YIDU League 2024

YIDU Men’s Team 2023 Results & Fixtures

Team Championship

2023 YIDU League Standings

Harrogate 06 – 30 East Riding at Harrogate Golf Club

Sunday 03 September 2023

East Riding sealed only their fifth Yorkshire Inter District league title since its inception in 1987 with a dominant display at Harrogate Golf Club. Skipper Andy Lockwood gathered his team together at the conclusion of a long league season to thank them for their superb golf and remind them that going unbeaten was something extra special and an achievement for everyone involved to be proud of.

The day had started well as foursomes frailties were finally forgotten after some new pairings and trusted twosomes delivered a morning of exceptional golf to ease any morning nerves.

Steve Uzzell and Jack Northgraves led the team off in glorious sunshine and looked to be heading for at worst a half to kick off the day. However, their opponents made an excellent birdie at the 17th and were fortunate not to go out of bounds at the last. A clatter off an oak tree meant first blood to Harrogate.

Match two was close all the way before Ryan Gray and Jacob Hodgson found some daylight on the back nine to triumph 3&2. Also winning on the 16th green were Charlie Milner and Johnnie Fisher who nudged ahead just after the turn and kept their opponents at arms length thereafter. Match four also ended on the same hole with Tom Brown and Andy Woodhead who were three up after four holes dominating throughout.

And so to the biggest and smallest winning margins of a morning which helped set up the day’s victory.

Leigh Gawley and Aaron Brettell teamed up for the first time and proved an inspired partnership from skipper Andy Lockwood. The perfect fusion of Brettell power and Gawley accuracy were 4up through four holes and ran out 6&5 winners.

In the anchor match, George Clark and Luke Thornton were looking to cap an almost perfect morning for East Riding, but cold putters on the immaculate, but slow Harrogate greens had them chasing the game throughout. Another three whack at 16 put them one down again, before winning the last two holes to give East Riding a welcome (but rare) 10-2 advantage at lunch.

So four wins for the title as Steve Uzzell got the singles underway against Harrogate’s club champion Joe Buckley. 

The top order soon got into their stride and began to clock up wins with regularity. Steve won 2&1 to start the ball rolling, quickly followed by Ryan Gray who celebrated his birthday with a 3&1 win which also sealed the Player of the Year Award. [see final standings here]

Aaron Brettell rounded off his solid season with a comfortable 4&3 victory and then Jacob Hodgson won his first singles point of the year with his 3&2 success which confirmed East Riding as champions.

Jack Northgraves, fresh (or not as the case may be) from a third placed finish in the Yorkshire Amateur and a four day trip to the Boys County Finals in the past fortnight, won a tight battle when his opponent carved his drive at the 18th out of bounds onto the practice ground and conceded almost before it had hit terra firma! The final member of the top six (who will make up the ERUGC six man team at Wakefield next Sunday) may not have won, but Johnnie Fisher dug deep to win his final two holes for a deserved half.

Leigh Gawley impressed once again with a calm 2&1 victory and Charlie Milner followed him home when he shook hands on the 16th green. Andy Woodhead should have been a postman, not a policeman, as he once again delivered with a clinical 5&4 takedown of local member Tom Birtwhistle.

Tom Brown confirmed his second place in the Player of the Year standings with a gutsy half in match 10, before Harrogate finally put a singles win on the board when leftie Chris Henderson beat George Clark 4&3. That left Hessle’s Luke Thornton, who won the individual honours at Richmond in the Junior Six Man on Thursday, to complete an impressive singles display with a 3&1 victory.

So a resounding 20-4 singles performannce and the celebrations could begin. An unbeaten season and a second YIDU league title in three years for Andy Lockwood’s talented team which has had a perfect blance of youth and experience, but most importantly, an infectious team spirit.

On to Wakefield on Sunday 10 September to challenge for a rare double.

East Riding 25 – 11 Teesside at Brough Golf Club

Sunday 20 August 2023

East Riding Men’s Team stretched their narrow lead at the top of the YIDU table with an emphatic victory over Teesside Union at Brough Golf Club.

The 25-11 final scoreline seemed a long way off when the early foursomes matches were all going the way of the visitors. Top pair Ryan Gray and Jacob Hodgson lost the first two holes and never really recovered and eventually lost on the 17th. Aaron Brettell and Jack Northgraves lost 3&2, before Charlie Milner and Johnnie Fisher were taken down 5&4.

So, 6-0 down before we’d had chance to draw breath and the foursomes hoodoo was rearing its ugly head again. Step forward Tom Brown and Matty Raybould who was playing in his last match before returning to the USA to do his PGA exams. After being two down after six holes, they rallied around the turn winning five of the next eight holes and closed out the match on the 16th 4&2.

In the bottom match, Luke Thornton and George Clark were the only East Riding pairing to get ahead early and stayed solid to beat Teesside skipper Paul Hutchinson and his late replacement father Neil 3&2.

That left match four going up the 18th at one down. An errant tee shot from the visitors left Leigh Gawley and home hero Dan Digby with a chance of escaping with a half. Never easy to do down Brough’s 18th, but a Gawley drive piped down the middle and a Digby approach to the back left of the green gave them hope. A nerveless five footer from ‘Diggers’ left the lunchtime score at 7-5 in favour of the visitors.

Importantly the momentum was now with the East Riding after the early Teesside onslaught, but a quick start in the singles was required as always.

It is no coincidence that Ryan Gray leads the Player of the Year race [see updated standings here], as once again he led the team out against a highly rated opponent and delivered his point 2&1. 

Jacob Hodgson had an interesting round and looked in a lot of bother standing at three down on the 16th tee. He dug deep however and won the final three holes for a much deserved half.

Then the trickle of points became a torrent as wins began to come in thick and fast. Firstly Aaron Brettell won 2up after a tight battle, followed by Johnnie Fisher who dominated his match throughout and triumphed 4&3. 

Yorkshire Boys Captain Jack Northgraves was drawn against the recently crowned Yorkshire under 14 champion Tom Hartshorne and the two youngsters produced a ‘Brough classic’. Standing at one down on the long par 3 17th tee, Jack produced a stunning mid iron to 18 inches before edging out his county teammate on the last with a solid four.

Matty Raybould kept his unbeaten record in his two appearances this season with a battling half, before both Leigh Gawley and Dan Digby appeared from the 13th green having both recorded resounding 6&5 wins. Suddenly East Riding had 17 points on the board, so one more win was required for overall victory.

Hull’s Charlie Milner delivered with an up and down from through the back of 17 to win his match 2&1. Thoughts now turned to improving the points difference to take into the final fixture in a fortnight.

Tom Brown was unable to continue his remarkable unbeaten Union singles record and succumbed on the 17th, before Luke Thornton all but drove the par 4 to close out his match 5&4. This left the scene clear for George Clark to hit what was descibed as ‘shot of the day’ by the visting President at the 16th where his 5 iron to six inches closed out the match in spectacular style.

Thanks to hosts Brough Golf Club, starter Andy Pittaway and to the small band of regular supporters. The 25-11 result puts East Riding one win away from the YIDU title in two weeks time against Harrogate Union at Starbeck Golf Club. News of a Leeds defeat at Halifax & Huddersfield added a cherry on top of a wonderful performance and makes the maths a little clearer for the season finale.

York 13 – 23 East Riding at York Golf Club

Sunday 06 August 2023

The folly of watching matchplay golf from the comfort of the clubhouse is clear – you may not see any play. That adage, however, did not hold true when the East Riding Men’s Team played the York Union Team, as game after game went the full distance.

Four of the six foursomes and eight of the twelve singles were settled on the 18th green, with East Riding winning five of those games in total to York’s two and the remaining five finishing all square.

The match result was a 23-13 win for East Riding, a scoreline which could have been reversed, had a few putts dropped for York on that final green.

After several days of heavy rain, York Golf Club (Strensall) was remarkably dry underfoot but the Team Captains agreed to a local rule of clean and place to avoid the inevitable”mud-ball”.

East Riding were quickly into their stride in the morning foursomes with five of the games registering a positive score at the turn and the remaining game all square. However, York rallied on the back nine and it looked as if the lunchtime scores would be level until Charlie Milner and Jonnie Fisher recovered from 1 down to gain a half, whilst Matty Raybould and Luke Thornton came through with a win on the last to make the score 8-4 to East Riding.

Ryan Gray and Jacob Hodgson had earlier put the first points on the board with a resounding win by 7&6, shortly followed by Tom Brown and Andy Woodhead who were victorious 4&3.

Aaron Brettell and Jack Maxey however, having been 3 up through 7, found themselves 2 down after 15 and eventually lost 1 down. In the top match, Steve Uzzell and Jack Northgraves fought a tight game to finish all square.

Watching play at the short 7th hole in the afternoon, it was clear that the result would be close as neither side was dominating the singles, York being up in five, East Riding up in four with three games all square. 

Maxey was the first to finish, recording a win by 5&3 against George Robson, followed by Uzzell getting the better of Strensall’s Matt Dolling 2up. York took the next two games as Brettell and Hodgson both lost 3&2 before Northgraves and Gray restored East Riding’s four point lead with final green wins. A half from Fisher and with Woodhead closing out his game 3&2 against former Union teammate Steve Lynch, East Riding had a winning total of 19 points.

Milner, bunkered off the tee was unable to make par at the last to lose 1 down, but Brown and Raybould both finished all square, whilst Thornton won 1 up when his opponent lost his ball on the 18th [pictured above]. A hard fought match played by two strong teams finished 23:13 in favour of East Riding.

East Riding 20 – 16 Leeds at Driffield Golf Club

Sunday 09 July 2023

East Riding Union took over at the top of the YIDU standings with a win over Leeds Union after a day of drama at Driffield. 

In the morning foursomes, Manager Andy Lockwood was forced into shiffling his pack slightly due to the unavailability of Hornsea top order players Steve Uzzell and Jack Maxey. Leading off the team were Jacob Hodgson, recent winner of the Oakdale Acorn, and ERUGC Amateur Champion Ryan Gray hoping to use his local knowledge to get the team off to a fast start. Despite a titanic struggle, they succumbed to Jake Wallis and Josh Bissett on the last green.

Second away was the new pairing of Aaron Brettell and Jack Northgraves, who suffered a similar fate on the 18th. The middle order provided the first points of the day as Jonnie Fisher and Charlie Milner calmly two putted for par at the last to hold on to their one hole lead. In match 4, Alex Wiggins came back into the side to partner Phil Wright. They triumphed 2&1 and the match was tied at 4-4, before Leeds secured the lead at lunch with both Toms (Benson and Brown) losing on the 17th before Luke Thornton and George Clark, who only bogeyed one hole all match, lost on the last.

Familiar foursomes frailties then and Team Manager Andy Lockwood dusted off the traditional lunchtime speech which has been used regularly over the last two seasons to urge every player to worry about their own point and get some East Riding momentum going early into the afternoon singles.

Ryan Gray answered the call and fully justified the manager’s faith in putting him out first against the highly rated Jake Wallis, a member of Phil Woodcock’s all-conquering Yorkshire Boys side. Ryan reached 2up through 15 and held on to win on the last. Jacob Hodgson’s match was the polar opposite, as a two hole lead at the turn evaporated into a loss on the 18th.

A strong middle order however turned the tide for the home team as a succession of victories came in first from Aaron Brettell 5&3, then Jonnie Fisher with an incredible four birdies in a row to close out his match 4&2. Two more quickly followed from Jack Northgraves and Charlie Milner who triumphed 2&1 and 5&4 respectively. East Riding now led 14-10 and the finishing line was suddenly not a possibility, but a probability.

Officials and players know that Leeds are not a team to lie down and losses for Luke Thornton and Alex Wiggins and the ‘Duel in the Driffield Sun’ was once again dead level at 14 all.

The returning George Clark had looked odds on to secure his points at the turn when he held a three hole advantage, but three birdies on the back nine brought his Leeds opponent back to level, before a par at the last from somewhere near the 10th green took the visitors to 16-14. Tom Brown maintained his 100% singles record when he closed out his match 3&2 to bring the sides level again with only Phil Wright and Tom Benson left on the course as the gallery gathered around the final two holes.

Having been two down through 10 holes, mainly due to not finding his rhythm on the greens, Scarborough North Cliff’s Benson dug deep and won four out of the next six holes to turn his match around and possibly East Riding’s season. Tom’s 2&1 win left Phil the luxury of knowing the tie was in the bag as he came down the last at dormie 1up. When his stunning short iron settled 12 feet away from the pin, the four point victory was assured.

Not much change in the Player of the Year standings as Ryan Gray and Tom Brown both picked up singles wins on the day to stay tied at the top. The biggest mover was Jonnie Fisher who moves up to 4th after winning both his matches, just behind Tom Benson. See the updated standings here.

Jonathan Clark

ERUGC Junior League Secretary

Sheffield 14 – 22 East Riding at Waterfront Golf Club

Sunday 25 June 2023

The third series of the YIDU Men’s League saw East Riding treading unfamiliar territory at Waterfront Golf Club, a nine hole course at Wath upon Dearne and the home club of the Sheffield President. With multiple blind tee shots and doglegs, the first nine holes were likely to be problematic in terms of club selection and aiming point from the tee.

And so it proved as, halfway through the morning foursomes, East Riding found themselves well in arrears in four of the games and only 1 up and all square  in the other two.

Second time around, however, the knowledge gained from the first nine, helped the team consolidate the latter two games into 2&1 wins, firstly for East Riding Amateur Champion, Ryan Gray playing with Jack Maxey and then for youngsters Jack Northgraves and Luke Thornton.

The team were contemplating an 8-4 foursomes deficit until word came through that Team Manager, Andy Lockwood, stepping in to play at the 11th hour, and Phil Wright, playing his first match of the season, had overturned a two hole deficit to win on the 17th green. The lunchtime scoreline was delicately poised at 6-6.

Into the afternoon singles and it looked as if East Riding had the measure of the course as game after game turned blue (the team’s shirt colour).

The top game, however, was an exception as Steve Uzzell, having lost his foursomes to Yorkshire colleague Charlie Daughtry, suffered a similar fate in the singles. Ryan Gray restored parity with a dominant 6&5 win, shortly followed by Jack Maxey 3&1 and Leigh Gawley 4&3. Johnnie Fisher secured a frustrating half having been 2 up with 3 to play, losing a ball on the 17th. Andy Lockwood followed his morning heroics with a 5&4 win and Jack Northgraves prevailed in a tight game by 2&1.

At this stage, East Riding had 17 points and with Tom Brown guaranteed a point at dormie 3 and Luke Thornton heading down the last 1 up, 19 points were in the bag. Tom would go on to close out his game by 4&2, but Luke ended all square leaving Phil Wright to add the icing on the cake with a 1 hole win.

The final scoreline was therefore Sheffield 14 – 22 East Riding, a significant win against a team with which we have had many close matches in the past, only for Sheffield to always prevail. In fact, the older members of the team could not recall when East Riding last beat Sheffield on their own turf. Anyone out there able to offer an answer?

We move on to Driffield Golf Club in two weeks time when East Riding will be hosting Leeds Union in a top of the table match on Sunday 9 July.

The Player of the Year standings [click here] after three games have a colourful feel at the top as Tom Brown and Ryan Gray lead the way on 17 points, closely followed by Tom Benson on 15.

Howard Palmer

Men’s Team Support

East Riding 27 – 9 Bradford at Hornsea Golf Club

Sunday 11 June, 2023

After the nerve-jangling tie in the opening match of the season, Men’s Team Manager Andy Lockwood was hoping for a  less stressful day at Hornsea in the second round match against the Bradford Union – and his players duly delivered with an emphatic 27:9 victory. Welcomed back to the team were Jack Maxey from studying in the USA, Leigh Gawley and Charlie Milner.

The top foursome pairing of Steve Uzzell and Johnny Fisher set the team off at a blistering pace, winning seven of the first eight holes and closing out their match on the 12th. Further wins followed from Maxey and Aaron Brettell by 2&1, Jacob Hodgson and Ryan Gray, Andy Woodhead and Tom Brown and Filey heroes Tom Benson and Tommy Risker, the last three games all finishing on the final green. East Riding held a commanding lunchtime lead of 10-2.

The momentum continued into the afternoon singles as Brettell set the mood music with a win by 7&6 followed by Uzzell 4&3, Maxey 3&2, Woodhead 6&5, Benson 8&6, Gray 4&2 and Brown 5&4. Gawley was 6 up through seven holes when his opponent had to retire, having injured his wrist in a bunker, and the game was conceded by 9&8.

Only two games reached the final hole – Jacob Hodgson was 3 down with four to play, but bravely battled back to finish all square and Johnny Fisher was 5 under par in losing 1 down to Oliver Tasker. In the only other close game, Charlie Milner hit a 5 iron second into the wind at the 531 yard 16th hole, which the spectators watched go into the hole and out again to deny him a rare albatross. Sadly, the gimme eagle was not enough to prevent a hand-shake at the next hole and the result from the singles was thus 17-7 to East Riding.

At the post-match meal, East Riding President Mike Dawson thanked Hornsea Golf Club for the use of the facilities and complimented the presentation of the course. In response, Bradford Union President, David Peat, thanked the hosts for their hospitality and announced the final result as 27-9 in East Riding’s favour.

Next up is the traditionally tough trip to Sheffield on Sunday 25th June when Waterfront Golf Club host game three of the YIDU season.

Howard Palmer

ERU Men’s Team Support

East Riding 18 – 18 Halifax & Huddersfield at Filey Golf Club

Sunday 21 May, 2023

Clifftop cliffhanger as youngsters complete Filey fightback

Draws in any sporting contest often prompt the debate ‘Was that a point lost or a point gained?’

Given the state of East Riding’s first YIDU fixture of the year with only four matches left on the course, this was certainly a point gained as the young tail wagged and won them all to see the spoils shared with a strong Halifax & Huddersfield Union side.

Familair foursomes frailties showed themselves once again as East Riding found themselves 8-4 down at lunchtime at Filey Golf Club – the home of Union President Mike Dawson. The Hornsea pairing of Steve Uzzell and Johnny Fisher, the 2022 Yorkshire Foursomes Champions, were defeated on the 17th green by the impressive Adam Walker and James Edwards before the new look ER pairing of Ryan Gray and Jacob Hodgson levelled things up with a convincing 5&4 victory in match two.

Sadly the next three pairs ran into some scintillating Halifax & Huddersfield golf and were all beaten convincingly, but the young guns of Tommy Risker and Tom Benson in the anchor match gave the home side some hope to take into lunchtime with a 4&3 win.

Team Captain Andy Lockwood asked his troops to get off to a fast start in the singles and build some momentum for the younger end of the ‘battting order’ to feed off. 

Lead-off man Steve Uzzell duly delivered with his short game having to be especially sharp to keep his nose ahead of James Edwards. There stopped the early momentum, as Aaron Brettell, Jacob Hodgson and Ryan Gray all went down to defeat. That took the visitors’ team total to 14, just five points from the magic number of 19 needed to begin the season with a win.

Johnny Fisher was all square after 13 holes in what was already looking like a must-win match, but a strong finish along the clifftop gave the Hornsea man a 2up victory. 

Halifax & Huddersfield then won matches 6 and 8 against Yorkshire Boys captain Jack Northgraves and Scarborough North Cliff debutant Alex Wiggins respectively to leave them on 18 points with the meat in the middle order sandwich being an ER point courtesy of the gutsy Andy Woodhead.

The four players left on the course had a combined age of less than 80, but with youth comes a nerveless confidence which was needed as an expanding group of players, managers, union officials and supporters gathered to watch the final act on the spectacular finishing stretch under a cloudless Filey sky.

First, Hessle’s Luke Thornton took out Saddleworth’s Adam Rowbotham 4&2 and composed debutant Tom Brown overcame a one hole deficit at the turn to battle back to victory on the 17th green. 

14-18 and the visiting officials were begining to fear a repeat of the 2021 draw which effectively decided the YIDU title. 

Another Tom (Benson) put aside an unmentionable at the 12th (which he still manged to miraculously par for the half) to hold off his opponent all the way to the home hole.  A punched approach into the strengthening evening breeze to 15 feet allowed the SNC youngster the luxury of two putts to take East Riding to 16-18.

All eyes on Tommy Risker then, playing in his first match since his serious injury at the end of August 2022 after the Harrogate fixture at Hessle.

Despite having led by three holes at the turn, Tommy’s lead was cut to just one after 14. Halves at the next three holes didn’t suit either player and when both found the right rough at the tough 18th, the chances of either making a birdie looked remote. After Halifax’s Mark Birkett had come up just short of the green, Tommy safely found the back edge, but his approach putt pulled up six feet short. He calmly found the bottom of the cup to complete the Filey fightback.

18 all – what a match to start the season!

Jonathan Clark

ERUGC Junior League Secretary