Huyton & Prescott Golf Club

The first 35 years of the club appear to have run smoothly, possibly masked by the loss of all records, trophies and honours boards. Huyton Golf Club was formed in 1905 at the instigation of the Atherton family who owned and lived on the estate. Hurst House had been a rural retreat in the early 1700s having originally been constructed as a square manor house with later additions in 1879 including the clock tower with its five bell chime. The Atherton family were founders of the nearby British Insulated Wire Company, later to become BICC, and their family home was the first domestic property to be wired for electricity using the paper insulated wiring that they had introduced to Britain. The two Atherton brothers who lived at Hurst House did not get on together as evidenced during the 1961 clubhouse refurbishment when it was discovered that part of the house was wired for alternating current (AC) and the other part for direct current (DC).

James Braid directed the layout for the 18 hole course and Herbert Baxter was appointed Captain and the Hon. Arthur Stanley, the son of Lord Derby, elected as President. Lord Derby was a friend of the Athertons and would sometimes bring the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, to play at Huyton. Deer donated by Lord Derby roamed the park until one of them attacked a local golfing vicar and his Lordship was asked to take them back to Knowsley. The initial membership was 77 men and 45 ladies with the latter having the same voting rights as the men - an enlightened philosophy that was extended to the mixed use of the clubhouse, thus setting the standard for future social relations within the club.

The year 1939 brought bad news to the club, not only for the outbreak of World War II when it became a convalescent home, but also because the Athertons served notice that the lease would not be renewed. They set up Huyton Golf Links Ltd to manage the course on a “pay as you go” basis and many members left to join other clubs.Those who remained formed Huyton & District Golf Club paying green fees until 1945 when they formed Hurst Park Golf Club with a scheme to sign a new lease. However, before they could do so the Athertons announced their plan to sell the estate and that they had received a firm offer. A determined group of 62 members managed to raise and borrow £29,000 to buy the course and clubhouse. Thus on 26 August 1948 Huyton & Prescot Golf Club Ltd was formed and the other bidders graciously withdrew and went o to build Lee Park. Bob Knowles was elected Captain with Jack Vaughan as Secretary, a position he held for 34 years. His daughter, Sheila Maher, a former international golfer, was Captain of the Lancashire Ladies Golf Union in 2007.

There was welcome financial relief in 1954 when land at the paddock was sold for building. A major reconstruction of the clubhouse in 1961 was followed by an even greater upheaval in 1969 when the M57 motorway removed a quarter of the land. Compensatory land from BICC enabled the course to be re-planned under the guidance of Fred Hawtree and Dave Smith’s Development Committee. As a member of that Committee Geoffrey Leece enjoyed a unique opportunity to plan a new golf course and his lasting epitaph is that he can claim the 5th hole as his idea.

Harold Hayco was one of the four men who attended the first recorded Committee meeting of the Society in 1923 and in the following year he presented the trophy that still bears his name. Walter Coombs was Society Captain in 1965/66 and Geoffrey Leece followed him in 1987/88.

Huyton & Prescot Golf Club Captains

Year Captain Year Captain Year Captain
1905 H Baxter 1945 R N Knowles 1985 E Pinnington
1906 H Baxter 1946 R N Knowles 1986 K J Wilcock
1907 J Shaw 1947 E G Paterson 1987 H C Lonsdale
1908 S Russell 1948 R N Knowles 1988 A Roskell
1909 S Russell 1949 D E Griffiths 1989 K H Campbell
1910 F Pritchard 1950 J H Young 1990 I G Bruce
1911 W L Shaw 1951 A S Thornton 1991 K Whittamore
1912 W H Roby 1952 W Coombs 1992 J K Hulme
1913 W H Roby 1953 J R Henley 1993 J P Stevens
1914 W Kerfoot 1954 D Smith 1994 W E Wilson
1915 W Kerfoot 1955 H C Adams 1995 B A Cadwallader
1916 W Kerfoot 1956 B Joseph 1996 F Rodgers
1917 W Kerfoot 1957 F A Edmondson 1997 W R Ireland
1918 W Kerfoot 1958 C J Mitchell 1998 G R Barr
1919 W Kerfoot 1959 S C Parkinson 1999 P H Blacoe
1920 N Harrison 1960 J E Holdsworth 2000 W E Giles
1921 C Sever 1961 S J Faulkner 2001 C Rhodes
1922 H S Hayco 1962 W G Jones 2002 A P McCarthy
1923 A J Brown 1963 S J Faulkner 2003 G M Booth
1924 N Silcock 1964 D Hindle 2004 W J Lewis
1925 D Bates 1965 R Williams 2005 A Davies
1926 J F Ward 1966 F A Edmondson 2006 W J Connell
1927 R J Knapman 1967 R P Harling 2007 N V Gleave
1928 J Hammill 1968 T P Barton 2008 P Aspinall
1929 W F Dixon-Nuttall 1969 G R Leece 2009 M B A Jolley
1930 L Hammill 1970 J Fiddies 2010 R Clamp
1931 T Glynne-Evans 1971 E Dickin 2011 A Gorman
1932 E R Pierce 1972 J D Maher 2012 L J Gornall
1933 J Halligan 1973 W S Paton 2013 T Chapman
1934 W Ellis 1974 G A Wright 2014 C T Town
1935 J Bruce 1975 J H Hoolihan 2015 A S Elliott
1936 J St. Clair 1976 C W Ward 2016 R A Davies
1937 J Bruce 1977 W J Connell 2017 R J Cronley
1938 R B Broughton 1978 F Lea 2018 D J Fletcher
1939 T E Balshaw 1979 R D Jones 2019 J N Unsworth
1940 W E Smith 1980 J Nicholson 2020 T Caldicott
1941 G Pinnington 1981 T G Pearson 2021 T Caldicott
1942 G Pinnington 1982 A Winrow 2022 J Arkwright
1943 P Bates 1983 F E G Pates 2023 P P Winterton
1944 P C Lockyer 1984 R K Prowse 2024 A James