𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 𝐂𝐋𝐔B ⛳️

Our Open days for next year are now live..

SENIORS AMAM - MONDAY APRIL 26
Teams of 4, can be made up of any combination of men and women, i.e. 4 men, 4 women, 3 men and 1 woman etc. Entrants must be 55 years of age or over on the day of play.

MIXED OPEN - MONDAY MAY 3
4BBB Stableford. Pairs to be made up of 1 man and 1 woman. Entry fee includes lunch.

YORKSHIRE AMAM SERIES - MAY 12-14
Men’s three-day event played across three of Yorkshire’s finest – Moortown, Alwoodley & Fulford.

SENIORS OPEN - MONDAY JUNE 21
Men’s 4BBB Stableford. Entrants must be 55 years of age or over on the day of play.

moortown-golf-club.co.uk/visitors/opens/

Martin Heggie has been Moortown’s Head Professional since 2003 and he will be stepping down in the New Year. In among the hundreds of rounds around Moortown he has pieced together his best eclectic score which would take some beating..  

‘The 1st is probably the most eagled hole and I’ve had several threes there but I’m still waiting for an albatross which would be a ridiculous way to start a round. I’m not sure I had made a two on the 5th before Clyde Johnson’s changes and I once holed a long approach shot on the 6th.

I’ve had a few eagles at the par-5 7th but one particularly stands out. I’m not sure why I was playing with different groups but I do recall moving my second shot just a few yards from a gnarly lie and then holing a 3-wood for a fairly unlikely eagle.

My only regret is that I’ve never had a hole-in-one at the 10th, Gibraltar. I must have played that hole more than any other, in various Captain’s Days and different challenges, and the members will pull my leg about this. I came within a whisker recently and have been so close on numerous times but, sadly, none of them count.

I’ve had two holes-in one but only one at Moortown which came at the 17th. I was actually playing with my wife and we were playing with a couple who were new to golf and I holed out. My wife asked me what she needed to do now so I said you can pick the ball out of the hole!

Otherwise, I’ve holed a second shot from a fairway bunker at the 11th with a 9-iron and I’ve had a few eagles at the 12th.

At 14 I once hit a horrible tee shot down the left in a Captain-Pro match and holed a hybrid from a real juicy lie down the hill. At 15 I knocked in a wedge which was one of those lovely ones where it danced around the hole before dropping and at 16 I got lucky when one approach ran in off the bank.

The 18th is my favourite hole, along with 10, and the ultimate walk-off would be to hole your second shot in front of the clubhouse. Again, I’ve put it close but I’ve never managed a two. One of my assistants, Sid Beadle, did it the first time he ever played the course.

All of which adds up to 43 and 28-under which is a fairly tidy return – I just wish it could be one better!’

Congratulations to Moortown’s Theo McCormick on winning the Faldo Junior Tour event on home soil this week.

Three fantastic under-par rounds (70-68-70) gave him a four-shot win over Ashley Millington (Players Club) on a dramatic final day.

And to complete a Yorkshire double, Garforth’s Grace Gill won the girls’ event on +4 after a brilliant closing one-under 73.

Well played to everyone who took part and particular congratulations to Theo and Grace on their victories.

Sir Nick Faldo has a long history with Moortown and this week the Faldo Junior Tour is taking place at the club.

There are a total of 58 boys and girls in the field, played over three rounds, and Moortown has three boys playing.

For scores, click here - golfgenius.com/pages/12326624…

Faldo was made a Life Member of Moortown at the start of last year and he returned in the summer to play the course and receive his accolade.

The six-time Major winner won the Car Care Plan International at the club in 1984 to defend the title that he had won the previous year at Sand Moor.

Both times local hero Howard Clark would take second spot and Faldo would finish on level par when he triumphed at Moortown 42 years ago.

A crowd of over 20,000 would watch the then 26-year-old two-putt across the final green after Clark had chipped in from 30 yards to put the pressure on Faldo’s putter. But he would comfortably get down in two to take the £16,660 first prize.

The key moment had come at the par-4 17th when Faldo struck a 9-iron to four feet while Clark took three to get down from the front of the green. The previous day Faldo had moved into contention with five birdies in his first 12 holes in a three-under 66.

Three weeks previously Faldo had become the first Briton to win on the PGA Tour for 12 years when he landed the Heritage Classic.

His first competitive visit to Moortown came at the Haig Whisky TPC, a tournament he won two years later at Hollinwell, when he finished in second place behind Bernard Gallacher. In the inaugural year of the Car Care Faldo would take sixth place at Moor Allerton before claiming a one-shot victory at Sand Moor the following year.

In the two years following his win in 1984 he would also tee it up at Moortown, finishing 13th and 14th respectively.

In 1987 Faldo would become a Major champion, winning The Open at Muirfield and he would finish his career with three Claret Jugs and three Green Jackets and there would be 30 victories in total on the European Tour. In 2009 he was knighted for his ‘services to golf’.

Greens Maintenance Week

This took place this week (before the storms!) having been delayed due to the continued drought conditions and successive heatwaves over the summer.

The team scarified the greens, using 3mm tines set to a depth of 20mm to remove thatch (the layer of fibrous organic material that accumulates beneath the turf canopy) and a total of 20 tonnes of kiln-dried sand was applied across the greens to further dilute the thatch, improve surface firmness and generally help maintain the quality moving forward.

There was also a hollow-tining of certain fairways to alleviate surface compaction and improve conditions for recovery. Following this work, we will overseed and top dress the areas to encourage new grass growth and improve grass coverage.