2026 Letter from our President

Dear HGS members,

It has been another enjoyable golfing year, with all venues well attended (except for Wakefield!) and competitive golf enjoyed in a very sociable environment.

Congratulations to our Trophy and Cup winners. Darren Priest played consistently well to lift the President's Cup, and Richard Scott won the John Pollock Cup for the most birdies. Max Hopkins was crowned winner of the Summer Knockout competition after a close run final, nudging out Brian Williams 2&1.

I would also like to say a personal 'thank you' to our Committee and all those who have assisted in the organisation of golf days or in any other way throughout the past golfing season.

Golf Days 2026

For 2026 we have retained a similar calendar of events, with 5 President's Cup competitions, our annual match against the Fox Inn Golf Society, and two golfing breaks in June and October.

Inflationary pressures continue to dominate the search for quality golf venues at 'value for money' prices. However, by using a substantial amount of the funds which will be raised from next year's annual subscriptions, the Committee have been able to subsidise golfing costs, allowing a flat rate of £55 per person to be charged for all President's Cup venues. For clarity, the prices will include a bacon roll and coffee on arrival, 18 holes of golf, a 1-course meal afterwards, together with prizes and a £1 tip per person for the catering staff.

The courses booked for 2026 are:

Golf Club	Date and Cost	First tee time

Cleckheaton	Fri 24th April - £55	10.36am
Bedale	Thui 21st May - £55	10.48am
Castle Eden	Thu 6th August - £55	10.30am
Otley	Fri 28th August - £55	10.30am
Filey	Fri 25th September - £55	10.30am

Please put these dates in your diary!

Competitions

We will be running competitions as in previous years:

The Knockout Trophy will run throughout the summer. The singles draw will be made in late March so that the first round can be completed by the end of May. I will be asking for entries nearer the time. (The knockout is played off the member's Course Handicap unaffected by any HGS handicap adjustment).
The President's Cup will be awarded to the golfer accumulating the highest number of Stableford points over a maximum of 3 out of the 5 golf days in the table above.
The John Pollock Cup (in memory of one of our founding members) will be awarded to the golfer who makes the most gross birdies over the above 5 golf days (Eagles to count as 2 birdies etc).
There will be a team competition and individual competitions at both the UK Trip to Slaley Hall and the Sunday Driver (venue TBA).

UK Weekend Away - 14th to 16th June 2026

Next year's event has again been kindly organised by Nigel Cooper.

The trip is already fully subscribed with 24 golfers off for a two night/3 round break at Slaley Hall and Hexham.

Fox Challenge - Thursday 9th July 2026

The annual challenge match will be held at Forest Park GC. HGS regained the Trophy in 2026 and we hope to retain it in 2026.

Sunday Driver (venue TBA) - 4th/5th October 2026

Details of the trip will be announced early in the New Year.

Annual Christmas Dinner

We are very much looking forward to returning in early December to The Victoria at Cattal for our Christmas Dinner and prize giving, kindly hosted by Keith & Carol Nicholson. We hope to repeat the event in 2026 as part of the Society's 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Casual Golf Days

Our festive Golf day at Sandburn Hall GC is being held on Tuesday 30th December 2025. An Invitation email will be sent out in late November for this event. (Next year's event has also been booked at Sandburn Hall for Wednesday 30th December 2026).

HGS 30th Anniversary Celebrations

Most members will be aware that the Society was formed in 1996 and will therefore be celebrating its 30th Anniversary next year. Provision was made by the Committee to set aside some funding in the current year in order to financially support two initiatives to mark the milestone:

1) Logoed Half Zip Fleece Top - We are working to produce a commemorative logo that can be applied to a Ping Ramsey top which currently retails at £40. HGS will subsidise £20 towards the cost of this clothing to provide a new item of golfing apparel for members in 2026. Full details to follow in advance of the new season.

2) Celebration BBQ (Sunday 7th June 2026) - The Society held a Hog Roast BBQ in 2021 to celebrate its 25th Anniversary which was well received by members and their partners, not least because of a very sunny day. We hope for equally fine weather next year on 7th June. Please put the date in your diary and await an Invitation nearer the time.

Website and Communications

Thank you again to Peter Bollands for maintaining and also further improving the website. Details of next year's events are already posted at www.hgsgolf.org.uk.

As the web is our primary method of communication with members, please advise either Peter (pbollands@ntlworld.com) or myself (mark.wray247@gmail.com) of any changes to email, phone number, home golf club or anything else pertinent to HGS.

Please also remember that we have an HGS Whatsapp group for communications outwith the main email announcements and an Instagram account to access all the latest HGS photos. (You will need to set up an Instagram account, if you don't already have one, with a userid and password, search for 'Hillcrest Golf Society' and then click on 'Follow'. It's a great way to remind you of some of the memories of 2025).

Please note that a new UserID and Password combination has been set up for 2026 for access to the 'Members' area of the website. Contact Peter Bollands if you need reminding of these (details are also in the email version of this President's Letter).

Membership and Subscriptions

If anyone is intending NOT to renew their membership perhaps they could let me know at the earliest opportunity.

After increasing the Annual Subscription to £30 in 2024 the HGS Committee felt that it is appropriate to continue to hold the amount at that level for 2026. Going forward the Committee will be considering how best to achieve the best mix of quality venues at 'value for money' prices against the background of continued price increases in the golfing marketplace.

The subscription becomes payable by the end of December. Many of you will pay electronically in the normal way (details from 'jones.maurice53@gmail.com'). Otherwise you could send a cheque made payable to ‘Hillcrest Golf Society’ to our Treasurer, Maurice Jones, whose home address is: 1 Newton Farm Court, Sutton on the Forest, York YO61 1EZ.

Strategic Action Plan

Your Committee has, over the past few months, understaken a Strategic Review of the Society which has led to an Action Plan being formed to, hopefully, improve your golfing expereience and to secure the future of HGS going forward.

The Action Plan will address six key areas as follows:

1) Membership
2) Course Quality
3) Competition Structure
4) Social Activities
5) Financial Management
6) Marketing and Communications.

As the Action Plan evolves, members will be updated with progress during 2026.

And finally.......

Thank you to all members of HGS for another 'memorable' year and, on behalf of the Committee, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and good golfing in 2026.

MARK WRAY, President – Hillcrest Golf Society (mark.wray247@gmail.com)