North East: York turns back time for anniversary

York members turned back the clock to the 1890’s at the club’s drive-in celebration.

Golfers dressed in period clothing and played with hickory clubs to mark the start of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

“We’ve got a new and youthful management which has taken the place by storm,” said club captain Ralph Magee. “Now it’s all go here and we are so busy that we wish we had two golf courses.”

The Lord Mayor of York, Ian Gillies, set the tone for the day by “having a swish” on the 1st tee and a crowd of about 150 came to see the two incoming captains, Magee and Hilary Bogue. To mark the anniversary, the captain’s used hickory brassies, resulting in the club’s usual ‘drive-in distance’ sweepstake not being one for the record books.

‘We are so busy we wish we had two courses’ The costumes had been loaned from York Theatre Royal and the captain’s found it harder to hit the ball well with the old-style clubs because their heads are smaller than modern clubs.

The event marked the start of a year of celebrations which will include a hickory golf match against a club from Edinburgh.

This year the club will be raising money for York Against Cancer, which is also one of the Lord Mayor’s charities.

In addition to celebrating its landmark anniversary, York is celebrating the decision to undertake £300,000 plans to refurbish and extend the clubhouse, as well as making enhancements of the course and increasing the length of three holes.

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