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.

We recently had a very positive meeting with Mr. Faulkner, Head of PE at Ilkley Grammar School, as a follow-up to the work we began prior to the summer holidays.

We’re excited to continue strengthening the school-club partnership with Ilkley Grammar School throughout the winter. This collaboration will involve coaching three different student groups, creating inclusive opportunities for pupils from all backgrounds. Our goal is to provide clear development pathways for both boys and girls, while supporting and expanding our already thriving junior section.

As part of the programme, we will be running two after-school classes:

• One group will continue from where we left off before the summer.
• The second group will be a performance squad, made up of students who represent Ilkley Grammar School on their golf teams.

We're also proud to announce that we will be delivering a curriculum-based class as part of the school’s core PE programme, held on Friday afternoons throughout the winter. Some of these sessions may take place in our indoor golf studio, providing a high-quality coaching environment whatever the weather.

In addition to our work with the school, we’ll be introducing Saturday morning junior group tuition from October, open to current junior members as well as any friends or sons/daughters of members who would like to get involved.

Much of this exciting new work will be led by our new PGA Assistant Professional, Archie Rowntree, as he begins his PGA Training. This is a fantastic opportunity for Archie to develop his coaching skills and to start building his client base as a PGA Professional.

It’s been a remarkable year for our golfers, and it keeps getting better.

Max Berrisford has been crowned this year’s Yorkshire Union of Golf Club’s Amateur Champion and Harry Richmond is the U18 Yorkshire champion.

Played over four rounds at Cleveland Golf Club, both players posted terrific scores.

Max finished at 12 under, two ahead of second place, with rounds of 70, 71, 69 and 66.

Harry finished at 4 over, six ahead of his nearest rival, with rounds of 74, 72, 76 and 70.

Huge congratulations to both of you. 

The club is, once again, extremely proud of the achievements of our members.

What a fabulous afternoon we had for the Junior Open competition in July. 

A full field of 48 juniors took part, and it was great to welcome them, and their parents, to Ilkley Golf Club. 

Thanks to Colin Ayre and the IGC team for all their efforts in organising a very successful day.

It was excellent to have the club president, Sean Crannigan, to not only present the prizes but to also act as official starter.

The results were:

- Boys best gross - Zach Marsh from Pannal Golf Club with a very impressive 66 gross from the white tees

- Boys best gross runner up with 69 gross, Zac Ayre, Ilkley Golf Club

- Girls best gross - Ruby Baxter, Fulford Golf Club, with 89 gross

- Boys best nett – Thomas Robinson, Pannal Golf Club, with 65

- Boys best nett runner-up – Freddie Greenwood, Bracken Ghyll Golf Club, with 66  (cb)

- Boys longest drive (11th hole): Zac Ayre

- Girls longest drive (12th hole): Ruby Baxter

- Nearest the pin (15th hole); Henry Wood, Ilkley Golf Club

Congratulations to all prize winners and well done to all who took part. We hope you enjoyed the day and look forward to seeing you at Ilkley again in the future.

We are proud to have been included in the top ten golf courses in Yorkshire by National Club Golfer. 

Thanks NCG for your ranking and review which describes Ilkley as one of the most picturesque golf clubs in the country. 

Read more here: https://rb.gy/0vt16z

Congratulations to Archie Rowntree who has received an unconditional offer from The PGA , securing a place on its training programme, beginning on 1st October. 

As a result, Archie’s status will officially transition from amateur to professional — a true reflection of his passion, commitment, and relentless hard work in the game of golf since he first picked up a club at six years old.

This is a significant personal milestone for Archie, as well as a proud moment for Glen Ient and his team and for the club.
 

We were delighted to welcome Colin Dalgleish to Ilkley Golf Club last week. It was an honour to host two former Walker Cup players and Captains, and it was a privilege to hear our honorary life member, Rodney Foster and Colin swap memories and share great golfing stories with each other over lunch.

Colin’s visit was particularly well timed because this year sees the Walker Cup return to Alister Mackenzie’s legendary Cypress Point for only the second time in its 100-year history. It was at Cypress Point where Colin made his Walker Cup debut, under Rodney’s captaincy, in 1981.

As testament to the special bond between them, Colin spent 12 hours on the train (six hours each way) from his home in Helensburgh to visit his great friend. 

Colin certainly had an impressive golfing career. He was:

•  Scottish Schoolboys Champion for three consecutive years, a record to this day.
• Captain of both the Scottish and the Great Britain and Ireland boys’ teams.
• Scottish Amateur Champion 1981.
• Walker Cup Player 1981 (Cypress Point)
  • Captained by Ilkley Honorary Life Member, Rodney Foster
  • Combined team members subsequently winning two Majors
  • GB&I players included Peter McEvoy, Ronan Rafferty, Philip Walton, Paul Way
  • USA included Corey Pavin (1995 U.S. Open), Hal Sutton (1983 PGA Championship), Jodie Mudd, Jay Sigel
• Walker Cup Captain 2007 (Royal County Down), https://youtu.be/0eHMr899v9Y
  • Combined team members subsequently winning 9 Majors to date:
  • GB&I players included Rory McIlroy (2011 U.S. Open, the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships, the 2014 Open Championship, the 2025 Masters), Danny Willett (2016 Masters Champion)
  • USA included Dustin Johnson (2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters Champion), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open), Rickie Fowler.
• Walker Cup Captain 2009 (Merion)
  • Combined team members subsequently winning one Major to date:
  • GB&I players included Tommy Fleetwood
  • USA included Brian Harman (2023 Open Championship), Rickie Fowler
• Colin's amateur golf career took a back seat after university when, along with his younger brother Gordon he founded Perry Golf in 1984. Since then, the company has firmly established itself as one of the leading providers of luxury golf holidays to destinations around the world, primarily for an American clientele.