Geoffrey Bedford

In or about 1936 my father, Edwin Bedford, returned home from spending Tuesday (Leeds Market Day) on the floor of Leeds Corn Exchange to inform the family that he had been invited by some well known and well respected businessmen, whose families were well established in the field of commerce in Leeds, to become a founder member of a new Golf Club to be opened at Scarcroft, which was then considered to be quite a way from Leeds City Centre.

There is a saying "Where there is no vision people perish". In their vision and forward thinking these gentlemen realised that the City of Leeds was growing and developing out of all proportion at this time and the population of a thriving commercial city was rapidly increasing and the established City Golf Clubs could not cope with the number of applications for membership (other than Alwoodley and Moortown, which had their own traditions) and more important still, the demand by members to get on the course to play without waiting for hours. At this time father was a member of the Conservative Club in Leeds and Moortown Golf Club and looked forward to the plans for the new club at Scarcroft.

Once father had decided to transfer his allegiance to the new Club it was a regular event for him to take the family for a drive along Syke Lane to inspect and watch progress and developments.

From my point of view as an eight year old boy it was exciting to witness enormous earth moving tractors driving in tandem or line abreast move large mounds of earth and shaping fairways, bunkers and greens from scratch. There were very few trees on the course, each and every fairway could be seen from where the clubhouse was in course of erection and later every green with one exception could be seen from the flat roof of the Clubhouse.

The Clubhouse was so different from any others I had seen. Not built of stone or brick, no pitch tiled roof but a flat roof with all the problems which such a roof creates. It has been said that certain residents who lived on Ling Lane and who were likely to become members of the club if not already (Frank Limb, Mr Whately and others from "Appleyards of Leeds") objected to a pitched roof as it would spoil the unrivalled view North to Harrogate and the White Horse at Kilburn. To keep the peace and in the spirit of good neighbours a flat roof was accepted.

The Clubhouse was very modern. The main entrance was where it is now but there was a very small foyer and the secretary's office was situate on the left so that he could observe all persons entering the Club. I think that this is now the Juniors Room. To gain access to the Clubhouse members turned left along a passage which led to a door which opened into a Palm Court (now the Trophy Lounge) where the Ladies, who were very few in numbers could enjoy afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches of course but no string quartet.

The bar was a sad affair, very small, very narrow and "L" shaped. Certain of the members had their own "reserved" seats and woe betide anyone who sat there by mistake. The bar could not in any way accommodate the members of today and was the first major alteration to the club.

I went to the club quite often with my father but when he went into the bar to take his seat I was dismissed to the table tennis room so that I would not inform mother how much he had to drink. There was a full sized table tennis board and equipment but unfortunately nobody young enough or willing to play with me.

The Locker Rooms were designed to accommodate the member's requirements and the total number of lockers was limited to 100, that was 80 for male members and 20 for female members. As a locker became vacant a new member could be admitted in this way, it acted as a register for members. The lockers were magnificent, built in light wood and were full length from floor almost to ceiling.

The male washroom was very poor by today's standards with a concrete floor covered by duck boards which always appeared wet and dirty. There were two showers, a footbath, washbasins and WC's. I am unable to speak as to the Lady Members facilities.

The course was opened and it was like playing in a large field with very few trees. It was so open that there was very little chance of losing any balls. There were no worries about getting a game as the course was empty most of the time.

The holes today are the same as when the course was opened. Provision was made to the left of the 8th green for a men's and ladies loo. These took the form of something resembling a stockade built of wood and were rough and ready. The local lads thought they resembled something from a Wild West movie. The ladies situation improved when a single portable look was placed in the wood in place of the construction resembling a stockade this time it took on the guise of something from outer space.

Between the 10th and 11th fairways is an innocent looking pond which turned out to be very dangerous. One of the founder members thought his ball was lodged in the side of the pond in some rushes and stepped in for a better look, only to fall into what turned out to be a twenty to thirty foot well. He was carrying his bag of clubs at the time and soon disappearing from sight to surface a little later minus clubs, spluttering and coughing to be dragged out by his party - a lucky escape for him. This well was filled in by rubble left on site from the erection of the clubhouse. In my opinion it was a pity this happened as the water was spring water and crystal clear and could have been developed into a fine feature.

Two or three years later the designers and golf architects of the course returned to inspect and check the results of their design and made a suggestion that on the 10th fairway they should make a large mound across the fairway approximately opposite the pond. Later on the middle section was removed leaving two mounds, one on either side. They are still there today. The members were happy with the result until they got a bill for 500 guineas which in 1938 was a lot of money.

I continued to visit Scarcroft as a caddy for my father who paid me six pence per round (two and a half pence in today's money). The golf bags were made of leather, there were no trolleys or electric trolleys so it was a matter of carrying the bag of clubs which were heavy and when it rained and the leather soaked in the water it made the bag twice as heavy.

At or about this time Scarcroft hosted its first ever County competition. The practice area behind the 1st tee acted as a car park and also on the same site there was the biggest marquee that I had ever seen which provided changing facilities for all the competitors. I believe that Alex Caygill from Cleckheaton was the winner.

The competitors praised the course. Please see below a copy of a card which shows the yardage and the par for each hole which is slightly different from today.

At this time the club was served by two great servants who did so much to enhance the reputation and development of the club, namely the professional Dicky Chalk and the green keeper Geoffrey Mawson.

Dicky Chalk was a gentleman of the old school who addressed all members with the respect as "sir" or "madam". He was the most stylish of players and struck the ball beautifully with great precision and accuracy. All who saw him and knew him thought he was destined for a good future. Sadly, whilst he could keep up with the very best golfers of his time on the course he could not putt and once of the green he went to pieces. He was very considerate, helpful, courteous and a great asset to the club and was well supported by his wife.

Geoffrey Mawson was from the same mould. A gentleman who loved Scarcroft Golf Club took great pride in his work and the appearance of the course and greens which had to be manicured to perfection. He was always respectful and got on with the members. It was a tribute to him that when he retired he was made a honorary life member and enjoyed the courtesy of the course.

By the side of the 13th hole behind the trees, on the left, there is a triangular shaped area of land which was destined to be a nursery where grass was grown for use in repairing or replacing the greens. It really was a haven and superb.

Sadly in 1939 war broke out and that made a very big difference. The Clubhouse had to be "blacked out". Members were expected to take a share of fire watching duty. That was to spend a night in the clubhouse and to be on hand if the German incendiary bombs set the clubhouse alight and to deal with it. It was at this time that some of the members were bored spending a winter's night in the Clubhouse with nothing to do as there was only a wireless to listen to and no excitement unless Winston Churchill was addressing the nation and it was decided to purchase a full sized snooker table which was introduced into the palm court. It was not an ideal position as members entering the club could interfere with play but it became very popular and was well used.

The course itself was used to help to war effort. Fairways on the second nine holes were divided by corn and vegetable plots in answer to the call "dig for victory". The vegetables were all root crops and proved to be very useful when the areas between the fairways were cultivated for the planting of trees. As a caddy I found it difficult to find balls which were struck in those areas.

Those in charge of the Nations defence were concerned that the Germans would invade England by using gliders to transport storm troopers behind our costal defence lines and so steel girders, that is RSJ's were placed all over the fairways so that on landing the gliders would be broken up and the Home Guard stationed on the course would round up the German troops.

This did not stop the members from playing, but presented a hazard because it was like playing in a wood. When caddying my job was to watch the ball carefully and if it hit a girder there was a loud metallic sound and then follow the ball as it ricocheted running to where it landed to make sure firstly the ball was found and secondly to see what damage had been done to the ball. Balls were in very short supply because of the war and hard to come by so it was also my job to repair any damage to the casing of the ball with glue and make sure it could be used again. The balls were very different from the balls of today. They had thin casing and cut easily. They were also full of elastic which could unravel if the case of the ball was badly cut. In the wartime there was a ball called "spitfire".

After the war two of our heroes, Jack Bidgood and Douglas Catton, who owned a plane jointly got permission from the members to land it on the 18th fairway. The members all assembled on the balcony overlooking the 18th green. When the plane was spotted approaching over the 18th tee and then landing on the fairway just short of the green, it was to cheers and applause.

The airmen, complete with leather helmets and goggles, were welcomed by all present and after a visit to the bar for a drink to celebrate. The plane was then turned around to take off up the slope towards the 18th tee. Panic soon overtook all the members as against the slope and possibly a west wind, the plane could not get enough speed to take off. The members got very worried as they thought it would be a permanent fixture, but after the third or fourth attempt the airmen were successful to the relief of all concerned.

From the early 1940's the club celebrated New Years Eve each year. The problem was to find the food, so members were invited to give up coupons from their ration books and some members found the odd pig to slaughter to provide excellent pork. The new snooker table was laden with good food for all who attended.

With the end of the war in 1945 there were many applications to join the club and the doors were open to our war heroes. The men's locker room had to be extended with the addition of metal green lockers which were no way as good as the original lockers.

In or about the early 1950's I became aware that two delightful elderly ladies had taken permanent residence in the caravan park near the 8th green and 9th tee and were promoting and encouraging a nature reserve on the land adjacent thereto belonging to the club. I was concerned that they would acquire a Title by Adverse Possession to the land. That is a Squatters Title and the Members would lose the land. I advised the then Secretary of the seriousness of the position and I am please to say that the two ladies entered into an agreement with the club which protects the Members interests and in addition presented to the club a cop for a competition.

When I was Captain I inspected the "nature reserve" which was really delightful and provided a lot of pleasure for the ladies although it did attract the foxes, as was evidenced by the bones found on the course. The moral of the story is that we must be ever vigilant and protect our boundaries and mend our fences.

The bar was considered to be far too small and was extended and enlarged to accommodate the member's wishes. In the late 1980's the club was substantially expanded and refurbished to what the members have today. Our club motto UNA AGAMUS is ever before us and acted upon. I attach a letter which I feel interprets and explains the meaning which I obtained for club members and can be seen here.

May we continue to be grateful to our founders, to all those who have contributed and given so much to make Scarcroft the club it is today and may we move forward together in strength, unity, harmony and peace.

By Geoffrey Bedford