Woolton Golf Club

The origin of Woolton Golf Club is traced to November 1900 when a group of Liverpool's leading citizens formed a liberal golf club whose membership would not be determined by colour, race or creed. This philosophy is demonstrated by the fact that by 1914 each of the Anglican, Jewish, Nonconformist and Roman Catholic faiths had been elected as Captain, following in the path of the first Captain of the club, Mr A P Eccles.

The name of Louis Samuel Cohen figures prominently in the early days and his initiative in buying 45 acres at Doe Park and renting it to the club provided the nucleus of the course as well as the clubhouse. In 1905 he generously cancelled a £6,000 mortgage deed following his year of Captaincy. He was also involved in 1906 when, according to legend, he "borrowed" the Saturday takings of Lewis's, the department store of which he was a director, to travel to London on the Monday morning to secure the purchase of the land to the north of Speke Road ahead of a competitor. This land enabled the club to operate 18 holes, including some fields rented from James Ashe. By 1923 the club had acquired the freehold of all of its land, including that of the historic clubhouse. The original building, Doe Park, was constructed as a private house in 1812 and was later extended under new owners in 1853 and 1866. It is not surprising that such an ancient building is expensive to maintain and a great deal of money has been spent by the club in adapting it for the use of the modern generation of golfers.

It is thought that the founders of the club had hoped to be able to extend the course in a southerly direction as far as the railway line at Hunts Cross but, sadly, this did not come to pass. Such an extension would have avoided the intrusion of Speke Road which has divided the course creating a potential hazard for members when crossing the road twice during a round. The club has also survived the threat of compulsory purchase for a road extension and discussed the possibility of relocating to a new site in Hale. After many hours of debate the decision was made to remain at Doe Park.

Woolton is rightly credited with the inspiration for the formation of our Society. On 18 June 1908 the Woolton Club entertained a group of Captains and Ex-Captains from other local clubs and the invitation was repeated in 1911 and again in 1912. The interruption of the First World War suspended all golfing activities until 1920 when Woolton again hosted the event. For a club that was only seven years old the hosting of the first Society competition was an act of confidence, inspired no doubt by the proliferation of new clubs that had been formed in the previous decade.

J F Clegg played a leading part in the development of the Society in the 1930s. A natural administrator, "Cleggie" had served Woolton as Hon Secretary, Captain (1922) and President and joined the Committee of the Society in 1930. He was immediately appointed Hon Secretary and held the position until 16 February 1939 when he was elected the first "Captain of Captains". Woolton has since provided three more Society Captains, Jack Abel (1966/67), John Stoker (1992/93) and Ray Erskine (2019/2021). Frank Fawcett was President of the English Golf Union in 1973 and has served as President of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs, an appointment also held by Paul Milne and Ken Johnson.