All extracts are published here with the kind permission of the author John Moreton and the Warwickshire Union of Golf Clubs

So where did it all begin - Golf in Warwickshire? This is very first paragraph in the book.

'Golf was introduced to Warwickshire by an emigre Scot in 1853, when John Ross from Perthshire laid out a small course in Bordesley Green, which did not last very long. In 1868 another Scot, Mr J M G Tennant of Musselburgh, obtained permission to lay out three holes in Aston Park, to the bemusement of the onlookers. Tennant was a government official who had been transferred to Birmingham and was anxious to continue enjoying his national sport. He gathered a few kindred spirits, including a fellow Scot, Mr Cooper. The chief hazard they faced seems to have been the children who filled in the holes, however some of these were occasionally co-opted as caddies. Before the turn of the century more formal layouts had appeared within the city's boundaries'

The introduction goes on to tell a reader all about the first course in the County, built in Warwick, then the boom in club building around the end of the 1800s, with clubs springing up spread far and wide across our County.

The Centenary Book look in lots of detail at the Warwickshire team wins in the Midland League and five times in the English County finals. There have been many notable individual triumphs and this is how Peter McEvoy won his British Amateur in 1977 -

'Another mighty triumph was recorded by Peter McEvoy when he won the Amateur Championship at Ganton. After a walkover in the first round when he should have played Geoff Marks, Peter eliminated three Americans, PF Morman, TW Barwick and D Runkle, then met L Walker of Selby in the sixth round. Pete won on the 20th, having played a most amazing bunker shot, the beat PJ McKellar or East Renfrewshire 271. McKellar had beaten Sandy Lyle in the previous round. Peter's opponent in the final was another Scott, HM Campbell of Falkirk Tryst. In 'The Amateur', John Behrend describes the final as an anticlimax, for McEvoy was five up after the first round and finished the match 5&4.'

'John Duncombe recalls that Campbell had a huge following whilst only Peter's immediate family and four stalwarts who had left Copt Heath at 6 am to drive to Ganton, the other three being John Tickell, Bob Barnett and Bob's father. This performance led to Peter's first invitation to play in the Masters at Augusta, where he became the first English Amateur to make the cut.'

This is the first of a series of extracts we will be featuring in the lead up to the Centenary Dinner. As mentioned before, you need to be very quick to book a table at the Dinner. See your Secretary for all the details as soon as you can.

The Centenary Book is an even rarer golfing object. Only 500 will be printed and each is individually numbered and signed by the Author and our President John Stubbings. Contact our County Secretary to reserve a copy or you MAY be able to purchase a copy at the Centenary Dinner itself.

You may have noticed that this has been the first update for a couple of weeks on the Warwickshire web site. Our apologies but for the first time in five years, we have had a few days break. Don't think that between now and Christmas, and the Centenary Dinner, that this web site will not be updated virtually daily, just because the golf season has finished.

To come on the Home Page, are not just the promised extracts from the Centenary Book. There will be reviews of each team - the 1sts, the 2nds, the Juniors and the Seniors. There will be news of next year's Championship venues.

Each of the Centenary Champions will be giving us the recollections of how they managed their win.

In 'features, look out for lots of book reviews (one of the reasons why we had to have a break - to read them all!), news from the Pro Tours, places for your golfing holidays, how to get fit for next season, Interviews .....

Hope to see you at least four times a week for our updates!