Spring Meeting – 16th & 17th April, 2026
We’re delighted to unveil our Spring Meeting for 2026. The meeting carries added significance, with Royal Birkdale preparing to host The Open Championship later in the season.
February 2026
April 2025
The best golf book you’ve never read
words by Peter Handcock This week, 640 school alumni make their annual pilgrimage to the Kent coast for the 101st year of the Halford Hewitt tournament. A festival of golf where 10 old boys (and girls) from a fixed list of 64 public schools across the Isles compete in a team scratch foursomes knockout at Royal Cinque Ports (and Royal St George's for the opening rounds). Some aim to survive round one, others chase another title—but for all, it’s a reunion first, where golf takes a back seat to the camaraderie and spirit of the game. Half Par [...]
March 2025
A Unique Contest Ahead of Its Time
words by James Burn While The Players happens this week over in Ponte Vedra Beach, another tournament will be taking place in the leafy suburbs of London, long regarded as the curtain raiser for the season. For those wishing to keep an eye on results and the draw, please hit the link here. Friend of Jar - James Burn - took to his macbook to write a few words about the history of the event and what makes it so unique. Table of Contents A Unique Contest [...]
December 2024
283 – James Braid – Part 3: The Professional w/ Philip Truett
In this third and final instalment of podcasts about the life of James Braid, we finish up at Walton Heath talking about his life as the club's professional, a position he held for nearly 50 years. Braid took up the role in 1904 when the club was only just starting off, and continued in post until his death in 1950. We couldn't think of anyone better than Philip Truett to help us bring this season to a close; A lifelong member of Walton Heath and one of the most passionate historians in the game, Philip has spent countless [...]
280 – Lottie Woad
This week, Bruce and his better half—‘Cookie Jar Lady Captain’—Grace, found some time to catch up with Lottie Woad to talk about her truly stellar year in the game, with her win at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), ascension to the top of the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings, and, of course, being part of the GB&I side's victory in The Curtis Cup at Sunningdale. Lottie’s career has been one of the great stories of 2024, and it was great to have her on the pod to talk us through it all! Latest [...]
279 – 2024 Eclectic 18
Sam & Tom chat through the courses they have visited this year, and look at their composite Eclectic 18 scorecards in a straight up matchplay format. Who has made the best selection, you'll have to listen to the end to find out! Latest Products
278 – Bobby’s Open: The 1926 Open Championship with Dr Steven Reid
Sam & Tom sit down in the members' bar at Royal Lytham & St Anne's Golf Club to meet with Dr Steven Reid, lifelong member at Lytham and author of Bobby's Open, charting the tale of how Bobby Jones came to win his first Claret Jug. He would go on to defend it successfully in 1927, as well as winning at Royal Liverpool in 1930 on his way to completing the 'impregnable quadrilateral'. Steven's book - foreworded by Jack Nicklaus - is a captivating read and brings to life in viivd detail the struggles Jones went through, not [...]
Secret Diary of a Club GM: vol. III – Course Closures
He's at it again. Our mystery General Manager has found some time to tap out some musings on a sensitive topic... Course Closures! Winter Golf: Course Closed? Table of Contents Winter Golf: Course Closed? Ah, winter golf in the U.K. The days are shorter, the temperatures are lower, and the courses? Well, let’s just say they’ve entered “hibernation mode.” For the avid golfer, it’s like being handed a box of Ultras at Christmas when you asked for Pro V 1’s. Disappointing. But before you toss your clubs into the [...]
November 2024
The Berrie Portrait, words by Dr Steven Reid
Dr Steven Reid is a lifelong member of Royal Lytham & St Anne's Golf Club, an author and historian with more than a slight interest in the life of Bobby Jones. After our podcast discussing the 1926 Open Championship (brilliantly chronicled in his book; 'Bobby's Open', talk turned to the famous Berrie portrait which was commissioned by Wallasey member and ex-captain Sir Ernest Royden, and painted by John A.A.Berrie. In this excellent article, Steven takes us closer to how a portrait from 1930 came to become the most iconic image of Bobby Jones and one that we all [...]
Ocean’s Thirty Eight – The 38th Walker Cup at Ocean Forest
Following our recent podcast with Walker Cup legend Nigel Edwards, our very own Walker Cup correspondent and self-proclaimed Professor of Pace Putting - Dr Darragh Garrahy - took to his library and did some more digging on the 38th playing of The Walker Cup at Ocean Forest. 'Ocean's Thirty Eight' words by Darragh Garrahy A.K.A 'Dr Lag' Table of Contents The Lindy Effect Something called the Lindy Effect theorizes that the longer a non-perishable item is around, the more sure their future is- if a golf course has [...]
