The Team Championship​

ERUGC Team Championship
Brough Golf Club
Sunday 11 May, 2025

Bouncy Brough bared its teeth for almost all of the morning competitors. Some tricky pins and firm fast fairways made birdies hard to come by and no-one matched par around the immaculate Cave Road layout. The best score in was from reigning ER Amateur Champion Jon Samuel of Hull who battled back from a scratchy front nine to birdie two of the last five holes to shoot a fantastic 71. Next best was Matty Raybould of Hornsea with 73 and four others on 74.

Jon’s score was added to by a couple of 76s from George Clark and Ricky Boniface to leave Hull with the slenderest of leads at lunchtime with a team aggregate of +19. Hornsea were only two shots back thanks to Matty’s 73 and matching 76s from Seth Topham and Jonny Fisher. Defending champions Scarborough North Cliff were a further two adrift on 227 thanks to a Tom Duck 75 and 76s from Simon Boddy and Alex Wiggins. Ganton had been very much in the mix for team and individual honours, but had unfortunately fielded an ineligible player and were disqualified at the close of play when the infraction came to light.

So – as we say every year – all to play for in round two!

The afternoon brought a more breezy Brough with players resetting their expectations and realising that anything in the mid 70s was a pretty decent knock!

Hull looked like they had one hand on the trophy when Jon Samuel birdied the last (pictured above) to match the par of 68 for a two round total of 139. However, George Clark (below left) and Ricky Boniface (below right) couldn’t match their morning scores and posted 80 and 79 respectively to leave Hull as catchable clubhouse leaders on 450. 

Despite an excellent 71 from Tom (below centre), Scarborough North Cliff couldn’t quite bridge the gap as shots slipped away on the notorious last four holes. They ended up three short despite the best efforts of the evergreen Simon (below left) and Wiggo.

Home boys Brough snuck into third place with Hessle 2 just missing the podium places in 4th. George Coope (85/80), Dave Liversedge (77/76) and Garry Robinson (79/83) at least had the consolation of taking the nett team prize (for those clubs outside the top 3 gross).

It is worth noting that the total combined score for the 17 teams who submitted six cards was 1,196 over par. No-one ever said golf was easy.

Thanks to Brough stalwart and ERUGC Competition Secretary Ian Jeffrey for organising the whole event and manning the desk all morning, before handing over to ER Secretary John Illingworth for the afternoon shift. John was on starter duty on the first tee from 0730 (pictured below) before handing over to the ever present Andy Pittaway.

Head Greenkeeper Gareth Brown and his team presented the course in fantastic condition, despite the recent lack of rain being against them recently, and the staff in the clubhouse looked after the 60 players superbly all day.

ERUGC President Dave Greenwood presented the prizes and thanked Brough Captain Neal Evison for his club being such good hosts. The A.B. Care Trophy will therefore return to Hull for the first time since 2017.

Full results on Golf Genius

Jonathan Clark
ERUGC Press Secretary

Scarborough North Cliff claimed their second East Riding Team Championship in last three years with a three shot victory at Hull Golf Club.

The Scarborough NC 2 trio of Seb Wiffen, Paul Harper (pictured with President Jonty Hall) and Tom Duck edged out the Scarborough NC 1 team of Alex Wiggins and 2022 winners Simon Boddy and Tom Benson.

The expected challenge from holders Hornsea and Hessle, both packed with East Riding team regulars, fell short as they finished third and fourth repectively. Hosts Hull looked to have the strongest side on paper, but a missed morning tee time ultimately cost them the title.   

Scarborough 2 led at lunch by 4 shots thanks to three solid rounds on the superb Hull layout which looked fantastic in the Spring sunshine. Paul Harper’s afternoon 70 was crucial in his side holding on to win by 3 strokes with a total of 454.

Round of the day was from the much decorated home player Jon Samuel. His 66 in the morning defied the tough pin positions and troublesome rough. An afternoon 73 confirmed the individual honours.

The team nett prize went to the Brough trio of Jon Giles, Ioan Pearce and Chris Hyam with a total of 455.

Thanks to Hull Golf Club for hosting the event and to Dave Norton and his greens staff for the excellent set up of the Kirk Ella course. A further big thank you to Competition Secretary Dave Greenwood for organising the event and to John Illingworth on the desk all day with able assistance from Ian Jeffrey and ERUGC President Jonty Hall. Starter Andy Pittaway kept good order on the first tee as always. 

Driffield Golf Club
5th May 2023

The 2023 Team Championship event at Driffield looked likely to be a delayed start as players made their way to the central wolds course through a thick fog for the early 8.00am tee.

However, Driffield seemed to have missed all the overnight rain and morning murk, and with no wind, and a mild morning the first group got underway on time.

Team Champions Hornsea

First out of the 19 teams were the home club Driffield with defending champions Scarborough NC and Hainsworth.

Although the course and greens were in excellent conditions the recent wet spell had the course playing long and it was to be a tough day for some players.

Hosts Driffield set the early pace with Ryan Gray 70, Daniel Gray 73 and Jamie Greveson 74 for a halfway total of 217.

Burstwick 2 on 223,  Filey and Beverley 1 on 226, were the nearest challengers until Hornsea came in late with a total of 213 – Steve Uzell 68, Jonathan Fisher-Ulliott 70 and Ashley Dexter 75,  A 4 shot lead going into the 2nd round.

It looked as though it was to be a tussle between Driffield and Hornsea unless both slipped up and one of the 3 nearer teams produced a late charge,

Driffield posted afternoon scores of 70, 75 and 78 for an afternoon total of 223 and an overall total score of 440

Burstwick 1 burst through the chasing pack with an afternoon total of 223 to level with Filey and Burstwick 2 on a total of 459 and secure a distant 3rd place on countback. Alan Key therefore justifying his team selection.

It therefore left Hornsea as the late finishers to hold their nerve, and they did, with afternoon rounds of 68, 72 and 76 repectively to finish on 429 and win the Championship by 11 shots.

Driffield had the best net score with 432, but as they secured 2nd place in the gross championship event the net prize went to Iain Goldie, Jack Rollo and Eddie Loyden of Hornsea 2 with a 435 total

Lowest 36 hole gross score prize went to  Steve Uzzell 68 + 68 = 136.  Ryan Gray 140 and Charlie Milner 142 his nearest challengers.

All individual scores, as always, can be found on the East Riding page of How Did I Do (Search for East Riding in the club section)

East Riding President Mike Dawson (Filey GC) presented the AB Care Trophy to Hornsea 1 which capped off a sucessful day for the club.

It was great to see Drax GC enter a team at the earliest opportunity and both the members and the club have already committed to, and registered for, many events throughout the season. I hope they enjoy their first year.

Well done to Cottingham for fielding 3 teams.

Thank you to all members and staff at at Driffield GC for the hospitality, Captain Chris Moore and the starters who stood in for Andy Pittaway throughout the day. Thanks to John Illingworth for manning the desk for the whole 14 hours.

To the players and clubs, thank you for supporting the event.

Our next event is the Senior Championship at Brough GC on Friday 19th May with over 80 seniors (over 50) competing for both gross and net prizes in various age groups.

Dave Greenwood

The first East Riding Union Championship since July 2019 brought a welcome return to competitive golf at district level. A full field of 24 teams had entered but the reality was that only a handful was to be the likely winner.

ERUGC Official Starter, Andy Pittaway, got the event underway at 07.30 in the presence of Hornsea GC Captain Tom Elder. First group out commenced under leaden skies with the portents of rain as Nick Raybould from the home club hit the first shot. He was followed by Burstwick Country Golf’s Rob Draper and Ryan Gray from Driffield GC.

After a prolonged dry, cold spell the course was subjected to 20mm of rain during Saturday and overnight rain could have threatened cancellation. Strangely the weather forecast was inaccurate and no further rain materialised, the event went ahead as planned although preferred lies were in operation. Many thanks to Gareth Williams and his team for turning out the course as well as they did given the lack of growth in the preceding weeks.

At the end of round one it was clear that the A.B. Care Trophy was either returning to holders Hessle or being handed to their chief protagonists, Hornsea.

Raybould returned a 71, brother Matt a 75 and Jack Maxey a 73 for a lunchtime leading score of 219. Only 2 shots back were Hessle with new recruit Stuart Easton 73, East Riding Past President, Andy Woodhead 72 and Lewis Blanchard 76. Indeed it could have been closer but for Easton taking 7 on the par 4 10th hole. After a flyer over the green resulted in an unplayable lie he was unfortunate to move his ball for a further penalty shot. On such fine margins are championships decided.

Other contenders couldn’t quite manage to put the pressure on as, Beverley & East Riding, Boothferry, Cottingham, Hornsea B, Hull and both Scarborough North Cliff teams had one poor score.

A brighter afternoon but with a freshening breeze saw round 2 commence just after noon. Reports from the course intimated that the Championship was on a knife edge and local supporters sought solace with refreshments from the clubhouse.

Hornsea’s afternoon efforts were six worse at 225 and when, further down the field, Easton produced a best of the day equalling, 71 a “grandstand” finish looked on the cards. Blanchard matched his morning round of 76 but, by his own admission, a tiring Woodhead slipped to a 79.

Hornsea clearly have the strength in depth with their B and C teams finishing third and fourth respectively. It was a pleasure to see a team from Filey, featuring a return to the amateur ranks by Fraser Kelley, who finished fifth with six solid cards. They are the hosts in 2022 which happens to be their 125th anniversary.

It was also great to see the return of Steve and Dave Raybould representing Scarborough North Cliff, not quite rolling back the years, but still getting the ball around very respectably. At the other end of the age spectrum, juniors Tommy Risker and Tom Benson impressed with (74 + 75 = 149) and (75 & 75 = 150) respectively for Scarborough North Cliff B.

In the end it was Hornsea’s day though and many congratulations to them with their fantastic score of 444.

Hessle win at Cottingham and Skidby

A chilly day with a penetrating wind greeted the players in the first East Riding Championship of the 2019 season. The event was hosted by the Skidby and Cottingham golf clubs and owner John Wiles and his team had clearly put the work in beforehand. As a result they did much to enhance the reputation of the Lakes and Parks layout. This was to be a tough test indeed for the Union’s finest and many left with a new respect for the courses.

A much vaunted Hornsea squad of Yorkshire’s Luke Robinson and East Riding YIDU Team Championship winning members Nick Raybould and Leigh Gawley looked a formidable combination. Hessle included Immediate Past President Andy Woodhead, the ever reliable Andy Lockwood and a returning Lewis Blanchard, whilst Scarborough North Cliff fielded a potentially championship winning team of Simon Boddy, Andy Allcock and East Riding Junior Captain, Tom Duck. Also in the mix were host club Cottingham (1), Beverley (1) Bridlington Belvedere and Burstwick.

At 7.50 prompt Union Official Starter, Steve Robinson, got the first group underway at Skidby. Springhead Park’s Kristian Smith hit the first tee shot followed by Cottingham’s Dan Swales and Brough’s Dan Digby. Between them they managed a birdie, a par and a bogey on the opening hole. It was going to be that kind of day, a battle for every shot and not a cakewalk around the lakes in the park.

Of the early starters, Cottingham’s Andy Crawford posted a creditable 5 over par 73 which was only beaten by Bridlington’s John Pearce (70), Boddy (72), Woodhead (71), Lockwood (70) and Gawley (72). Pearce’s round included a sensational eight 3’s and a 2.

At lunch, the leaderboard showed that there was all to play for with Hessle on 218, Hornsea 220, Cottingham 226 and Burstwick on 229. But for a slip of the pencil it could have been closer. Regrettably Belvedere’s Steve Bennett mistakenly signed for an incorrect score on the 11th and instead of leading at lunchtime Bridlington was out of contention. In all, four players signed for a wrong score, two were higher and as a result didn’t result in disqualification and one player didn’t sign his card at all!

Once again in this Championship, play got underway early in the afternoon and the first hole, a par 5, was to prove pivotal. The field, collectively, played it in 35 over par with a solitary birdie for Lockwood. It was a statistician’s dream and a golfer’s nightmare with a plethora of single and double bogies, a quadruple and a Championship defining quintuple for the unfortunate but ever likable Gawley.

In the end, it was a runaway 12 shot win for Hessle built on the consistency of Woodhead and overall lowest gross prize winner Lockwood who both ground out scores on a tough day. Blanchard, did what he had to do and got this ball round without catastrophe, and the trophy was deservedly returning to Raywell.

Favourites Hornsea finished as runners up with Scarborough North Cliff completing the podium places.

Congratulations to Boothferry for fielding 3 teams on a day when some of the Union’s more high profile and venerable clubs couldn’t even get a team to turn out.

Many thanks to Chris Gray, the Director of Golf at Skidby & Cottingham, and all his team, for making us feel so welcome and putting on such a successful event.

Union President Chris Clarkson thanked everyone for attending and presented the AB Care Trophy to 2019 Team Champions – Hessle GC.

My thanks go to Union President Elect, John Chambers and Union Past President, Howard Palmer for turning out to support the participants on behalf of the Union Executive. Thanks also to Yorkshire Union President Elect Cameron Thomson who stayed on late to commit the presentation to modern day celluloid and assist with the results.

The Seniors Championship takes place on Friday 17th May at Hessle GC. You can still enter, as long as you are over 50, by contacting John Illingworth at secretary@erugc.co.uk by Wednesday 8th May – the draw will be made the following day and published on the Union website, Facebook and Twitter.

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