From 1926 to 2026: Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club marks its centenary year

“The bond here between people young and old is something to be so proud of,” says ex-captain as Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club celebrate its centenary.  

Founded in 1926, the North Worcestershire golf club has reached its milestone birthday in a difficult climate for golf clubs, with as many as one in five financially vulnerable according to Custodian Golf.

Despite this, Churchill and Blakedown’s members are unsurprised by its longevity.

Jeremy Price, ex-captain and a member of the club for almost 39 years, said: “I don't think this club, this course, has ever been in better condition and I think that's down to the people who run this club.”

He added: “The thing about Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club - I refer to it as a family club, the bond here between people young and old is something to be so proud of.

“We all work together, we pull together, we play together, we’re there for each other. It’s as close as you’ll ever get to being family.”

The club have staged various centenary events, including a Centenary Ball, and introduced a new members’ competition - The Centenary Cup.

Captain Paul Innes said: “We're in a time where a lot of golf clubs are struggling, and some are even folding, and so to realise that achievement is fantastic for the club.”

Once an old cricket pitch, the club has expanded both on and off the course, but its success is nothing without the work of volunteers, says Jeremy.

He said: “The administration of this club took it by the scruff of the neck and they knocked it out of the park.

“If I were to mention names, Bob Julier would certainly be top of my list. There's an old saying: if you lose someone, you catch a cold; lose Bob Julier, and you catch pneumonia.”

Bob Julier is the Honorary Secretary of Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club and has volunteered in that role since 2018, after becoming a member over a decade beforehand.

As a private members' club, Churchill and Blakedown is non-profit and associational, relying on volunteers from the membership to take on core roles within the community.

England Golf Support Officer for the West Midlands, Nick Jones said: “Volunteering is becoming very, very sparse. So making sure that you've got people that are invested in the golf club just based on passion and love for the game, and also that they want to make a difference, is imperative.”

He added: “I think any organisation is driven by its people. And fortunately, this golf club is in very, very safe hands.”

​Navigating the course to 100 years hasn’t always been free of the rough; the club captain believes that reaching this achievement is a testament to “good management” and “making the right decisions at the right time.”

He said: “Ten or twelve years ago, our membership was down to around 200 members and that meant that the viability of the golf club was in question.

"Officers of the club were asked to dip into their pockets to lend the club money."

​“One of the big changing points is when we attracted a professional to our club - Angus, because he helped transform our fortunes and attracted a new group of people to become members.”

​He added: “We did benefit from COVID, when there was a time when there weren't a lot of things that people could do, but one of the things people could do was go and play golf in a safe environment.”

Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club now have a growing membership of approximately 650, with golfers coming from “a much wider area” and the club considered a “valued amenity for the local population,” according to the captain.

This sentiment is echoed by new member Neil Williams; he said: “It's a friendly club, obviously family orientated; you can bring your wife down, you can bring your kids down, and everyone will speak to you, and everyone has a good laugh and a joke.”

After only joining the club a month ago, the fifty-year-old said he was attracted to the club because of “the condition of the course.”

He said: “I used to play elsewhere, but there's a lot more competitions going on here, and obviously this course is a lot harder than others I've played.”

Going forward from their landmark year, Churchill and Blakedown Golf Club want to create a lasting impact for new and future members like Neil.

The captain said: “The real legacy that we leave to future membership is the course.

“Our prime aim was to keep the course progressing, moving it forward, to improve the condition of the course.

“To further our reputation amongst golf courses, golf clubs within the area.”