It’s been all change at Northcliffe Golf Club recently, with the new resident professional Duncan Moore opening a new club shop at the course.

Moore has replaced previous club pro Mick Hillas, who was at Northcliffe for 18 years and oversaw an extraordinary period of success.

The Shipley-based club won ten Bradford Union Scratch League titles between 1987 and 2005 and Hillas played a key role in that success.

Northcliffe president David Miller said: “He was instrumental in the development and the success of the club. He was a fantastic club man, very quiet off the course but he had his heart at the club.

“We had a scratch team that basically swept all before them and Mick played a huge part in that.

“Mick was responsible for coaching our juniors as well, who won the Sunday Telegraph Junior Team Championship at La Manga Club, Spain, which was the first junior title we’d won and they got to the finals again the following year.”

Now, 30-year-old Class AA PGA pro Moore is at the helm, which was a far more local career move than the former Keighley assistant had anticipated.

“I actually applied for a job in Russia and Cyprus but ended up getting one six miles down the road!” he said. “I’d played the course a few times and when I heard about the job I really wanted it.

“I’ve got a new assistant in Matt Stanworth and we want to make as big an impact as we possibly can.”

The immediate impact of Moore’s arrival has been the complete renovation of the club shop, which will be featuring an innovative facility for improving members’ short-games.

“We’ve completely gutted it and changed the layout. I got the keys on April 4 and we opened on the tenth and had about 50-60 people come down for the opening.

“One of the things we’re starting is a short-game clinic for members. We’re only one of five clubs in the region that has been instated as short-game specialists for Titleist Vokey Wedges.”

Moore, who has been coaching since he was 19 and was an amateur at Ilkley Golf Club, says his personal ambition for Northcliffe is matched by the club itself.

“Not only will I be leading the team players for each division, but we’ve just started a junior coaching scheme to increase the number of younger players at the club.

“The club has a specific drive to be one of the best in the area.

“We’re very business minded, there are a lot of forward-thinking people here and we want to increase and improve all areas of the club.”