Hornsea

The following edited extracts are taken from Hornsea Golf Club 1898-1998 by A. A. Clarke:

“A meeting was held at ‘Faifield’ Cliff Road, Hornsea on the evening of 25th May 1898 to discuss the feasibility of starting a golf club in the town. It was agreed that a club should be formed and discussion turned to land which might be suitable for a golf links. Three main possibilities were considered: Rowlston fields, Station fields and Old Hall fields.

Having decided to pursue the idea no time was lost, the three venues were inspected and Old Hall fields chosen as the best site. An agreement was signed with local farmer Mr. Harker to rent sufficient ground for nine holes at an annual charge of £15. Tom Vardon, the professional from Ilkley and brother of Harry Vardon, was retained to design the course.

By 1906 the club was seriously looking at alternatives to their nine-hole course and again the fields at Rowlston were suggested. Major Haworth Booth had been a keen founder member of the club and resided at Rowlston Hall. In 1907 an extraordinary general meeting was called to discuss the matter and it was decided to move to a new 120-acre site at Rowlston.

The Open champion Sandy Herd had looked over the proposed land, considered it suitable, and submitted a plan for the new course. The Major offered to lay it out at his own expense and build a bungalow-style clubhouse. He would charge a nominal £50 per rent for the first two years then take 25% of subscriptions and green fees in lieu of rent.

Herd’s plan was to be varied twice in following years after consultation with famous golf architects Dr. MacKenzie and James Braid. They proposed some drastic alterations to the very flat greens and suggested extensive bunkering. In 1914 it was to have hosted the Yorkshire second division championship but the outbreak of war intervened.

Four years after opening the Rolston course, the advice of Dr. MacKenzie was sought. He considered in general the course was very good but made a number of recommendations, particularly in relation to the greens. He considered all the Hornsea greens except the 6th were too flat. Some, but not all of his ideas were implemented by the club.

In August 1924, James Braid was asked to review the course. He made a number of recommendations particularly relating to bunkering, some of the more interesting ones were: take the 6th green back over the ridge, move the 7th tee nearer the gate, move the 9th green further back on to the higher ground so that it could be seen by golfers at an earlier stage.

Drainage was always a problem and many efforts to drain the fairways were made over the years, particularly in the 1970s when extensive work was carried out. Landscaping with trees began in earnest after the Second World War. Over 700 trees were planted as a first phase and the programme continued over the years to completely change the appearance of the area.”