2022 Results and table

Strong defence of League title as Men's Team are Runners-up in 2022

In his team talk following the final match of the season against Halifax Huddersfield, Manager, Andy Lockwood praised his team for their efforts throughout the year, especially in singles play but could not help but reflect on what might have been, had our foursomes play been of a similar standard. The matches against Sheffield and Teesside were both lost by a score of 20:16 following afternoon fightbacks from foursome deficits of 9:3 and 10:2 respectively. On such small margins are league titles won and lost.

Meltham golf course is set on a hillside where almost every fairway has a severe camber and with the ground hard and fast running, the aim from the tee was often thirty yards or more from the centre of the fairway. Needless to say, there was some element of luck involved to stay on the short grass.

For only the third time in the season, East Riding took a lead from the morning foursomes, fighting off a late challenge from Halifax Huddersfield in the top two games, both of which went to the 18th. The last game, which had the two Team Managers pitted against each other, was a tight contest, which also went the distance, with the home side prevailing and this pairing and the identical result was repeated in the afternoon singles.

From a lunchtime score of 8:4, progress towards the winning line of 19 points was slow and not without some worries along the way. Paul Lockwood and Ryan Gray made early contributions with comfortable wins, to which Steve Uzzell added a halved game to take East Riding to 13 points. The middle order however was struggling and it was looking as if we would need to win the last three games. Fortunately, Jacob Hodgson, playing at number 5, relieved some pressure by making a late run to win on the 17th and when Alan Wright secured a half, having been 2 down with 3 to play, East Riding were almost there.

Dan Digby at number 10 was cruising until a cruel bounce at the 16th put him deep in the trees and only 2 up. However, a laser straight shot to the 197 yard 17th gave him the win which put East Riding on 18 points, leaving George Clark to tie up the match with a win on the 16th. That left Tom Benson who, having gone 1 up at the 17th with a tee shot the equal of Dan's, managed to find all sorts of trouble at the last and conceded the hole for a halved game, to give a final match score of 21:15.

Later in the evening it was reported that Sheffield had beaten Leeds, meaning that East Riding finished the season as runners-up, matching Leeds on points but with a superior match score total.

Tommy Risker was unable to play in the final match due to injury but came to support the team and could do nothing to prevent Paul Lockwood taking over his top position as Player of the Year. Bad luck Tommy and congratulations to Paul.

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Men's Team on Fire in Singles

The penultimate Men's Team match against the Harrogate Union at Hessle GC had the feel of a “dead rubber”, although a big win for East Riding would keep alive the possibility of finishing as runners-up.

In his pre-match briefing, Team Manager Andy Lockwood, did not hold back from his criticism of the team's foursomes performances in earlier matches. And yet, despite the rebuke, it looked like being another disappointing morning session as the top two games reached the turn 3 down and 2 down and both were unable to claw back the deficit on the back nine.

But then, a couple of big wins from Andy Woodhead & Jacob Hodgson and Will Storr & Mark Lamb restored parity, shortly to be followed by a 2&1 victory for Dan Digby & Steve Dale. With the final pairing 3 up at the turn, it looked as if East Riding would take a lunchtime lead but, by the 12th, the last game was back to all square and Harrogate eventually ran out winners on the final hole.

With the scores tied at 6 all, East Riding were once more relying on their strength in individual play and, as in the previous match, they made a fast start in the afternoon singles, taking the top four games by comfortable margins. This time, however, unlike at Eaglescliffe two weeks previously, the momentum flowed down to the rest of the team, with all but one of them recording maximum points. Spare a thought however, for the odd man out, Johnny Fisher, who was hit with a barrage of birdies and no bogeys from the Harrogate Team Manager.

With a win in the singles by 11 games to one, the final scoreline was East Riding 28, Harrogate 8 and with Leeds away to all-conquering Sheffield in the final round of matches, a win at Meltham against Halifax & Huddersfield may be enough for East Riding to leapfrog Leeds and secure second place, to follow on from their league title in 2021.

The Player of the Year title is now a two-horse race between Tommy Risker and Paul Lockwood, with just 2 points separating them.

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Foursomes Blues at Eaglescliffe

As the teams assembled for the Men's match against the Teesside Union at Eaglescliffe, one could be forgiven for an analogy to a Manchester football derby between United and City, as the hosts wore red shirts, contrasting with our blue kit. If comparison with City's blues was seen as a good omen for East Riding, by lunchtime we realised that Old Trafford was in fact Anfield, as Teesside did to us in the foursomes, what Liverpool's reds regularly inflict on Everton's blues.

East Riding have an annoying habit of digging a hole in the morning foursomes and then attempting to extricate themselves in the afternoon singles and this match was no exception. In the last two years the team has successfully overturned deficits of 8:4 and 9:3 but here it faced a monumental task from 10:2.

Eaglescliffe is a quirky course, where local knowledge gives a huge advantage. Few of the East Riding players had seen the course and with viciously sloping greens, it was easy to get out of position. The winning margins in the foursomes are indicative of the dominance that Teesside enjoyed, as they benefited from knowing the course. It was only the pairing of Jack Northgraves and Luke Thornton who managed to avoid a foursomes whitewash, somehow managing to win their game by 5&4.

Previous fightbacks have tended to be slow to start but then come with a rush at the end. On this occasion East Riding were quickly into their stride, seeking to give momentum to the whole team. The top five games featuring Steve Uzzell, Jack Maxey, Paul Lockwood, Aaron Brettell and Matty Raybould all produced maximum points to put East Riding marginally ahead overall and the next two games were shared, Northgraves winning the last two holes for a 1 hole win.

Sadly, the early successes did not prompt the “tail to wag” and with all of the remaining five games down at halfway, only Tommy Risker was able to reverse the scoreline for a win by 2&1. So East Riding won seven singles to Teesside's five, giving an overall scoreline of 20:16 to the home side.

Risker still tops the Player of the Year table, 2 points clear of Lockwood. With only two matches remaining, Raybould, Uzzell, Brettell and Northgraves may have left themselves with too much distance to make up.

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Men's Team win on the Westwood

On a day when the temperature reached 28 degrees, 36 holes around Beverley & East Riding's Westwood course was as much an endurance test as a game of golf against the York Union. Hydration was crucial but having come equipped with more than the usual supply of water, your correspondent needed to make a lunchtime visit to Tesco to refill the cool boxes, such was the demand of water from the players.

Another consequence of the heat was that the Westwood was crowded with people intent on enjoying the sunshine and our President dutifully patrolled the 7th fairway, persuading picnickers and footballers to move along.

The morning foursomes got under way at 10.00 with York short of their pairing from Malton & Norton. A chaotic scene ensued as they finally arrived at speed, to park by the 1st tee, unload their clubs, don their shoes and step onto the tee without any warm up or preparation.

Through 8 holes, York were marginally ahead, leading in four of the games, albeit by only one or two holes and Team Manager, Andy Lockwood, was suffering his usual anguish of foursome blues.

The top game went York's way by 2&1 but in the second game, Jack Maxey & Phil Wright, one down with two to play, won both holes to clinch the game. Meanwhile, Aaron Brettell & Jacob Hodgson closed out their game on the 17th green.

Andy Woodhead & Dan Digby overturned a deficit to win 1 up, the same scoreline as that for Luke Thornton & Jack Northgraves, whilst Tommy Risker & George Clark enjoyed an early lunch with a 6&5 victory.

Three of the morning games went the full distance, with East Riding winning them all to give the home team a 10:2 advantage at lunch, a scoreline which could have been 5:7 to York had the 18th hole played out differently.

East Riding consolidated their lead with the top two singles, featuring Maxey and Paul Lockwood, finishing early but Brettell, despite being 3 under par, lost 4&3 and Matty Raybould lost on the last.

Raybould had been 5 down through the 8th but managed to square the game on the 17th. His tee shot found the middle of the green at the short 18th and, with his opponent missing the green right and finding a bare lie in a gulley, it looked as if Raybould might pull off the come-back of his life. Not to be – his opponent somehow bundled his ball to within 2 feet, Raybould misjudged the pace of his put and the rest, as they say, is history.

With Woodhead and Wright winning their games with holes to spare, the match result was not in doubt and it was a case of the size of the margin. Clark, Hodgson and Risker all won by 3&2 and Thornton came back from 3 down to win 1 up, giving a singles score of 16:8 and an overall score of 26:10 to East Riding.

Thanks to Beverley & East Riding GC for the use of their facilities and for the excellent service of its staff. Also, a big thank you to all the supporters, too many to name individually, who acted as marshals and ball spotters.

Tommy Risker now heads the Player of the Year table on 23 points. Second is Paul Lockwood on 21

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Men's Team snatch a thrilling win at Leeds

Last year, the Men's Team overturned a 9:3 lunchtime deficit to beat the Leeds Union by 20 points to 16. This year however, at Headingley GC, Leeds were on course to stage their own afternoon comeback, until a late rally helped East Riding across the line.

On a very windy day with hard, unreceptive greens and fairways, par golf was generally considered a good score, although there were still a fair number of birdies and eagles witnessed. Unusually, East Riding found the conditions and the morning format more to their liking,winning three and halving two of the foursomes for an 8:4 lunchtime lead.

All but one of the morning games were settled on the tricky par 3 17th or the hazardous par 4 18th, two holes which would prove to be pivotal throughout the day. Matty Raybould & Paul Lockwood, having overshot the 17th into deep grass to go one down, recovered from an awkward lie on the 18th  for a conceded birdie and a halved match, whilst Steve Uzzell & Aaron Brettell won their game by 2&1 as their opponents found the bushes left of the 17th.

Andy Woodhead, having watched his partner, Steve Lynch's tee shot at the 18th drift out of bounds, holed out with the second ball from off the green for an unlikely bogey, a halved hole and a 1 up win. George Clark & Tommy Risker, dormie 2 down, won the last two holes to secure a half, whilst Jack Northgraves & Luke Thornton were able to enjoy an early lunch after a 5&3 win.

And so to the dramatic events of the afternoon singles, with East Riding unusually looking to protect a lead, rather than stage a fightback. However, it was clear to the onlookers, sheltering from the wind at the halfway house, that Leeds were on a charge as match after match came through the turn with East Riding trailing.

Uzzell in the top game, 2 down after nine holes, recovered to halve his game and Lockwood found some second half form to win 4&3. The next two games featuring Raybould and Jamie Gregory were both lost but Brettell at number 5, restored singles parity in a game which was not without concern as a four hole lead was whittled away to one.

From the next five games, East Riding were only able to muster a couple of halves. The first was by Woodhead who, having been 3 up with 5 to play, found himself 1 down on the 18th tee. His opponent, stymied and then short in two, had a curly downhiller for par which horseshoed out for Woodhead to win the hole. Thornton, 1 up, mis-hit his tee shot at 18 and, in attempting a high risk approach, found the out of bounds to concede the hole and become the only East Riding player to lose the final hole. Leeds now led overall by 17 points to 15

Whilst the 18th  hole had been kind to East Riding, the 17th had been anything but, with an estimated seven of our players finding the bushes left of the green in the strong cross wind. Risker and Clark in the final two games, were not immune from the hole's jinx and both, having been 1 up on the 17th tee walked to the 18th all square. Advantage Leeds!

Risker found the final green in regulation and was first to hole out for par, leaving his opponent to hole from 3 feet for the half. When he missed, the scores were tied at 17 all and any one of the three results, win, lose or tie, was possible.

All attention now turned to Clark, who had started at number 11 but had let Risker through on the 8th hole. Bunkered back left of the final green, he played a delightful sand shot to five feet which was conceded after his opponent found trouble off the tee and failed to make bogey.

East Riding had looked down and out 30 minutes earlier but the team had pulled through to win by 19 points to 17. The relief of Manager Andy Lockwood was palpable as he gathered his team together for a post match talk.

There is now a four-way tie at the head of the Player of the Year table with Lockwood Jnr., Raybould, Risker and Uzzell, all with 16 points.

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Photos below from www.facebook.com/ChrisStratfordGolf

Men's Team come up short in fightback

Once again the Men's Team were on the wrong end of the foursome score in their match against the Sheffield Union at Hornsea on 12th June.  Trailing by 9 points to 3 at lunch, East Riding were looking for a repeat of their heroics against both Leeds and Harrogate in 2021, when they overturned similar deficits on their way to the League title.

In fact, early in the morning rounds, all six games were going Sheffield's way but the top match of Paul Lockwood & Matty Raybould rallied on the back nine to win on the final green, whilst Steve Uzzell, partnered with Johnny Fisher, returning to the Team after a 10 year absence, escaped with a half.

East Riding needed to win eight of the twelve singles to snatch victory and the prospects looked favourable in mid-afternoon with the scoresheet after nine holes showing a sea of blue (the colour of the Team's new kit) as the Team led in all but four games of which, only one was in the red.

However, Hornsea's “loop” of holes 10, 11 and 12, proved to be East Riding's Amen Corner. Firstly Lockwood, 2 up at the turn was hit with three birdies, to go 1 down whilst  Tommy Broadley, Steve Dale and Lewis Nicholls, playing in the games that were level at the turn, all found themselves 2 down on the 13th tee. With Sheffield having won one of the later games, East Riding needed one of these four matches to be turned around but despite the best efforts of the players with support from their colleagues, all were lost and Sheffield were over the winning line.

Excellent wins were recorded by Uzzell, Fisher, Andy Woodhead, Ryan Gray and Tommy Risker, with Jamie Gregory recording a half but the performance of the day was from Matty Raybould, who was 7 under par for the 17 holes needed to beat his opponent, who was himself 5 under! As a consequence, Raybould leads the order of merit with a 100% record over the two matches played to date.

At the post-match dinner, President John Illingworth thanked Hornsea Golf Club and its staff for a course in fine condition and for the excellent catering and hospitality. Sheffield President, Bob Unwin remarked on a tight match , played in a good spirit and announced the result of 20:16 in Sheffield's favour.

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support

Men's Team open their title defence with a win

Playing Bradford on their own turf is never easy. The courses are generally hilly, adding an extra dimension to club selection and Skipton GC is no exception. Uniquely the tees to the 1st, 3rd and 5th holes sit alongside each other at the top of a hill, so spectators can watch the early stages of the games, without having to move more than a few yards.

The East Riding team were resplendent in their new blue shirts and tops, kindly sponsored by Aaron Pheasant of Hull GC, although a few players were hiding their kit under extra layers as a cold easterly wind was blowing. Steve Uzzell led the foursomes away and, as the spectators drifted along the line of tees, the force was with the East Riding as they stood on the 5th tee, up in five and all square in the other.

However, by the turn, the initiative had swung towards Bradford, as they led in four matches with East Riding up in the other two. The pairs of both teams who were leading after 9 holes in the top five matches all went on to win their matches giving Bradford a 6 points to 4 advantage and with youngsters, Jack Northgraves & Luke Thornton 1 down with four to play, it was looking like an uphill task for East Riding in the afternoon singles.

However, the boys came to the heart-attack hill that is the 18th hole all square and, with Bradford bunkered short, Thornton played long, just running through the back of the green. Whilst Bradford failed to get up and down, Northgraves wisely elected to putt from the fringe down the lightning fast green, leaving the ball four feet short, which Thornton duly holed for the win and lunchtime parity at 6 points apiece.

As the afternoon singles matches progressed through the turn, it was looking very positive for East Riding, leading in six matches by a margin of 3 up or more, 1 up in another, all square in two and only 1 or 2 down in the remaining three. But the situation can change very quickly in team golf and, as Bradford duly won these three matches, they also took the two which had been all square after 9 holes, to take them to 16 points overall.

Uzzell, Tommy Risker, Dan Digby, Northgraves and Paul Lockwood all secured reasonably comfortable wins to put East Riding on 16 points and with Matty Raybould dormie 1 up and Aaron Brettell dormie 2 up, a tie was assured. Standing by the 17th green, with the aid of binoculars, Raybould was seen to bunker his second to the 18th, from which an up and down was considered unlikely and with his opponent seemingly on in two, it looked as if that match was halved.

Attention then turned to Brettell's match. Both players had missed the 17th green in two with Brettell having the more difficult pitch. His ensuing putt narrowly missed , leaving his opponent a three footer to take the match up the 18th. Tantalisingly, the putt lipped out and East Riding had won, not by 19:17, as initially thought but by 20:16 as it transpired that Raybould had halved the 18th to win his match.

The spectators witnessed some excellent shot-making, not least by Ryan Gray, who, having found his ball between two rocks in the penalty area in front 16th green played a recovery from there and then holed the subsequent putt for par. Sadly, for Gray, his opponent then holed out for a birdie!

Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support