History of the Halford Hewitt Golf Course
The 30 acres of land which now forms the 9-hole course was designated for housing, and a track and a sewer were installed. However, farsighted Beaks (teachers) intervened to buy the land for the School. The old, unused stink pipe can still be seen on the edge of the 2nd fairway. Subsequently, the land was turned into the School farm, and in the 1920s, Bargate sandstone was quarried from what is now the depression on the 4th hole to provide stone to build the Memorial Chapel (shown below).
The Halford Hewitt Golf Course was designed by professional golf course designer Donald Steele, and was opened officially on Saturday, July 2nd 1988 by Denis Thatcher MBE, TD. Denis headed a team of celebrity golfers, including entertainer Bruce Forsyth (who subsequently sent his only son to Charterhouse), actor Robert Powell, and golf commentator Peter Alliss (whose son joined Verites in the autumn of 1988). Denis Thatcher drove off from the first tee, and nine sets of threesomes, including the celebrities, played a round.
The Halford Hewitt
The Halford Hewitt is one of Britain's most competitive golf tournaments, contested between teams of 10 former pupils from the schools which make up the membership of the Public Schools Golfing Society. During the summer of 1923, representatives from six schools, namely Eton, Charterhouse, Highgate, The Leys, Malvern, and Winchester, met up to finalise the first tournament, and they were joined in the inaugural draw by four others, Mill Hill, Rugby, Beaumont, and Radley. Although the intention was to hold a golf tournament along similar lines to an existing football tournament, the Arthur Dunn Cup, foursomes was confirmed as the official format from the outset. As the speediest format, this important consideration allowed the first few Hewitts to be contested over a single weekend, thereby ensuring that none of the competitors had to take valuable time off work in order to compete.
Legend has it that the committee were wondering which "bloody fool" they could inveigle into putting up a trophy when, quite by chance, Halford Hewitt walked into the room and was promptly pounced on.
"The Halford Hewitt has been described by the golf writer Nick Tremayne as 'the greatest of all truly amateur tournaments'. Founded in 1924, it is competed for today by the old boys of 64 English and Scottish public schools, which each field five foursomes pairs, making 640 competitors in all. The sheer size of the "field" – plus the hundreds of supporters who routinely turn up – is part of what makes the "Hewitt" a unique sporting event. The tournament has a rich history, frequently pits average golfers against famous internationals, and produces moments of golfing pressure simply not experienced by amateur players elsewhere.” (quote from www.halfordhewitt.org).
