It is the biggest golf league in Bradford, was among the first of its kind in Yorkshire when it formed and this year the Bradford & District 8-15 Golf Association celebrates its 35th birthday.

After Eric Fearnside first suggested the idea of a league for middle-range handicappers (eight to 15) back in 1975, local players of that level have enjoyed regular competitive inter-club golf – something previously reserved for the very good (scratch team) or the not so good (rabbits).

As secretary of the association David Peat said: “There are a lot of people within each golf club with handicaps between eight and 15.”

Founder member Brian Newiss, a past president of the Bradford Union, said: “When we started it in ’75 it was very unique at that stage and it’s developed now with leagues and championships.”

Newiss still remembers how the league began, explaining: “Eric had muted the idea for some time. There was the feeling that there was nothing for middle handicap golfers whatsoever. You were aiming to get category one – five or below.

“The Bradford Winter Alliance had been held at Bradford Golf Club. We were just sitting round the coffee table in the lounge when it was decided we’d do something about it.”

Kevin Boyle and David Mann, captain and vice-captain at Baildon, were part of that discussion and it was at their club that a first official meeting was held in November of that year with a view to setting up an organisation.

A month later, the Bradford & District 8-15 Golf Association was formed, consisting of 17 clubs – Baildon, Ben Rhydding, Bingley St Ives, Bradford Moor, Branshaw, Clayton, East Bierley, Fulneck, Headley, Keighley, Northcliffe, Rawdon, Riddlesden, Silsden, South Bradford, West Bradford and West Bowling.

With Fearnside elected as president and Newiss the secretary/treasurer, four sections were formed on a zonal basis to play inter-club matches and the inaugural team championship was held at Baildon in 1976.

Three divisions were formed the following year and, with former T&A golf correspondent Stanley Pearson – also present at Hawksworth when the idea of the league was first conceived – providing good press coverage, the association prospered.

Some clubs had initial reservations – indeed, Bradford only joined in 2002 – but the league has grown and grown.

Newiss, a member at Riddlesden, said: “It has improved competitive golf opportunities throughout the Bradford district.

“Some said it had no future and there was no point to it but it has become like a nursery for the Bradford Union.

“It provides competitive golf at a fairly keen level and gives people an extra incentive to come down in handicap.”

The league now has 29 teams – three more than the Bradford Union Scratch League and two more than the Bradford & District Rabbits Association – split into four divisions.

With the exception of Ghyll, all Bradford Union clubs are members plus two from Leeds (Howley Hall and Horsforth) and two from Halifax-Huddersfield (Hanging Heaton and Halifax).

Although the 8-15 League remains independent of the Bradford Union, Newiss’ assertion that it can act as a nursery for the flagship of the district rings true.

It provides an environment where juniors often take their first steps into senior inter-club competition.

Secretary Peat, who has been in the position for ten years and was also president in 2003, said: “It’s a great way to encourage junior golf. We encourage juniors to play in any of our competitions.

“It’s a great breeding ground for the future and gives them a taste of senior golf. Matches are usually very competitive but also very friendly.”

Eight to 15s also gives vice-captains vital learning experience in the year before they take over the scratch team.

Peat said: “Fifty per cent of the time, the 8-15 ‘link’ man tends to be the club vice-captain and that gives him a year of getting involved with organising and selecting. There is a lot of responsibility as there a lot of competitions.”

With a host of knockout events that run alongside weekly league fixtures, plus a first and second division team championship, Peat is not wrong.

Doubles competitions include the Myson and Fearnside Trophies, while singles tournaments such as the President’s Match Play and Individual Championship (strokeplay) are always well attended.

The organisation is thriving but is still looking to expand and would welcome new clubs to create an even number in each division.

While some other districts in the county run competitions to cater for middle handicappers, it would seem none can beat Bradford for size and variety.

Peat said: “A number of Bradford Union presidents have come through the 8-15 ranks and have given our handbooks out to their colleagues in other Yorkshire unions and they have been surprised.”

Now 35 years on, the league for middle-standard golfers has turned out to be a top-notch idea.