Lobden Golf Club

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Click here for an aerial view of the course

John Eyre Jnr with the Club Officials after winning the 2008 Captain's Final with a superb score 146 - 10 = 136. PJ Sutherland and Barry Harrison finished four shots behind in 2nd & 3rd respectively.

John, a former Junior member, followed this up the following week by winning the Barrie Hill Memorial Trophy with a 2 under par 68 gross, 63 net.

PowerPlay Golf - what is it? Golf's new competitive format

PowerPlay Golf is a new nine-hole form of golf, where there are two flags on every green. You can score extra points if you take a 'PowerPlay' and go for the Black Flag, but you have a limited number of 'PowerPlays' in your round - choose wisely.
Coming to Lobden soon - watch this space for details of forthcoming competitions.

A number of photos have been kindly donated to the Club by Mr Malvern Hostick via the Lobden website. Over the past year he has been helping to organise aspects of the estate of his friend the late Joan Hargreaves, artist and daughter of Alfred Hargreaves ....follow this link to view the pictures.

The Captain and 43 other members and guests enjoyed another splendid Captain's Trip - the venue this year was Woodsome Hall GC. The Club Captain made the party very welcome and the course was in excellent condition. Congratulations to John Hatton (guest and past member) and Dan Brown who took 1st prize with 40pts. Click on the image on the right for a larger picture of the full squad.

Important Notice to members - Matchplay Allowances - CONGU has now directed clubs to use the following allowances for match play:

Singles - Full difference between the handicaps of the players.
Foursomes - Half difference between the aggregate handicaps of the players.
Lobden has now dropped the previous allowances of 3/4 and 3/8 respectively and the 2008 matches will be off the new allowances.

Congratulations to Mick Law & Ian Hills who took 1st place on Opening Day 29 March 2008 with a creditable 38pts - full results to follow.

The Captain opened his season with a 95yd drive in difficult conditions. Watch it here.... NB This file may take sometime to download.

Revisions to 28 of the 34 Rules of Golf, agreed jointly by The R&A and the United States Golf Association and aimed at improving clarity and reducing penalties to ensure that they are proportionate, will come into effect from January 1, 2008. For more.....

Important Handicapping information. CONGU will introduce a facility into the 2008 Unified Handicapping System that allows Affiliated Clubs, at its discretion, to run Qualifying Competitions over 9 Holes. This will be effective from 1st January 2008. For more information on this ruling click here to go to Handicapping section of the English Golf Union website which provides the latest information and rulings relating to CONGU handicaps.

CONGU Visit the CONGU website for comprehensive handicapping information and advice.

Dave (Denzil) Washington's latest offering titled 'Lobden Weather'

Lobden Weather

I arrived for my Saturday comp
The sky it was cloudless and blue
Not a breath of a breeze
As we set off in threes
What the hell am I going to do?

I’m not used to a Lobden like this
The waterproofs locked in the car
With no wind in my face
I feel so out of place
Oh I wish I was back in the bar

We all know that we’re being conned
Fine days are few and far between
Forget your amber solaire
Think what lifeboat men wear
It’s survival if you know what I mean

Cold, wet winter days on the first tee
It’s a scene, which needs positive thinking
More puddles and pools
Than R and A rules
No wonder we’ve been driven to drinking

There are days in the records of Lobden
When there’s not a drop of rain in the air
But the wind is a beast
Especially out of the east
And your drive on the sixth goes nowhere

The eighth, gale force winds from the west
Your second shot is aimed at the gate
But it’s golf ball defiance
Breaking all rules of science
As the bloody thing sails off dead straight

Now the weather gives Gordon his nightmares
Because grass doesn’t grow on its own
Flash wants hours and hours
Of sunshine and showers
Shame on those who do nothing but moan

The weather at Lobden is famous
Some say it’s like SAS training
We can all tell our tales
About monsoons and gales
And of hours playing golf when it’s raining

When the mist’s down it’s like life in a cloud
And you don’t have a clue where you’re going
So you hit and you pray
Where there’s a will there’s a way
Cheer up lads it’s just started snowing

We can all think of days we’ve asked ‘Why?’
And our wives say we’re stark, staring mad
We all hope ‘global warming’
Will reach Saturday morning
Say ‘goodbye’ to the soakings we’ve had

So with Lobden comes a marriage to weather
And for us it’s till death us do part
So come rain, wind or shine
We all think it’s divine
Lobden weather… words close to our heart

A little bit of useless information - Playing in the 5th Captain's Qualifier on Saturday - that's the 7th of the 7th month 2007 - the three-ball of Peter Clarke, Barry Harrison & Peter Reilly each unfortunately took 7 strokes on the 7th hole!!!

The Frank Taylor Cup

Frank Taylor played cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club, in his career he bowled occasionally, in fact he bowled only 116 balls in total and took 3 wickets for 73 runs in his L.C.C.C. career. On 27 August 1883, playing against Gloucester, he took the wicket of the great W.G. Grace - the scorecard read W.G. Grace c and b Taylor 112. Mr Grace was unimpressed and when passing him on his way out said, 'Taylor that was the softest ball I have ever been out to in my life.' Grace took revenge in the Lancashire 1st Innings when he bowled Frank Taylor for just 5. Quote taken from the book 'Reminiscences' by Frederick Lye.

Captain's Trip 2007 - A very special thank you from the Captain & 47 other Lobden members to the staff of Huddersfield Golf Club for a superb day, on a wonderful golf course in excellent condition. Winners on the day were Glen Shiel & Peter Reilly with 39pts. Click on the photo for more...

One from the archives - Captain Roy Preston 'driving-in' on Opening Day 1983, watched by a group of 'young looking' past and present members.

A special thanks to Ian Holmes for providing the photograph.

ARE YOU LEGAL? - Don't spend money on a club that may be worthless in a little over 12 months time! Check your driver on the R&A website. ......Stuart Keate 20 October 2006

Old Clubhouse - March 1962

From October 1961 to March 1962 the vast majority of the members spent their weekends at the club re-building their clubhouse. Here is a photo showing the finished brick built addition to the building.

Handicapping System - MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS on the Council of National Golf Unions CONGU website.

Open Champion 1902
100 years ago, Alex (Sandy) Herd played an exhibition match at Lobden to celebrate the re-naming of the club, which took the name of the moor on which is was built rather than the village name. This match took place on 21st May 1906. His score is recorded in the record books as follows:
4 3 4*5 4 4*3 3 4 = (34) 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 = (35) Total 69. (The asterisks indicate that short putts where missed at the 3rd and 6th holes.)
Sandy Herd, a St Andrews golfer, won the Open Championship in 1902 at Royal Liverpool better known as Hoylake, the venue for this year's Open Championship. He was the Professional at Huddersfield Golf Club from 1892-1911.
Click here for details of his narrow victory.