The History of The Caledonian Club Golfing Society
The game of golf, like the Caledonian Club, is steeped in Scottish tradition so it is no surprise that the Golfing Society has been one of the most successful and long-running of the Club’s societies.
The Society celebrates its centenary in 2026 but putting together a short history is not easy. No one, of course, remembers the early days and there is no clubhouse with pictures and rolls of honour on the walls. The only source of information on the early history is the Committee minute books.
The Society’s first Committee meeting was held on the 26th of January 1926 with Colonel John M Boyd in the chair. The first annual subscription was set at £1, which would be around £78 one hundred years later. North Hants Golf Club hosted our first meeting on the 24th of April, 1926 and it was to this Club that the Society returned in 2001 for the Spring meeting and to celebrate the 75th anniversary.
The format of the meeting was very much the same in 1926 as it is today with a singles competition in the morning for the Duncan Collie Medal for the best overall score and the Challenge Cup for the best score by a Division 2 player. These two original trophies continue to this day. In the afternoon, again as we do today, there was a foursomes competition.
Between the wars, the Society continued to prosper. Norman Boase donated the Boase Quaich to the Society in 1933 and this is still presented every year to the winner of the singles knockout competition. In 2022, the Boase Quaich was won by Shiona Nicol, the first lady member of the society to win the Trophy.
The 2022 captain Bruce Leith presents the Boase Quaich to Shiona Nicol
Our annual matches against the Scottish Clubs are recorded as being initiated in 1988 with a match against the Western Club of Glasgow. This was shortly followed by matches against the Royal Perth Golfing Society, and the New Club of Edinburgh. In 2003, a fourth match was added against the Royal Northern and University Club of Aberdeen.
These fixtures continue very successfully on a biannual basis alternating between the London area and Scotland.
CCGS v Royal Perth Golfing Society at Worplesdon in 2016
In the London area, we have an annual match against the East India Club, originally played at the Berkshire but now at Coombe Hill. The trophy that is played for was given by the Caledonian Club to the East India Club as thanks for their hospitality when we were bombed out of our own premises during the Second World War and they allowed us courtesy of their Club. No matter who wins, the cup remains in the East India Club.
We also have an annual match against the Reform Club, originally at Hankley Common but now at Effingham, a two-day match against the Turf Club, for many years at Walton Heath but now played at Royal Porthcawl in Wales, and an annual match against members of Golf du Chantilly, either in Paris or Edinburgh to coincide with the Scotland v France rugby international. This is always an excellent few days although we have won the Iain Murray Quaich almost as often as Scotland has beaten France.
CCGS v Chantilly in Paris in 2015
The highlight of the golfing year is the Summer Tour. In 1966 Eoin Mekie organised the first trip to Le Touquet and a visit to France became an annual feature for the Society. After many years at Le Touquet, the society adjourned to Bordeaux but then returned to Le Touquet.
By 2011, the numbers signing up for le Touquet were dwindling and the captain that year, Colin McCosh surveyed Members’ attitudes to the Summer Tour. This indicated that most people would prefer a change, and so it was decided to move to a Captain’s choice. The first of these tours was led by Tim Paterson-Brown to Brora and was very successful with 36 members and guests attending. Since then, the tour has been to Belgium, Yorkshire and Lancashire but has frequently returned to different parts of Scotland with an average of over 30 members and guests.
The 2022 summer tour to the Machrie on Islay
An interesting minute from a meeting in 1963 records that the Golfing Society tie was adopted by the Caledonian Club as the Club tie.
The minute books, of course, only record the bare details but mention must be made of the Officers and Committee Members without whom the Society would not have been the success it has. Colonel D Lyall Grant was a great character and a driving force between the 1930s and 1960s, TP Patterson served Society well as President in the 1970s and Frans Ten Bos and JT Patterson were also key figures in this period.
Since that time, Bill McMahon, Ian McIntyre, Bill Wood, Ross Gibbons and Iain Murray have served as President and a number of members have had the honour of being Captain of the Society.
As Alan Orr, a past Secretary, said
“Nobody really thought about preserving the history of the Society. It thrives today as it always has, because the members simply love the game, love playing it and enjoy sharing a dram or two with other Members and our friends in other Societies and Clubs.”
Hopefully, however, the information contained in this website will help preserve some of the history and culture of the society for future generations.