Bourne Golf Club

Golf was particularly popular during the late 19th century and Bourne Golf Club was instituted 1899, a modest venture with a nine-hole course that was laid out on what was then known as the Castle Meadows and adjoining fields, close to the station which was situated at the Red Hall. It was little more than a grassy surface with a few undulations but sufficient for golfing enthusiasts to pursue the ancient game.

There is no mention either of a clubhouse and members most likely used one of the nearby hostelries as their 10th hole. This information comes from the archives of The Golfing Annual for 1899-1900 and the last mention was in 1909 when the publication closed.

The Bourne Almanac, a periodic publication sold in the town from 1864-1916 for 3d. a copy, gave details of the club in its issue for 1913: President, W L Fenwick Esq., JP; committee, Messrs A R Agnew, T M Baxter, M V Camamile, C E Hodson, C C Macleod, G H Mays, T W Mays JP, C H Small. G A Story, Dr J Galletly, Dr W J Gilpin; greenkeeper J Pool (at the Bourne Institute); secretary Mr H Smith. The links (nine holes) are close to the station. Subscription 10s 6d., family ticket 21s.

The club however did not survive after the Great War of 1914-18 when many in England closed down through lack of money and support.

A great chance to establish a golf course in the town was missed during the middle years of the last century. In 1968, when Councillor W E (Ted) Kelby was chairman of Bourne United Charities, he and a colleague, Councillor Jack Burchnell, put forward a scheme to establish links on land adjoining the Wellhead Field which then came under their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, when the project was examined in greater detail, it was estimated that each of the nine holes envisaged would cost £200-300 for the layout of fairways and greens and the idea was subsequently vetoed by the other trustees who did not want to spend so much money.

Recalling the proposal in 2007, Mr Kelby, now retired, said that the decision by the trustees was unwise because since those days, golf had become a major sport and therefore a big tourist attraction that would have had a tremendous impact on the local community. "I was not a golfer myself but I could see the possibilities in the town having its own course", he said. "The benefits, sporting, social and economic, would have been immeasurable and the owners, Bourne United Charities, would also have benefited, but not everyone saw it our way and so the idea died a death."

THE BOGUS BOURNE GOLF CLUB

A metal plaque is currently in circulation throughout the world purporting to have originated from Bourne Golf Club during the 19th century. Copies are frequently offered for sale on the Internet for a few pounds and in November 2004 one was featured in The Local newspaper seeking information.
The plaques carry details of a bylaw purporting to come from Bourne Golf Club but this is most unlikely. Firstly, they are dated 1874, twenty-five years before the club was formed, and secondly, so many of them have survived that it is unlikely they were ever used as a formal notice on an established golf course. They were also most certainly mass produced because they are by no means rare and several are currently on sale for a few pounds each on the eBay market place web site on the Internet, some from overseas including Germany, and I know that many exist in America.
In addition, the bylaw quoted is unlikely to have been given prominence in any public place in Victorian England because it is obviously meant to be a humorous item with dubious connotations:

Bourne Golf Club. Byelaw No 16, April 1, 1874. Gentlemen with large handicaps are requested to play long holes from the ladies tee. N.B.: All members must observe this rule.

It would therefore seem most probable that the plaques were intended for sale to golf aficionados as an April Fool’s Day joke, probably at the seaside or some other entertainment venue, or even for an all male smoking concert which were fashionable in years past, and have no positive connection either with golf or this town . . . although there may be someone out there who can prove otherwise.

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