Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club
The Grosvenor Golf Club held its inaugural event in June 1906, having been formed a few months earlier by a mixed group of card players from a Whist Club bearing that name. At this meeting 24 men and 27 ladies took part in a shotgun start testifying to the social nature of the club. Within six months the name had changed to Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, later to be affectionately known as S&A. The 9 hole course was built at Birkdale on a 32 acre triangle of land bounded by the Liverpool & Southport Railway line and what is now Blundell Drive and Conyers Avenue. Like many courses from that era the layout was rudimentary with jam pots for holes and rails of posts and wires to keep farmer Lloyd’s cattle off the greens. Banks of earth several feet high, known as “cops”, were retained as golf hazards which also helped to prevent the sandy soil from being blown away in the wind.
The instant success encouraged the Committee to seek a new venue to accommodate the increasing numbers and to formalise the structure of the club. A suitable piece of land had been identi fied on the Weld-Blundell Estate and George Lowe, the professional at Lytham, was paid a fee of ten guineas as Architect for the new course. A Limited Liability Company was formed and at the first General Meeting in February 1907 Mr F W Smith was elected Captain and later that year his wife was elected the first Lady Captain.
The new 18 hole course, 5,600 yards long, was opened on 14 May 1907 with a Whit mixed foursome competition. It was built on approximately 100 acres of land, of which part is on the present site. The railway once more provided the western boundary with the inland boundary dictated by development along Liverpool Road South. The northern boundary was close to Sandon Road and the southern boundary was level with Birkdale Cemetery. A tall ridge of sandhills at this point marks the signature hole of S&A, the present 16th hole. On the proposal of Hobart Gumbley it was decided to leave this ridge as a hazard and to create a huge bunker using railway sleepers to face it. The blind second shot over “Gumbleys” has ruined many a scorecard and will no doubt continue to do so for years to come.
By August 1908 a new two-storey clubhouse had been constructed at the northern end of the course in Liverpool Road. However, in October 1921 the members were shocked to learn from Southport Corporation that they planned to extend Waterloo Road to join up with Liverpool Road, thus isolating some land and the clubhouse from the rest of the course. Fortunately, compensatory land at the southern end was available and the 18 holes measuring 6,350 yards were restored by September 1923. The old clubhouse was converted into two houses and a new bungalow style clubhouse was built at Bradshaws Lane. The club survived subsequent loss of land for houses but eventually was able to secure the future tenure when on 29 June 1964 the members bought the freehold for £27,919.
In 1933 the club hosted the Ryder Cup in which Great Britain and Ireland beat the team from the USA but when the match returned to S&A in 1937 the result went in favour of the Americans. Dr David Marsh won national recognition as President of the EGU and Captain of the R&A and has received the Gerald Micklem Award for services to golf. As a founder member of the Society S&A has had three Captains, Tom Barker (1957/58), Stan Dickinson (1982/83) and in 2008 Eddie Williams became the Centenary Captain.
The instant success encouraged the Committee to seek a new venue to accommodate the increasing numbers and to formalise the structure of the club. A suitable piece of land had been identi fied on the Weld-Blundell Estate and George Lowe, the professional at Lytham, was paid a fee of ten guineas as Architect for the new course. A Limited Liability Company was formed and at the first General Meeting in February 1907 Mr F W Smith was elected Captain and later that year his wife was elected the first Lady Captain.
The new 18 hole course, 5,600 yards long, was opened on 14 May 1907 with a Whit mixed foursome competition. It was built on approximately 100 acres of land, of which part is on the present site. The railway once more provided the western boundary with the inland boundary dictated by development along Liverpool Road South. The northern boundary was close to Sandon Road and the southern boundary was level with Birkdale Cemetery. A tall ridge of sandhills at this point marks the signature hole of S&A, the present 16th hole. On the proposal of Hobart Gumbley it was decided to leave this ridge as a hazard and to create a huge bunker using railway sleepers to face it. The blind second shot over “Gumbleys” has ruined many a scorecard and will no doubt continue to do so for years to come.
By August 1908 a new two-storey clubhouse had been constructed at the northern end of the course in Liverpool Road. However, in October 1921 the members were shocked to learn from Southport Corporation that they planned to extend Waterloo Road to join up with Liverpool Road, thus isolating some land and the clubhouse from the rest of the course. Fortunately, compensatory land at the southern end was available and the 18 holes measuring 6,350 yards were restored by September 1923. The old clubhouse was converted into two houses and a new bungalow style clubhouse was built at Bradshaws Lane. The club survived subsequent loss of land for houses but eventually was able to secure the future tenure when on 29 June 1964 the members bought the freehold for £27,919.
In 1933 the club hosted the Ryder Cup in which Great Britain and Ireland beat the team from the USA but when the match returned to S&A in 1937 the result went in favour of the Americans. Dr David Marsh won national recognition as President of the EGU and Captain of the R&A and has received the Gerald Micklem Award for services to golf. As a founder member of the Society S&A has had three Captains, Tom Barker (1957/58), Stan Dickinson (1982/83) and in 2008 Eddie Williams became the Centenary Captain.