Geoffrey Tickell competed in the Open Championship three times and won a PGA national tournament during his 40-plus years as head professional at the Hallamshire Golf Club.
Golf was a key factor when Geoff was growing up. He was a junior member at Huyton and Prescott Golf Club in Liverpool and spent countless hours playing with his father and brother when staying at the family’s holiday home at Penmaenmawr in north Wales.
He joined the PGA in 1968 on being taken on as an assistant by Jack Wilkshire at St Annes Old Links in Lancashire and was elected to membership three years later. He remained at St Annes Old Links for another four years before moving to Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Nottinghamshire. His stay there proved short-lived, however, as he was head-hunted by the Hallamshire.
His interview for the position of head professional involved a playing round with the Yorkshire club’s secretary and captain and, having shot 67, Geoff was offered the job on the spot. Aged just 23, he took a few days before agreeing to take on a role he would hold for 42 years before retiring in 2017.
It proved a wise decision as the club encouraged him to play and he was afforded time during the winter months to travel and compete on the European, African and Asian Tours. Closer to home he qualified for the Open Championship on three occasions - at Turnberry in 1977 and Muirfield in 1980 and 1987.
Geoff also enjoyed success competing in PGA tournaments at both national and local levels and, on turning 50, he qualified for what is now the Staysure Legends Tour, where he competed for two seasons.
And it was as a senior that Geoff achieved what he described as his biggest win, victory in the Senior PGA Professional Championship at Kings Lynn in 2004. A proud PGA member throughout his career, highlighted by his captaincy of the North Region in 1996, Geoff continued to support the Association following his retirement by competing in the Welsh National PGA Championship and Super 60s Championship until 2024. Appropriately, the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles was the stage for the his final round of golf, played alongside his two sons last November.
Geoff is survived by Julie, his wife, daughters Laura and Sarah, and sons William and Greg. The PGA extends heartfelt condolences to them, plus his other family members and friends on their loss
