Season 2025

(Formed 1973)

Week 6

Dukinfield 'A' state their case..

DUKINFIELD ‘A’ took the wind out of the sails of leaders Stamford ‘A’ with a 7-1 success in week six of the Oldham and District Golf League.

Wins for Beresford & Kershaw (3&2), Matt Merson & McDermott (3&1) and Hudson & Matt McLeod (3&1) saw the home side clear.

And they came close to a whitewash as Dukinfield captain Ally McLeod’s partner Josh Bradbury birdied the last only to see opponent Andrew Angelone produce a birdie of his own to tie up the game and secure at least one point for the visitors with partner Dawson.

That point keeps Stamford ‘A’ ahead of their rival but both have been overtaken by Blackley ‘A’ after an 8-0 win over Oldham ‘A’.

The other two games in the top section saw the spoils shared.

C & Royton ‘A’ drew 4-4 with Saddleworth ‘A’ – Geoff Boyle & Fayyaz Ahmed (3&2) and Carl Ringland & Tom Read (1up) for the home team and Michael Farrimond & Johnny Philips (7&5) and Ben Chadderton & Paul Traynor (3&2) for the visitors.

And Ashton ‘A’ were matched toe-to-toe by Brookdale ‘A’ for another 4-4 scoreline.

Darren Wilson & Andy Lomas (4&3) and Mark Butterowrth & Glynn Taylor (1up) scored the Ashton points whilst Tom Maddox & Micky Gray (2&1) and the evergreen Mark Riley & Doug Sloan (1up) brought the wins in for Brookdale.

Across in the ‘B’ East Division, three 5-3 results kept things tight.

But happiest will have been Werneth ‘B’ as their win was an away success at Saddleworth ‘B’ thanks to wins for Curt Helme & Tony Sneddon (4&3) and captain Quentin Cartwright & Terry Walsh (1up) and a half for Flynn & Heywood in their clash with Nick Evans & Paul Gittins.

Home team captain John Walsh picked up his side’s only win in a 4&3 success with partner Martin Pugh.

That win kept Werneth in touch in what is a five-way battle for the top two play-off spots.

Denton ‘B’ lead the way but they would probably have been hoping for more than the narrow 5-3 win to put more daylight between themselves and Blackley ‘B’.

Amir Nazir & Mark Riding (4&3) and Connor McMann & Dave Goodwin (1up) got the home wins.

But Mohammed Shah & Connor Crawford were held to a half by Gavin Hart & Ian White and Blackley’s Rick Valentine & James Glen produced a fine 5&4 win to limit the damage.

And in the week’s other clash, Brookdale ‘B’ beat Dukinfield ‘B’ 5-3.

Home captain Shaun Stephenson & Craig Evans (4&3) and Jonny Bassey & Paul Cain (3&1) brought in two-point hauls whilst Brad Keeling & Ant Boyle halved with opponents Stu Ferguson & Chris Burnett.

Dukinfield’s win came via their captain Phil O’Dell and partner Darren Love with a 3&1 success.

Dukinfield B sit fifth out of six but only eight points off the top – a strong finish is required by all to make the play-offs here.

And in the B West Division, Stamford ‘B’ have crept a point ahead of Castle Hawk ‘B’ at the top.

Stamford ‘B’ beat Ashton ‘B’ 6-2 - captain Oli Collins & Richard Margrave (3&2), Leigh Williams & Keith Walker (3&1) and Regan Glaister & Nick Rabbeth (1up) for the home team with Mike Wild & Andy Clegg gaining a resounding 6&4 away success for Ashton.

Meanwhile, Hawk were being limited to a 5-3 home win by a plucky North Manchester ‘B.

Taylor & Jones (7&5) and captain Rands & Mahmood (4&3) brought early points home and Thornley & Melvin halved with Roberts & Lawton.

But the win margin was cut when North’s last pairing Thornton & Wood claimed an 18th-green victory.

** Captains please note that the draw for the second round of the Gold Cup has been made and appears in the tournament section of the website. See Tournaments

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CAPTAINS’ NOTES

*Could clubs drawn to host semi-finals please ensure these dates are in the home course diary for catering.

*League captains are reminded of the following with regard to the new matchcards.

* Please ensure that you complete match forms with full names, handicap index, playing handicap and shots allocated - 90per cent of the difference from the lower (please check these as there have been errors on a couple of Cup matchcards)

* Put result of each game indicating which team won each match and the margin of victory.

* It is the Captain’s responsibility to ensure that team members comply with handicap rules – indexes 0-9 A and 8-17 B - and that they have a fully-fledged 20-card handicap with five qualifying cards in the last 12 months.

* In what is now a more transparent WHS, people are checking.

Sporting Reminder:

Good sportsmanship costs nothing.........This is a "friendly" league. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Oldham and District Golf League (formed 1973)

The League was conceived as an opportunity for local golfers to play competitively against other golf clubs in the local area and at the same time develop camaraderie between them. The intention is to enjoy good golf courses with sporting companions in a friendly but competitive atmosphere.

The League was composed of 2 Divisions from the outset but the Cup competition was not introduced until 1980. Initially, the League was based on singles matches in the A Division and the first Secretary was A L Davidson (Saddleworth GC). In those early years, the league was less competitive and League Tables were not produced until the last match of the season had been played! In 1982, Barry Matthews (League Secretary) and Carl Cunnelly (Fixtures Secretary) ran the League on a more organised and formal basis until 2005. In 1991 the end of season Brian Atack Tournament was added to compete for individual and team trophies.

Since 2005, the trio of Saddleworth's John Walsh (Chairman), Ashton's Brendan Kennedy (Secretary) and Werneth's David Whaley (Fixtures secretary) guided the league through an expansion into a four division format with the addition of teams from North Manchester, Blackley, Crompton & Royton and Castle Hawk. The league changed further in 2017 with the introduction of promotion and relegation between the two 'A' divisions and Howard Lawton (North Manchester) took over as League Secretary. In 2023 David Whaley (Saddleworth) assumed the role of League Secretary with Howard Lawton standing down as Treasurer.

Snapshots from 51st Season 2024

A League winners: Brookdale A    R/up: Stamford A

A Cup winners: Dukinfield  A     .    R/up: Crompton & Royton A

B League winners: Castle Hawk    R/up: Stamford B

B Cup winners: Blackley ‘B’     .......R/up: Castle Hawk

The Brian Atack Trophy .................. Denton

50th Anniversary Gold Cup

Winner: Tim Rands (Castle Hawk) R/up Amir Nazir (Denton B)

Below is a 'Combined A&B team' Club Table...(for 2024 trial purposes only)