LBGC Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 21
Langland Centenary Book
15/2/05
6:08 pm
Page 21
Norman, the professional, engaged an assistant in 1935, Ernie
Goodman, and he remained at the Club until called up for
military service. Ernie was possibly a better player than his boss
and was exceedingly popular with the members. He was a
sound golfer and at the age of 57 in 1972 became the Cornish
Professional Champion. He was the professional at St. Enedoc,
Cornwall, for many years.
Consultations were again taking place about the road, but again
because of finances, action was deferred. A comment made in
the Suggestion Book was that a fund be set up with every
member paying a “toll” of one penny every time they brought
their car to the Club.The suggestion was not accepted and
unfortunately the Suggestion Book disappeared during one of
the building schemes, so we shall never know why this
eminently sound suggestion was never adopted.
One ray of financial light appeared on the scene, and the Club
re-negotiated the lease for 21 years at a rental of £350 per
annum, a reduction of £50 per annum which was a
considerable help.The outbuildings were in a poor state of
repair and a photograph was ordered so as to obviate any
further claim. As you will see “a poor state of repair” is
something of a euphemism.
Proposals were made in 1936 for alterations to the course and
for new and better bunkers.This almost a record for the Club,
no alterations for five years! James Braid, the professional at
Walton Heath, Surrey, who incidentally, was professional at that
Club from 1903 to 1950, was employed at a fee of eight
guineas plus one day’s expenses and produced a scheme which
was adopted in its entirety. Actually, the alterations were of a
minor nature but the bunkering was, for those days, fierce.
Braid like so many before him and after him, was enthralled
with the view from our present eighth tee. Gazing across to
the lonely loftiness of Lundy, to the hazy heights of Cefyn Bryn,
and closer at hand the secretiveness of Pwlldu and Brandy
Cove and the beauty of Caswell Bay, he pronounced it one of
the most beautiful views he had ever seen from a golf course.
He enthused so much that for many years the hole was known
as “ Braid’s”, as is the fourteenth at Pennard which he also
designed.This of course is the “dune with the hole on top”! As
shown later in the book all the holes at Langland were named
for our Centenary year and the eighth duly named by our
President Brian Nimmo as “Braid’s Choice”. In Scotland the
naming of holes is common practice but at Langland, although
considered at various times, never reached a conclusion until
2004. A naming competition was held some years ago with the
suggestion being to call the first hole “One” and so on until it
ended at “Eighteen” and that the nineteenth hole be renamed
“Clubhouse”.
Early in 1937 H.M. Peel the President died. H.M. was a direct
descendant of Sir Robert Peel, who was responsible for
organising the Country’s Police Force, and was never out of
responsible office in the Club. He was a Founder Member and
had served as a Committee Member, Board Member,VicePresident and President for thirty years. Present day members
owe a great deal to the time and counsel he gave to the Club.
Greig Simpson was elected President to succeed H.M. Peel, an
office he was to occupy with great distinction until his death in
1962, and to celebrate his election he presented the Greig
Simpson Cup.This was originally presented to the lowest net
score at an Open Meeting, but was subsequently changed, with
the donor’s consent, to a Stableford competition, this after
Open Meetings were discontinued at Langland.
In pre-war and immediate post-war years Open Meetings were
the most important events at local Clubs and were attended by
entrants from as far afield as Tenby and Carmarthen in the
West, and Pyle in the East. Players now came by car and coach,
but had in the early 1920s come by train to Mumbles Road,
Mumbles Train to Oystermouth and to Langland by Absey
Peachey’s horse drawn cab! The competition secretary was
ensconced in a green and white tent in front of the Clubhouse
and saw to starting times, handicap adjustments, marking the
cards and generally running the whole meeting.The Club was
fortunate in having such stalwarts as Ernie Williams, Arthur
Pryer and Jack Jeffreys, to name but a few, to carry out this task
over a long period. Open Meetings tended to become less
popular and were removed from the fixture list of most Clubs
until coming back into favour in the late eighties. But more of
this later.
The Harold Wood Cup was presented for the best gross score
at the Open Meeting, and many members query what the
letters SBA stand for after the winner’s name in 1938. It was
for Swansea Bay Artisans, then a thriving offshoot of Swansea
Bay Golf Club which had its own Artisan Course. After closing
for many years this course which is situated above the main
course is now pay-as-you-play. Langland never had an Artisan
section although the idea was considered in the 1920s, but
most of the other Clubs did, indeed the Artisan section of
Pennard was only incorporated into full membership in the
early nineteen seventies.
One last anecdote about Open Meetings concerns Arthur
Pryer, the late Alan’s father, who won one year and the winning
card had as the highest score a 9 and the lowest a 1! This card
labelled “Never say die”, was framed and hung in the bar for
many years until lost during one of our building operations.
A cutting from the Evening Post reads:“A westerly wind of almost gale force coupled with occasional heavy
showers had the effect of restricting entries at Langland’s Open
Meeting, and players found the conditions difficult to combat, with
the result that returns were on the high side.
Since sevens, eights, and actually nines cropped up with depressing
frequency; but the Langland competition secretary, Mr. A.H. Pryer,
who proved to be the Division 1 Medal Winner with 82-10: 72 after
scraping a nine at the fifth produced three birdies and an eagle as
an offset.
His card was interesting reading, including as it did all the units
except the figure 8. His eagle was secured at the difficult 11th, 186
yards par 3, where his iron shot split the pin all the way and ran
straight into the hole.
Needless to say this “double” was very popular, particularly at the
nineteenth”.
Can we be sure that the first word of the second paragraph
should not read “sixes”, but “since” this is what the cutting
reads, why should we change something more than sixty
years later?
The cutting then goes on to record that the winner of
Division II was J.P. Tyler and that the four ball bogey was won
by T.B.Walker Jones (past Hon. Solicitor to the Club and past
President to the Past Captains Association) and C.E. Mortimer
ahead of C.H. Perkins and W.Webster of Swansea Bay Artisans.
The hole where the one was obtained was played to the
western end of the present fifteenth green which was then two
separate greens, and the first hole was the present fourth.
Two further schemes in the general improvement of the course
and clubhouse were now undertaken; water was laid to the
greens in the lower part of the course.The pressure would not
allow for the higher parts to be watered, and as it was, if a tap
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