Oldham & District Golf League

THURSDAY’s downpours washed out five matches in the Oldham and District Golf League.

But Wednesday’s action went ahead as planned and Brookdale ‘A’ moved into play-off contention with a 6-2 home win over leaders Blackley ‘A’.

There were some big wins too as Pete Buckley and Charlie Clough triumphed 5&4, a scoreline matched by Tom Maddocks & Paul Spence while Mark Riley and Pete Thornley won 4&2.

The only bright spot for the visitors was Patrick Ruddy and Tino Smalley winning 3&1.

Blackley ‘A’ losing means Saddleworth ‘A’ have opened up a two-point lead at the top following their 5-3 win at home to Ashton ‘A’.

Tom Potts and Tom Fleming came through 6&4 and Mark Anderson-Wild and Adam Pritchard 3&1 whilst Mike Farrimond and Johnny Phillips lost their 100 per cent record this season when held to a draw by Mark Butterworth and Tim Craig.

Ashton ‘A’ winners were Gareth White and Adrian Reece (3&2).

Across in the ‘B’ West, Blackley ‘B’ beat Brookdale ‘B’ 6-2 to pull clear at the top.

Steve Kelly and Harry Aitkenhead (4&3), Gavin Hart and Ian White (2&1) and Steve Murray and Oliver Depetrillo (1up) earned the home side points with Ant Boyle and Glen Bailey (5&4) on target for the visitors.

And in one of only two games to beat the Thursday storms, Ashton ‘B’ beat Sadleworth ‘B’ 6-2.

Warren Edwards and John Gilmore (9&8), Ollie Lomas and Dan Halkyard (5&3) and a walkover for Andy Clegg and Kev Brotherton gave the home side a healthy haul whilst Martin Pugh and Dean McKenna (2&1) ensured Saddleworth did not go home empty handed.

The only Thursday game to survive the rain in the A League was Dukinfield ‘A’ and Denton ‘A’ sharing the spoils in a 4-4 ‘A’ East clash.

This was a real battle with two halved matches and a win for either side.

The home win came 2&1 through Matt McLeod and Shaun McDermott whilst Shaf Butt and Josh Ellam came through 1up for Denton.

The halved matches saw Carol Varey and Gaz Kershaw all square with Amir Nazir and Robert Baines and Colin McWiggin and Ally McLeod with Mark Alexander and Trevor Horton.

The abandoned matches give the team captains a scheduling headache as rearranged games have to be played before the last regular week of the season, which is week commencing July 6.This is to avoid a situation where a team goes into a match knowing what result is required to influence the play-off line-up.

There are currently two vacancies in the A Division – interested clubs should contact ODGL Secretary David Whaley (07764638309).
The League will be pleased to consider friendly matches against teams on a free week to give potential new clubs a taste of better-ball matchplay team matches.

Four-Ball (Better Ball) Match Play: Apply 90% of the difference in Course Handicap.....

Calculation: All four players determine their Course Handicap. The lowest player becomes 0, and others adjust accordingly. Then, 90% of that difference is applied.

* Please ensure that you complete match cards 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.

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

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. In October 2025, John Osbaldeston (Crompton & Royton) accepted the role as Honorary Treasurer.