Oxhey Golf Club

Last updated

Club information
Location Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Established1912
TypeSemi-private
Total holes18
Events hosted McVitie & Price Tournament;
News of the World Match Play
Designed by Harry Vardon
Par 72
Length6,539 yd (5,979 m)

Oxhey Golf Club was a golf club located near Watford in Hertfordshire, England. The Harry Vardon designed 18-hole golf course was host to several important tournaments including the News of the World Match Play and the McVitie & Price Tournament.

Contents

History

Oxhey Golf Club, located near Watford in Hertfordshire, was opened informally on 4 May 1912. The event was commemorated by a match between Harry Vardon, designer of the course, and Ted Ray, who had been appointed as the club's professional. The match was won by Ray, 4 and 2. [1] Ray served as the club professional until 1940. [2] [3]

First World War

A little more than two years after the course was opened for play, the First World War began on 28 July 1914 and the war had a detrimental effect on the club, causing 58 members to resign. Of that total were eight women members who also submitted their resignations. Five of the groundskeepers joined the army and still more volunteered but were not eligible for service. Nineteen of the caddies also answered the call for military duty. The club's steward joined the Royal Marine Pension Reserve and reported for duty at Gosport. [4]

By 5 May 1916, the war had already taken a toll on Oxhey caddies and greenkeepers with 5 casualties: 2 killed, 2 wounded, 1 prisoner. Among the club members there were 9 casualties: 3 killed, 5 wounded, 1 prisoner. [5] In May 1917, the course had fallen into disrepair due to a lack of groundskeepers. By then some 84 members were serving in the army or navy, and a groundsman had been killed and another was a prisoner of war.

Poor course conditions

The bunkers were suffering from the play of lambs and sheep who were also drinking water from the water boxes near the tees. A fire at the club had destroyed the caddie master’s and professional’s shed but the structures were quickly rebuilt. The winter of 1915–16 had been very cold and it was beneficial to the course. The deep freeze helped to drain the course in the spring of 1916. In the prior year there had been mud problems on the course since there had been a three-year stretch without frost, two of which were exceptionally wet. [5]

Post First World War history

A problem with worms on the course [6] had erupted by May 1920 and getting rid of them had become a priority. The course was reported as being in a "shocking condition" as a result of five years of neglect of the greens and damage caused by grazing sheep. By this time the club's greenkeeper had returned to work at the course after the war but his physical condition was reported as "badly damaged". Hunters had been shooting grouse on the course but were ordered to cease. [5]

Boys lying on a knoll watching golfers putting on a green below in the 1921 McVitie & Price Tournament at Oxhey Golf Club McVitie and Price Tournament - Oxhey Golf Club - 1921.JPG
Boys lying on a knoll watching golfers putting on a green below in the 1921 McVitie & Price Tournament at Oxhey Golf Club

By 1921, the condition of the course had been improved to the point that it was selected to host the 1921 McVitie & Price Tournament. The English professional Abe Mitchell won the 1921 tournament by two strokes from Joe Kirkwood, Sr.

Closure

In 1944, plans were approved for Oxhey Place to be redeveloped as a "cottage estate". [7] The golf club ceased to operate on 31 October 1946. [8] The golf course continued to be operated by the local council [9] until it was permanently closed on 31 March 1952, with plans to convert the course and clubhouse into playing fields and a community centre. [10]

Oxhey Park Golf Club

In 1991, a new 9-hole course was built, which opened as Oxhey Park Golf Club. [11] It has since closed. [10]

Major tournaments hosted

YearTournamentWinnerScoreMargin
of victory
Runner(s)-upRef
1921 McVitie & Price Tournament Flag of England.svg Abe Mitchell 2932 strokes Flag of Australia (converted).svg Joe Kirkwood Sr. [12]
1921 News of the World Match Play (final stage) Flag of England.svg Bert Seymour 40 holes Flag of Jersey.svg Jack Gaudin [13]
1923 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase Flag of England.svg Cyril Tolley 1531 stroke Flag of England.svg W. A. Powell [14]
1927 Findlater Shield Flag of England.svg Jack Smith 1446 strokes
1930News of the World Match Play (final stage) Flag of England.svg Charles Whitcombe 4 and 2 Flag of England.svg Henry Cotton [15]
1936News of the World Match Play (final stage) Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Dai Rees 1 up Flag of England.svg Ernest Whitcombe [16]

Oxhey was scheduled to host the final stage of the News of the World Match Play in 1914, but the tournament was cancelled following the outbreak of World War I. The club also hosted the inaugural Vagliano Trophy in 1931.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Vardon</span> Jersey professional golfer (1870–1937)

Henry William Vardon was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the 1900 U.S. Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Ouimet</span> American amateur golfer

Francis DeSales Ouimet was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish Open (golf)</span>

The Irish Open, currently titled as the Horizon Irish Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the European Tour.

<i>The Greatest Game Ever Played</i> 2005 film by Bill Paxton

The Greatest Game Ever Played is a 2005 American biographical sports film based on the early life of amateur golf champion Francis Ouimet and his surprise winning of the 1913 U.S. Open. The film was directed by Bill Paxton, and was his last film as a director. Shia LaBeouf plays the role of Ouimet. The film's screenplay was adapted by Mark Frost from his 2002 book, The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf. It was shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with the Kanawaki Golf Club, in Kahnawake, Quebec, the site of the golf sequences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Ray (golfer)</span> English professional golfer (1877–1943)

Edward Rivers John Ray was a British professional golfer, one of the leading players of the first quarter of the 20th century. He won two major championships, the Open Championship in 1912 and the U.S. Open in 1920, and contended in many others. He was captain of the British team in the inaugural Ryder Cup, in 1927.

The German Open was a men's golf tournament. It was first staged in 1911 when the winner was Harry Vardon. The following year the champion was another of the Great Triumvirate of late 19th and early 20th century British golfers, John Henry Taylor. The tournament was then not played again for over a decade. It was played each year from 1926 to 1939; Percy Alliss won five times in this era, Auguste Boyer four times and Henry Cotton three.

The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the News of the World, and was commonly known by the paper's name. Initially organised as the championship of British professionals, the event came to include invited players from other countries – in particular from around the Commonwealth. On occasion, American professionals also took part, notably in 1949 when eight members of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup side accepted invites to the event, Lloyd Mangrum reaching the semi-finals.

The Tooting Bec Cup is a trophy currently awarded by the Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland to the association member born in, or with a parent or parents born in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland who returns the lowest single-round score in The Open Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Mayo (golfer)</span> English professional golfer (1884–1977)

Charles Henry Mayo was an English professional golfer of the early 20th century. Mayo won the 1911 Belgian Open held at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium. Frenchman Arnaud Massy finished in second place. He had seven starts in the Open Championship, his best finish being T11 in 1912. He finished runner-up in the 1908 French Open and had five international appearances representing England against Scotland.

The Glasgow Herald Tournament was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the prize money was increased further, to 1,000 guineas (£1,050), a new record. The first prize increased from £160 to £200. From 1921 the event was often called the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guineas Tournament.

The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. The Daily Mail sponsored the St Andrews Tournament in 1919 and in 1920 continued their sponsorship with the start of the Daily Mail Tournament. The event was dropped after the 1927 tournament and not reinstated until 1936. The event was unusual in that it took place in 1940, after the start of World War II. The prize money for the 1940 event was just £500, money being raised for the Red Cross A tournament was also played in September 1945, soon after the end of the war, and was informally referred to as the "Victory" tournament. The last event was played in 1950.

The McVitie & Price Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom and sponsored by McVitie & Price. The event was held from 1920 to 1922.

The Southend Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in Southend, England and sponsored by the local council. The event was held just once, in 1937, and had total prize money of £1,000. The event was unusual in that the first half of the tournament was played in May but, because of heavy rain, the final half was played in September.

The Penfold Professional Golf League was a professional golf tournament played in England. The event was held twice, in 1938 and 1939. It was contested by 12 players, each playing the other in a round robin format. Everyone played two matches per day for the first five days and another match on the final day, a Saturday. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a halved match. Total prize money was £1,000 with £200 for the winner. The tournament was sponsored by Penfold Golf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertie Snowball</span> English professional golfer

Bertie Snowball was an English professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. He was at his peak as a player from 1904 to 1908 but was still competitive as late as 1914. He was killed in 1915 during World War I.

The Cruden Bay Professional Tournament was a professional golf tournament played irregularly at Cruden Bay from 1899 to 1914.

The PGA Assistants' Championship is a golf tournament for golf club assistant professionals. It is held by the British PGA. The first championship was held in 1930 but earlier national tournaments for assistant professionals had been held since 1910.

The 1912 News of the World Match Play was the tenth News of the World Match Play tournament. It was played from Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 October at Sunningdale Golf Club. 32 players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 18 holes, except for the final which was over 36 holes. The winner received £100 out of a total prize fund of £400. Harry Vardon defeated Ted Ray by 1 hole in the final to win the tournament.

The Galashiels Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Galashiels Golf Club near Galashiels, Scotland on 19 and 20 May 1920. It was first of three important tournaments held in Scotland on successive weeks, being followed by the Glasgow Herald Tournament from 24 to 27 May and the McVitie & Price Tournament on 2 and 3 June. Total prize money was £300.

Patrick Joseph Mahon was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading Irish professionals of the 1930s and had one exceptional season, 1937, where he was runner-up in three important British tournaments, third in another, finished second in the Harry Vardon Trophy standings and won the Irish Professional Championship. He won the Western Isles Open Championship in 1935 and won the Irish Professional Championship again in 1938 and 1939.

References

  1. "Two new courses opened" . The Sporting Life. 6 May 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 29 March 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Britain From Above". BritainFromAbove.org.uk. 15 May 1915. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  3. Askew, Terry. "Oxhey Golf Club – Part 4: McVitie & Price Tournament 1921" . Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  4. Askew, Terry. "Oxhey Golf Club – Part 1". OurOxhey.org.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Askew, Terry (15 May 1915). "Oxhey Golf Club – Part 2". OurOxhey.org.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. Askew, Terry. "Oxhey Golf Club – Part 3: Tenth Annual General Meeting" . Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  7. "Oxhey plan approved" . News Chronicle. 20 October 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 29 March 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Askew, Terry. "Oxhey Golf Club – Part 4". OurOxhey.org.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  9. "Oxhey public golf course" . The Observer and Gazette. 10 April 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 29 March 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Oxhey Park Golf Club". golftoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015 via Wayback Machine.
  11. "Golf – The £800 tournament – Abe Mitchell's great win". The Glasgow Herald . 23 May 1921. p. 6.
  12. "The £750 tournament – Seymour beat Gaudin in record final". The Glasgow Herald . 8 October 1921. p. 4.
  13. "Tolley wins gold vase tournament". The Glasgow Herald . 26 April 1923. p. 11.
  14. "Golf – The £1040 tournament – Whitcombe beats Cotton in final". The Glasgow Herald . 27 September 1930. p. 4.
  15. "Fine victory for Rees – Five down and wins on last green – E Whitcombe collapses in £1250 tournament". The Glasgow Herald . 19 September 1936. p. 3.

Coordinates: 51°37′59″N0°23′20″W / 51.6331°N 0.3889°W / 51.6331; -0.3889