we have ever had with some good scores and some not so good resulting in 14 handicap changes overall.

The results were as follows……..

Nearest the pins:-  Holes 3 & 14 were won by Ian Dyson and hole 12 was won by Karl Clark.

4 players scored 2’s, one if which was an Eagke by Paul Huddlestone. The other 3 were James Pickersgill, Johnny Winner and Karl Clarke.

As there was only 3 par 3’s it was decided to pay out for the top 4 players…..

4th place with 35 pouts was Ian Dyson

3rd with 36 was Dave Jordan

2nd with 36 on a count back (18 points to 17) was Johnny Winner

1st place with a great 37 points was Paul Huddlestone.

All scores and updated handicaps can be found on the relevant page of this website.

 

Our next outing is our final one of the year and full details can be found on the events page. This is at Malton & Norton G.C. Where we play 27 holes and hold the AGM at lunch time.

 

 

Richmond Open Report, 22nd June 2026

/in , /by

The Richmond Trophy was held on Monday 22nd June at the most wonderful Richmond Golf Club. I think Richmond tops the list of favourites for many as we’re always well looked after by the team there & the course is always well presented although this time, the greens were very slow and not their usual glass surface.

A fabulous turn out of 24 players were treated to an indifferent day despite warnings of a heatwave. The sun never really got out much but conditions were very nice to be golfing.

For the third season we played a Medalford competition with every shot counting towards the final scores. An interesting format and one which is proving popular.

There’s 5 par 3’s at Richmond and the nearest pins were won by 5 different players. These were….

Steve Pattrick on 4, Wayne Jackson on 7, Luke Worrilow on 9, & then Dys took the rest on 12 & 18 as well as nearest in two on 17.

4 players took a share of the 2’s pot and these were Dean Hubery x2, Adam Galloway & Jon Winner

Onto the top 3 of the day….

Finishing third with a grand total of 2 was Kevin Harper

Second, also on 2 points but with a better Stableford score was Billy Milne

The 202 6Richmond Open champion with a great score of minus two was Steve Pattrick.  A great achievement and the only player under par for the day.

The days average score was 9. Buffer zone runs from 6 through to 12. 13 and above, congratulations you get a shot back. For those who scored 5 & 4 points, you’re losing a shot and for those scoring 3 and below, it’s two off. That’ll teach you!!

Well done all who won something and thank you again to each & everyone of you for a great turn out. It is very much appreciated.

Next up is Low Laithes on Monday 27th July. This one is a Full English Brekkie & 18 holes day. I’ll send out the invite soon but details of the day are on the website.

Cheers

Pete

 

 

Hickling trophy report – Low Laithes 27th July 2026

/in , /by

This years Hickling trophy was played for at Low Laithes Golf Club.  Another superb turnout of 24 players took to a barren & rock hard course with Sunday night’s rainfall doing nothing to soften up the fairways. The greens were cracking though and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Whilst we hit some speckles of rain early on, we played mostly in glorious sunshine albeit a stiff breeze swept across the course which along with the dry conditions, made the course a tricky adversary.

A buffet full English was enjoyed before taking to the course.

Onto the prizes:

With their only being 3 par 3 holes, 2’s were difficult enough and more so with firm greens. So much so, there was only one player taking the kitty, ME!!!!!!!!!

Nearest The Pins were…. Lee Wetherill (Hole 4), Alan Ashbee (Hole 8) & Roger Worth (Hole 12)

The all important main prizes………

Third place …..Craig Allen with 37 Points.

Second Place…..Stewart Cochrane, 38 points.

First Place & the winner of the 2025 Hickling Trophy…… Joe Cooper with a fantastic 42 point haul.

Well played Joe and well done to all others who won a prize.

The average score for the day was 30 Points so the buffer Zone sits from 27 to 33.

26 down gets a shot back

34 gets a shot off & 35 points and above loses 2!!

Handicap page has been updated.

Next up is the AGM trophy which will be held at The Manor Golf Club, Driglington. This is a 2 meal – 18 hole stableford day and sometime after the golf, we’ll do the presentation & AGM. The meal after the golf is also yet TBC as I’m trying to get the club to do us a hot buffet. Will report back on that when I open up bookings in the next week or so.

Thank you to all who attended, another great turn out which whilst adding much needed funds into the society’s funds, it also makes my time organising the days very worth while & it is very much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mel Smart memorial report at Horsforth G.C.

/in , /by

A great welcome from Horsforth G.C.  where 21 players where greeted with a great bacon Sandwich with a little touch of an additional hash brown as we met to play the Mel Smart memorial. This is the only full medal of the season we play and it always proves to be true test of ability and course management skills.

The course itself  is holding up pretty well considering the lack of rain this Spring, however the greens were very slow which was a little disappointing but understandable given the challenge the green keepers are facing. The lack of rain appears to be a challenge that facing all clubs in the area. Contrast this with 12 months ago when the rain never stopped!

Moving  onto the event of the day and to the prizes……..

There were 2 two’s, one of which was only around 18 inches from a hole in one on the 11th by Alan Ashbee and the other was by Aidy Hope.

Nearest the pins on the Par 3’s were taken by Stewart Cochrane on the 3rd, Chris Copestake on the 9th, Alan Ashbee on hole 11 and finally Aidy Hope on the tough 15th.

The top 3 players were….. Luke Wirrolow with a net score of  72, Chris Copestake on 71 and  a fantastic 2 under par net score of 69 & the Winner of the Mel Smart Trohpy was Andy Copley.
Well played Andy and well done to all who won something on the day.

As ever, Thanks for your continued support at the events and hope it continues throughout the season.

Our next outing is at Waterton Park on Wednesday 18th June and details can be found on the events section of this website.

 

Scarcroft Report

/in , /by

 

The first outing of the 2025 season took place at Scarcroft Golf Club with a fantastic 25 players taking part. A super full breakfast was served before the golf. I have to say thanks to the club and staff who looked after us.

The weather was kind to us with the sun shining on occasions to make for a pleasant afternoon.

The course was generally in great condition however some of the greens were patchy and bobbly due the prolonged spell of dry weather with cold nights, stopping the grass to grow. Who would have thought we would be needing a bit of rain after all we had 12-14 month an ago!

Oficially this fixture was to play for the Keeble cup but we also saw a return to the Scarcroft vs Railway fixture on the side.
7 players from Scarcroft and 7 railway staff (including a couple of ringers) were joined by a blind draw of the other players to the teams up with the Railway taking the trophy for 2025.

Onto the Keeble cup……..

Nearest  the pins on the par 3’s were won by Wayne Jackson on the 3rd, Dan Penningon on 7, Paul Huddlestone on the 13th and Andrew Robertson was nearest on the 15th.

There were 5 two’s in total with Lee Wetherill taking 2 with a fantastic chip in on 9 and a superb putt from off the green on 15. The other 2’s were by Joe Cooper, Andrew Johnson and  Paul Huddlestone.

In third place with a score of 35 (taking it on the back 6) was Stu Garside. In second with a score of 36 we Lee Wetherill and the winner with a fabulous score of 39 was Dan Pennington.

Thanks to all who attended and your continued support into this season. Here’s hoping all the fixtures are all as well attended.

 

Our next fixture is on Tuesday 13th May at Horsforth Golf Club and all details can be found on the events page. Bookings for this event are now open as it is less than 3 week a from now.

 

 

2025 Season

/in , , /by

Welcome to the upcoming 2025 season.

This season sees a mixture of old favourite courses, a new course and 2 courses that we haven’t been to on a long time.

The website is now fully updated and our first fixture is on the 23rd of April at Scarcroft G.C. Unfortunately I am unable to take anymore reservations at there’s on extra the times available. I will endeavour to make this a one of and will make sure we have enough t the times on the future.

I do hope this season is one of our best yet and is as well, of not better supported, than previous years.

 

FOR now, keep practicing and I hope to see as many of you as possible over the summer season.