History of Bonnyton Golf Club
HISTORY - PART 1
On this page we briefly chart the origins of the Bonnyton Moor golf course from its construction
in the early 1920s to the opening of Bonnyton Golf Club.
HISTORY - PART 2
Part 2 tells the story of the change of ownership of the course and the
beginnings of a new era for Glasgow's community of Jewish golfers.
INTRODUCTION
The area
around Bonnyton was mainly moorland used only for sheep grazing. On the other
side of what is now the Kirkton Moor Road was a large wood - the Common Wood
- which was cut down during the First World War, the timber being required
for railway sleepers, pit props, etc.
The original Bonnyton Moor Golf Club was built
around 1922 by the Lindsay family who were publicans in Glasgow.
It was publicised as being:
". . situated 9 miles from Glasgow at
a height of 800 feet above sea level on the slopes of Ballagioch
hill (1084 ft.) which commands an unrivalled view of mountain and
vale comprising ten counties. Easily accessible by a regular bus
service to Eaglesham."
THE CLUBHOUSE
Instead of a conventional clubhouse, Lindsay built a
Dormie House
(literally, a
sleeping house) where players could stay for a
weekend or longer, rolling out of bed on to the first tee. Three rounds
of golf were quite common in those days when two-and-a-half hours was
the norm for 18 holes. The green fee was half-a-crown which was considered
expensive at the time. The Dormie House had no mains electricity and power
was provided by a generator situated where the caddycar shed is today.
The Clubhouse from the Kirkton Moor Road - c.1927
THE PROFESSIONALS
Bonnyton Moor was a pioneer club in helping to
raise cash for struggling professionals. Life was hard for these
"Jacks-of-all-trades" - they were clubmakers, coaches,
caddie-masters and sometimes even greenkeepers. Bonnyton ran frequent
tournaments with prizes as high as £20 - a lot of money at
that time. The prizes were often supplemented by extra cash from
members who made much more on side bets and gambling became a way
of life for some of these old pros.
Eddie Hamilton, a former Scottish
Amateur Champion, tells of playing in a pro-am with Bonnyton Pro
Mark Seymour. It was at Renfrew and when Mark found out that the
first prize was
£7 10s he made a bet of that amount on a horse at 10-1. Eddie
and Mark won the tournament and the horse won too! They cleared
about £80 on the day.
In the mid-thirties the Club Manager was a man called Jimmy Vallance who had been a trainer at Stoke City Football Club. He invited Stoke's greatest player, Stanley Matthews, for a golfing holiday where he met Jimmy's daughter Betty who was also a keen golfer. After a year's engagement the couple were married and held their wedding reception in the Clubhouse.