BRACKEN GHYLL: Bracken Ghyll Golf Club in Addingham has recently approved a reduction in the annual subscription rate for its Intermediate Category, ages 18-22, for the year commencing 1st May 2003 to £200.

Players in the same age group who are in full time education will pay only £100. Subscriptions in other categories remain unchanged from last year.

This year Bracken Ghyll is celebrating its tenth anniversary and is once again hosting an Open Day for prospective new members.

This year's event will take place on Saturday, April 19, between 10am and 3pm. Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the club facilities, play a few holes with a member, and participate in a professional golf clinic under the tutelage of staff from Ilkley Golf Club.

Refreshments will be provided, and the event is free of charge. Given the response in previous years to these events, interested golfers of all ages and abilities are advised to ring the clubhouse on 01943 831207 to reserve a time to enable the club to schedule resources.

The semi finals of the TTG Winter League will be played this weekend. Nick and Richard Cook will take on Martyn Chapman and Steve Pelkowski while Rob Mulloy and Matthew Brook will play David Beckett and John Bowles for a place in the final.

Skipton: Founded in 1893, the club has space for new members. At Skipton, like the majority of golf clubs in the North of England, waiting lists are a thing of the past. In a recent survey conducted by the English Golf Union, 94 per cent of the clubs in Yorkshire taking part, had vacancies for members.

"In this day and age with people having less free time and more golf courses being built, there is more competition for new members," said Trevor Newman, business manager at Skipton Golf Club.

"Potential members now have a choice, so we all have to compete to stay in front," he went on to say.

To stay ahead, Skipton has kept its subscription fees as low as possible and currently has one of the lowest in the area for an 18 hole course, it even dropped its joining fee last year. This has all been done whilst maintaining a high standard of comprehensive facilities for the members.

As part of its drive for new members (both ladies and gentlemen) and as usual at this time of the year, Skipton plans to reduce its subscription by 33 per cent for the remainder of the year from May 1. In addition to seeking adult members, Skipton has an active plan to grow its own.

To do this the club takes an active role in encouraging juniors and even provides free coaching for them.

"Juniors are the future life blood of the club," said President John Hindle. He continued: "We even have plans for more specific facilities for Junior members in the future."

In the last 110 years a lot has changed, from a time when the game was exclusively for the gentry to a game available to everyone.

Skipton Golf Club plans to continue this trend for the next 110 years, by both encouraging people to take up the game and providing the very best facilities to help them.

Any questions, please contact Trevor Newman, business manager, 01756 795657.

ILKLEY LADIES: The Australian Spoons Competition was held on April 1 and sadly the lovely March weather had gone. This resulted in a small entry. The winners were Jane Cooper and Jean Schofield with 24 points. Runners-up were Shirley Metcalfe and Julie Ormondroyd with 19 points.

The April Medal had much better weather. Winners were:

Silver Division - M Schofield, 87-15-72; G Bean, 94-18-76. Bronze Division - B Wood, 105-29-76; V Jordan, 116-39-77. The CSS was 76.