User:Eddiejmitchell/NAPGC

History of the NAPGC Back in the day, when Golf was seen as an elitist sport and those with sufficient funds could, and did play at private members’ clubs, equally good amateur golfers, lacking such funds, were consigned to the ‘Muni’; Municipal golf courses, run by local councils. The ‘Munis’ were excellent golf courses which provided golf at reasonably priced fees so that the less financially well-off could enjoy the game, paying on a round by round basis. Eventually, golf ‘clubs’, based within the public courses, formed and gave their members the opportunity to acquire and maintain recognised handicaps by providing competitions run within the club. The private course members however, still had one advantage: they were able to hone their skills by playing inter-club challenge matches and other competitions. This state of affairs continued for many years until John Henry Taylor and F G Hawtree, both of whom had been responsible for the design of many Public Golf Courses, decided that it was time to try to give the ‘Muni’ a bit of the ‘private’ experience. Their concept was to bring together these Golf Clubs so that, not only did they benefit from the inter-club matches enjoyed by the private sector, but they also had a sense of belonging to the ‘family of golf’. Thus, the National Association of Public Golf Courses was born in 1927. The NAPGC arranged stroke and matchplay competitions between the Public Golf Courses which became so popular the membership grew rapidly and the Association has gone from strength to strength. The men’s individual competitions now include Championship of England and the Scratch Championship. There are also team games such as the Clapham Common Trophy, Gordon Forster Bowl, Bourne Vannek and the Siemens Trophy, which is open to high handicap players. Senior golfers are also catered for with the Senior’s Championship and the Michell-Thompson Trophy. Women’s golf took a huge step forward with the advent of the ‘muni’. These courses and their clubs did not discriminate between men and women on the golf course. Women members were welcome to play at any time and this enabled more working women to play competitive golf. The private clubs imposed restrictions on women playing at certain times at weekends (some still do) which meant that most of their competitions were organised during the week, thus preventing working women from playing and maintaining a handicap. Always a forward-looking organisation, the NAPGC soon embraced the Women’s game, organising an individual National Championship, Senior’s Championship and team events such as the Whitewebbs, JHB Shield and the Mary Forster Bowl. The trophy named after the NAPGC founder, F G Hawtree is a matchplay competition for mixed teams. An important part of the NAPGC’s function is to promote and encourage Junior Golf. After all, they are the future of our game. The Junior Championship of England regularly attracts over 100 young golfers all endeavouring to win this prestigious event. Juniors are also welcome to play in many of the team competitions and their fearless, energetic play is legend amongst the clubs who play against them. Non-members of the NAPGC can also get a taste of what the Association has to offer. The United Kingdom Public Golf Course Championship is organised by the NAPGC and is open to any member of a Public or Proprietary Golf Club within the UK. There are Regional events with the winners of these playing in the Final which is held at St Andrews The Association has progressed and evolved over the years, building on the original ethos of Taylor and Hawtree and now has almost 100 member clubs taking part in the impressive variety of competitions. It was not easy, however, to gain recognition within the wider community of Golf; it took time to gain the support of the R & A but this was eventually forthcoming and today the Association also has a voice within the English Golf Union (EGU). A recent development within this alliance is the invitation to the NAPGC Men’s Champion to play in the Champion of Champions competition organised by the EGU. It has not just been the NAPGC which has evolved over the years. The member clubs, whose courses were all run by Local Authorities have also been subject to change. Many of the courses have been sold or leased into Proprietary ownership. The NAPGC has embraced these changes and are now an Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Clubs and Courses. Many of the member clubs of the NAPGC have membership histories going back decades, demonstrating their satisfaction with the Association. They enjoy the competitions and find that they not only hone their golfing skills but meeting other golfers and playing on other courses enables them to forge friendships (after the match of course) which have lasted years. The links between the clubs have been invaluable, particularly in more straightened recent times when all are faced with reducing membership numbers. Clubs can pool ideas through contacts made over the years and through the NAPGC itself who are always ready to offer suggestions on how to deal with problems or recommend other sources of information. Joining the NAPGC is just a click away. The Association has its own website: www.napgc.org.uk where the current membership subscriptions and Application Forms can be found. Details of all competitions are also found here and any Club considering joining can get all the information about the Association and its activities. There are also contact details for the Officers of the Association who would be only too pleased to answer any questions from prospective members. If requested, a visit from a member of the Executive Committee could also be arranged to speak to Clubs about the benefits membership of the NAPGC has to offer. It is also on Facebook which gives a more informal look at the NAPGC with photographs of events and winners being posted on a regular basis. 

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