Oldham & District Golf League

Denton ‘A’ and Stamford ‘B’ were victorious in their respective Oldham Golf League Knockout Cup finals.

Denton ‘A’ beat Brookdale ‘A’ 4-1 at Blackley.

Whilst Denton’s hopes of a cup double were thwarted 3-2 in the B final played at Saddleworth.

In the ‘A’ final, Denton claimed a trio of 5&4 successes through Dave Kelly and Trevor Horton, Zac Gregory and Kieran Lee and captain Mark Alexander and Shahif Butt.

Amir Nazir and Rob Baines added a 1up win whilst Brookdale’s only gain was a 4&3 success for Pete Buckley and their team captain Steve Bland who steered the team to both league and cup finals before coming up just short.

In the B final, Denton ‘B’ got points on the board with 5&3 wins for J Mulhern and W Jones and L Whybrow and J Berwick but Stamford ‘B’ were not to be denied with three 3&2 wins for Leigh Williams and Paul Laing, Pete Grogan and Martin Downend and the decisive win in the bottom match for Scott Meehan and Wes Fielden.

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** The ODGL Gold Cup, The singles matchplay knockout for team captains, has reached the Semi-Final stage with the matches to be played during the month of August

See 'Tournaments' section for the Gold Cup Results and the Draw.

***Club are reminded that the league presentation takes place as part of the Brian Atack Team Tournament which will be played at Crompton and Royton on Sunday, September 27. Four pairs per team.

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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.