sbradley

Skipton Golf Club greens team honoured in high profile awards Skipton Golf Club’s head greenkeeper Ian Brown and his hard-working team won through to the finals of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) 2019 Awards for their outstanding contribution to the project to remodel the course. The team was nominated by the club for the high profile awards, staged as part of BIGGA’s recent Turf Management Exhibition in Harrogate Convention Centre. It was attended by more than 5,000 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives, who came together to network and share the latest education and innovation opportunities at Europe’s premier turf management event. The awards were hosted by the BBC’s Naga Munchetty and both the Skipton greenkeepers and the club said were delighted and honoured to finish as runners-up in the 2019 Greenkeeping Project of the Year. BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “Congratulations to the team at Skipton Golf Club, who overcame massive challenges to complete an incredible project at their club during 2018. They are a credit to BIGGA and the greenkeeping industry as a whole.” When the Environment Agency informed Skipton GC of its intention to build a 14-metre high dam across the club’s 16th green and 17th hole as part of the town’s Flood Alleviation Scheme, the greenkeeping team, led by Ian Brown, undertook to completely remodel the existing course with the ambition of making it one of the premier courses in Yorkshire. Working alongside golf architect David Jones and contractors MJ Abbott and Oliver Sugden, the layout of the course was drastically altered to suite the land available and to improve upon the existing course. The project also saw the construction of a new maintenance [...]

Update on Ajay Phil and Cheryl Bright have asked me to pass on the good news about the little boy needing life-changing surgery for whom your generous donations were so gratefully received. The Government has now announced it will begin funding SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) which means Ajay should be able to have the operation on the NHS However, the operation is only the first part of the procedure, and lengthy and necessary therapies will still require funding. Our donations will therefore be crucial to ensure the long period of physiotherapy can be completed. Phil Bright has promised to keep us updated.

AJAY - £355 RAISED Phil and Cheryl Bright are overwhelmed at the generosity of our members’ donations towards the £40,000 needed to help Ajay walk properly. My thanks too to you all for supporting such a worthwhile cause and to Peter Robinson for allowing me to be active during his Professional’s Days this year. I know Phil and CheRyl wish me to pass on their sincere thanks for your efforts and they will keep us informed about the progress of their future fundraising events which will continue throughout the summer and include a large raffle too. They have so far raised in excess of £7,000 towards the operation and therapy the little boy will require but there is clearly some way to go. We wish them a successful outcome.

The extended heatwave was clearly off-putting! Nevertheless, a small, select and intrepid group of walkers set off from Skipton Golf Club on Sunday 1 July to ‘bag’ Sharp Haw, a ‘Marilyn’ – a hill of any height with a drop of 150m or more, on all sides, named in respect of the famous ‘Munros’. The ‘Marilyn’ quiz gave much food for thought. Could we name them all in the Yorkshire Dales? The walk, organised by Friends of the Dales and Skipton Golf Club, saw the ‘bagging’ of the summit at a steady pace in warm conditions with a cooling breeze. The trig point on top, no longer of serious use with the advance of GPS technology, afforded a chance to explore its origins some 70 years ago and discuss how significant these pillars were nationwide in the development of O.S. mapping. Dropping steeply from the summit in the direction of Flasby and Gargrave, the path led into woods and a delightful picnic spot. Refreshed, we headed for home, following an access track below Crag Wood where a lovely roe deer was spotted slipping quietly into sheltered terrain. Our return led us into the Tarn Moor Memorial Woodland with its wild flower meadow and naturally spaced, indigenous broadleaved trees and where sheep are allowed to graze around the burial areas in a natural and practical way. Tiring but well worth the effort was the final verdict as the golf course was regained after some six and a half miles, and a deserved drink outside the clubhouse provided a perfect finish to ‘a good walk’ – unspoilt this time! Perhaps golfers and walkers should unite more often? Jonathan On top of Sharp Haw. Photo by Ann [...]

Skipton Golf Club Juniors are now sporting their new team kit, courtesy of long-time sponsor Scott Janitorial Supplies, of Keighley, whose managing director Keith Airey is a long-standing Skipton member and former scratch team player. The juniors’ first team this season has featured captain Ben Topper, Harry Ayrton, Frazer Clarke and Ethan Wilson. Harry has been in superb form playing off 5 and is unbeaten, with the team currently lying joint top of Division 1 with Bingley St Ives, with Ghyll hard at their heels in third place. Pictured left to right are junior team golfers Hannah Eaton, Bobby Dixon, Ben Topper, Alex Topper, Max Beresford, Frazer Clarke and sponsor Keith Airey. Not on the picture is Ethan Wilson, who made his debut for the first team recently in the 4-2 home win against Woodhall Hills. Every Tuesday evening is Junior roll up, open to anybody under 18 who would like to start playing. Coaching is with Ben Mallinson and players have the opportunity to play on the course. Ethan, Alex and Bobby, who are pictured, have all progressed through the roll ups to play for Skipton’s representative teams.