Golfing Societies in the UK and beyond

[Jim McCann]

There are dozens of societies affiliated to the Scottish Golf Union and they’re listed annually in the SGU Official Yearbook.

Amongst the usual suspects (pun intended) this year - which included Tayside Police, Fife Constabulary, Strathclyde Police and Lothian & Borders Police - was one that caught my eye in Perth & Kinross called The Honourable Company of Glencarse Golfers. 

[Michael Whitaker]

There might well be more golfing societies in the US than in the UK. They're just called 'golf clubs' or 'clubs without courses.' As in the UK they can be organized of coworkers, non-golf clubs, mutual interest organizations, etc.

Mike Whitaker I believe runs one.

Our society, the Greenville Golfing Society, was formed in 2002 after a trip to Scotland where we learned about the concept. We called the USGA and they said we could form a club of the type they then called  "golf club without real estate."  It is now called a "Type II," I believe. The GGS is a member of the SC Golf Association and the USGA, so we function basically the same as any private club in the state.

As Sean would say, we are a "proper" club with a tournament committee, handicap committee and board of directors. We have weekly games and a full slate of events including a club championship, matchplay championship, and several one-day member/member or member/guest competitions.

As much as I would like, I don't "run" the club. I'm a past president and currently serve as the treasurer.

[Marc Haring]

Should there not be a golfclubatlas society, dedicated to the appreciation of what we know to be quality golf. Meet up a few times a year at venues to drool over, play, drink, discuss the next venue. 

[Rich Goodale]

Scott

The two leading seniors golfing societies in the UK are:

uksga.co.uk
ssgs.co.uk

If you want to play Internationally for Scotland, England or Wales, you need to be a member of at least one of them.  Each runs 10-15 competitive 36-hole competitions yearly at a variety of seriously good golf courses.

Rich

[Josh Stevens]

I suspect the US would not have many, due to perception and lack of access to decent courses.

in the US and Aust, we would just call them social groups and they would be resigned to public tracks, resort or lower end private clubs.  But the UK, some of them are quite well regarded.  The Lucifer Society for example is very exclusive with membership being extremely sought after.

And of course they do at times play on the best tracks.  I was a member of the London Stock Exchange Golf Society and we played on Sandwich, Deal, Walton Heath etc, as well as the Carlton Club Golf Society and we had annual matches on Rye, Swinley, Woking, NZ etc

This regard stems from their age and membership.  In many cases, the membership is made up of the great and the good, and they are very old at times.  The Royal Perth Golfing Society dates from 1824 and was the first ever club to be accorded the Royal Title in the UK - it has a clubhouse but has never had a course.

This would be impossible to replicate in the modern age without a course attached

[Scott Macpherson]

The Royal Perth Golfing Society dates from 1824 and was the first ever club to be accorded the Royal Title in the UK - it has a clubhouse but has never had a course.

This would be impossible to replicate in the modern age without a course attached

Hi Josh,

Thanks for your contribution. I am always happy to have a royal club brought into a thread, but just to avoid any doubt for those who don't know, that while the Perth Golfing Society started in 1824, it only gained the royal title in 1833 – and at that point in time became the first golf club or society to be awarded the honour. (Sorry for being a bit pedantic)

Scott

[Matthew Mollica]

Scott - the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) has a society of sorts - but not strictly by name.

A sub-group of MCC members routinely play together, and travel the sandbelt, and other higher-end private Club courses each year, and usually play both Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne as a bigger day throughout their year. I think the MCC refer to the group as the Golf Section.

I'm sure Australia has several golfing societies.

There's a book in this - the histories and intricacies of some societies would be very interesting to explore.

MM

[Matthew Mollica]

Of course the Society of Hickory Golfers is based in the USA.

Australia is home to the Australian Golf Heritage Society and The Golf Society, both devoted to the history of the game in Australia.

MM

[Scott Macpherson]

There's a book in this - the histories and intricacies of some societies would be very interesting to explore.

MM

Hi Matthew,

If there is a book in this subject, I can guarantee it won't be me who writes it – but I'd be interested to buy it. Anybody interested in taking up the challenge....?

Scott

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here's one in southern New Jersey:

http://sjgolf.com/

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Around Liverpool/Manchester/Cheshire there are a number such societies, such as the Blasters and the Hittites, but you have to be a good player to get in - many ex Oxford or Cambridge Blues, ex county amateurs and so on. The Blasters, for instance, play matches in a team of six whose combined handicaps must be lower than 20. Prestbury used to have an unofficial team which visited the USA every other year, playing against Pine Valley, Winged Foot, The National, Shinnecock etc. On the alternate years a team would come to England from the States playing matches against Lytham, Hoylake etc and, finishing up at Prestbury. The level of golf was high, and the level of dining as fine as it comes.

[Greg Tallman]

 Not its original intent but I would submit our own GCA, and we are all better for it.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

There are two golf societies in the Philadelphia area - Ozone Club and Divotees - of which members are Quaker.   

There was a similar thread on this topic seven years ago: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,32244.0.html

[Josh Stevens]

Aust has very strong reciprocal links between clubs that is somewhat unique in world golf, so there is a strong incentive to actually join a club rather than simple a social group or society as you then get access to say 20 other clubs.  Bit like joining Shinnecock and as a result having defacto membership at Cypress, Chicago, Oakmont, Augusta, LACC and Seminole.  Lots of annual matches between these reciprocal families around the country, at least at the top end.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Also, in the NY Metro area. Stationers GA is perhaps the most open such society. I joined awhile ago for a  few years and played Quaker Ridge, Sunningdale and Metropolis  in Westchester County, among others. Each event was similar to a one day member-guest with lunch before golf, dinner after and prizes. I don't know if they still exist as their website hasn't been updated since 2012:

http://sgagolf.net/

[Mark Chaplin]

Matthew the MCC here has around 1500 members of the golf society and approximately 50 golf days, the same number of matches and 4 or 5 tours each year. One of the most fun days was playing against the Judges of the Old Bailey at New Zealand proper old school. The society dinners in the Long Room are pretty special as well.

[abmack]

The Dinner Match Club based around Boston is an exceptional band of brothers who play foursomes, enjoy fine wines and cigars and play some of the best courses in the state.

Mark,

This is a very well written and interesting account of a Dinner Match Society meeting which I found after doing a Google search. It's definitely worth a read.
http://jpandgoldyontheroadagain.tumblr.com/post/23609663325/slumming-it-with-the-dinner-match-society
You are right. It seems they do play a lot of good courses around the Boston area.

[Mark Chaplin]

Anyone who knows Jamie and Goldie - and many here do - will know they would have fitted in well with the Dinner Match guys.

[Bill_McBride]

Should there not be a golfclubatlas society, dedicated to the appreciation of what we know to be quality golf. Meet up a few times a year at venues to drool over, play, drink, discuss the next venue. 

Marc, we already do that in the form of the King's Putter, Dixie Cup, Midwest Mashie, Thaw Out, and the international meeting every year in the UK, the Buda Cup.   Come play in one, it's typically a lot of fun and a chance to meet some GCAers face to face. 

[Michael Whitaker]

Should there not be a golfclubatlas society, dedicated to the appreciation of what we know to be quality golf. Meet up a few times a year at venues to drool over, play, drink, discuss the next venue. 

Marc, we already do that in the form of the King's Putter, Dixie Cup, Midwest Mashie, Thaw Out, and the international meeting every year in the UK, the Buda Cup.   Come play in one, it's typically a lot of fun and a chance to meet some GCAers face to face. 

Don't forget the 5th Major! 

[Duncan Cheslett]

New golf societies are cropping up all the time, aided by the internet and the level of communication it offers.

This is just one example - they seem to have had a good day out!  

http://www.bunkersgolfsociety.com/reddish-vale-2014.html

[Adrian_Stiff]

There are probably 100,000 golf societies/groups in the UK. I think we have averaged 400 a year over the last 4 years and at least 1000 would be unique. Some societies/group just form for a single celebration though, some meet once a year.

[Duncan Cheslett]

100,000 is possibly a slight exaggeration, but there are almost certainly more societies, both formal and informal, than golf clubs. Many organise competitive matches on a monthly or even more regular basis, and provide a way into golf for tens of thousands of players who cannot or do not want to make the commitment to joining a club. Active involvement in one or more society coupled with practice at a driving range is a very viable way of organising one's golf.

This is one of the many reasons why traditional club membership is on the decline.

Currently one has to be a member of a recognised golf club to get an official CONGU handicap. This 'closed shop' policy is going to be difficult to justify going forward. That really would be the death-knell for many clubs...

[Scott Macpherson]

Duncan,

I'm not sure I know what an 'informal golf society' is (doesn't sound organised), but you make an interesting point, and that is that there are more golfing societies than golf clubs. I had not contemplated this concept. Do you think this is true if you just count the formal golf societies (i.e those with a Secretary, President etc) vs actual golf clubs?

Scott

[Duncan Cheslett]

Scott,

I'm sure that there are many golf societies who consider themselves to be highly organised but which don't have officers such as Secretary, Captain,  or President. Often one guy will do all the organising. possibly with the help of an informal 'committee' who maybe meet in a pub a couple of times a year. All contact is usually done via a website, for which there are various templates available. The Bunkers Golf Society, to which I linked in an earlier post, is a perfect example.

http://www.bunkersgolfsociety.com/

Another, to which I belong, is the County Golf League in Yorkshire. It has maybe 50 golf fanatics as members, hardly any of whom are club members.

http://www.countygolfleague.com/

Typically, the kind of guys attracted to societies such as this are the very people put off by what they perceive to be the archaic structures and petty rules of the traditional golf club. Adrian Stiff has referred to them as the Sex Pistols generation. They love golf, but they don't particularly like golf clubs.