NOVEMBER 2023 SPECIAL EDITION
INSIDE THE CENTENARY DINNER
2023 CHAMPIONS
THE CENTENARY MATCH
FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to this special Centenary edition of the Staffordshire Golfer.
We’ve had a fantastic year, with special events taking place throughout the year to celebrate 100 years of The Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs. We’d love you to share this great issue with as many of your members and golfing friends as possible to spread the some of the great stories from our Centenary year and beyond. On a personal note, whilst I’ve only been the County Secretary for over 12 months in the Union’s history, I’ve enjoyed every second and I’ve met some great people along the way. It’s been fantastic to attend the county competitions and meet new
friends and golfers from all corners of the County. I’ve also had the opportunity to welcome two new clubs into the County circle, with both Whiston Hall Golf Club and JCB Golf and Country Club coming on board.
We’ve also brought to you this newsletter, which we believe is leading the way for County communications across the country. It’s been a delight to help put this together and share some of the wonderful stories from golfers and golf clubs all around the County. In this issue you will see photos from the Presentation and Centenary dinner we hosted at Brocton Hall Golf Club and The Chase Golf and Country Club, as we crowned all of our winners from the 2023 season across both evenings. We’ve also
THE TEAM AT STAFFORDSHIRE GOLFER Editor and Production: Medi8 Golf – nathan@medi8ltd.co.uk Editorial research: Gareth Shaw – secretary@staffsgolf.org.uk Editorial research: Michael Entecott – michael.entecott@staffsgolf.org.uk
A MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTY SECRETARY
dived into the archives to bring you some our favourite photos from the last 100 years, along with some great photos from our Centenary match against Warwickshire.
The centenary book was also a huge success. Special thanks must go to Pippa Dathan with the help of President Andrew, for putting together such a great recollection of memories for us all to look back on. You’ll find two of our favourite stories from the Centenary book inside this issue. I’ll leave you to read this fantastic Centenary issue, and planning is already well underway for issue nine. We’d love to hear and share the great stories that are happening at your club, so please get in touch!
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
It has been an absolute privilege to represent the Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs as its president in 2023, our Centenary year. I have had the honour and good fortune to be associated with Staffordshire Golf, in many different capacities for 58 years – more than half the lifetime of the Union. Firstly, I must pay tribute to the tenacity of those men who had the drive and the foresight to bring together golf clubs from across Staffordshire to form the County Union, one hundred years ago. Congratulations and thanks must also go to all the golf clubs and their members, throughout Staffordshire, for their continued support of golf in our County.
Now onto this year, it’s been a great year both on and off the golf course, which has culminated this month with some fantastic celebrations. Our Centenary match against Warwickshire was played at Little Aston Golf Club, on the same day it was played 100 years ago. I think it’s fair to say that golf has evolved since then, and I’m not sure anyone who played in that match could’ve dreamed where golf and the Union would be today. The match was played in great spirits, and the course was in fantastic condition after all the rain we’ve had over the last couple of weeks. The celebrations came to an end with our Centenary dinner, where trophies were presented and stories from the past 100 years were shared. It was a fitting way to bring to an end the Centenary celebrations. There has been lots going on this year. We’ve added new member clubs to the SUGC fold. We’ve launched our new book detailing the first 100 years of the Union. We’ve launched a new and improved digital magazine, that has been well received across the County and further afield. We also introduced a new tournament into our schedule, the Champion of Champions event at JCB Golf and Country Club. Away from the County, Brocton Hall Golf Club have received the Centenary Bowl that was kindly donated by the late Geoff Marks’ family. The trophy will now be the prize for the Centenary Club Championship. The trophy has a great history, having been presented to Geoff when he captained and won the Walker Cup for the first time on American soil. I’ll leave you to read the rest of this Centenary issue here, but as we head into the next period of history as a Union we promise to always strive to improve and that shall remain our attitude in the years to come. Here’s to the next 100 years. Andrew N Dathan County President 2023
A MESSAGE FROM THE PATRON OF THE STAFFORDSHIRE UNION OF GOLF CLUBS
LORD STAFFORD:
My family has had a long association with golf in Staffordshire, so I am delighted to write the foreword to the Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs Centenary book. My grandfather and great uncle, the Hon. Thomas and the Hon. Basil Fitzherbert, were extremely good golfers and between them won many medals, still some of my most treasured possessions. My grandfather was Midland Amateur Strokeplay Champion in 1899 and in 1894 my great uncle had become one of the original members of Trentham Golf Club. Both men interrupted their golf when they purchased a machine gun and joined the Staffordshire Yeomanry as gunners in the Boer War (1899-1902). I am now a member of Trentham myself and have been proud to represent the County on the golf course, on occasion. Golf is an exceptional sport for bringing people from all walks of life together and I recommend this book as a point of reference for future generations who want to understand how the game in Staffordshire developed. You’ll read about the people and the clubs who made it happen and relive the achievements of our teams. May I wish everyone associated with golf in Staffordshire a happy and successful Centenary. Lord Stafford DL
THE CENTENARY BOOK The Centenary book set out to identify one hundred years of important developments in the formation and progression of the Staffordshire County Golf Union. It highlights the people and clubs involved in ensuring continuity and excellence of men’s golf within Staffordshire. Few written minutes are available from 1923-1945 so much of the early material is reliant upon photographs, result books and press-cuttings. Information has also been sourced from archives and Centenary books across the Midlands with clubs, players and officials freely sharing whatever information they have. The book is an interpretation of evidence available about the first one hundred years of Staffordshire County Golf and I tried to place it in both local and national context. The Centenary committee of Andrew Dathan (Chairman), Michael Entecott, Patricia Davies, Roger Waite and Martin Payne have guided me through, what was initially, a rather daunting process. I must particularly mention and thank Patricia Davies whose encouragement, expertise, kindness and infinite patience guided me throughout the whole process of writing this book. Enormous gratitude too to Dave Peters from Enville GC for both his time and professional prowess with many of the photographs.
I hope that this book will appeal to both young and old golfers alike and that everyone connected to golf in Staffordshire will have as much enjoyment reading this book as I have had researching and writing it. Pippa Dathan
A MESSAGE FROM MARTIN HALL AND ROB MAXFIELD
Martin Hall
Robert Maxfield
Ahead of the Centenary Dinner we reached out to two people whose golfing careers have taken them in very different directions, but both started in the same place – The Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs. Martin Hall is an ex European Tour player who went on to a stellar career in coaching, ending up hosting the School of Golf, which airs on the Golf Channel. Robert Maxfield is a member of Wolstanton Golf Club and also the Chief Executive of The PGA. Robert still plays in County events from time to time, and it’s great to see someone turn their love of the game into a long and successful career at the very pinnacle of the industry. Both of these Staffordshire alumni provided support for our Centenary dinner by recording these videos to be shared on the night.
CENTENARY MATCH
The first ever county match played by Staffordshire was on Wednesday, 7th November 1923 at Little Aston Golf Club, against Warwickshire. This year on the same date, 7th November, a match was played at the same venue, Little Aston Golf Club. On a fine autumn day, 48 players took part in the Centenary match. Befitting the occasion, honours were even at 6 points each. Our thanks go to Pippa and the President, Andrew Dathan, who organised a splendid day and to Graham Barton who organised the Warwickshire team. Special thanks to Little Aston Golf Club for the use of the golf course which was in excellent condition.
THE CENTENARY DINNER
When planning for the Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs Centenary began in 2017, it was decided that a Centenary County dinner was a must. We needed a venue in Staffordshire with a large capacity and a hotel nearby for invited guests. We also wanted to use a Staffordshire golf club if possible. The Chase Golf and Country club fitted the bill perfectly with a capacity of 160 and there was the nearby Moat House for our guests to stay.
The England Golf President for 2023, Chris Pascall was invited to speak together with a well known golf correspondent Clive Agran. The Centenary President, Andrew Dathan, was also to be a speaker. The invited guests included the Captains from our 8 founding clubs; Dartmouth, Handsworth, Little Aston, Oxley Park, Penn, South Staffordshire, Sandwell Park and Walsall. Other guests were current Midland County Presidents and MGU officials.
County Championship prize winners Zarak Curley, (County Champion), Oliver Perks (Legge Cup) and Bloxwich Golf Club, (Scarf Shield) were honoured as well as Michael Entecott who was awarded the Len Turner Trophy for services to the County. Special Centenary pens, pin badges and ball markers were given to all guests to mark the Centenary. A very special dinner to mark a very special occasion in the history of the Staffordshire Golf Union.
100 YEARS AND COUNTING! 2023 has marked 100 years since the beginning of the Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs. The union has grown to 48 golf clubs, from the original eight and we continue to go from strength to strength. We’ve had a great year, full of events, centenary celebrations and much more. At the start of the year we sat down with County President Andrew Dathan and County Stalwart Pippa Dathan to discuss everything that would be happening in 2023, so lets take you back to the start of the year…
Gareth Shaw: Can you take us on a journey of how long you’ve been working on pulling the Centenary year together? Andrew Dathan: Well, I’ve been involved with Staffordshire golf in some way since I was a junior back in the 60s until now. In 1999, we had a special competition to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the county union. It then occurred to me in 2013 that we were only 10 years away from our centenary. I said in executive meetings that we ought to do something about it. Eventually, Martin Payne who was the President at the time just turned round and said “Ok Andrew, it’s up to you. You’re going to be the Centenary Chairman, get something done.” Since then, we’ve been working for more than five years doing Centenary books and
everything that hopefully is going to come to fruition this year. G.S: Pippa, you’ve been heavily involved in putting the book together. Has that been an interesting journey that you’ve gone on, delving into the archives? Pippa Dathan: Yes, I somehow found myself writing the book. I do love research and I decided after having never written a book before that I wanted just really to tell a story of how golf came to Staffordshire. The people who were involved in that are the most important part of any county union. The centenary book will be due out very, very soon. It documents everything that has happened in the county in these hundred years, along with lots and lots of photo-
graphs. There has been an awful lot of hunting in archives in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the Stafford Archive. People all around the Midlands and indeed in Staffordshire have been really, really helpful sending me photographs along with things that they remembered. G.S: Where did it all begin for Staffordshire? P.D: The Grand Hotel in Birmingham! We were one of the last counties at that time to form a Union. Questions had been asked why not? Why hasn’t Staffordshire formed a union? Eventually they decided they had probably enough good players to start being involved in county golf. So, Frank Scarf chaired the first meeting, where there were eight clubs present and the County union
was formed. The first county match was on November the 7th against Warwickshire. We then played in more county matches and a county championship in 1924. We also played the Scarf Shield, which was a team championship, and since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. G.S: We’re going to be celebrating that first match this year, aren’t we? P.D: Yes, we certainly are. We’ve got it all planned that we are going to have a replay of the match against Warwickshire at Little Aston on Tuesday the 7th of November, which is the date and venue of the very first county match. G.S: How do you see the next 100 years of the Union looking? P.D: I think one of the most important things is that we have to re-engage with the clubs and the club members and get them to understand that the county is a very important part of club golf. It would be nice to have lots of supporters coming to cheer on our juniors and teams generally. I think that is one of the most important things, making sure we’re engaging with the with the clubs so they see it as an honour to host something for the county.
We would have members coming out to support. They were really enthusiastic to watch the county players. Obviously, I think the constraints of today’s life people are very busy and the members just want to play golf. If the county is there, then perhaps they’re stopping them from playing golf, which is a great shame. A.D: I think one problem is that when I used to play county golf there was the same number of county matches that there are now, but the other competitions are just tremendous. The counties are just amazing and if you want to, you can play in five or six competitions in a week. Also, there is now the Nick Faldo series, the Sullivan series and the juniors are off playing golf all over the country. Trying to get people together to make a team is very difficult. I don’t think that’s going to change unless something is done from the top levels. This interview is taken from a longer interview with Pippa and Andrew that can be listened to on the SUGC podcast. You can find the episode and many others here. CLICK HERE
Anyone wishing to purchase a copy of the SUGC centenary book should contact secretary@staffsgolf.org.uk Full of stories, photographs and highlights of the past 100 years of Staffordshire Golf, it really is a treasure trove of information that will become your own piece of Staffordshire history.
2023 PRESENTATION EVENING
We held our Presentation Dinner at Brocton Hall Golf Club on 10th November, where all the winners from the 2023 season got together to receive their prizes and celebrate their achievements. It was a fantastic evening, with stories being shared from the season and from the last 100 years. We’d like to thank Brocton Hall for hosting, and everyone who attended.
FROM THE CENTENARY BOOK Our Centenary book has been a great success. For those who haven’t got a copy here is an extract from one of the chapters that goes into the detail about the rebuilding of the Union and golf in Staffordshire following the conclusion of World War Two.
Rebuilding “In golf we can the world forget, with all its worries, toil and fret. And revel to our hearts content in joys alas too quickly spent.” Anon 1927 (A History of Handsworth G.C. R.L. Neale 1995) Men and women returned from the war in 1945 and began to resume their lives in peacetime but the impact of post-war changes was affecting everyone. Immediately after the war had ended, the return to golf was slow. Other things were deemed to be more important and the level of interest was low. Golf courses had also been affected by the demands of wartime and there was a chronic shortage of labour. Many clubs struggled under conditions of great austerity with drastic reductions in subscriptions and visitor income. The severe weather of 1947 did not help golf courses either with deep snow and freezing weather, combined with food and fuel shortages.Work on the course was often done on a voluntary basis by members and Fred Knight from Bloxwich put up a note in the clubhouse which read:
“Will members please chop off the dandelion heads as they walk the fairways.” Several clubs, including Trentham, held a complimentary dinner for returning members of H.M. Forces in 1946. County matches eventually resumed and the first Staffordshire match since 1939 was held at Trentham in July 1946 against Derbyshire and resulted in a tie. The first County President, Frank Scarf, had died in 1944 and Alfred Gordon Jones was appointed on February 15th 1946 together with a new Executive. Edward Elias, who had also been in office as Secretary since 1923, retired and was replaced by Fred Church. Club subscriptions to the County rose to 5 guineas for clubs with 100 members or less and 8 guineas for those with more than 100 members.
In 1948, the inaugural Staffordshire Open Championship was held at Sandwell Park. It was to be a competition for both amateur and professional golfers and was won by the wellknown Staffordshire amateur, Charlie Stowe. That same year, Charlie Stowe, who was the first Staffordshire County Captain, together with R.M.W. Pritchard and G. Clarke, won the English County Championship for Staffordshire, for a third time. The South Staffordshire held a complimentary dinner in their honour.
Trentham Dinner invitation 1946 Courtesy Trentham Centenary Book
Winning Staffordshire Team 1948 L-R; RMW Pritchard, G. Clarke, C. Stowe (County Captain), AT Vernon (Captain The South Staffordshire), WMB Burridge (President E.G.U.), Major A Whitley Lavarack (Secretary E.G.U).Courtesy Express & Star May 14th 1948
CENTENARY ARCHIVE PICTURES
Is there someone at your club that goes above and beyond? Has there been a hole-in-one or an exceptional score? Do you have a special event happening in the coming months? Have you redecorated the clubhouse? We want to know! Let us know of anything exciting going on at your club and we’ll try and find a spot in the next edition! E-mail: secretary@staffsgolf.org.uk
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