Our History
The Founding of Blackwell
Much like many other historic Golf clubs in the UK, Blackwell was founded by a small group of local businessmen during a period of rapid expansion in the game in the late 19th century. In 1893, the 5 gentlemen secured a plot of 49 acres on which to design the first rudimentary 9 hole layout.
Serendipity was on the side of Blackwell as the land proved ideal for golfing, with rolling terrain and soil rich and sandy in composition. It is for this reason that Blackwell drains well to this day, and we are proud of the condition the course enjoys all year round.
Throughout those early years, the club grew in stature, and quickly became recognised as a site for fine amateur golf, hosting numerous exhibition matches and recognised as a sanctuary for camaraderie, and good golf in equal measure.
Fowler & Simpson
On the 4th August 1923, the newly established 18 hole course was re-opened. What Fowler & Simpson achieved at Blackwell on a relatively small acreage is a tribute to their skills and one of only 7 courses they collaborated on across the UK.
Originally inspired by the early work at Woking Golf Club at the turn of the century, Tom Simpson's official start in golf course design came in the form of a partnership with Herbert Fowler. He was one of the most passionate advocates for strategic design and apparently coined the phrase 'Golden Age', in reference to golf's boom years of the 1920s.
Simpson and Wethered's “Design For Golf” published in 1929 remains one of the most under-rated texts on golf course architecture. It is a blue print for intelligent golf where, as he frequently wrote, “the Tiger, poor brute, deserves no mercy”.
Herbert Fowler
William Herbert Fowler designed Walton Heath Golf Club, and many others in the UK including Beau Desert, Delamere Forest, and Saunton Sands. His work in the United States includes Bethpage (Black) and the redesign of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach in 1922.
He believed strongly that courses should follow the contours of the land, and have a natural feeling, shunning the use of “man-made contrivances”, believing that topography could test the world's best golfers just as adequately.
He was described in a book by Bernard Darwin as “perhaps the most daring and original of all golfing architects, and gifted with an inspired eye for the possibility of a golfing country”.
Exhibition Matches
Blackwell has always enjoyed a fine reputation among amateur golfing circles and many famous faces from the professional and amateur ranks have played at Blackwell over the years. Dr William Tweddell was an honorary member at Blackwell and one of the finest amateur golfers of his generation.
Like many of the prestigious clubs of the era, Blackwell was famed for hosting various exhibition matches which were instrumental in funding the professional careers of golfers of the day.
In an event watched by over 2,000 spectators; American 'bon-viveur' Walter Hagen defeated Archie Compston in 1929 over 36 holes only two weeks after winning The Open championship at Muirfield in East Lothian, Scotland.
The Grand Slam Year
More famously, Blackwell played host to Bobby Jones the day after his Open Championship win at Royal Liverpool in 1930 before he travelled back to the United States to complete the legendary “Grand Slam” at Interlachen and Merion in the later summer months.
The match was a long standing commitment between Jones and Tweddell from their Walker Cup meeting of 1928, and the pair played against the local pair of Stanley Lunt and Eric Fiddian.
Blackwell are also proud to cite 1988 US Masters, and 1985 Open Championship winner Sandy Lyle MBE as an honorary member of Blackwell, who played a great deal of golf at Blackwell in his formative years.