Northern Golfer #52 – April 2017

The season is well and truly under way now we have been moved back to the competition tees and Sergio Garcia has won the year’s first major.

The thrills and spills of Garcia’s popular win in The Masters at Augusta National should certainly whet the appetite – alongside some good spring weather – and encourage players old and new to walk the fairways of the many fantastic courses in our region.

In this bumper 80-page issue we have a special feature on the White Rose county, looking at just some of the best places to try out – our team certainly enjoyed their springtime trip around Yorkshire.

Our cover star has travelled further afield to taste success – tens of thousands of miles to be precise. Callum Tarren gives a fascinating insight into life on tour in China, which he hopes will be a stepping stone to achieve his ultimate ambition of making it to the European or PGA tours.

We also feature a number of early season winners, take a look at some upcoming charity events, pick out the latest gear to get your season off to a great start, visit new facilities at a number of clubs and peek at some of the things you can do to get fit for golf.

Durham and England cricketer Graham Onions took some time out of his pre-season preparations to talk us through his golf, while Dean Bailey uses his column to question the role of TV viewers as referees following the harsh penalty incurred by Lexi Thompson – who looked destined to win her second major championship before a fan intervened from their armchair.

We also review Beverley and Cocken Lodge, while Wynyard hosted a thrilling finish to our Matchplay Pairs competition for 2016 and there is still time to enter this year’s event on page 76.

We are also proud to announce the addition of Champion of Champions events for men and women alongside our successful junior event, with all three to be played on the two magnificent courses at Ramside Hall in Durham – more details available on page 4. We hope every club will be represented by their champions this September.

Until next issue – good luck in getting your handicaps down and enjoy your golf.