110 STOKE PARK

CHAPTER EIGHT ‘The best-appointed club in the country’, 1908–28

‘No committee!’

Harry Colt – one of the finest architects

Financially sound

‘Spacious and beautifully laid out’ ‘Pa’ Jackson, a gregarious man, was in his element running a sporting country club. 112 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 113

ancy he had built at Datchet a very fine dairy and shop, which without the ‘No committee!’ park would become absolutely useless. But he added that he was a Scotsman and had played golf as a youngster, and suggested that Stoke Park, which was also for sale, would prove even better suited to my pur- pose than Ditton. I followed the farmer’s advice and found it amply justified, so without Nick Lane Jackson (universally known as ‘Pa’) had harboured delay I got Mr H.S. Colt, the Secretary of Sunningdale and, in my opin- the desire for many years to ‘inaugurate a country club some- ion, the best living authority either then or now on golf architecture, to what on the lines of those which had proved so phenomenally inspect the ground and advise me. His opinion was so very favourable that successful in the United States’. His first attempt, at Le I decided to open negotiations with the agents, and Lord Montagu, who had in the meantime received an offer for Ditton Park on lease, without Touquet in France, ran into problems of trust with the any option to purchase, was only too glad to release me from my agree- businessmen he was dealing with. ment. The negotiations with Mrs Bryant, the owner of Stoke Park, were pro- So, I determined to try my luck in the Old Country. Close to where I longed for some time on account of her brother, who acted for her, lived was Ditton Park, the property of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, whom breaking his leg in the hunting-field, so that I was only able to meet him I happened to know. As there was a beautiful old house there and the at his home in Stratford-on-Avon. This meant many troublesome jour- grounds seemed suitable for a good golf-course, I approached his lord- neys, but at last everything was satisfactorily arranged and I took over the ship, and the result was that we came to an agreement by which I was to whole of the estate of nearly 600 acres, about half of which I obtained on have a lease of the premises with the option of purchase. He was very a fifty years’ lease for the golf, with option of purchase, and the remain- reluctant to concede me the option, but I hardly felt justified in taking der, for building purposes, under a separate arrangement. the place without. However, when it became known that I proposed turn- ing the park into a golf-course, a neighbouring farmer complained that it would as good as ruin him if I did so. It appeared that he had taken it The first Board Meeting of the company that Pa Jackson as grazing for his large herd of cows, and that on the strength of his ten- formed to found the Stoke Park Club took place at 41 Jermyn The Stoke Park Mansion in 1908. ‘Pa’ Jackson instantly realised it was the perfect setting for his vision of a country club.

114 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 115

Street on 7 October 1908. The next day, at a meeting of the Jackson as Governing Director be fixed at the sum of £400 Directors at Barclays Bank, , applications for £15,300 [about £44,000] per annum’. of debentures (about £1.7 million in today’s money) were Having taken possession in October 1908, Jackson began produced. creating the golf course within a month. It was an enormous At the next meeting of the Directors, held at Stoke Park on undertaking. Three thousand trees were cut down, and over 14 October 1908, they considered ‘the application from 30 acres freshly turfed. They had decided to create 27 holes, David Hutton of North Berwick for the post of Greenkeeper, and before the greens could be laid out, water had to be laid at wages of 32/6 per week [£1.625 or about £180 in today’s on. Nevertheless, a full eighteen-hole course was opened in money] with a house or 35/– without a house, and a rise of July 1909. Furthermore, Jackson needed to adapt the ground 2/6 per week at the end of the first year.’ floor of the Mansion to make it suitable for a golf clubhouse. The Board resolved that, subject to Mr Jackson being sat- Apart from structural alterations, ‘we had to install electric isfied with Mr Colt’s report (this was Harry Shapland Colt – light, make an entirely new sewage arrangement, and dupli- see below) upon Hutton, to engage him. cate our water-supply, which we pumped ourselves. Then we At this meeting it was also resolved that Mr C.H. Alison had to furnish the place, and I think I may justly claim to (see below) be appointed Secretary to the Club at a salary of have been lucky in accomplishing all this in the brief period £150 per annum (about £16,500 today), ‘the Club supplying of eight months.’ him with Board free of cost’. Jackson reckoned that he was able to achieve all this so There were still deer in the park, and it was ‘resolved to quickly because he acted alone without having to consult a expend an amount not exceeding £100 [£11,000] upon this committee. object’. He would later recount a story to illustrate further his At the next meeting, at Frognal, Sunninghill on 24 point about committees: October, it was resolved to offer a new applicant, a Mr A. One of our original members at was Lord Northcliffe, and Wright, also from North Berwick, £2 per week and the use of one day early in 1909 he visited the club accompanied by Reggie a cottage, for the post of Greenkeeper. Nicholson, who was at that time his private secretary. This was shortly At a meeting at 41 Jermyn Street on 4 January 1909, it was after Northcliffe had taken over The Times. He was highly interested in the resolved to have electric light (rather than gas). It was also golf courses and in the club generally, and when they had looked the whole place over he and Nicholson came and congratulated me on the resolved ‘to instruct the National Telephone Co. to install a success of my venture. Northcliffe then remarked, ‘I don’t know which to With Nick Lane Jackson in the Chair, the first meeting of the Stoke Park Club was held on 7 October 1908. It was resolved that 17 Tower Royal, Cannon Street, London EC should be the regis- telephone at the Clubhouse without delay’. admire most – the rapidity with which you’ve got everything into order or tered office of the company to run the Club. Finally, it was resolved that ‘the remuneration of Mr Lane your damned impudence in starting the place.’ I answered that the only 116 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 117

reason I had been able to get it ready so quickly was that I had been in sole control, with no board or committee to be consulted. ‘There you are, you see Reggie’, said Northcliffe touching Nicholson on the shoulder, ‘no committee!’ I asked him just what he meant by that remark, and he replied, ‘Well, what do you think of The Times lately?’ I told him I consid- ered it had shown an immense improvement since his taking it over and he nodded his head and said significantly, ‘Yes, no committee!’

However, Jackson did not want people to think he had done everything himself without help from others.

Let it not be imagined that I carried the work through without outside advice; far from it. When launching my great venture I was lucky enough to secure the valuable co-operation of C.M. Woodbridge, an Old Carthusian footballer; of two Eton masters, P.V. Broke and R.H. de Montmorency; of E.H. Parry, another Old Carthusian, who had a large preparatory school at Stoke Green; and of Percy Paravicini, an Old Etonian and an old football friend of mine. The assistance of such good friends was truly invaluable.

To attract members to the Club, Jackson published an attrac- The Long Gallery overlooked the terrace and gardens and would be the principal dining room. tive and comprehensive prospectus. At the front was a photo- graph of the Mansion, and there can have been few golf clubs anywhere with such an inspiring clubhouse. Next came the The Lord Decies P.J. de Paravinci Esq. proposed officers and members of the Committee, also an H.E. Allhusen Esq. E.H. Parry Esq. impressive group: P.V. Broke Esq. H. Howard Vyse Esq. R.A. Campbell Esq. C.M. Woodbridge Esq. President: HH Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein Vice-President: The Earl Howe GCVO The prospectus described the layout of the golf course: Committee: The Earl of Chesterfield In addition to an exceptionally fine 18-hole course, another of 9 holes of full length will be laid out in the Deer Park, where the turf is extraordi- The Earl of Kinnoull R.H. de Montmorency Esq. narily good owing to the fact that about 400 head of deer have fed over it At the meeting of directors on 8 December 1908, it was resolved to pay certain accounts, including the first payments to Harry Colt and Hugh Alison. Also, three horses and a mowing machine were bought for £86 (about £10,000 in today’s money). The decision whether to have electric lighting was postponed! 118 STOKE PARK

Left: Many trees had to be felled to make way for the golf course.

Right: James Sherlock was a founder member of the Professional Golfers’ Association. He served Stoke Park for eleven years as a player, teacher and club-maker.

120 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 121 for many generations. The soil is of gravel and always delightfully dry, help plan and superintend the construction of the golf links, In 1894 he helped design his first course, Rye, while he was while the undulating nature of the ground considerably enhances its and it quoted some extracts from Colt’s report: still a partner in the law firm, Sayer & Colt, in nearby advantages for Golf. The whole of the Park is on high ground, giving Hastings. He was also a founder member of the Royal and splendid views of the surrounding country, while, by reason of its being in a ring fence, absolute privacy is secured. From the Mansion one looks The soil is a light sandy loam and gravel, which should dry very quickly Ancient Rules of Golf Committee in 1897. After some years over Windsor Castle to the hills beyond, while westward can be seen the after heavy rain, thus assuring good Golf during the wet winter months. I practising law he retired and became the Secretary at Rye Oxfordshire and Wiltshire hills beyond Henley and Wallingford. should not hesitate to make even deeper bunkers, as the soil is so porous Golf Club. that there ought to be no difficulty as to drainage. With little exception The whole of the land leased to the Golf Club is enclosed and His administrative ability married with his golfing absolutely private, and there are no public roads, footpaths or rights of deer have grazed over the Park for the years past. The turf is very fine and way over it. could hardly be better. prowess. A.S. Babington, the Lord Justice of Appeal for Unlike most parks the enclosure at Stoke Poges contains large tracts of As I am informed that there will be no difficulty about removing trees Northern Ireland and a prominent member of Royal open spaces, some of which measure about half-a-mile in length and over where necessary, I would advise, where trees are standing, a clearance of Portrush Golf Club, became a great friend of Colt and wrote about 100 yards in width for each hole, and thus get rid of obstacles a quarter-of-a-mile in width, and even in the Deer Park so much open this about him: ground has been utilised in laying out the courses that comparatively lit- which, to my mind, are not very desirable on a Golf course. There are tle tree-felling will be necessary, even though it is intended to make the several natural features which can be utilised to great advantage for the In his young days he was a notable figure in the golfing world, a contem- minimum width of the courses 100 yards. The Lessees, however, have the Links, including two brooks, a deep ravine, ponds and various undula- porary of John Ball, Harold Hilton and his great friend Johnny Low – right to remove all trees which in any way interfere with Golf, and this can tions, etc. and was able to take on these great players on level terms and I have heard and will be done without in the slightest degree detracting from the pic- Owing to the porosity of the soil I would advise that water be laid on to it said that when he was Secretary of Sunningdale he was largely instru- turesque views for which the Park is famous. every putting green, and I understand that this will be done. mental in putting Southern golf on the map at a time when Hoylake and The first nine holes of the eighteen-hole course begin and end at the St Andrews were supreme in playing strength. Club-house. The tee to the sixth hole is also near, so that there will be three starting points in the eighteen-holes course close to the Club- house, as well as the first tee for the nine-holes course. This is obviously He was a contemporary of Willie Park Jnr, and between them a great advantage, as on busy days there should be no difficulty about they made golf architecture a profession. He had been only Harry Colt – one players starting. 25 when he laid out the course at Rye, subsequently the ‘home’ of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society. When of the finest golf When Jackson recruited Harry Shapland Colt to assist him the new Sunningdale club in was opened in 1901, with the design and construction of the courses at Stoke Park, he became its first Secretary, a post he held until 1913. When Colt was the Secretary at the nearby Sunningdale Golf Club. he resigned from Sunningdale to concentrate on golf archi- course architects However, he had begun his adult life as first a barrister and tecture, the club expressed great regret, but at least they were then a solicitor, practising on the south coast in Sussex. Colt able to persuade him to continue giving the course, ‘which he (1869–1951) was captain of the Cambridge University golf has tended so long and so faithfully’, his general supervision. The booklet also said that the Club had been fortunate team in 1890 and enjoyed a distinguished amateur career, ‘Pa’ Jackson with H.H. Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, the first President of the Club During these years, he developed his talents as a golf in 1909. Prince Albert was also Captain of Sunningdale Golf Club. The Earl Howe was enough to secure the valuable assistance of Mr H.S. Colt to winning the Royal and Ancient Jubilee vase in 1891 and 1893. elected Vice-President. architect, not only at home but in Europe and in the US, to THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 123 which he was to make three separate visits. He expanded and lengthened Sunningdale to cope with the changes which the new Haskell ball brought, cleared much of the heather on its heathland, and planted trees extensively. When Colt first became seriously interested in golf archi- tecture he had to find a way of putting his ideas into practice. He spoke to a friend at a construction company, Frank’s Harris and Company in Guildford, Surrey, and persuaded him to set up a golf course construction division (the game was experiencing a boom in popularity) which was then manned by foremen recruited from existing golf club ground staffs. Colt then put Willie Murray, a well-known St Andrews golfer, in charge. A.S. Babington noted that this arrange- ment proved to be very successful.

When a contract was taken on, Messrs. Frank’s Harris sent over a foreman and the necessary machinery and equipment, and the labour was hired locally. Mr Colt, Mr Murray and the foreman met on the ground and Mr Colt set out the work according to his plan and it was carried out under Mr Murray’s supervision who saw to it that the plans were adhered to and answered to Mr Colt for their execution and the cost from day to day. Between their visits the responsibility was with the foreman who com- manded the labour squad and kept the time sheets. Having had experience of constructive work carried out in this way and also by clubs themselves and by Contractors who were also Architects I have no doubt about its being by far the most satisfactory method of

Left: Some founder members in 1909 trying out a new golf club.

Right: Harry Shapland Colt. ‘Pa’ Jackson enlisted the services of Harry Colt, destined to become one of history’s greatest golf course designers. 124 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 125

building or overhauling a Course, judged both by the quality of the work Then there are five between 340 and 385 yards, one of 260 yards, and and its ultimate cost. four short holes, varying from 140 to 170 yards. It is seen at a glance, In golf Course construction the work as it proceeds presents a differ- therefore, that the lengths are excellent. There is a careful balancing of ent aspect from day to day and when amateurs and untrained people are the outward and inward portion of the course, while the short holes come in charge many delays occur and mistakes made which have to be rectified at regular intervals. Most convenient is it that the first and tenth tees of and these are all reflected in the Course itself and in the final bill. the long course, and the first tee of the nine-hole course, are all within a Mr Colt’s plans were carried out with wonderful precision and dis- very short distance of the club-house steps. Anyone who will take the patch and the extent of the business which he and his firm built up and trouble to compare the lengths of the holes at Stoke Poges and Hoylake the reputation they acquired was perhaps due as much to their business will find a striking similarity. Allowing a little extra length at Hoylake to efficiency as to the approval which their Courses received when they came be counterbalanced by the greater run on the ball, the two courses may be to be played on. considered exactly alike in this respect. In some other features, of course, He had made an exhaustive study of sand dune country and had calcu- they greatly differ. In Stoke Park there are no sandhills, but there is a lated the base and height of sand hills thrown up by drifting sand and sta- good deal of sand to be circumvented. Most students of golf architecture bilised by bent grass and of the easy gradients of natural hollows and the are fairly well acquainted by this time with Mr Colt’s main lines of areas occupied by natural bunkers and their slopes and general appear- procedure; how he very closely guards the green at every short hole, ance. providing trouble for every man who does not drop the ball fair and As a result of his observations he had a general view of such landscapes square on the green at such holes; how he leaves open golf course on the and their natural contours firmly fixed in his head and he was able to take fairway at long last but puts in side bunkers where ill-placed shots will a piece of flat ground more or less devoid of any distinguishing features and land, and gradually narrows the passage as the green is approached; how transform it into something which if not a replica of any seaside Course he places a high premium on putting, by making every green undulating was at least so good a counterfeit that the players had the illusion that they and difficult. These principles of his art he has applied craftily at Stoke were on a genuine golf links. I have seen a few of these Courses and they Poges, so that no man is ever likely to return a low score without having must seem incredibly clever to anyone who had dabbled in golf played exceptional golf. He may play a great deal of good shots and yet Architecture and the courses which he constructed on really good golfing have a high score, but that will be that he wandered from the straight and ground show what a wonderful eye he had for the landscape and all its suffered in consequence. natural features. James Sheridan, who celebrated over 50 years as caddie At the Stoke Park Club, Harry Colt did a masterly job, as Golf master at Sunningdale, initially found Harry Colt quite a Illustrated wrote in 1910: difficult character:

There are several striking features about Stoke Poges links. Although the Added to all this, Mr H.S. Colt, the secretary, was no easy man to serve. total length of the eighteen-hole course is almost equal to that of any of I was astounded at first by the way he seemed to frighten most of the staff the six Championship courses, there is no hole of more than 440 yards and thought this wouldn’t do for me. I soon came up against him over lit- length. There is, indeed, only one of that length, but there are four which tle matters and he must quickly have realised what an arrogant and self- are 430 yards long, and eight altogether between 400 and 440 yards. sufficient young idiot I was. To me, everything connected with the game 126 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 127

of golf originated in Scotland, and anyhow what had Sunningdale on We brought over Harry Colt who then stayed with me and on many subse- North Berwick or Muirfield? ‘Probably nothing, young man! But did you quent occasions in Dublin, Belfast and Portrush. I found him a person of make both or either?’ great character with ideas about golf Courses which were then quite orig- We had a terrible row when one of the caddies had trouble with a inal and he had great interest in his work. He got on well with almost member. This gentleman came to complain of rudeness and, because I everyone and especially Greenkeepers and their Ground Staff and all felt my man was right, I refused to give him a dressing-down. So I was Club employees, he was a first class business man. promptly reported to Mr Colt! ‘I don’t care what happened, Sheridan,’ he said as I tried to explain. Arguably the finest golf course designer of the 20th century, ‘The member is always right.’ Harry Colt planned Stoke Poges in 1908, Swinley Forest in ‘Wrong is no man’s right,’ I replied, which scarcely poured oil on the troubled waters. 1910 and 36 holes at St George’s Hill in 1913. In that same I very soon realised what a great and wonderful man he was and, as the year, he was invited by George Crump, creator of Pine Valley, years passed, we both achieved a fine regard for each other. Certainly, the to work with the routing of the holes on the great New Jersey secretary had a fierce kick in him, but I prefer men like that. The others course. One of his great achievements was the Eden course at desert you when the wind blows. St Andrews for the Royal and Ancient club in 1912, no doubt Mr Colt eventually left Sunningdale to go back to his greater love of golf course construction. Many fine courses are testament to his memory. a contract much sought after by designers at the time. From a Sunningdale was not, in fact, my first introduction to him. He had flat and unpromising piece of land, cramped in places, Colt been a very fine amateur golfer and I had been at Hoylake in 1906 when laid out a course quite worthy of St Andrews and which con- he was one of three Sunningdale men in the semi-final of the Amateur tinues to give pleasure to this day. Championship. Yet none of them won! I watched the last five holes of Mr Colt’s semi-final match with James Included in his portfolio are the Wentworth courses and Robb, who won that championship and to this day I believe that, had it the remodelling of Muirfield; in Spain, Puerto de Hierro in not been for a heavy thunderstorm which started when they were playing Madrid and the Severiano Ballesteros home course, Real ‘The Rushes’, where Colt was two or three holes to the good, then he Club de Golf de Pedrena; in France, courses at Cannes and would have won the match. He was putting splendidly on the very fast greens, while Robb was far from happy with his putter. The sudden del- Le Touquet, and in Germany the Frankfurter and uge changed the green in an instant and Colt started to be short with his Hamburger courses. Prominent work in America was Sea approach putts. Robb seemed to relish the new weather conditions and Island in Georgia, the Country Club of Detroit, and Burning eventually scored a narrow win. Tree, near Washington. Harry Colt helped to train other leading architects in Dr Alister Mackenzie (Augusta, Pebble Sheridan’s initial view of Colt as a person who ‘frightened’ Beach etc.), C.H. Alison, J.S.F. Morrison and John Harris. the staff contrasts sharply with that expressed by Babington, Between them they designed over 300 courses in 24 coun- who wrote: tries. Colt was probably the first golf architect who had been 128 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 129

a professional golfer, the first to use the drawing board for members who wish to reside at the Club, either permanently or extensively, the first ‘tree-planter’ and the first truly inter- temporarily. national designer. He died in 1951 having left a mark on the British landscape that no other landscape or golf course There was also a spacious billiard room, card rooms, large architect can match. and small dining rooms, a library, a drawing room, lounges and a winter garden. Naturally, the brochure said something of the history and ambience:

Stoke Poges Church, famous as the last resting place of the poet Gray, stands within the Park, as also does the Memorial to the author of the Financially sound well-known ‘Elegy’. There is also, in another part of the Park, a monu- ment to the learned Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke. Landseer painted his pictures of Stags here, finding his models from among the herds which still exist in the Park. A portion of the picturesque old Manor House, which dates from the 15th century, still remains, and is in an habitable The brochure also spoke of the other facilities that would be condition. offered by the Club, such as lawn tennis, croquet, archery and bowls. In addition, the golf facilities would include a In case prospective members were concerned that there would pitch-and-putt course, and boating and punting could be be too many other members and that the courses would ‘enjoyed on the large and beautiful lakes’. become overcrowded, the prospectus assured them that the And, of course, the brochure advertised the proximity to number of members would be strictly limited, though it did London and the regular Great Western Railway train service not specify a number. It merely said: from Paddington to Slough, noting that It is proposed to fix the subscription at £10.10s [i.e. 10 guineas] for gen- The Great Western Railway will issue cheap tickets to Members of the tlemen and £5.5s for ladies. The first 200 men and 100 ladies will be Club, and they have promised to institute a special service of Motors for admitted without entrance fee. Golfers if desired by the Committee to do so. As for the type of member at which the Club was aiming, the Accommodation at the Club was also offered: prospectus said:

There will be upwards of 40 bedrooms and sitting rooms in the Mansion The committee will make their first election from among the candidates 130 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 131

who apply on the printed forms (some of which are enclosed), and they having realised £250, and those of the recently formed Worplesdon Club will endeavour to elect only those who are members, or would be eligible have changed hands, even before the course was opened at a premium 25 for membership, of the leading social clubs. After the first election all per cent), it is evident that this issue offers an opportunity of profitable candidates must be proposed and seconded by Members to whom they are investment, especially as the holders receive 5 per cent interest until such personally known. time as they sell their Debentures to others wishing to avail themselves of the advantage of life membership. To show that the Club was financially secure, the prospectus spoke of The prospectus said that the lease and all other property of the Club would be vested in a small Limited Liability Debentures to the extent of £20,000, forming a first charge on all assets Company and that this company would be responsible for all of the Club, will be issued. Of this amount £5,000 will be invested and expenditure in connection with the Club. ‘Members there- held as security for the due performance of the conditions of the lease, fore will be under no liability whatever beyond the amount of but when these have been complied with, this sum will become available for the redemption of the Debentures or for any other purposes and their subscription, and entrance fee, if any.’ benefit of the Club, such as in making the Golf courses, decorating and It concluded by saying that there were several cottages that furnishing the Mansion, etc. were being offered for sale or let, and some ‘picturesque’ The Debentures will be of £100 each, carrying interest at the rate of 5 land outside the park was also for sale. per cent per annum. Any of the debenture holders (gentlemen holders of £200, or ladies holders of £100) may at his, or her, option and at any As the golf club was planned, Jackson had to consider time, take up a life membership of the Club, tenable only during the time whom he should appoint as Club Secretary, professional etc.: they hold the prescribed amount of Debentures, in which case they will receive 2.5 per cent interest on their Debentures, but will be free of We are extremely fortunate in securing as our first Secretary Hugh Alison, entrance fee and subscription, thus receiving a return equivalent to 7.5 who was a popular member of the Oxford University team and a remark- per cent on each Debenture. Anyone taking a Transfer of Debentures of ably fine player. In his prime he was one of the longest drivers the game the prescribed amount will be entitled to the same advantages of life has produced. membership, subject of course to the holders’ election by the Committee, Besides being a first-class golfer, Alison was extremely good as a golf and the transferring Member may, with the consent of the Committee, architect, a profession he afterwards adopted, and in partnership with his continue his membership upon paying the entrance fee and subscription friend Harry Colt he has been most successful in laying out new courses for the time being force. Should the Debenture of any life member be in Europe, Japan and America. He proved eminently useful to us not only redeemed the life membership will continue without subscription. when we were making our courses at Stoke Poges, but also in getting them into shape afterwards. In the matter of arranging our match list, too, he The prospectus went on to say that was a great help, for in our first year we played both Oxford and Cambridge, delightful contests which have been continued ever since.

As the Debentures or Bonds of first-class Golf Clubs have recently been sold at high premiums (those of Sunningdale Golf Club of £100 each Alison – full name Captain Charles Hugh Alison OBE – was 132 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 133

educated at Malvern, a famous public school set in the highly respected in Japan for his bunkers (deep and steep- Malvern Hills, and New College, Oxford. While playing for faced) around the greens. Oxford against Cambridge he perpetrated what became one In 1937 he went to and New Zealand, where he of the most remarkable shots in golfing history when he put designed the Huntingdale course at Melbourne and the his drive at the eighteenth on the clubhouse roof at Woking Auckland course in New Zealand. Between 1947 and 1952 he Golf Club. Undaunted, he summoned a ladder, climbed on lived in South Africa, where he redesigned the Bulawayo to the roof and chipped over a holly bush and on to the course. green. He holed his putt to halve the hole and the match. The During his working life, he was involved in the design, famous golf writer Bernard Darwin wrote of the feat in his redesign and construction of over 60 courses worldwide. book, Rubs of the Green, and dedicated the book to Alison. Not As Club professional, Jackson appointed James Sherlock. only was Alison a good golfer, he played first-class cricket for This is what Golf Illustrated wrote: Somerset between 1902 and 1905. While he was Secretary for Stoke Park Club between 1908 and 1914, he also developed SHERLOCK GOES TO STOKE POGES his golf architectural skills and designed several courses in harness with Harry Colt, including Stoke Poges itself and Out of a large number of applications for the post of professional to the new club at Stoke Poges, the committee have selected James Sherlock, of Denham, St George’s Hill and Camberley. the Oxford University G.C. Sherlock is a fine player and has done well in After the First World War, in which he served as a Captain open competition, finishing sixth in the Championship of 1904, and in the British Army, he capitalised on the growing popular- eighth in the following year. He has been a member of the English inter- ity of golf, and Hugh, as he was known to his friends, became national team since 1903. In the Midlands he has done remarkably well, having won the Midland Professional Cup three times. He is one of the the main overseas partner of Colt and Company. Between most popular professionals playing, and a good coach and club-maker. 1920 and 1929 Alison lived in the USA, where he designed The applications for the post included three international players. We some twenty courses and remodelled a further six. Fred Love congratulate both parties to the new contract. was quoted as saying that Alison was a ‘great man for bumps’. In 1930 Alison went to Japan, where he stayed until 1936. Jackson wrote of Sherlock in his autobiography: He designed and constructed the following courses: Fuji (1932), Hirona (1932), Tokyo (1932), Kawana Shizuoka Sherlock, who is a most charming fellow, remained with us for a great many years, giving general satisfaction both as a teacher and as a club- (Fuji Course – 1936). He also remodelled Kawana Shizuoka maker, and I was exceedingly sorry when, for the benefit of his family’s Oshima (1936) and a number of other courses including health, he went away to Hunstanton, where I am given to understand that the East and West courses at Kasumigaseki Saitama. He was his qualities have proved as useful as they were to us. 134 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 135

Sherlock was also a founder member of the Professional London in a balloon, and eventually came back to earth at Caen, in Golfers’ Association (PGA). His best finishes in the Normandy. (He also, with his wife, Vera and the Hon. C.S. Rolls of Rolls-Royce fame, founded the Aero, later the Royal Aero, Club in 1901. Open were sixth, eighth and eighth in 1904, 1905 and 1913 Vera was the first woman in Britain to be fined for speeding.) [Jackson respectively. In the French Open he finished third in 1910, got Vera’s relationship to Frank Butler wrong. She was his daughter, not 1912 and 1913. He held the course record at Hunstanton and his wife.] Le Touquet. After eleven years at the Stoke Park Club, Sherlock moved to Hunstanton, where he retired in 1945 Frank Hedges Butler was undoubtedly what we would call a to become an honorary member. Many remembered him as ‘sport’, but he was extremely ignorant about how a motor car a partner with Ted Ray (Open Champion in 1912) and actually worked, as this story told by Piers Brendon in his another professional called Turner who formed a golf wonderful history of the Royal Automobile Club illustrates: co-operative specialising in the making of golf clubs. Jackson was also able to attract some famous and colourful A few [members] were invincibly ignorant. On a ride with Frank Butler, members: Worby Beaumont found that the car kept stopping and starting because a wire was only making intermittent contact with the terminal, its screw having gone. ‘Does that matter?’ asked Butler. ‘That screw was getting Among our first members was Miss Hinds, one of the most strikingly loose, so I threw it away.’ beautiful women I have ever seen. She shortly afterwards married another of our members, Alfred Duggan, so that I saw a good deal of her and her husband. Poor Duggan, I am sorry to say, did not have the best of The first Secretary of the RAC, Claude Johnson (who went health, and died quite young. His widow later on married Lord Curzon, on to be the first Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Ltd) also and is now the well-known and very popular Marchioness Curzon. found out that Butler was an exhilarating, if less than reli- able, motoring companion: Next came another colourful character: Motoring … was the raison d’etre of the Club and one of Johnson’s main Another of our original members was Frank Hedges Butler, who was the tasks was to arrange the initial ‘runs’. The first was scheduled for Easter founder of the Royal Aero Club and a pioneer of the motor-car, the dir- 1898. Well advised by Simms that the cars should not attempt more than igible balloon, and the aeroplane. A great traveller, a notable amateur forty miles a day, Johnson planned a route through the southern counties musician, and in business, an expert judge of wines, he was truly a won- of . He then inspected it aboard Frank Butler’s Benz. Their jour- derful man, and it was with immense regret that I heard of his death some ney was full of incident: the car shed tyres, belts and chains; its owner had while ago at the age of seventy-two. He made over one hundred free bal- much recourse to Bath Olivers, sherry and cigars; and the two men fin- loon ascents, I remember, and in 1902 he covered the longest distance ished their tour by train. for a balloon journey made alone then recorded in England. In 1905, too, he established a world’s record by crossing the Channel from And, as well as colourful characters, the new Club also

136 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 137 brought humorists and poets out of the woodwork, as is Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Mr H.S. Colt, secretary of the Sunningdale Club, one of the best shown by this contribution to The Times: The homely style, and handicaps obscure; authorities on greenkeeping, has made a most favourable report on the Nor Champions hear with a disdainful smile, advantages of the ground for golf. The soil is light sandy loam and The annals of the players that were poor. gravel, thus assuring dry winter play and permitting the creation of dug RHYMES OF THE TIMES bunkers, and as deer have grazed over the park for years the turf is very ELEGY ON A COUNTRY GOLF COURSE Full many a gem of language unserene, fine and, in Mr Colt’s opinion, could hardly be better for golfing The yet unsmitten ball must mutely bear, purposes. (Adapted from Thomas Gray) Full many a caddie doubtless blushed unseen, The mansion will provide, on the most sumptuous scale, for all the While lurid verbiage darkened all the air. requirements of the members and there will be upwards of 40 bedrooms A new golf course is in course of construction at Stoke Poges, where and sitting rooms either for temporary or permanent residence. The Gray’s ‘Elegy’ was written. C.E.B. grounds and gardens are magnificent and there will be facilities for lawn- tennis, croquet, archery and bowls, etc. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, (Further verses to the above sample can be The local Herds have left the final tee, supplied to order at moderate cost.) The caddie homewards plods his weary way, And leaves the course to darkness and to me. For the President of Stoke Park Club, Jackson went to the Now fades the glimmering bunker on the sight, very top of the social scale: The final putt at last is safely holed, And where the golf-ball winged its airy flight, ‘Spacious and Our first president was H.H. Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, and The sable garments of the night enfold. during his presidency we had some seven or eight of the English Royal Family as members of the club. Prince Albert and his sister, Princess beautifully laid out’ Where yonder distant club house rears its tow’r, Helene Victoria, used to play there a good deal, frequently with Percy The moping sport doth to the world complain, Paravinci and his sister-in-law, Lady Eva Cholmondley. I have always felt Of him who, holding left and dexter bow’r, sorry for Prince Albert, because I am quite sure that his sympathies dur- Has euchred all his comrades once again. ing the war must have been with England. He was at school at And when staff from Golf Illustrated visited the Club in the Charterhouse, and was never happier than when some of his old school Upon those rugged greens once trimly laid fellows turned up at Stoke Poges and he could have a chat with them. autumn of 1908, they were full of praise for what had been There heaves the turf in many an awkward heap, achieved: Showing where strenuous drives were wildly made, And foozlers caused their fellow men to weep! Being an experienced journalist, Jackson knew how to secure We had an opportunity last week of inspecting Stoke Park, the headquar- publicity in the right places to help him attract members. Golf * * * * ters of the new Stoke Poges Golf Club, which has made such a highly suc- Illustrated ran a piece in its issue of 7 August 1908: cessful start. The mansion is magnificent and will make, as cleverly planned by Mr N. Lane Jackson, quite the most sumptuous and best- Another new golf club near London is in process of formation at Stoke appointed golf club in the country. The grounds and lawns around the Poges, famous for its association with the poet Gray. house are spacious and beautifully laid out, and the work of making the Hugh Alison, Malvern and New College, Oxford, was appointed as the first Club Secretary. Here is a cartoon from The Globe in of him playing from the clubhouse at the 18th at Woking Golf Club to secure a half in the Oxford v. Cambridge match.

138 STOKE PARK

This is the first England v. Scotland golf match in 1901. James Sherlock (third from left), later the profes- sional at Stoke Park, captained the England side. Note the lobster pot as a flag, a practice later adopted at Stoke Park. 140 STOKE PARK THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS 141

croquet greens and lawn tennis courts is proceeding apace. The golf links, on which 27 holes have been staked out, are also in course of preparation and they give every promise of affording the very best inland golf. At certain holes there are a good many trees to be cleared away, and until this is done one cannot judge fairly of the holes, but from the configuration of land, there seems every reason to expect that the golf will be first-class. One of the most promising features of the links is the remarkably fine quality of turf, which, even now, without any cutting or rolling, is of quite perfect golfing quality. The grass is fine and close, and apparently devoid of weeds, so that it will require the shortest of preparation to be quite ready for play. A sand-pit containing a beautifully fine sand for the greens and bunkers – a very expensive item at most clubs – can be had for the digging. The sub-soil throughout is gravel and consequently the course will always be dry, even in winter. Altogether the Stoke Poges Club starts under the most favourable aus- pices and the members are to be congratulated on their possession. Hearty congratulations are also to be extended to Mr N. Lane Jackson for the great success he has achieved in starting the club. There is much yet to be done before the members enter into possession, but under his able and energetic management the club is bound to go on and prosper.

And for the inaugural match to open the golf course, Jackson went right to the top of the golfing hierarchy. By the time he wrote his autobiography, he obviously reckoned that all of his readers would know who they were and of their golfing achievements. He merely wrote:

The weather favoured our opening day, for which we had obtained the services of Taylor, Braid, Massy and Sherlock (late professional to the OUGC [Oxford University Golf Club], whom I had engaged to act in a similar capacity for us).

Sherlock driving to the 7th green. Sherlock held the course record at Hunstanton and Le Touquet.