To The Centenary 1945-1992
The priority at the end of World War II was to get the course back to the condition it had been in during the 1930s. It was fortunate that the land had not been ploughed but it had been put to war time purposes other than golf.
In 1953 a small piece of ground at the side of the fifth hole was purchased enabling important changes to be made to the sixth tee. Apart from a few hedges and old elm trees, the course was still very open. However, this situation was about to change with the planting of a vast array of trees to screen one fairway from another.
The tree planting of the 1960’s came just in time, as within the decade, the glorious elms were struck by disease and had to come down changing the character of several holes especially the first, fourth and fifth.
In 1970 the allotments at the side of the eighteenth were purchased and the Greenkeeper’s bungalow was built in 1974.
The layout of the course itself had not changed much since 1938 when the course was lengthened and the first and second holes were altered, but the fifteenth hole has seen most of the changes which have taken place. In 1967 the golf course architect F.W. Hawtree was consulted who suggested various changes to the fifteenth hole which at the time was a short par 4 of 260 yards and known as the ‘Punchbowl’ and played from a tee to the left of the fourth green.
The green was raised, its surrounding terrain altered and then subsequently re-altered. A pool was placed at one side of the green and then subsequently reduced in size before being removed. In 1989 a start was made on a new green which was built on land recently acquired by the club and the hole would eventually become the par 3 it is today with the moving of the tee to where it is now.
In 1970 the sixteenth hole was lengthened and other alterations made by the placing of trees, and it was altered again in 1986 by the acquisition of more land into the pronounced dog-leg par 5 it is today.
Apart from decoration and refurbishment, the layout of the clubhouse had remained pretty much as it had been in the 1930s until 1966 when improvements to the kitchens, men’s locker room and staff quarters were made, and in 1978 a casual ‘back bar’ was established. In 1982 the dining room was extended and in 1987 the major structural changes were made to the Club. The casual ‘back bar’ was abandoned and a new casual bar and main bar was built. The porticoed terrace which had been a prominent feature at the front of the building since 1908 was now part of an extensively re-decorated and extended clubhouse.
In 1945 Bill Spence replaced Bob Dornan as Club Professional, and in 1949 he was followed by George Johnson who had the distinction of being nominated for the Ryder Cup team at Ganton in the same year but was not finally selected to play. George stayed until 1964 when the Club secured the services of Ted Large.
Ted came with a considerable reputation as tournament player, coach and good club professional and he certainly lived up to his promise. Almost immediately after arriving in the area he won the Staffordshire Open in 1964 and the Staffordshire Professional Championship in 1966 and again in 1967, and became the first person to hold both the Staffordshire Professional Stoke Play and Match Play titles in the same year. In 1969 he finished in the top twenty in the Open Championship won by Tony Jacklin at Royal Lytham.
When Ted left the Club in 1976, the genuine affection for him as a golfer and as a man was reflected in the presentation of a pair of silver candelabra and the rare accolade of Honorary Membership of the Club.
After a short period when a number of professionals came and went, the Club secured the services of a leading Midlands professional, Jim Rhodes in 1980. Before his arrival, Jim had already won several Midland professional tournaments and after arriving at South Staffs he added to his long list of victories with the Staffordshire Open Championship and Staffordshire Match Play Championship a further three times. He was voted Midland PGA Player of the decade and in 1987 won the European Club Professionals’ Championship in Holland.
In the 1950s many of the leading professionals of the day such as Dai Rees, and Peter Alliss came to the club to play in challenge matches for charities. In 1970, Allied Breweries decided to sponsor a new golf tournament and after a survey of thirty clubs, South Staffordshire Golf Club was chosen as the venue for the inaugural Double Diamond Tournament in October 1971. It was to be a match play tournament between teams of six players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each team playing the others in turn, over three days. Each match was to consist of two foursomes and six singles and the total prize money for the event was to be £10,250, with £700 per man for the winning team and on this occasion it was England.
The teams had several of the GB & Ireland stars of the day; Tommy Horton, Peter Townsend and Bernard Hunt for England, Christy O’Connor for Ireland, Bernard Gallagher for Scotland, Dai Rees and Brian Huggett for Wales.
In 1979 the club hosted the Carlsberg European Women’s Championship and in the preceding Pro-Am competition Cathy Panton set a new ladies course record of 68 shots. In Centenary Year, the club hosted the Midland Professional Championship.
As the club moved towards its Centenary celebrations its worth mentioning the rapid rise to fame of one of its members Peter Baker, who after an outstanding amateur career, described elsewhere on this website, turned professional and in 1988 defeated Nick Faldo, after a play off, to win the 1988 Benson and Hedges Tournament at Fulford, York. He was also to receive the much coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ award in the same year.
In 1953 a small piece of ground at the side of the fifth hole was purchased enabling important changes to be made to the sixth tee. Apart from a few hedges and old elm trees, the course was still very open. However, this situation was about to change with the planting of a vast array of trees to screen one fairway from another.
The tree planting of the 1960’s came just in time, as within the decade, the glorious elms were struck by disease and had to come down changing the character of several holes especially the first, fourth and fifth.
In 1970 the allotments at the side of the eighteenth were purchased and the Greenkeeper’s bungalow was built in 1974.
The layout of the course itself had not changed much since 1938 when the course was lengthened and the first and second holes were altered, but the fifteenth hole has seen most of the changes which have taken place. In 1967 the golf course architect F.W. Hawtree was consulted who suggested various changes to the fifteenth hole which at the time was a short par 4 of 260 yards and known as the ‘Punchbowl’ and played from a tee to the left of the fourth green.
The green was raised, its surrounding terrain altered and then subsequently re-altered. A pool was placed at one side of the green and then subsequently reduced in size before being removed. In 1989 a start was made on a new green which was built on land recently acquired by the club and the hole would eventually become the par 3 it is today with the moving of the tee to where it is now.
In 1970 the sixteenth hole was lengthened and other alterations made by the placing of trees, and it was altered again in 1986 by the acquisition of more land into the pronounced dog-leg par 5 it is today.
Apart from decoration and refurbishment, the layout of the clubhouse had remained pretty much as it had been in the 1930s until 1966 when improvements to the kitchens, men’s locker room and staff quarters were made, and in 1978 a casual ‘back bar’ was established. In 1982 the dining room was extended and in 1987 the major structural changes were made to the Club. The casual ‘back bar’ was abandoned and a new casual bar and main bar was built. The porticoed terrace which had been a prominent feature at the front of the building since 1908 was now part of an extensively re-decorated and extended clubhouse.
In 1945 Bill Spence replaced Bob Dornan as Club Professional, and in 1949 he was followed by George Johnson who had the distinction of being nominated for the Ryder Cup team at Ganton in the same year but was not finally selected to play. George stayed until 1964 when the Club secured the services of Ted Large.
Ted came with a considerable reputation as tournament player, coach and good club professional and he certainly lived up to his promise. Almost immediately after arriving in the area he won the Staffordshire Open in 1964 and the Staffordshire Professional Championship in 1966 and again in 1967, and became the first person to hold both the Staffordshire Professional Stoke Play and Match Play titles in the same year. In 1969 he finished in the top twenty in the Open Championship won by Tony Jacklin at Royal Lytham.
When Ted left the Club in 1976, the genuine affection for him as a golfer and as a man was reflected in the presentation of a pair of silver candelabra and the rare accolade of Honorary Membership of the Club.
After a short period when a number of professionals came and went, the Club secured the services of a leading Midlands professional, Jim Rhodes in 1980. Before his arrival, Jim had already won several Midland professional tournaments and after arriving at South Staffs he added to his long list of victories with the Staffordshire Open Championship and Staffordshire Match Play Championship a further three times. He was voted Midland PGA Player of the decade and in 1987 won the European Club Professionals’ Championship in Holland.
In the 1950s many of the leading professionals of the day such as Dai Rees, and Peter Alliss came to the club to play in challenge matches for charities. In 1970, Allied Breweries decided to sponsor a new golf tournament and after a survey of thirty clubs, South Staffordshire Golf Club was chosen as the venue for the inaugural Double Diamond Tournament in October 1971. It was to be a match play tournament between teams of six players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each team playing the others in turn, over three days. Each match was to consist of two foursomes and six singles and the total prize money for the event was to be £10,250, with £700 per man for the winning team and on this occasion it was England.
The teams had several of the GB & Ireland stars of the day; Tommy Horton, Peter Townsend and Bernard Hunt for England, Christy O’Connor for Ireland, Bernard Gallagher for Scotland, Dai Rees and Brian Huggett for Wales.
In 1979 the club hosted the Carlsberg European Women’s Championship and in the preceding Pro-Am competition Cathy Panton set a new ladies course record of 68 shots. In Centenary Year, the club hosted the Midland Professional Championship.
As the club moved towards its Centenary celebrations its worth mentioning the rapid rise to fame of one of its members Peter Baker, who after an outstanding amateur career, described elsewhere on this website, turned professional and in 1988 defeated Nick Faldo, after a play off, to win the 1988 Benson and Hedges Tournament at Fulford, York. He was also to receive the much coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ award in the same year.