Fri July 30 2010

Club Members Greenkeeper and his lawnmower Mrs Jolly

The history of Ipswich Golf Club

 

In the beginning

 

Ipswich Golf Club began life in 1895 – not on the site it occupies today but on common land at nearby Rushmere Heath. It was not until 31 years later that the club moved to its present course at Purdis Heath. The official opening of the new course – which was designed by the legendary golf course architect James Braid – took place on Saturday, June 16, 1928. The event took the form of an exhibition match featuring Braid himself, along with fellow top professionals of the day, Abe Mitchell and J.H. Taylor. Both Braid and Taylor had each won the Open Championship five times. Making up the fourball was a prodigious 21-year-old talent by the name of Henry Cotton, about whom the East Anglian Daily Times commented ‘he may yet do great things’ – a perceptibly prophetic prediction as it turned out, considering the career that was to follow with a string of successes for Cotton, including three Open titles.

 

The opening event in 1928 attracted a large gallery of spectators, among them a Daily Telegraph writer who was struck by ‘this beautiful heath and heathery course.’ The original site on which Ipswich Golf Club was born is now occupied by Rushmere Golf Club and the two clubs remain friendly rivals. This is reflected in an annual contest between them for the Queensland Cup – affectionately dubbed the ‘friendship cup’.

 

Founding father and petrol pioneer

 

James Edward Ransome (1839 – 1905) made a name for himself in more ways than one. Not only was he elected founder chairman/captain of Ipswich Golf Club in its inaugural year of 1895, he was also the man behind the first petrol-driven lawnmower and agricultural tractor. And it was Ransome, along with two others, Arthur Pearce (1850 – 1915) and Alexander Gibb (1840 – 1925), who did so much to get the club off the ground, securing the lease for the land at Rushmere for the first Ipswich course.

 

The club’s first trophy – played for on Boxing Day 1895 – bears his name and, as the Ransome Cup, is still an annual Boxing Day fixture on the Purdis men’s calendar. The name of Ransome is also known the world over as the manufacturer of high-quality grass-cutting machinery. Now part of the Textron group, the company still operates in Ipswich and is a key player in turf-care equipment.

 

The Ladies

 

The founders of Ipswich Golf Club seem to have taken a more enlightened view of the lady golfers than many others of their generation. Not only were women welcome to join the club at half-price but, right from the start, they were given their own room. Forward tees were built for them at the long holes. After the first men’s monthly medal in September 1895 the first mixed competition was held in October. These mixed events have become established as a traditional element of the Purdis Calendar, with a dozen or so such competitions continuing to be held each year.

 

In the early days, however, the formation of a ladies section was not immediate and there was some dismay among the gentlemen at the apparent reluctance of the ladies to form their own section – despite repeated invitations. Finally, in January 1901, the ladies formed a committee and Miss Winifred Hicks was elected as the first Lady Captain. The Ladies section has continued to grow in strength over the years and celebrated its centenary in 2001.

 
 

Ipswich Golf Club,  Purdis Heath,  Bucklesham Road,  Ipswich,  IP3 8UQ
Telephone: 01473 728941  / Pro Shop: 01473 724017   -  Email us