Bidston Golf Club

On 24 May 1913 a meeting took place at the Grove Hotel, Wallasey where members of three local golfing societies, Grove, Warren and West Wirral, met to discuss their logistical problems of having to play their golf on the congested 9 holes of the Warren Municipal. They agreed to combine their resources and lease a piece of land between Leasowe Road and the River Fender to form a new 9 hole course. Within three months the new club was ready for action and on 16 August 1913 the first Captain, S Forsythe, drove off to inaugurate Bidston Golf Club.

Ten years later the club leased a further piece of land between the railway and the River Fender and in 1924 the course was extended to 15 holes. In the following year the course became a full 18 holes which was to remain unchanged until World War II. Like many other courses Bidston had to sacrifice some of its land for farming and 15 acres were given over to the local farmers for ploughing and sowing oats. In the early 1950s the construction of the Leasowe housing estate caused the loss of the view over the sand-hills but, conversely, provided an access which alleviated the problem of members relying on railway staff to open the level crossing gates at Bidston station.

The construction of the M53 Motorway in the late 1960’s deprived the club of 20 acres of land and the course layout had to be changed. Compensation for the loss of the land helped the club to maintain its facilities which had taken a serious blow following a disastrous clubhouse fire in 1972. However, the future of the club was secured in 1992 when the members were able to purchase the lease of the land and in the following year a new entrance from Bidston Link Road was opened. This allowed the club to close off the Scoresby Road access to all but pedestrians thus eliminating the annoyance of vehicular traffic crossing the course. The development of several plantations of trees has helped to restore the character and definition of the course.

Bidston was not amongst the 20 clubs listed in the Society records for 1939 and it is assumed that they joined around 1949. They have had strong links with the administration of the Society in two eras, the most recent being through the Immediate Past Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Eddy Hampson. The Society is indebted to Eddy for his hard work and also to the staff of Bidston Golf Club who provided the back-up secretarial facilities. Bill Lodge was Captain of Bidston in 1950 and 1951 and served as the Society Treasurer for 7 years before he was elected Society Captain in 1958/59. Doug Cox was the second Bidston Captain to serve as Captain of the Society in 1998/99 and has served on the Committee for many years.