Glamorganshire Golf Club

Last updated

The Clubhouse from the 18th fairway Glamorganshire clubhouse.JPG
The Clubhouse from the 18th fairway

Glamorganshire Golf Club is located in Lower Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) south west from the capital city of Cardiff and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Wales. The club was founded by the Earl of Plymouth.

Contents

The club played a leading role in the founding of the Welsh Golf Union, and it twice hosted the Welsh Amateur Championship as well as the Welsh Ladies inaugural Championships in it early years.

In 1898 the club was the testing ground of Dr Frank Stableford's new Stableford revolutionary golf scoring system still used today.

Although near the sea, the Glamorganshire course is not a links, but an 18-hole parkland course on gently undulating ground at the eastern edge of what is now Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

Foundation

In 1890 the Earl of Plymouth gifted an extensive plot of land in Lower Penarth and the club was founded initially as a nine-hole course. The club undertook an expansion programme to the full eighteen-hole course during 1896 and the following year enabling the 1897 Welsh Amateur Championship to take place in Penarth for the first time. [1]

The Stableford scoring system

A view of the course from the clubhouse area Glamorganshire Golf Club.jpg
A view of the course from the clubhouse area

The Stableford method of golf scoring, a system now utilised and revered, particularly by amateur golfers, the world over, was first devised by a Glamorganshire club member, Dr. Frank Barney Gordon Stableford. He first tried it out on fellow members of the club on 30 September 1898.

Prior to this revolutionary experiment here was no stroke indexing system available to golfers. Essentially all holes were played to par and the ‘Stableford’ points applied. At the end of the game one third of the players handicap was added to the overall ‘Stableford’ adjusted score. The maximum handicap for the event was fifteen. The new system obviously favoured the better golfer at the time which is hardly surprising as the good doctor was a single figure handicapper.

Stableford himself did not actually participate in his initial experiment though he donated a special prize to the winner, Mr W Hastings Watson, who scored a remarkable forty two points. There is no indication of what the members thought about the alternative of scoring by points or, indeed, whether they tried it out on any other occasions.

Dr Stableford, who was a resident of Whitchurch, Cardiff at the time, left the Glamorganshire Golf Club when he set off to serve as an Army Surgeon in the Boer War. On his return to Wales he joined the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club where he won the Royal Porthcawl Championship in 1907 and in the same year reached the semi -final of the Welsh Amateur Championship.

The Barbarians rugby football club

It is probable that no other golf club in the world can lay claim to have hosted so many great rugby players from all over the world, because the famous Barbarians visited the Glamorganshire club every Easter Sunday between 1901 and 1996 as part of their traditional Easter weekend touring fixtures against famous Welsh clubs.

Their Sunday 'official golf frolic' is regarded a major part of the Barbarians legend and, in the eyes of most of their players, was almost of equal importance to the weekend's rugby. The competitive sporting drive of the rugby stars was as evident on the golf course as it was on any rugby field.

In 1924–25 in recognition of the generosity of the golf club, ninety five Barbarian members subscribed a total of £52.17s.0d for a 95-ounce perpetual silver cup called the Barbarians Challenge Cup, to be completed for annually by club members on Easter Monday to commemorate the eagerly anticipated Easter visits by the Barbarians.

The mounted head of a Springbok, presented to the Barbarians team after they defeated the South African national team in 1961, remains on display in the golf club's bar to this day.

Military

During World War II Glamorganshire Golf Course was the location of an experimental rocket battery as part of the town's air defences. The battery was manned by 50 soldiers from the Royal Artillery who were billeted in a small 'village' of Nissen huts built in the club's grounds. Unannounced practice firings of the rocket battery frequently caused concern and alarm amongst local residents. Several public air raid shelters, for Lower Penarth residents and workers at the Cement Factory, were constructed in the club grounds and on the land that now forms part of Cosmeston Country Park.

Guy Gibson VC

Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC VCGuyPenroseGibson.jpg
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC

Guy Gibson the leader of the legendary Dam Busters raid over Germany in World War II, was not only an honorary member of Glamorganshire Golf Club but when the news came that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross he celebrated that night in the clubhouse.

Wing Commander Gibson's association with Glamorganshire began when the air ace met a young Penarthian, Eve Moore, at a party in Coventry during early December 1939 while he was on three days rest leave at his brother's house.

The following year Gibson and Eve were married at All Saints Church in Penarth. Guy Gibson flew his Blenheim bomber from his airbase in Lincolnshire to RAF Pengam Moors for the wedding.

Eve's parents, Mr and Mrs Ernest Moore, lived in Archer Road, Penarth, and the couple moved in with them while they considered buying a home of their own. Ernest Moore was a keen golfer and invited his new son-in-law to join the Glamorganshire club as an honorary member.

After the Dambusters raid took place in May 1943, widely hailed as a turning point of the War, Gibson spent his two-week post-raid leave in Penarth, playing golf on most days. While he was on that leave he had a call from the Air Ministry telling him that he had been awarded the VC. Ernest Moore immediately telephoned the steward at Glamorganshire and asked to lay on as many drinks as he could find and the whole family went down to celebrate in style at the clubhouse.

Gibson was an enthusiastic golfer and often returned to his favourite course at the Glamorganshire club while on leave until his death.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vale of Glamorgan</span> County borough in Wales

The Vale of Glamorgan, often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major, and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbarian F.C.</span> British rugby union team

The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians, is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, players from 31 countries had played for them. Traditionally at least one uncapped player is selected for each match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penarth</span> Human settlement in Wales

Penarth is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay.

Stroke play is a scoring system in the sport of golf. In the regular form of stroke play, also known as medal play, the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In a regular stroke play competition, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the course of the round, or rounds. Other forms of stroke play include Stableford, whereby points are gained based on hole scores, maximum score, in which there is a limit to the number of strokes that may be taken on each hole, and par, where holes are won or lost against a target score on each hole.

A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's ability, or potential ability, that is used to enable players of different abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Club</span> Athletic club and golf club in San Francisco

The Olympic Club is an athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, California.

Stableford is a scoring system used in the sport of golf. Rather than counting the total number of strokes taken, as in regular stroke play, it involves scoring points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. Unlike traditional scoring methods, where the aim is to have the lowest score, under Stableford rules, the objective is to have the highest score.

Penarth Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based since 1924 at The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road, in Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.

Par, or bogey, is a scoring system used mostly in amateur and club golf. It is a stroke play format played against the course, with match play scoring based on the number of strokes taken on each hole compared to a fixed score, usually the par or bogey; in this context, bogey is meant in the traditional sense as the score a good player would expect on the hole, usually par but occasionally one stroke more. The winner of the competition is the player with the highest differential of holes "won" to holes "lost", with the result on each hole normally based on the players handicap-adjusted score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golf</span> Club-and-ball sport

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Porthcawl Golf Club</span> Golf club in Wales, United Kingdom

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel.

The University Golf Match is the annual golf match contested between the Full Blue golf teams from Oxford and Cambridge universities. Dating back to 1878, it is the oldest amateur event in golf, as the first Amateur Championship was played in 1885. It is also the oldest team event in English golf. Scottish team matches were common after 1849, and included St Andrews University matches against Fife artisan clubs.

Mark Anthony Wyatt is a former Welsh international rugby union player. He played club rugby for several university teams, and later Swansea. He was selected to play for Wales on ten occasions, scoring 81 points. Mark was famed for his attacking fullback play and his place kicking. He is the record points scorer for Swansea with 2734 points. Mark's current sporting interest lie on the golf course, playing off a handicap of 4 and he is a member of The Royal Porthcawl Golf club. He is a Director at Gower Business Systems Ltd a leading ICT company in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golf in Wales</span>

Golf is a popular sport in Wales. Although the sport of golf in Great Britain is most associated with Scotland, where it was established and developed, Wales can record its first courses back to the 1880s, and today has over 200 clubs. The first amateur golf competition was held in 1895, and the first professional championship was in 1904. Wales has produced several players of note, including one player, Ian Woosnam, who has won one of the Men's major golf championships and Wales has twice won the men's World Cup, in 1987 and 2005, respectively. Wales also hosted the Ryder Cup, when it was held at Newport's Celtic Manor Resort in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaton Carew Golf Club</span>

Seaton Carew Golf Club has held golf games since 1874, making it the tenth oldest golf club in England. The club is based in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool on the North Sea coast, north of the River Tees in North East England. When it was first established it was the only golf club in the English counties of Yorkshire and Durham, hence its original name Durham & Yorkshire Golf Club; the club's crest and badge retain the emblems of both the Archbishop of Durham and The Archbishop of York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Gregory (golfer)</span> English professional golfer

Scott Samuel Gregory is an English professional golfer. He won the 2016 Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, beating Robert MacIntyre 2&1 in the final, becoming the first Hampshire-born player to win the Championship.

The stroke index is a numbering system used in handicap golf competitions. The rules of golf require that the committee in charge of a competition publish a Handicap Stroke Table indicating the order of holes at which handicap strokes are to be given. Normally the table is included on the scorecard and lists the stroke index of each hole, a number from 1 to 18. Handicap strokes are given at holes where the stroke index of the hole is less than or equal to the number of strokes given. The table can be used in both match play and stroke play competitions.

The 2014 Senior Open Championship was a senior major golf championship and the 28th Senior Open Championship, held 24–27 July at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. It was the first Senior Open Championship played at the course and the 12th Senior Open Championship played as a senior major championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Senior Open Championship</span> Golf tournament

The 2017 Senior Open Championship was a senior major golf championship and the 31st Senior Open Championship, held 27–30 July at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. It was the 2nd Senior Open Championship played at the course and the 15th Senior Open Championship played as a senior major championship.

References

51°25′16.95″N03°11′00.78″W / 51.4213750°N 3.1835500°W / 51.4213750; -3.1835500