Ilkley Golf Club is a golf club in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England, just outside the town of

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. It is located about a mile to the northwest of Ilkley and southeast of Addingham. The

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

flows past the course. It was established in 1890.

History

Ilkley is the oldest club in the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

and the third oldest in Yorkshire (Beverly and East Riding Golf Club 1889); a 9-hole course was established on Rombald's Moor at the behest of Ben Hirst and Alfred Potter in June 1890. The location for the original 9-hole course was planned with assistance from George Strath, the club professional at Southport and George Kay, the club professional at Redcar was employed at £1 per week to lay out the course. In October 1897 the committee negotiated with Myddleton Estate to rent 70 acres of pasture running along the north side of the River Wharfe. Work began on the new course in February 1898 and was completed by July of that year. The course was designed by

Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was a golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the Boer War ...

and

Harry Colt Henry Shapland "Harry" Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect born in Highgate, England. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison L ...

and measures 6,262 yards. The old links course on the moor was leased to an Ilkley Tradesmen's group and golf continued to be played there until the Moor Club was wound up in 1947. On 13 April 1907,

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

and noted golf architect James Braid played an exhibition match to mark the opening of the new clubhouse. In 1921 the course was described as an "excellent links" course. In 1970 many trees were planted around the course, changing its appearance. The club has hosted the competition for the OCCA and West Riding Golf Trophies, the Yorkshire Ladies' Challenge Bowl in 1955 and the British Girls' Open Championship in 1969. The 19th bar in the Clubhouse has on display one of the golf balls that

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...

took to the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

on Apollo 14 in 1971. The ball was given by Shephard to Father Paddy Roche who bequeathed it to the club.

Members

A number of professionals started or played at Ilkley, including

Tom Vardon Thomas Alfred Vardon (11 October 1874 – 13 October 1938) was a professional golfer from Jersey, Channel Islands, and the brother of golfer Harry Vardon, whom he sometimes played against professionally. From 1892 to 1909 he played in 18 Open Cham ...

, Sam Whiting, William Baxter, John Ball,

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

, Bill Ferguson,

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events ...

, Mark James, and

James Hepworth James Hepworth (born 10 June 1975) is an English professional golfer. Hepworth was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire. He turned professional in 1997 and played on the Challenge Tour in 1999–2003, 2005–2006, 2008 and 2011. He earned two wins at t ...

. Harry Vardon won his first prize as a professional golfer on this course in 1893. Montgomerie met Ferguson at the club when Ferguson was club pro and Montgomerie was just a boy.

Professionals

*1890–1892 George Kay *1892–1893 T P Waggot *1893–1900

*1900–1903 Douglas McEwan *1903–1911 Walter Toogood *1911–1921 Sam Whiting *1921–1926 James MacKenzie *1926–1964 Jock D Henderson *1964–1969 David L Melville *1969–1979 William J Ferguson ( Bill Ferguson) *1979–2015 John L HammondSaywell 1990, p.262 *2015–to date Andrew P Driver

References

{{Reflist, 30em Saywell, J., (1990) A History Of Ilkley Golf Club, Otley, Smith Settle.

External links

Official site
Golf clubs and courses in North Yorkshire 1890 establishments in England Ilkley