THE BEGINNING
HALIFAX GOLF CLUB 1895
From small acorns great oaks grow. But rarely can a Golf Club have blossomed
so completely in the space of a few short weeks. On March 30th 1895 an
advertisement appeared in the Weekly Halifax Courier and Daily Guardian:‘Golf – Wanted all gentlemen interested in golf to attend a meeting at the
Mechanics Hall, in reference to the formation of Halifax Golf Club’.
Three in particular – Dr John Oakley JP, Dr D T Macauly and Mr Walker Ward
were the prime movers behind that initial meeting. Mr Algernon Firth, later Sir
Algernon, became the first Captain of the Club. It appears there were about
twenty three rules of the Club at the time, one of them being that red jackets
must be worn when playing the golf course.
A professional by the name of George Lowe from St Anne’s was appointed; his
brief was to assist with the green-keeping as well as being the Club Pro.
There was no Clubhouse at Ogden at the time, Mr John Bairstow organised the
use of a room at the Reservoir Lodge. The present purpose-built clubhouse was
officially opened by way of an exhibition match between Harry Vardon and
Alex Herd, on October 2nd 1902. It was originally hoped that a golfing celebrity
– particularly the Prime Minister, A G Balfour, would do the honours for the
now 350 members. In view of the influential members of Halifax society
involved in the club, it was probably not such a wild notion. Balfour, apparently
only pulled out at the last minute due to work commitments. Three times
Open Champion, Harry Vardon, now based at Ganton and reigning champion
Alex Herd were a pretty good alternative. The Halifax Guardian reported the
day was mostly fine but rain fell at times. Harry Vardon won the match posting
a morning round 79 against Herd with an 80. In the afternoon Vardon shot a
76 with Herd retuning a 77.
On September 8th 1906, a second match took place. James Braid, Open
Champion in 1905 and 1906, played J H Taylor, five times winner of the Open
between 1894 and 1913. They played a 36 hole match over the ‘mark two’
Ogden course and according to the Halifax Courier and Guardian “this match
created much interest in the North, especially amongst the members of Halifax
golf Club, owing to the fact that every member was anxious to see what score
these two great players could do the new ‘mark – two’ Ogden Course in. Some
guessed 71 or 72. Others said they could not do it”. The Ogden cognoscenti
weren’t too far off the mark. J H Taylor produced the round of the day, a 74 in
the second round to tie the match.
Herbert Riseborough was the professional at Halifax Golf Club between 1906
and 1914. He played in several Open Championships while at Ogden, including
the 1907 and 1911 events at Hoylake and Sandwich won by Amaud Massy and
Harry Vardon. On each occasion the club paid £5 towards his expenses and
members made private donations.
Around 1912 after the Northern PGA visit to Ogden, changes were made to the
course. A golf expert by the name of Dr Alistair McKenzie of Leeds was called
upon to inspect, report and make any suggestions. This he did and the
construction of the present second hole, a 130 yards par 3, was his
recommendation. McKenzie was the first secretary at Alwoodley Golf Club
Leeds, but has achieved lasting notoriety for his design input at Moortown,
Alwoodley, Cypress Point America and Royal Melbourne Australia. His enduring
monument is the U S Masters venue, Augusta National, which he designed
with the great Bobby Jones. The trade mark of McKenzie design is the tricky
two-tiered putting greens that carry his name. Perhaps Ogden’s present tenth,
was also a McKenzie legacy.