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| Famous First Figures in Warwickshire Golf | |||
| The Final Centenary Celebrations and the Centenary Book - next week will see the biggest event in our Centenary Celebrations, the Centenary Dinner. If you don't have a place at the fabulous conference facilities of the National Motorcycle museum, it may well be too late. Its not too late to make sure you have a copy of the Warwickshire Union Centenary Book which will be first available at the Dinner. This feature is some more extracts from the book to give you a flavour of what will be a must have for any Warwickshire Golfer. | |||
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| Pictured is Mr HW Bainbridge, from the old Arden Golf Club. His name is synonymous with the Bainbridge Shield that all 52 Warwickshire clubs now play for each year - our County Scratch Foursommes competition.
Mr Bainbridge was a participant in one of the very first Union championships. He shot 90 and 88 but the courses those very early golfers played on were not manicured as today and even holes of 400 yards were two mighty blows. Golf was a very different game to now (what would they have thought of back then were a box of Pro VIs to have been 'magiced' through time?).
Scores in the 60s didn't happen yet a Mr FW Clive had a recorded handicap of +4 - the Matt Cryer of his day?
The first 'organiser' of the Union (our first Secretary) was a Mr T P Cooke, another name that is now on a Warwickshire trophy. Mr Bainbridge became the second President of the Union and as from the formation of the Union, he was a 'working' President not just an honorary one. The Centenary Book will tell you all about that first meeting at Olton and the 13 founder clubs, and introduce you to Mr JE Hill of Olton who became the very first President.
You can read all about what was a relatively slow start to County golf in Warwickshire. Those early years though saw people such as Mr Cooke establishing the job descriptions and the commitment that all your County Secretaries have shown in the past 100 years.
Mr Cooke also performed something very similar to this web site by editing 'The Birmingham Golfer' which he himself instituted in 1911. The magazine then became 'The Midland Golfer' before expiring in 1915, in the middle of the First World War, but for a number of years its was the 'must read' for any golfer in our County.
In the chapters about those early years, you will also discover why perhaps the Warwickshire Bears travel to North Wales each Spring for their annual first get-together. You will learn all about some more wonderful characters from clubs such as Olton, North Warwickshire, Coventry, Handsworth and many more.
Our next preview of the Centenary book will look at national success with some more extracts from what is a wonderful book. If you want to have a slice of golfing history, the make sure you get one of the 500 copies of the Centenary Book as soon as you can! |
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