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WESTON SUPER MARE GOLF CLUB - 1892

Uphill Road North
Weston super Mare
North Somerset
BS23 4NQ

Phone: 01934 626968
Fax: 01934 621360

secretary@westonsupermaregolfclub.com
www.westonsupermaregolfclub.com/

Course Statistics
18-Hole Course
Yards	Par	SSS

6245	70	70
6002	70	69
5549	70	70

It was when Queen Victoria ruled and Gladstone was Prime Minister that the first steps were taken to form Weston super Mare Golf Club. The first recorded evidence of the formation is in the proceedings of a public meeting held at the Grand Atlantic Hotel on 4 July 1892. Dr C P Crouch acted as Secretary of the meeting and later became Honorary Secretary of the proposed Weston super Mare Golf Club.

Chairman of this meeting was Sir Richard Paget (Member of Parliament for the Wells Division) who reported that “he had no doubt that a Golf Club would be of general advantage to Weston” — at Burnham such a Club had been eminently successful.”

Land owned by Mr R B Graves-Knifton had been inspected and proved admirably suited for the Links and Mr Tom Dunne who had planned some 30 links in various parts of the country was commissioned to carry out the laying of the Links.

His report said:

Sir,

In sending you a report of the capability of the ground at Weston Super Mare for Golf Links I beg to say I consider it well adapted for the purpose. The full complement for a round of 18 holes I have been able to plan without crossing. There are a number of natural hazards and the turf throughout is of excellent quality. The ladies’ links, which I have marked out, will, when several hazards have been made, form also a good course.

I remain sir,

Your obedient servant

Tom Dunne >

Walter Hagen playing the 1st at Weston

At this time it was decided that the annual subscription should be one guinea without entrance fee, but that after the first 150 members had joined an entrance fee of one guinea would be charged. The ladies were to pay an annual subscription of fifteen shillings, although any lady “of the same family” was to pay 10/6d. It is understood that at this time the estimated cost of a set of clubs was 22/- for Men and 9/- for Ladies.

Initially golf was very little known in the district, but as work began on constructing the Course, more and more people began to show an interest, so that at a meeting of the Committee on 25 July 1892, 140 ladies and gentlemen had already joined the Club, thus producing an income of £ 100 per annum. Just 21 days after this inaugural meeting the gentlemen’s links of eighteen teeing grounds and eighteen putting greens was ready for play. The cost, incurred by Tom Dunne and his men involved in laying out these links, was £6.

A ladies links was later prepared on the ground which today is covered by the twelfth and eighteenth holes. It was later agreed that ladies should be allowed to play on the gentlemen’s links on Mondays and Thursdays up to 2.OOpm. Gentlemen were not allowed on the ladies links “save by a lady’s invitation and in her company”.

In spite of heavy initial expenses in the first year, their balance sheet at the year end showed a small deficit of £8 3s 4d owing to the Treasurer. Poor Treasurer, it appears that he also had to act as banker to the Club! By the second AGM held September 1894 the Treasurer had recovered his £8 3s 4d and was able to report a surplus of £7 2s to be carried forward to the following year.

The official opening of the new Clubhouse was 13 April 1905, previously the Clubhouse was at 24 Moorland Road, (a house situated opposite the Course). The most important happening in 1896 was the decision to convert the course from nine holes to eighteen holes. Another resolution that empowered the Committee to obtain a lease of the links accompanied this decision. Included in a five year lease was the St Nicholas playground — now the caravan site between the fourth and the fifth holes. Members still to this day rely on their Landlord for security of tenure for the future and look with envy at those clubs owning their own course.

Late in 1905 the club took another significant step in its development — a full time paid secretary was appointed. This was generally accepted to be the first occasion when a full time paid secretary was appointed to a golf club in England. Mr R A Riddell (Bob) held his position for forty years. His office at that time was a cubby hole in the corner of the men’s bar.

In 1922 the course was altered and modernised at a cost of £1,000 by Dr Alister MacKenzie MD, who was considered to be one of the great golf course architects — among other courses he designed were Fulford, Moortown, and Royal St Georges, and in the States, Pebble Peach and Augusta National. MacKenzie was a great admirer of the Old Course at St Andrews and the present fifteenth hole results from his admiration of the Road Hole.

In 1962, golf course architect W Hawtree suggested several alterations to the layout, some of which were carried out — all but one were subsequently changed back!

Despite tinkering by a succession of amateur course architects as Green Committees have changed throughout the years, Dr MacKenzie’ s 1922 design has stood the test of time extremely well and Weston super Mare Golf Course still has the reputation of being one of the finest in the South West of England.