Ladies Golf                                           

Ladies Captain - Stella Curran

I grew up in Lytham St Annes on the blustery Fylde coast. I remember riding my bike to school past the crowds heading to watch Tony Jacklin’s Open victory in 1969 and wondering what the great attraction was! Several years passed before I found the answer ...it was 1981 when I hit my first golf ball - at the Ikoyi Club in Lagos, Nigeria, while visiting a school friend and her husband, both keen golfers.

On my return home home I bought a half set of clubs. I was working at Weetabix, in the same department as Alan Howells, a past Mens Captain at MHGC, who did his best to teach me to chip during lunch breaks.

I played at Delapre for a year and then joined Oadby Golf Club in 1984, after moving to the Market Harborough area to work at Golden Wonder. There were several of us in the group that started playing golf at Oadby and now we are spread out over the clubs of Leicestershire it’s so nice to meet up at Opens and matches.

I joined MHGC in 1990 and straight away I knew I’d made the right decision - the course with its slopes and views and fun, friendly people. I thought how much more forgiving Market Harborough was than Oadby which had lengthy out of bounds on the racecourse, hedges and a ditch which ran across several holes. At that time Market Harborough was only 9 holes so the only water was on the 9th (and the 18th). Now, with the many mature trees on the back 9 and water on the 3 fine finishing holes, ‘forgiving’ is not a description I would use!

So, all these years on, with lifelong friendships formed, I am now the Ladies Captain for 2024-5. I’m looking forward to the challenge and hope I can come somewhere near to matching the fine Captaincies of those before me.