|
CLUB HISTORY |
In The Beginning
It was the 1st March 1905 when some 40 of Sleaford’s prominent citizens responded to a circular and attended a two-hour public meeting at the Sleaford Sessions House (Town Hall), where they declared their support for the establishment of a golf club for Sleaford and District. The proposal was for a course of 9-holes, with the aspiration to extend to 18 holes at a later date.
The First Clubhouse & Course
The first club house was a small corrugated pavilion, transported by horse and cart from the defunct Sempringham Club, a venture that had survived for just 12 years. The first AGM was held on 2nd April 1906 at which time the club boasted c100 members. Play started in July of that year on a 9-hole course designed by Tom Williamson, a professional golfer attached to Notts Golf Club at Hollinwell and later Captain of the English International Golf team. The holes varied in length from 140 yards up to 460 yards, giving a total length for the 9-holes of 2,800 yards.
|
|
| Vardon & Taylor. |
.jpg)
Early Days
By 1910, membership had risen to 176 and increased accommodation and a cycle shed had been added to the facilities. The standing of the club, even at this early stage, was such that the committee succeeded, on 10th May 1910, in arranging a match, between Open Champion J H Taylor and former Open Champion, Harry Vardon. Harry Vardon prevailed with a score of 148 against J H Taylor 's 156. Jersey born Harry Vardon, a self-taught golfer, was professional at Ganton, having been a caddie for a couple of years and a gardener from age 14 until becoming a professional golfer at the age of 21. J H Taylor was renowned as an exponent of mechanical accuracy in all parts of the game and was the ‘golf scientist’ of his age.
18 Holes
Extending the course to 18 holes was a constant topic for discussion and, in May 1911, influenced inter-alia by the club having a healthy 193 members and a healthy financial state, the Committee was authorised to take advice from a suitable expert on the build of a further 9 holes. Five months later, following the further advice of Tom Williamson, the extension was approved at an estimated cost of £100, plus the cost of work on the greens.
From these early beginnings, the club continued to prosper and develop. Mechanisation brought improvements to the course and the growth in membership necessitated enlargement of other member-facilities