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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

You know it’s getting towards the end of the season when the elderberries are fully ripened, as we saw at Pontefract on a cool & windy day where 18 of the section turned out to play for the Keeble cup. We also had Arthur Ramsey join us as a guest. Welcome Arthur, hope to see you in the future.

Despite the wind blowing unusually from the East, this showed little concern to the field where the average was the highest we have seen this season at 33 Stableford points.

Before I report on the prizes, I would like to place on record our thanks and appreciation to Malcom & the rest of Pontefract & District golf club who once again offered a warm welcome with a superb bacon sandwich with tomato’s and mushrooms if you desired. They always raise the bar with the hospitality.

So onto the prizes…..

Nearest the pins were won by the following…..

Lee wetherill on the 3rd, Luke Wirrolow on the 7th, Ian Dyson on the 14th & Phil Firth on the 17th.

The 2’s were taken by Phil Firth & James Pickersgill.

For the Keeble cup…..

3rd was James pickersgil with a score of 37.

2nd, also with 37 but taking it on the count back was Phil Firth.

The winner of the 2024 Keeble Cup with an amazing score of 39 was Billy Milne.

Well done all and thanks everyone for your continued support of the society.

Our next and final fixture of the season is the AGM Trophy. This will once again be played at Low Laithes. Booking for this is now open ms can I ask you please pay the full amount of £53 into the society account by Tuesday 10th September. I have to confirm numbers asap as we are having food on completion of the 18 holes. As always at this fixture the AGM will take place after the 9 hole warm up so please bring any ideas or concerns to air on the day!

Full details can be found here……

 

Finally….

The handicaps on the website have been updated and completed and are now up to date.

 

Hopefully see you at Low Laithes.

17 players took part in this years Mel Smart Memorial that was held at Normanton G.C. We welcomed 3 new players who said they all had a great day and so heres hoping we see them again in the future.

The Mel Smart Memorial is now the only 18 hole medal competition we play which always provides a real challenge of the game. The course was in good condition with the greens running real fast and the green keepers must have been having a laugh with some of the pin positions. The 3rd on the ridge and the 18th, right at the front of a rapidly sloping green been just 2 of them.  The weather was dry for almost all of the play although the wind did blow to add to the challenge for many.

On to the prizes, starting with the nearest pins on the par 3’s. These were taken by Chris Copestake on the 2nd, Paul Price on the 4th, Adam Galloway on the 10th and finally Alan Ashbee on hole 12.

5 players had 2’s which shows some great golf. These players were Billy Milne, Adam Galloway,Nigel Owram, Alan Ashbee & Chris Copestake.

The top 3 players of the day were Dan Fentaman finishing 3rd with a score of 70, including his 1st ever Eagle. 2nd place went to Paul Huddlestone with a super score of 69. Winning this years trophy with an incredible score of 67 was Andy Rothera.

Well done to all who won something.

Thanks to Normanton Golf Club for their warm welcome and kind hospitality and thanks to you for the continued support of the society.

The last 3 fixtures come pretty quickly now and our next outing is now just 10 days away at Horsforth Golf club where we shall play for the Webster cup. The cost for this will be £31 plus £5 for the sweep in cash on the day. For Horsforth Members the cost will be a bacon sarnie and a coffee plus £5 sweep. Please meet at 11 o’clock.  Full details can be found on the events section of this website.

Cheers all…

Happy Swinging.