Welcome to the Oldham
and District Golf League (founded 1973).
The League was, from the outset, conceived as an
opportunity for local golfers to play competitively while experiencing
the pleasure (and sometimes the pain) of playing other golf courses in
the local area. At the same time, it was seen as an excellent way of
developing camaraderie between competing Golf Clubs. A feature of the
League is still the relatively small number of rules that have been
devised or even need to be employed. The intention is, above all, to
enjoy good golf courses with good companions in a friendly but
competitive atmosphere with little negative impact from restrictive
rules.
The League was composed of 2 Divisions from the outset
but the Cup competition was not introduced until 1980. Initially, the
League was based on singles matches in the A Division and the first
Secretary was A L Davidson (Saddleworth GC). In those early years, the
league was less competitive and League Tables were not produced until
the last match of the season had been played! Later, an end of season
Tournament was incorporated into the League with both individual and
team trophies to be competed for. The Team Trophy was named after early
stalwart Brian Atack (Oldham GC) in recognition of the part that he
played in the development of the League. In 1982, the League Secretary
position passed to Barry Matthews who joined forces with Carl Cunnelly (Fixtures Secretary) to successfully run
the League on a more organised and formal basis until 2005 when the
time came for a ‘well-deserved breather’ and the current management
team took over.
