ENGLISH AMATEUR RETURNS TO HOLLINWELL IN 2004

The English Golf Union is taking its blue riband event, the English Amateur Championship, back to the Notts Golf Club at Hollinwell in 2004.

The tournament will be played from 26-31 July and will mark the return of the Championship to one of the finest inland courses in the country for the first time in eight years.

The last occasion when the English title was decided at Hollinwell was in 1996 when Shaun Webster defeated Denny Lucas 6 and 4 in the 36-hole final.

The biennial international against France, which gets the main season underway, is scheduled for the testing Royal St George's links at Sandwich in Kent on 8-9 May.

In the other venues released in the 2004 schedule, the West Lancashire Golf Club will stage the Brabazon Trophy for the first time on 14-16 May, while the Mid-Amateur Championship for the Logan Trophy is also heading to the north west and Fairhaven on 20-22 August.

John O'Gaunt in Bedfordshire will be the scene for the English Seniors' Championship in June, while Sandwell Park at West Bromwich will host the Champion Club Tournament in September.

As usual, the National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa will stage the Gold Medal and the County Champions events in August and September respectively, while the County Finals will be held at Worksop in Nottingham in late September.

On the schedule for boys events, the Under-16 Strokeplay Championship for the McGregor Trophy moves to the south west and the Dudsbury Club near Bournemouth, while Northumberland GC will stage the Carris Trophy, the Under-18 Championship, both in July.

The Reid Trophy, the Under-14 Championship heads for King's Norton in the West Midlands, while another Bournemouth venue, Broadstone, will be the scene of the Boys County Finals in late August.

The venue for the England v Scotland Under-16 match has still to be arranged, but the Under-16 Boys v the Under-18 Girls will be played at Piltdown in Sussex, both contests in October.

Venues 2004
England v France 8th-9th May Royal St George's
Brabazon Trophy 14th - 16th May West Lancs
English Seniors 2nd - 4th June John O'Gaunt
McGregor Trophy 29th June - 2nd July Dudsbury
Carris Trophy 20th - 22nd July Northumberland GC
English Amateur 26th - 31st July Notts Hollinwell
Reid Trophy 12th - 13th August Kings Norton
Gold Medal 14th - 15th August Woodhall Spa
Mid-Amateur (Logan Trophy) 20th - 22nd August Fairhaven
English Boys County Finals 30th August - 1st September Broadstone
English Champion Club 3rd - 4th September Sandwell Park
IMS Finals 18th - 19th September Ashford Manor
County Champions 18th September Woodhall Spa
English County Finals 24th - 26th September Worksop
England Boys U16 v Girls U18 10th October Piltdown

For full information regarding the English Golf Union visit: http://www.englishgolfunion.org