Bramall park Golf Club
Secretary
C J Shallcross
20 Manor Road
Bramhall
Stockport,
SK7 3LY
Phone: 0161 485 3119
Email Us
Website: http://www.bramallparkgolfclub.co.uk
History
The 40 men who sat down in the billiard room of Benjamin Ashwell’s Bramhall residence on 8 October 1894 saw no earthly reason why they could not construct a golf course – for which they had neither land nor funds – within a month. They agreed to form a club with an entrance fee of £1 1s and a similar figure for an annual subscription.
Marl Field, at the corner of Park Road and Ravenoak Road, was rented for £30 per year from a local farmer, and on 10 November four gentlemen played the first round on a rough but recognisable 9-hole course. Bramall Park Golf Club was born, with 75 members and plans for a rustic pavilion where members could meet and save the wear on Mr Ashwell’s carpets. “Ladies,” read the rules, “may be permitted to use the links on payment of 10s 6d per annum, but not on Saturday afternoons, match or medal days.”
By April of the next year, the pavilion and links were formally opened and fees were increased to one and a half guineas. By 1896, a cup of tea was 6d and chops or steaks with bread and butter were served for 1s 6d. (7 ½ p). As the turn of the century approached, the club bought a horse for £5, and in 1903 the club leased a further 19 acres, allowing the course to be extended by 1905. A new clubhouse on Ravenoak Road was built in 1910, complete with telephone.
The War years saw the club in decline as members served in the forces and 60 head of cattle grazed the course. After the Great War, the club purchased an additional 99 acres and in 1922 the course was extended to 18 holes, an Atco motor mower was bought, and fees went up to 5 guineas. The current clubhouse was built in 1923.
In 1934, after spending 10 guineas on design advice, some greens were altered and fifteen bunkers added. And then came the second World War and obstruction posts were set up to deter enemy glider landings on the fairways. Three holes were turned over to vegetable growing, and the club was rationed to one dozen golf balls per month.
The post-war years saw the game increase in popularity, and membership (and subscriptions) rose steadily. In 1967 the club bought land to shift two holes for a much-needed practice ground, cattle grazing ceased and in 1974 the practice ground was opened.
By 1982 fees were increased to £208, but in 1987 the club sold spare land by Robins Lane for a healthy profit, which paid for clubhouse development.
Overall, so much has been achieved since those Victorian days when the course of today was just a collection of farmers’ fields. Over 100 years of development have resulted in a club to be proud of.
Our category listings:
Golf : 2 - Golf Clubs and Associations
Golf : 2 - Golf Clubs and Associations