The Members of Hawkstone Park Golf Club and visitors have the opportunity to play two of the finest 18 hole golf courses in the West Midlands. The Hawkstone & Championship courses together with a 6-hole Academy course set in an English Heritage Grade 1 landscape in Shropshire. The three courses are situated in 400 acres of undulating parkland surrounding the ruins of a medieval castle with the cliffs of the world-famous 18th Century Follies providing a spectacular backdrop.

This new course, which was designed under the supervision of the first professional, Bert Sheppard, was opened on 1st May 1920 and on its foundation the Club became one of only eight which formed the Shropshire County Golf Union.

In 1955 Alex Lyle came to Hawkstone as the Club’s Professional and Head Green-keeper and it was Alex, almost single handed, who restored the course to its pre-war condition. Hawkstone’s most favourite son is, of course, Sandy the son of Alex & Agnes who at just 12 years of age won his first senior competition, became Open Champion at Royal St. Georges in 1985, won The Masters at Augusta in 1988 and has graced the world’s golfing stage for many years culminating in his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.

The complex at Hawkstone has been owned since 2007 by the Principal Hayley Group with whom the Club enjoy a close working relationship. Both courses are superbly maintained and there can be few more beautiful places in which to play the game of golf in the UK!

CGS Open Winner 2013 - Dave Brown (right)
The CGS’s inaugural Open Championship event was a resounding success with the very steady deadly Dave Brown making a clean sweep and taking both the inaugural Open Championship and also the final major title of the season. The only title to elude Dave was the order of merit.

Indeed, the order of merit standing leading into this two day event added to the sense of excitement and anticipation as the CGS converged on the elegant Hawkstone Park.  

As the CGS members assembled to contend for the Open Championship and final major title, it was clear that any of the top five in the order of merit had the chance of winning this prestigious honour outright.

First impressions

On the morning of day one I interviewed several players to sample the mood by obtaining the initial impressions of the day. When asked for his impression of the venue and being part of the CGS’s first two day event, Micky Taylor said, ‘about time.’

Mick Furlong was a first time visiting guest and friend of Bob Dhammi and Charlie McCook. He said this was his fourth visit to Hawkstone Park and so had ‘a good idea of what to expect.’

Bob Dhammi was in fighting mood and recited the famous words of Winston Churchill, ‘we will fight them on the beaches and also on the fairways..’

Ronald Ross said, he felt a great sense of ‘togetherness’ even though his first impressions were less than positive.’

Dr Johnson stated, ‘the moon shines by night and the sun by day.’ Make of that what you will.

Eric Queeley said, ‘I hope I can last two days. At worst, this can be preparation for the forthcoming Caricom challenge.’

Day one

In the build-up to this landmark event, the committee had expressed some concern about the very slow take up of the 32 places to which the CGS had committed itself. However, on the first day of competition everyone was present and correct. The sense of competitive nerves and tension was palpable. The weather forecast suggested that threat of rain was a distinct possibility.

The Championship course was the setting for day one and scoring was good even though the conditions were challenging with some players expressing concern with mud balls. The weather held up and we were able to complete proceedings without any significant rainfall.

At the end of day one Elford Douglas held the lead with an impressive 37 points. This was matched by the big hitting Trevor Lammy who was edged out on count back. Dave Brown occupied third place with a solid 36 points.

In the evening we were treated to a delightful meal that everyone seemed to enjoy and the general chat and banter was everything we’ve come to expect at a CGS gathering. The social interaction in the conducive setting of Hawkstone was enhanced by the liberal amounts of liquid refreshments. I personally learned quite a lot about the various brands of Whisky and in particular the brands to take seriously.

Day two

The second day of the Open Championship and final major took place on the Hawkstone course. This was by general consent considered the better of the two courses. Once again, the golfing gods smiled on us and we enjoyed a fairly mild day with little or no rain to speak of.

At the conclusion of round two, Mr steady-eddy himself, Dave Brown showed that consistent scoring often wins first prize in golf. Dave matched his first day score of 36 points to achieve a winning total of 72.

Final Result

The CGS committee would like to express our thanks to Paul Ramsey who sponsored the winning prize for the Open Championship. The prize was fitting for the occasion and was gratefully received.

In respect of the order of merit title, for a season of consistent golf that saw a string of quality performances, the deserved winner was Bob Dhammi.

Congratulations to Dave Brown for his outstanding performances during our first two day event. Well done to you sir. We equally congratulate Bob Dhammi for his fine contribution to the CGS throughout the season whilst also showing himself to be our top and most consistent player this season. Very well done to you sir.

The CGS committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all CGS members and friends for supporting our first two day event. It was a huge success and we trust that this will be the first of many such occasions in the future.