It was great to see so many juniors at their annual dinner, which was also attended by the President, Men’s and Ladies’ Captains and former Ryder Cup captain and Ilkley member, Mark James. 

The Ilkley juniors are an extremely welcoming and friendly group who enjoy playing golf together and encouraging each other, whether they are just beginning or one of the outstanding players. Nine have single figure handicaps with two of them with ‘plus’ handicaps. 

They’ve had a fantastic year with matches not only against sides in the Harrogate Union but also against Moortown, Fulford, Ganton and Southport & Ainsdale.

During the year, Harry Richmond, Corey Canning and Zac Ayre have represented the men’s scratch team.

Zac, Harry, Dylan Ayre, Jack Winterbottom, Oscar Snell and Jasper Snell have represented the H&DUGC junior teams in the Yorkshire inter-district matches. Corey represented the Bradford district team.

Zac, Harry, Dylan and Jasper are all in the Yorkshire coaching pathway and Zac represented the victorious Yorkshire U18 team in the Northern Counties league.

Harry won the Yorkshire Amateur under-18 title. Corey won the Junior Open Qualifier held at Otley with Harry also qualifying. As this post is made, Harry is currently leading the tournament in Spain by 3 shots with one round to go.

Big thanks to Colin Ayre who has put in a tremendous amount of work as junior co-ordinator and to his son, Zac Ayre, who has been an exemplary captain.

Well done to all of you. You are a credit to Ilkley Golf Club.

Well done to Archie Rowntree who completed his first 5-day residential training with The PGA  at The Belfry last week, learning from some of the very best in the industry. 

The programme covered the latest teaching methods, retail practices, business strategies, equipment knowledge, and customer service — all designed to raise professional standards both on and off the course.

This marks an important milestone in Archie’s PGA journey. His next step is to complete a series of assignments and begin preparing for his upcoming custom fitting exam.

We’re incredibly proud of Archie’s dedication and commitment to his development, and our head professional, Glen Ient, and his team will be using everything Archie’s learned to continually enhance the service, expertise, and the overall experience they provide to both members and visitors.

#pga  #professionalgolf   #golfcoaching  #golflessons #pgaprofessional 

Captains, Nick Ryle and Marie-Louise Milbourn, are absolutely delighted to announce that at the end of their fundraising year, a mightily impressive £9,290 has been raised by members for their chosen charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research. 

Speaking about the amount raised, they said,

“This represents an amazingly generous effort from all who donated, helped, played or contributed in any way.  A huge and heartfelt thank you from us both.

“After our visit to YCR to hand over the cheque, we are more convinced than ever by the work they do, how they allocate funds and the quality of their initiatives. 

“We will continue to support them in whatever way we can.  This is just more evidence of what a special group of members we have at IGC.

"Thanks again."

Congratulations to John Halliwell who has achieved his fifth, yes fifth, hole-in-one at Ilkley.

He grabbed his latest ace on the 13th hole using his trusty 7 wood.

It is remarkable achievement by John who, at 81 and a member of Ilkley for 41 years, has previously recorded hole-in-ones at the 3rd, 5th, 13th and two at the 15th hole. He just needs one at the 2nd to complete a full house!

Well done on a brilliant achievement and thanks for the Scotch on the bar, John.

It just goes to show that golf is a wonderful and exciting game, whatever your age.

Congratulations to Richard & Sue Greenough on winning the JD Montgomerie Salver, presented by Captains Nick Ryle and Marie-Louise Milbourn at the annual lunch.

Well done to finalists and tough competitors, Tony & Sue Atkins.

Ilkley’s men, ladies and juniors have enjoyed great success this year, but the winning ways are not over yet.

Congratulations to Corey Canning following his win in the European Junior Open qualifier at Otley Golf Club.

He will now play in the Champions Week finals in Malaga next month, which is made up from the winners of 45 regional finals played at venues across the UK and Europe.

Now in it 33rd year, notable finalists for the European Junior Open include Luke Donald , Justin Rose and Nick Dougherty . 

The finals will be broadcast on Sky Sports Golf.

Good luck Corey!

Congratulations to James Ellis who has achieved his Level Two Greenkeeping qualification. 

The club is extremely proud of James and delighted to see that his appetite for learning and developing his career continues, having now started his Level Three apprenticeship in Sports Turf Science with the team at Askham Bryan College  York. 

James (centre), who started his greenkeeping career in 2023, is pictured with Glyn Brown (Chair of Greens) & Duncan Campbell (Head Greenkeeper).

Well done to the Ilkley Golf Club ladies’ section for a hugely successful charity golf day in aid of Spinal Research.

Together they raised more than £1300 on the day for a truly great cause.

Special thanks to Marie Scott, Millie Scott, Holly Flather, and Bel Young from Spinal Research for organising such a fantastic day. Big thanks also to those who helped out and donated.

It was a proud night for Ilkley Golf Club at the Harrogate & District Union of Golf Clubs' Annual Dinner and trophy presentation held at Pannal Golf Club.

We were congratulated for our success in winning the Union’s First Division Team Championship, as well as Henry Croft’s individual win in the Scratch Knockout.

Photograph (L to R) Ilkley President, Sean Crannigan, Huey Cunningham, Chris Hughes, Ed Cowen, Chairman of Green, Glyn Brown, Captain, Nick Ryle, and Henry Croft.

Congratulations to Henry Croft on retaining the H&DUGC’s Scratch Matchplay title at Pannal Golf Club.

Henry had an extremely tough match against Steve Whitwham of Bedale Golf Club in the final, with both playing incredible golf.

The first three par fives were all won with eagles and the last one with a birdie!

Commiserations to Steve who, despite having two eagles and a handful of birdies, eventually lost 3 and 2.

Having secured the course record at Ilkley a couple of months ago, Henry was once again in top form from tee to green and his putting was red hot too.

A quote on the The Harrogate & District Union of Golf Clubs website reads:

“The final showcased the talents of two of the Union’s finest golfers and they put on a display that left the spectators in awe.”

Well done Henry, who is seen here holding the trophy with his caddy on the day, Ed Leech.