CHAPTER 3
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In his Secretary's Report to the AGM in 1946, RF Sinclair observed that:
".... the Club had been fortunate in being able to maintain the course in fairly good condition during the war years without affecting the finances."
While the preceding financial year had seen a deficit on the General Account of £70, the Course Improvement and New Clubhouse Funds had respective credit balances of £576 and £36.
It was this last fund which was to come to dominate the early post-war years. The key problem of coastal erosion threatening the Clubhouse had been identified before 1939, but by the late 1940's it was threatening the integrity of the Clubhouse.
By 1950, the threat was such that the advice of a firm of engineers was sought. The report from Arch. Henderson & Partners suggested that protection might be afforded by a protective rubble bank clothed with stone pitching and held at its toe by round larch poles. The estimated cost of this scheme was £550.
The present 2nd green when it was played as the 18th. Ben Bhraggie has come to dominate pictorial views of the course.
A Committee meeting in November 1950 considered two options. The first was the scheme outlined above, while the alternative was to relocate the Clubhouse. The second option was estimated to cost £100 more than the first. In the event, Committee favoured the second option and a Special General Meeting of the Club three months later approved this course of action before addressing the issue of raising the necessary monies.
During the course of 1951, plans for the removal and rebuilding of the Clubhouse were drawn up and then amended to include the addition of a new lounge and kitchen. The final plans were drawn up by Robert Beaton whose architectural skills have been of regular and highly valued assistance to the Club ever since. A Special General Meeting that September approved the plans at an estimated cost of £1600.
The Duke of Sutherland opens the Clubhouse in 1952.
By the 1952 AGM, the New Clubhouse Fund stood at £330, fund raising and donations having added £300 to the total during the previous year. Building works proceeded during the Spring of 1952 and a letter of appeal for donations was circulated at that stage. Further fund-raising activities took place and the final cost of £1702/3/2 was paid off by the 1955 AGM. At the 1954 AGM, tribute had been paid to the efforts of Harold Percy in organising fund-raisers. The events he organised realised over 25% of the cost of the scheme.
A formal opening ceremony was arranged for Wednesday 13th August 1952, with the Duke of Sutherland consenting to perform the official opening. The occasion was also marked by an exhibition match. It took the form of a Mixed Fourball. Jessie Valentine, the prominent Scottish lady golfer of the time, and Willie John Henderson, a native of Brora who then held the Professional's post at Nairn, formed one partnership for the match. Royal Aberdeen's J Campbell, the current Scottish Professional Champion, and Mrs Main, a Scottish International player from the Moray Club, provided the opposition. Henderson and Valentine prevailed by 5 and 3 in a match dominated by the wet weather. A successful occasion was rounded off with a dance in the Drill Hall. Although this heralded the end of the threat to the Clubhouse, the problem with regard to the course remained.
The gallery watches the flight of Jessie Valentine's opening tee shot in the Exhibition Match to mark the opening of the new Clubhouse.
1952 was a significant year in the life of the Club in another respect. At the AGM that year, the Club adopted a new constitution, the key feature of which was that the Ladies Club became incorporated as part of Golspie Golf Club.
The relationship between the Ladies Club and Golspie Golf Club has already been touched on. The problem in seeking to reflect the activities of the Ladies Club in this account of Golspie Golf Club is that no records for the years prior to 1952 have survived and the Ladies Club only received a very occasional mention in the columns of the Northern Times.
It had one characteristic in common with the Club as a whole. Its Office Bearers carried tenure for very long spans of time. Before stepping down from Office in 1953, Miss Argo had served as Ladies Captain for 26 years. She was succeeded by Miss J Mackenzie who, along with Miss Argo, had been the first two Ladies Representatives on the Club's Council of Management.
Fixtures held by the Ladies Section during that time included a monthly medal and a Captain's Prize, as well as two Open tournaments and matches with the Brora and Royal Dornoch Clubs. It is clear from the records that there were relatively few playing lady members, although their contribution to the Club in organising the Fete and other fund-raising was larger than proportion. Perhaps the fact the exhibition match to signal the opening of the Clubhouse in 1952 was a mixed match served as recognition of their contribution.
During the years between the end of the war and the opening of the Clubhouse, management of the course and competitions continued very much in the vein established in the 1930s.
The advice of the Board for Greenkeeping Research had been sought towards restoring course condition in the immediate post-war years. By 1948 Bobba was earning £5/ 10/- per week and the Club had bought a new Ferguson tractor for £354. This tractor proved to be a remarkable asset, as it was still in regular use on use on the course over a quarter of a century later.
The redoubtable Ferguson Tractor purchased in 1947. Bobba is at the wheel, while AW Mackay looks on.
The annual programme of course work was steadily re-established. However, the cutting down of the trees which had lined the five holes at the Littleferry end of the course generated a keen sense of disappointment among members and visitors.
The minute books for the 1950's carry relatively few references to the course. The purchase of a mower or an occasional grumble on matters of tidiness do crop up.
Towards the end of the decade, with the clearance of debt on the Clubhouse, attention returned to the course. By September 1959 Council was considering the provision of new tees. The addition of a rear tee at the Fleet hole was the most significant alteration. At the same time, rabbit damage was again highlighted as a problem while the existence of grazing sheep on the course was a source of concern.
Heavitree Farm had tenure of the grazing rights to the links and damage to greens, tees and bunkers was a continual irritation. By early 1960, Council decided to mask the bunker faces with wire netting in an effort to offset the effects of sheep.
However Bobba managed it in the face of such difficulties, the course steadily gained in reputation for being in fine condition. This was especially the case for Open Tournaments.
The Annual Open Tournament in August had become a highlight of the season, building on the fixture's long tradition. The Argo Cup had been donated in 1946 and was applied to this event, while the Sinclair Cup was gifted as the scratch award by RF Sinclair in 1952. The former was first won by WA Milne of Mortonhall, the latter by R Stewart of the home club.
This last success was something of a surprise. The years just after the cessation of hostilities had seen a gradual transition in the prominence of players. The Bell Cup had been restarted in 1947, DJ Macleod regaining the trophy at the expense of AG Campbell in the final. He was succeeded by Jimmy Macdonald in 1948 and 1949.
Although short in stature, Macdonald was a long hitter with a sophisticated game. He was to win the Bell Cup on three further occasions before he expired prematurely.
The post-war generation of golfers further asserted itself in 1950 when Donald Urquhart won the Bell Cup for the first time. In a sense, Donald has become a golfing generation in himself, going on to win the Club Championship a further ten times in a period spanning the years to 1972. Even in the late 1980's, being drawn to play Donald in a match is a prospect not relished by any player as his game has endured the passing of time.
Possessed of a flattish swing with a very fast hand action, DU has long been recognised as a master of the short game. Perhaps his most notable golfing successes came in the County Cup. Two rounds of 76 over Royal Dornoch in 1951 gave him his first success in the event. Finishing the afternoon round with three consecutive pars on a day dominated by a strong westerly wind. While the 4 at the 17th was secured with the advantage of the wind, those at 16 and 18 stole the telling march on his closest rivals. The former was secured by a brassie second shot which tore up the hill and through the wind to fifteen feet, while an eight iron third shot to four feet at the final hole yielded a closing par and victory by two strokes.
Donald Urquhart, County Champion 1951 and 1961.
One measure of Donald's achievement is that victory in 1951 made him the first player from outwith the Royal Dornoch Club to win the County Championship on those links. In 1955 and 1958, when the event was held in Golspie, he had to be content with the runner-up position and bronze medal on both occasions. However, when the event returned to Golspie in 1961 a total of 151, again in windy conditions, gave Urquhart a second County Championship. This time he was one shot clear of the field, with Brora's Donnie Whyte winning the bronze medal.
It is interesting that it turned out to be these two players who contested the 1961 Championship. Over the sixteen occasions on which the event had been played following its post-war resumption, only Whyte and Urquhart were champions from outwith the Royal Dornoch Club. Incidentally, Whyte's success had been over his home course in 1959.
There can be no doubt that Donald Urquhart's record in the Bell Cup and county Cup stands the test of time when seeking to compare generations of Golspie golfers.
The 1950's saw other fine players coming to the fore. In terms of Club Champions, the success of Robert Sutherland in 1955 and Jim Fraser in 1957 added two new names to the roll. Sutherland, a languid golfer, had really taken to the game after a distinguished footballing career. In one of those strange coincidences thrown up by history he was to pass away very suddenly on the golf course, not many yards from the spot where his father had similarly expired.
Fraser was to serve the Club as an Office Bearer for many years and, like Donald Urquhart, still plays a mean game and is one to avoid in matchplay draws. He has, in a sense, suffered from the change in rules in the Duke of Sutherland Cup which happened after 1951. Had three successes led to possession of the trophy, Fraser would have two on the mantelpiece and be well on his way to emulating the feat of DJ Macleod.
Between 1958 and 1964 Donald Urquhart won the Bell Cup in every year, except 1962. Funnily enough, his surprise defeat by David Paterson, then in his last year at school, in the 1962 final is the match which he most vividly recalls. It still does not detract from his complete dominance of the event at that time.
In 1965, Jim Fraser regained the Bell Cup and the next year saw Bobby Urquhart win his only Club Championship, while Fraser's third success in 1968 was sandwiched between Donald Urquhart's ninth and tenth titles.
Bobby Urquhart's first notable golfing success was in the inaugural Millicent Bowl in 1963. The trophy had been presented to the Club in memory of the Duchess Millicent and was to be awarded to the member of a Sutherland Club who returned the lowest net total in a 36 hole open competition. The first playing had been in 1963 when the event resulted in a tie between Urquhart, playing off 15, and Brora's Jim Miller, who by then was down to a handicap of 4 en route to establishing himself as the finest scratch golfer that Sutherland has produced. It took three play-off rounds to decide the event, Urquhart finally securing a marathon victory and so becoming the first winner of the Millicent Bowl. Interestingly, no player has won that trophy more than once, perhaps a lasting testament to the format suggested by the donors.
Prizegiving Evening 1965.
Rear (L to R) - K Macdonald, JR Fraser, D Jack and R Baxter.
Front (L to R) - R Macrae and S Campbell.
The 1950's and early 1960's had formed a period of relative stability in Club life. The change in Clubhouse also marked a time when a generation of Office Bearers stood aside. Their efforts in sustaining the running of the Club over a lengthy period of time had been considerable. RF Sinclair relinquished the post of Secretary/Treasurer and was succeeded by James Weir, while BS Simpson was followed in the Captaincy by Alex Campbell.
Weir held office from 1951 to 1956, when his departure from the area was marked by an affectionate farewell presentation ceremony. The gap left by his departure was filled by Harry Hamilton. However, the 1957 AGM also took the opportunity to split the posts of Secretary and Treasurer. The Treasury was taken n by the then Manager of what is now the Clydesdale bank, Willie Fox. His successors as Bank Managers, George Murray and James Hendry, continued the association in an arrangement which lasted for 15 years. In addition, this time saw the arrival of Bill Baxter into Club affairs. He was to give three decades of service as the Club's Auditor.
A farewell to James Weir. DJ Macleod addresses the gathering. Farewell presentations have been a part of Club life down the years.
His early audited accounts showed that subscriptions and green fees continued to dominate income. However, the 1950's was also characterised by an active Entertainments Committee. This group had gained impetus in raising funds for the move of Clubhouse in 1952. Its activities continued thereafter, partly to pay off the Clubhouse, but also because its events were a continued success.
Hallmarks of the year became the Annual Fete in July, the Fancy Dress Parade in August and the Annual Social in the
Fancy Dress Parade 1952. The old Club tractor has been commandeered by Douglas Robertson and Harold Percy (rear), Bobba and Michael Percy (front).
late Autumn. Not only were these cordial social gatherings, they also provided a valuable source of income to the Club. During the 1950's and early 1960's, the activities of the Entertainments Committee yielded 20-30% of the Club's annual income.
In due course, further changes took place. After nine years in office, Alex Campbell stood down as Captain and was succeeded by Jim Fraser at the 1962 AGM. BS Simpson carried the Secretaryship for a year in succession to Harry Hamilton before Hugh Mackay embarked on a stint as Secretary at the 1963 AGM.
Not only did that AGM hear of the donation of the Millicent Bowl, marking the first major addition to the fixture list for some time, it also heralded the advent of Sunday golf at Golspie. The constitutional amendment enabling Sunday golf was carried by an overwhelming majority.
The minutes for the next two years are characterised by a readdressing of the matter of the Clubhouse. It had become increasingly clear that, while the Clubhouse erected in 1952 provided an improved facility and was removed from immediate threat by coastal erosion, it did not meet the changing requirements of Club life.
Initial debates centred on the feasibility of extending the existing Clubhouse. By September 1964 plans and costings had been drawn up for such an extension. However, this option was not thought to give full value for the estimated cost of 2,500 and so the following winter saw the development of plans for an entirely new Clubhouse.
During 1965 fund raising to meet the estimated cost of 9000 proceeded. Loans from the Amenities Committee and the National Playing Fields Association had been secured, along with a grant from the Scottish Education Department and support in the form of donations.
The opening of the new Clubhouse in 1967.
Standing - Jim Fraser, Hugh Mackay, Alex Campbell, Bertie Simpson, Bert Sinclair, George Murray and Lord Strathnaver. Seated - Mrs WM Urquhart, Miss G Argo, The Countess of Sutherland, Mrs CB Catto, CB Catto (Charles Catto had been a playing member of the Club in the 1890s).
Play during the Exhibition match to mark the opening of the new Clubhouse. Hugh Stuart (right) watches the progress of his putt on the 16th green, while Willie Skinner, Jim Miller and Bernard Gallacher look on.
The Annual General Meeting of 1966 formally approved the scheme and, after final details of the plan and site were thrashed out, building works started during the following Winter.
Following the sale of the old Clubhouse and the various other means of raising money, The Council of Management still faced a shortfall of some £3000 on the project. An appeal to members realised a number of interest free loans which bridged the gap. By January 1968, Council was informed that the final building costs had been £9647.
Building works had proceeded rapidly and the new Clubhouse was formally opened by the Countess of Sutherland in July 1967. As with the occasion in 1952, the opening was also marked by an exhibition match. Bernard Gallacher, then a prominent amateur player, and Hugh Stuart, a Walker Cup player from Forres, teamed up for a fourball match. Their opponents were local backmarkers Jim Miller of Brora and Royal Dornoch's William Skinner. The visitors prevailed by 5/4.
In many senses, the opening of the new Clubhouse marked a watershed in the life of the Club. Not only did the Club now possess a fine modern facility, it also was able to gain a licence. Therefore, the bar lounge represented a much finer amenity and the gaming machines offered a valuable source of income.
These changes in sources of income, augmented by continuing to organise fund-raising events such as the Fete meant that all the loans which had been made towards the Clubhouse project were repaid in only five years.
As in 1952, the Ladies Section made a powerful contribution to the fund-raising efforts required. Since its incorporation fifteen years previously, the Section had survived largely through the efforts of a small group of enthusiasts. Miss Argo had stood down from the Captaincy in 1953 and was succeeded by Miss Mackenzie. Her two-year tenure of office was followed by a three year stint by Mrs Anderson who had previously been Lady Secretary for many years. Miss Matheson held the post for 1958 before Mrs Anne Baxter took over the reins for three years.
Lessons for youngsters supervised by Bobba Macrae and Anne Baxter.
One of the marks of Mrs Baxter's tenure was her encouragement of golf lessons for junior golfers. This group were dubbed the 'Baxter Babes' by the local press and many of them, including the author, still derive great pleasure from the game they were encouraged to play at that time. One of the high points resulting from this initiative came in 1963.
Catherine Mackay set out for the Scottish Girls Championship at Carnoustie. Over what is a formidable course, she distinguished herself by reaching the semi-final stage of the Championship. In the course of this, Catherine accounted for the defending champion, Isabel Wylie of Dunaverty, in the fourth round before going down by two holes at the penultimate stage. This remains the most notable golfing achievement by any lady member of the Club.
From 1962 until 1969 Mrs Urquhart, Littleferry, was Lady Captain except for 1964 when she took over the Secretaryship to cover a difficulty in filling the office. Mrs Paterson stepped into the Captain's post for that year. During that time, the pattern of Ladies fixtures continued very much in the vein established during the 1950's with monthly medals, the McVitie & Price Cup and two Open Tournaments as well as the Club Championship.