Wallasey Golf Club

Wallasey Village in 1891 consisted of a picturesque street of cottages and crofts populated by fishermen and agricultural workers. The 18 hole golf course built that year was constructed partly on the sand dunes to the North and East and on the “ flatlands” to the south and west.The land was owned by Frederick and Heath Harrison of the shipping line that still bears their name and they agreed to lease the 240 acres for an initial term of 15 years. The first meeting on 1 June 1891 was attended by eight men including R W “Pendulum” Brown and James Cullen who were the leading spirits. A month later the Wallasey Golf Club was formed and Messrs Brown and Cullen were the first two Captains.

Tom Morris laid out the 5,175 yard course and Bob Kirk supervised the construction and stayed on as the first professional. The Harrisons offered to build a clubhouse to be leased to the club and this was opened on Christmas Eve 1892. It is still in use today, albeit extended and refurbished and now owned by the club. Access to the clubhouse was initially primitive with no roads nearby and only one other house within a quarter of a mile. Improvements to the approaches were made in 1898 and a bicycle shed was built for the members.

Sand encroachment was always a problem and the planting of marram grass to stabilise the dunes was continual work. During the first World War with membership at a low ebb the situation became critical when tons of sand blew over the links and obliterated several of the finest holes, four of which had to be abandoned. By the end of the war only 135 acres could be played upon and the very existence of the club was threatened. To add to the threat the Harrison family had sold the links to Wallasey Corporation without consulting the golf club. On the positive side, the Corporation later spent a considerable sum on mending the sea defences and building a promenade from Harrison Drive to Leasowe Bay. Following further tribulations with the new landlords a fresh lease was agreed and a Limited Company formed in 1929. The future of the course was secured in 1986 when a 99 year lease was signed.

Of all the Wallasey Captains one name stands out above the rest. Dr Frank Stableford was Captain in 1933 and he persuaded the Council to run a competition with points awarded for a score instead of playing against the bogey (par) for the hole. On 16 May 1932 history was made when the first Stableford competition was played and the Wallasey members, after initial scepticism, greeted it with enthusiasm. Everyone played off scratch and added his handicap to the points scored but after the Autumn gales it was realised that if no-one scored any points the highest handicapper would win. The system was soon revised to the one still used today and for which amateur golfers throughout the world have reason to be grateful.

World War II found Wallasey in the front line with mine fields and anti-tank obstacles laid on the seaside fairways and anti-aircraft guns spread over the course. It was not until 1952 that the course was fully restored and the members allowed to benefit from the earlier works of James Braid and Fred Hawtree. Wallasey is used as a qualifying course when the Open is played at Hoylake to provide a stiff test of golf for the professionals.

As a founder member Wallasey has provided three Captains of the Society, Frederick Moore (1953/54), Donald Falconer (1971/72) and Huw Rowlands (2005/06).

Wallasey Golf Club Captains

Year Captain Year Captain Year Captain
1891 R W Brown 1937 A C Crichton 1983 E Hirst
1892 R W Brown 1938 E Evans 1984 A G L Fazackerley
1893 J Cullen 1939 C W Hesketh 1985 D H Reade
1894 G C H Dunlop 1940 C W Hesketh 1986 R J Eccleshall
1895 R Haigh 1941 C W Hesketh 1987 A D Jordan
1896 R Stubbs 1942 C W Hesketh 1988 H E Rowlands
1897 Sir W M Banks 1943 C W Hesketh 1989 J A Bott
1898 G Jager 1944 C W Hesketh 1990 J T Thompson
1899 R S Cleaver 1945 C W Hesketh 1991 J V Davies
1900 J H Clayton 1946 T J Benjamin 1992 W H Windsor
1901 W H Wallace 1947 G J Swanwick 1993 J A Lane
1902 N A G Dowie 1948 L Barnish 1994 P W Quinn
1903 J Heron 1949 B T Hawkins 1995 A R Potter
1904 T B Grimsdale 1950 A J Phelan 1996 E Roberts
1905 S Castle 1951 W E J Warrell 1997 J A Connolly
1906 R H Gossage 1952 L H Fairbrother 1998 G E Avison
1907 G R Cox 1953 H Beggs 1999 K W Hailwood
1908 J Cameron 1954 W Cartwright 2000 A M O’Callaghan
1909 R Goold 1955 J H Wensley 2001 J Williamson
1910 S Deacon 1956 A G Harrison 2002 J T Courtney
1911 Sir E Evans 1957 A F Clarke 2003 N W Bennett
1912 Sir A G Jeans 1958 H M Ellison 2004 H L Jamieson
1913 R Barber 1959 R P Fletcher 2005 A L Davies
1914 Sir A Bigland 1960 G D Falconer 2006 J A McCullagh
1915 J Cameron 1961 J A Taylor 2007 B D Harry
1916 J Cameron 1962 L J Fazackerley 2008 J Overend
1917 S Deacon 1963 S Carter 2009 N W M Brierton
1918 Sir A G Jeans 1964 J P Davies 2010 P Andrews
1919 Sir A B Cauty 1965 W G Allen 2011 G Holcroft
1920 Sir J Sandeman Allen 1966 A C Tarbuck 2012 M G O'Callaghan
1921 G P Newbolt 1967 R Whalley 2013 W K Wylde
1922 D MacIver 1968 F V Davies 2014 T R Hill
1923 W J H Renison 1969 H C Reynolds 2015 C Kerin
1924 Sir E B Royden 1970 C W Marsh 2016 P H Corvers
1925 W D Taylor 1971 W C McKinlay 2017 P M Waters
1926 Sir L A P Warner 1972 J M Smith 2018 P J Williams
1927 H E Wild 1973 L F Walton 2019 S Phelan
1928 C S Walker 1974 W G Petty 2020 S Weathers
1929 T T Rees 1975 D C Davies 2021 S Weathers
1930 J Boardman 1976 J Reynolds 2022 A Davies
1931 W Milligan 1977 E W Hallwood 2023 W McWilliam CBE
1932 T B Handley 1978 J J Pierpoint 2024 M J Watson
1933 F B G Stableford 1979 D Ross    
1934 Sir R E Kelly 1980 N Rothwell    
1935 C H Newport 1981 F D Jeffries    
1936 F A Moore 1982 D Pearson