Copthorne Village Golf Club

01

History

The Village Golf Club is a rather unique organisation due to its creation not being of the more usual type where the founder members were the workers that tended the course, but owes its existence to the villagers of Copthorne agreeing to have their rights restricted on those areas of the common used as a golf course, in return they were allowed to use the course free gratis.

The Club was originally entitled the Copthorne Working men’s Golf Club, this name being the first resolution carried at the inaugural meeting held on November 16th 1903. Also at that meeting Mr.J.F.Cleeves became the President, Mr F.Hocking (the professional of Copthorne Golf Club) and his brother Mr.E.Hocking became Captain and Vice-captain respectively. Mr J.Langridge, who later became the professional at Copthorne Golf Club, served on the committee. The meeting decided to adopt the rules of golf used by the R&A and that forty strokes should be the limit for the then nine hole course.