HARGA Public

Harrogate Area

Rabbit Golf Association

Mission

To stimulate, promote and encourage competitive golf for players with a WHS Handicap Index of 15 and higher who are:

Subscribing / Playing members of the constituent member clubs of the Harrogate Area (YRGA)
Members of their own Rabbit Sections

To have its own Officers and Council responsible for arranging Rabbit golf competitions, inter-club and inter-area matches, and social functions.

To operate within the constitution and rules of the Yorkshire Rabbit Golf Association.

Link to HARGA Officers & Council Workspace (Restricted Access)

The HARGA Council consists of: Elected Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Competitions Secretary, Press Officer); YRGA Representative; HARGA Club Rabbit Captains & HARGA Club Rabbit Secretaries (or nominee) and the active past HARGA Presidents. HARGA Club Rabbit Vice Captains are invited to join meetings in a non-voting capacity.

The restricted workspace includes the online version of the HARGA Directory, an online calendar of events, meetings and fixtures, recent meeting agendas and minutes, index of past meeting minutes and the latest version of the HARGA Constitution .

2026 HARGA President's Message

Welcome to HARGA 2026

It is an honour to be nominated to be president of the Harrogate Area Rabbits Golf Association for 2026. I would like to thank my club Pike Hills for nominating me for the position. I know that the club fully support the Rabbits Section and our involvement in the Association.

I would like to thank Bill Barnett for the way that he conducted himself as President and represented our area last year. One thing that I learnt being Vice President is that there is a lot of golf to be played and quite a few meetings to attend as well.

Some older people here will have seen me representing Pike Hills in the last century as the first time that I was Rabbits Captain at Pike Hills was in 1997. In that year I used to get phone calls from our HARGA representative to pick him up from home at a certain time for each meeting. I think that he regarded me as being his personal chauffeur as he never once took me anywhere! I was Rabbits Captain again in 2023 after my handicap had started its upward march and have been acting as our representative since 2022.

I aim to continue the tradition of Rabbits golf in that it is to be enjoyed and not to be taken too seriously and we become friends after our matches. There are plenty of opportunities to play in HARGA competitions and those for the Yorkshire Rabbits Golf Association as well. Last year as Vice President I became more involved in the running of the Rabbits in Yorkshire and played some interesting golf courses. I am delighted that Phil Grant will become Vice President of the Yorkshire Rabbits Golf Association next month at the Yorkshire Rabbits AGM.

I hope that everyone enjoys playing in our events this year and hopefully the weather will be as good as it was last year.

Nigel Jones

Pike Hills GC

2026 HARGA President

2026 HARGA Officers

Vice President

Peter Durrans

Bedale GC

Secretary

Keith Lewis

Thirsk and Northallerton GC

Competition Secretary

Andy Robinson

Rudding Park GC

Treasurer

Ian Jeal

Ripon City GC

Communications & Press Officer

Jeff Loveday

Masham GC

HARGA News

Most of the 2024 HARGA News Articles and Photos Have Been Saved to the History Section - Click Here for a Link

2026 HARGA Spring Invitational Results

Romanby GC, Saturday April 25th

The HARGA Spring Invitational was a great day of golf, the course in very good condition and we were blessed with excellent weather although for periods it was a bit windy! Congratulations to the Masham Team who are leading the way into the Autumn event.

HARGA SPRING INVITATIONAL RESULTS.pdf

Report of the 2026 HARGA Spring Quarterly Meeting

Pike Hills GC, Thursday 23rd April

As HARGA tradition has it, the Spring Quarterly Meeting is held at the present HARGA President’s club, and this year, Nigel Jones, 2026 President, hosted the second meeting of the year at his club, Pike Hills GC.

Again, tradition says the April meeting competition is the Brian Parker Trophy, a Stableford 4bbb, played in pairs, chosen on the day by our competition secretary, Andy Robinson.

Amazingly, the number of players for this year’s Brian Parker Trophy, 29, was the same as last year. Andy believes there is a conspiracy going on, just to make his job harder when sorting groups and parings!

That said, as opposed to last year’s competition at Ripon GC being shrouded in cloud with the threat of rain, this year’s President must have a better relationship with he/she who has influence over the weather with his course bathed in sunshine from the President teeing off first to the last four putting out on the 18th!

The course itself played like a championship course with true greens, firm fairways with plenty of run, “benevolent” bunkers and the surrounding areas of each green allowing the old “Texas wedge” to be used, for this correspondent at least.

Talking of the last four putting on the 18th, it was to empty dinning tables that they were faced with being the last in, however, a fine roast dinner awaited them with a rather tasty sticky toffee pudding to finish.

The meeting began just as the last of the custard was being spooned off the bowls, with President Nigel opening the proceedings.

What followed will be reported in Secretary Keith’s minutes, but the Brian Parker results are worthy of mention.

Comp sec Andy announced the results in reverse order stating that the scores were all quite close, however, in third place were Ian Housby (Bedale) and Keith Davis (Pike Hills) with 39 points. Their playing partners, Kevin Dwyer (Heworth) and Jeff Loveday (Masham) were in second place with 41points, but this year’s 2026 Brian Parker Trophy winners, were President Nigel Jones (Pike Hills), (again!) and his partner Pete Durrans (Bedale) with 42 points, close indeed!

In closing, President Nigel wished all those playing in the HARGA Spring Invitational on Sunday 25th April at Romanby, good golf and reminded everybody that the Summer Quarterly will be held at Bedale GC on

Monday July 6th 2026 where the competition will be the Cyril Jones Salvers.

Jeff Loveday