By Kent Gray
Josh Hill’s already memorable UK summer has gone for good to great with his call-up to the full England national men’s amateur golf team for the first time.

The 17-year-old MENA Tour prodigy has been selected in the 11-strong side for England’s defence of the senior Home Internationals title at Hankley Common Golf Club in Surrey from September 15-17.

It comes after the Trump International Golf Club, Dubai member helped England capture the U-18 Boys’ Home Internationals with 5½ of a possible six points at Woodhall Spa earlier this month before capturing U-20 honours at last weekend’s Brabazon Trophy (England Open Strokeplay Championship) where he eventually finished T-12.

Hill’s proud father summed up the Dubai-based family’s excitement in a social media post: “Another great honour for Josh being asked to represent England in the Men’s Home internationals! Was unexpected but it’s friggin awesome! Congratulations Josh!”

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

Hill Jnr. won’t have long to dwell on another career-high as he prepares for the Jacques Léglise Trophy starting at Falsterbo Golf Club in Sweden on Friday. He’s one of nine Great Britain and Ireland players hoping to prevent Europe from winning the coveted annual U-18 matches for a second successive edition.

The England senior team features newly crowned Brabazon Trophy winner Sam Bairstow, Amateur champion Laird Shepherd and English Amateur champion John Gough, as well as Hill and Jack Bigham who make the step-up from the U-18 Boys’ team and forming a deadly partnership at Woodhall Spa

Together the pair won all three of their foursomes matches at Woodhall Spa and Hill was only denied a perfect record after being held to a half by Ireland’s Thomas Higgins in his opening singles match.

The full England lineup is:

Sam Bairstow (Hallowes GC, Yorkshire)
Callan Barrow (Royal Lytham & St Annes GC, Lancashire)
Jack Bigham (Harpenden GC, Hertfordshire)
Zachary Chegwidden (Orsett GC, Essex)
Jack Dyer (Boyce Hill GC, Essex)
Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford GC, Essex)
John Gough (Stoke Park GC, Buckinghamshire)
Josh Hill (Trump International Dubai)
Olly Huggins (Frilford Heath GC, BB&O)
Haider Hussain (The Kendleshire, Gloucestershire)
Laird Shepherd (Rye GC, Sussex)

1st Reserve: Jack Brooks (The Mere, Cheshire)
2nd Reserve: Joe Harvey (The Kendleshire, Gloucestershire)

Hill’s graduation to the senior England team caps a fine summer highlighted by a share of 4th at the St Andrews Links Trophy where he narrowly missed a playoff, as well as his George Henriques Salver win at the Brabazon Trophy as the top GB&I player under the age of 20, a prize he shared with England colleague Frank Kennedy.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a loss of form saw Hill miss England Boys’ selection last summer following his amateur career-defining win at the MENA Tour’s Al Ain Open in 2019 where he became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event. But he’s more than made up for the temporary blip during a summer campaign where’d he’s churned out impressive results despite often not bringing his A-game to the table.

He’ll hope to repay the England selectors’ faith at Hankley Common G.C. where Wales, Ireland and Scotland await. The Home Internationals are played in a round-robin format over three days with each match comprising five-morning foursomes and 10-afternoon singles.

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The 17-year-old finished the Brabazon Trophy in a share of 12th place, 12 strokes behind champion, England lefty Sam Bairstow. But rounds of 69-72 over the weekend lifted Hill from T-21 at the halfway stage and saw the Trump International Dubai Golf Club member share U-20s honours at Ganton Golf Club.

Hill (71-73-69-72) shared the George Henriques Salver with England team-mate Frank Kennedy (Trump National Jupiter) on 285, one-over. Bairstow won with an 11-under, 273 aggregate, edging Essex’s Zach Chegwidden by two strokes.

Hill shared the George Henriques Salver with England teammate Frank Kennedy (left).

Hill’s father paid tribute to his son after a summer highlighted by a near-run thing at the St Andrews Links Trophy in June, an unbeaten run at the recent Boys’ Home Internationals and Great Britain and Ireland selection for the Jacques Léglise Trophy starting in Sweden on Friday.

“It been a long summer, been staying hotels and friends houses since April the 19th and Josh manages in the last event of the summer a consolation prize with his England teammate @frankkennedygolf for leading u20 in the #brabazontrophy.

“Josh never quite firing on all cylinders all summer but always remained competitive and most importantly some invaluable lessons he will take and build on for the future.”

Hill’s Saturday 69 was a particularly impressive fightback after a sobering second round 73 that included a dreaded snowman, a quadruple-bogey eight, on the 14th hole to derail his title chances.

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

“Had a bit of a mare yesterday,” Russell Hill wrote of his son on Instagram on the morning after the second round. “Has not been hitting or swinging great this week but despite that was 2-under through 13 and in 4th place. He had a bit of a silly few minutes on the 274-yard par 4. Lost 2 balls off of the tee and shot 4 over for the hole. Could be recipe for a melt-down but held it together to shoot 4 more pars! Hats off for the effort and holding it together where many would have lost it!”

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

Hill Snr says his son’s summer campaign has been and at times seep but invaluable learning curve that will serve the MENA Tour winner well going forward.

“… I am sure with despite never hitting the heights his game can go to he’s had some ok results. I am sure this summer will be the most important learning experience he has yet in his young life and predict much bigger things to come! @golfdigestme.”

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By Kent Gray
Josh Hill is eyeing one of his trademark low rounds to haul himself back into contention at the English Amateur Strokeplay Championship in Yorkshire.

The Dubai-based 17-year-old followed up an opening 71 with a two-over-par 73 on the second day of the Brabazon Trophy at Ganton Golf Club on Friday to slip from T-15 to a share of 21st.

At +2, Hill was comfortably inside the cut line (+6) but finds himself nine strokes off the halfway pace set by England lefty international Sam Bairstow.

Bairstow (Hallowes) followed up his opening 66 with a 69 to move to -7, 135, two shots clear of Harvey Byers (Walton Heath). Essex’s Zach Chegwidden is third att -4 after a 71.

Sam Bairstow in action on day two at the Brabazon Trophy. Courtesy: England Golf

“I’d have taken it at the start of the week. I let a couple slip near the end, but I’d have taken a two-under round going into the day,” Bairstow told England Golf of his Friday 69.

“It feels good. I know the golf course well and I’m hitting the ball decent – get the ball in play and my irons shots are good.

“Hopefully I keep going on from there.”

[divider] [/divider]

DAY 1:  Hill six back after solid Brabazon Trophy start

FILE PHOTO: Josh Hill in action during day two of the R&A Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club on June 15, 2021. (Photo:Charles McQuillan/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

By Kent Gray
Josh Hill has celebrated his Jacques Léglise Trophy selection with a solid opening round at the English Amateur Strokeplay Championship in Yorkshire.

The 17-year-old Dubai-based England age-group international opened the Brabazon Trophy with an even-par 71 at Ganton Golf Club on Thursday.

Hill shares 15th place heading into Friday’s second round, six shots adrift of overnight leader Matt Roberts (Royal Porthcawl/pictured below). The Welshman holds a one-stroke buffer over England international Sam Bairstow (Hallowes) and by two from Essex’s Zachary Chegwidden (Orsett).

Matt Roberts in action during Thursday’s opening round at Ganton. Photo courtesy England Golf.

MENA Tour winner Hill mixed three bogeys with as many birdies, including a gain on Ganton’s 18th (pictured below) to give him some momentum heading into the second round.

The Trump Dubai International Golf Club member’s next assignment is the Jacques Léglise Trophy. He has been named in the nine-man Great Britain and Ireland team for the annual U-18 matches against Europe at Sweden’s Falsterbo Golf Club on August 27-28 earlier this week.

David Cannon/Getty Images
The green on the par 4, 18th hole and clubhouse at Ganton Golf Club in Ganton, England.

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By John Huggan
“Dark” since March 23, golf in the United Kingdom is on the way back. In bits of the four-part state at least. While courses in Northern Ireland and Scotland are to remain closed, those in England will re-open Wednesday, with Wales expected to follow suit on May 18. Which will no doubt come as something of a relief at Llanmynech Golf Club. The course where former Masters champion Ian Woosnam spent his formative years has 15 holes in Wales and three in England.

As is the case in the United States as a condition of courses re-opening, social distancing and other restrictions will be in place—no touching the flagstick, smoothing sand in bunkers with feet, clubhouses and professional shops closed. While initial reports said that golfers in England could only play alone or with members of the same household (those they’ve been quarantining with), according to England Golf, one person from a different household will be permitted in a group. But most venues will insist on the pre-booking of tee times, with players encouraged to arrive shortly before they start, then leave as soon as rounds are over.

All of which sounds fair enough, especially to those starved of their golfing fix for almost two months. But others have pointed out that such a plan does little or nothing to address the ongoing problems faced by many golf clubs across the U.K. Solo golfers or those playing alongside family members will bring no income to clubs, which will presumably have to maintain their courses to a level not recently required. Inevitably, that will involve extra expense.

All of the above is coming about at the behest of the U.K. government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. North of the border, however, Scottish Golf is following instructions from local authorities, specifically Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who is preaching a more cautious approach. (Health and sport administration are delegated from the London-based U.K. government to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh).

“Scrapping the ‘stay-at-home’ message could confuse people,” says Sturgeon, explaining the government’s position. “Extreme caution is required at this critical juncture to avoid a rapid resurgence of the virus. It is not an exaggeration to say decisions now are a matter of life and death. That is why they weigh so very, very heavily and why they must be taken with great care, and it is why as I take them I will continue to err on the side of caution.”

So, as Scotland enters its eighth week in “lockdown,” all courses will remain closed, at least in the short term.

Photo David Cannon

“We continue to be in direct and regular contact with the Scottish government and remain in the planning phase for a return to golf,” says a Scottish Golf spokesperson. “We will be guided by the Scottish government on golf’s return, while also remaining in close contact with all of our partners from across the golf industry in Great Britain and Ireland.”

As was the case in the United States, different rules for different parts of the U.K. have caused no end of debate. And, as in the U.S., just about every option from outrage to complete acceptance is represented. Some even see both sides of the argument.

“Right now, we are being told that it isn’t safe to play golf,” says one golf club owner in Scotland, who asked not to be identified. “I get the frustration many feel when they hear that. Why is it you can go for a walk on the course with your dog, but you can’t play golf? That doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to me.

“Then again, from a business point of view, I don’t want our facility open if it isn’t completely safe for the staff,” he continues. “I’m not sure I’d be that happy going back to work at my course at the moment. That is costing us money, but so be it. It is better to be a little bit too cautious than get back out there too early. So I’m in both camps. I’d love to go out for a game with my friends today. But I get why we’re not doing so. If it’s not safe, I don’t want to do it.”

Course closed sign displayed at the entry to the Blackwood Golf Club House in Wales. Golf restrictions are being eased in England on Wednesday, with Wales re-opening on Monday, but remain in Wales on May 11, 2020 in Blackwood, Wales, United Kingdom. The prime minister announced the general contours of a phased exit from the current lockdown, adopted nearly two months ago in an effort curb the spread of Covid-19. Photo by Huw Fairclough

Still, perhaps nowhere are the implications of this contrasting situation more acute than in the Border region in the south of Scotland. Take Eyemouth Golf Club in Berwickshire. Only nine miles separate the (closed) course from the (open) Magdalene Fields Golf Club, which sits just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed and, more importantly, just inside England. Such a situation clearly brings with it dire financial implications for the affected clubs.

“A lot of clubs in the Borders are struggling,” says Ian Ford, the 1977 British Boys champion and a former captain of Kelso Golf Club, which sits only ten miles from the English border. “I know many people who haven’t paid their annual subscriptions yet. More than 50 at Kelso are in that position. I understand where they are coming from though. They are waiting to see what is going to happen. And they are wondering if they are going to have jobs at the end of all this. But that’s about £20,000 the club has lost, at a time when we have no income at all.”

The numbers get much bigger when considering the economic impact on courses where visitors provide the vast majority of annual income. For example, those making the pilgrimage to St. Andrews make up 90 per cent of the on-course traffic and normally bring in around £10m per annum. Most of that occurs in high-season between April and October. So with little prospect of international visitors this year that’s a big financial hole for the Home of Golf to fill.

There are worries too, that, while most players will adhere to the new guidelines, some will flaunt rather than follow. Which is why, in Germany, strict guidelines and penalties are in force.

Players are asked to book times—for twosomes playing nine holes—the day before they want to tee-up, at a minimum. Each caller must speak to a club representative, at which time the rules and penalties are spelt out. Both have to arrive 10 minutes before their time, then leave 10 minutes after they finish playing. If they don’t show up, they will be banned from booking a time for a period of one week. And if they fail to appear a second time, they will be suspended from the club for a month. A third offence means they won’t be playing again until 2021.

There’s more. Should anyone break social distancing rules, the club would incur a fine of €400 for a first offence. A second breach carries with it a fine of €5,000. And if it happens for a third time, the course is closed down for the rest of the year.

Across the Irish Sea from Great Britain, however, there is happier news. Courses in the Republic of Ireland are scheduled to open on a restricted basis on May 18. In the first phase of a five-point plan, members who live within five kilometres of their club will be able to play in three-balls at 14-minute intervals, two-balls over 12-minute intervals, or as individual players every 10 minutes. If that goes well, club competitions will return June 8, with the “inclusion zone” extended to 20 kilometres. Visitors will be allowed to play starting June 29. Restrictions will continue to be relaxed until—should all go well—something akin to “normal” life with all facilities open will resume by Aug. 10.

That all sounds straightforward, but complicating matters— at least in the short term—is that many clubs in the north of Ireland have members residing in Northern Ireland. So, while those living in the Republic more than 5 kilometres from their home clubs will be deprived of the opportunity to play, members living in the U.K.-run part of the Emerald Isle will be free to drive in from farther afield and tee-up.

Hey, no one said any of this was going to be easy or straightforward, no matter where you live.

The post Staggered starts, differing viewpoints make golf course re-openings in the United Kingdom tricky appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That the Dubai-domiciled 14-year-old would represent his country again was inevitable after such an notable international debut  and we now have confirmation of when that will be courtesy of Hill’s father, Russell:

WATCH: Josh Hill makes winning start to England career at Boys Home Internationals

 

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Another little outing to look forward to!

A post shared by Russell (@russellhill19) on Oct 7, 2018 at 5:07am PDT

Hill will line up for the England against Ireland in a two-day, U-16s match at Limerick on October 13-14 that will also include each country’s top six girls.

It comes after the Butch Harmon School of Golf Dubai player finished T-11 at the 84th Singa Thailand Amateur Open earlier this month to open his season, despite some frustrations as another Instagram post from Dad hinted:

 

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I think that was a really good bad day!?it started very positively, ? the first, missed 6footer to ?the second, ?the third?, then had a 10 footer to bird 4, then it was quite steady from there till 9 I don’t know what it was (heat, travel fatigue, slowness of play etc) but something switched off and greens were missed and when hot he only had 60-90 footers from the wrong side of the slope. Ended the day 3 over! (Could have been far worse if he hadn’t drain a bunch of 20+ foot putts) From my part watching a 5 1/2 hr round and some of the worst course etiquette was a struggle (hitting from the next tee when people were putting out on the last hole, walking half way up the fairway when one is still driving, it was unbelievable and they still managed to get it in in 5 1/2 hours). Today’s another day and another experience! Good Luck Josh!

A post shared by Russell (@russellhill19) on Oct 2, 2018 at 5:10pm PDT

The Jumeirah Golf Estates member is eyeing a tilt at the MENA Tour this year as looks to ramp up his golfing education and will no doubt be inspired by the news that the Emirates Golf Federation order of merit series now has a World Amateur Golf Ranking lure.

RELATED: The EGF Order of Merit decider secures WAGR status

Hill is the reigning EGF Open Men’s OOM champion after a breakout 2017-18 campaign during which he won six open men’s titles and created course records of 65 and 68 at Trump Dubai and the Track respectively.

 

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What a great week playing for @england.golf in the home internationals getting the W aswell as having such a fun time ???

A post shared by Josh Hill (@j.hill_golf) on Aug 10, 2018 at 9:42am PDT

The post Limerick set to be the next chapter in Josh Hill’s England career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 14-year-old Dubai-born player has been rested for this morning’s fourballs as England face Ireland in the decisive match of the U-18 teams championship but will be third to last out for the defending champions in the afternoon’s pivotal singles.

Hill will face Elm Park player Charlie Denvir at 6.35pm (UAE time).

It comes after the Jumeirah Golf Estates +5 handicapper overcame the disappointment of his first international loss with foursomes team-mate Max Hopkins by thrashing Welshman Dylan Thomas 5&4 on Wedmesday. The point helped England beat Wales 11-4 while Ireland overpowered Scotland 10½- 4½ to set up today’s final.

After winning their match against Scotland on Tuesday, Hill and Hopkins fizzled against Welsh duo Sean David and Tom Peet, losing 2&1.

But the Englishman more than made up for it; Hopkins trounced David 7&6 while Hill responded to going one down to a Thomas’ birdie by rattling off five birdies in the next 12 holes before shaking hands with Thomas on the 14th green.

Really tired now! Today was a beautiful slog. Morning foursomes was hard. Josh and Max were sent out together again expecting to care on the form from yesterday. No sparks flew, nothing dropped and they just never found the magic today. They lost 2&1. Afternoon was a different story, I think Josh was so annoyed from his morning outing he found a game for the afternoon. He won 5&4, never a bogie on the card and was 5 under. Tomorrow is against Ireland!

A post shared by Russell (@russellhill19) on Aug 8, 2018 at 12:00pm PDT

Hill’s father Russell was again on hand to witness the action.

“Today was a beautiful slog. Morning foursomes [were] hard. Josh and Max were sent out together again expecting to carry on the form from yesterday [against Scotland but] no sparks flew, nothing dropped and they just never found the magic today,” Hill Snr said.

“[The] afternoon was a different story, I think Josh was so annoyed from his morning outing he found a game for the afternoon. He won 5&4, never a bogie on the card and was 5 under. Tomorrow is against Ireland!”

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