And so it was that Peter established the Sunday Morning Competition format that the club has today. Each event is open to all 7-day male members with a maximum of 120 competitors. Members gather around the 1st tee at 08:00 every Sunday when they are advised of their starting hole and playing partners. The post-competition presentation often involves some light-hearted, optional fines imposed by the Captain with the proceeds going to his nominated charity. Over the years many thousands of pounds have been donated to local and national charities by the Men’s section of the New Forest Golf Club. For Sunday Competitions players need to be in the Clubhouse by at least 07:45 on Sunday morning. The cost of entering the competition is £2.50. In addition the club runs an optional 2’s competition (you pay £1 and if you get a two, you get a share of the 2's fund in balls). Try a couple of Sunday mornings, you’ll soon be hooked.
It was back in the late 1950’s that a gentleman by the name of Peter Swann purchased the club. Having been a member of many other clubs in the past he was of the opinion that the established tradition of holding a trophy presentation evening sometime after the golf season had finished was not a good idea. Peter felt that presenting the winner with his trophy in front of all of the other competitors on the day of the competition would have far more significance. It would entail a shotgun start and include the presentation of the trophy, by the Club Captain, to the winner immediately after the competition.
In addition to these Sunday competitions there are around fifteen matches with other local Clubs, usually on a home and away basis. All 7-day male members are encouraged to make themselves available for selection to play in these events.
In 1988 this Club shared its Centenary with three other local Golf Clubs, Royal Winchester, Marlborough, and Salisbury and South Wilts. Every year since, there has been a Quadrilateral event with each Club taking it in turn to host the competition, this is one of the highlights of our calendar providing the opportunity to meet many old and new sporting friends.
Members also play for, in excess, of 35 trophies but one, which we believe to be unique, is the Coronation Cup, this is a Lynsome which is derived from “Lyndhurst / Greensomes”. The golf competition is, as the name implies, a Greensomes competition; however on returning to the clubhouse the competition turns into a matchplay event where the Semi-finals and eventually the Final are played out on the stage. These competitions have now been running for the best part of 50 years and every Sunday through the summer a trophy is played for, with at least one of them dating back to the late 19th century, that’s some history.
If you are interested in becoming a member, contact the secretary on 023 8028 2484 or the Pro Shop on 023 8028 3094 and you could soon share this unique and historical experience.
