Royal Mid-Surrey, one of the most exclusive London golf clubs, introduced a new category of membership in 2020. Cost? A charitable donation of £20. The only catch is that the arrangement ceases the moment lockdown is over. As things stand at the moment, that will be 29 March.
In what was the collective brainchild of the RMS committee, the new category is a “walking membership,” one which permits access to the course every day of the week between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
There are, of course, any number of courses in the UK crisscrossed by public rights of way and where no one pays a thing. Indeed, the public have the Old Course at St Andrews to themselves on Sundays, other than on the last day of an Open Championship, Dunhill Links or some major amateur event.
In days of old, the locals could also take to the links do their washing in the Swilcan Burn. Indeed, in a book penned in 1899, one William Thomas Linskill mentioned how, after the washing process, “a few sonsie lasses” would lay the clothes out to dry on the whins adjacent to the Himalayas putting green. “Woe betide,” he added, “any luckless golfer who ventured to strike a ball onto those ladies’ washings; their language was plain, loud and sultry.”
Most of the courses bisected by free footpaths are links but there are plenty of famous inland venues where ramblers have the same degree of access as they might on your average farm. Sunningdale is among them, with one of the club’s website issuing a piece of advice to golfers which should do something at least to reassure those who take to their paths: “Golfers may not hit balls deliberately towards walkers.”
No one has been allowed to simply walk into a “walking” membership at Royal Mid-Surrey, where the Royal prefix is down to Henry V (1386-1422), who built a monastery on what is now the site of the original 14th and 15th holes, and George III (1738-1820), who grazed his sheep on the course. Those who apply to join can be friends or family of a member and must be proposed by an existing member. They must also agree to steer clear of bunkers and greens and to keep dogs on a lead. For those who value their membership, dog waste must be removed from the premises.
Who wouldn’t love to be able to boast of membership of Royal Mid-Surrey, whatever the category?
There were 130 walking memberships handed out in the latest lockdown, with the donations amounting to a handsome sum for the club captain’s charities of choice – Alzheimer’s and Mind. When other private clubs hear of what has been happening, the first thing they say is a heartfelt, “Why on earth didn’t we think of walking memberships?’”
“It’s all been a huge success,” said Caroline Ward, a former ladies’ captain and, along with Scotland’s Alastair Scott, a starter at the AIG Women’s Open championship. “Royal Mid-Surrey is a great place to walk and perfect for weekends when people and puppies have been filling the London parks to capacity.”
Perhaps surprisingly, no one is more pleased to see the walking brigade than the green keepers. To them, people are a welcome alternative to the badgers and crows who will seize any chance to effect a takeover on a golfer-less course. The badgers dig bunkers of their own, while the crows come in their hundreds to peck divots from soggy winter fairways and make off with a bumper crop of worms.
“In the normal course of events,” said Ward, “we only have two or three crows on the course – smart individuals who have learned the art of undoing zips on golf bags and stealing anything from sandwiches to chocolate bars. Members have to remember where not to leave their golf bags.”
The welcome letter to walking members advises that they might be approached by a fellow member who may not recognise them: “If asked as to your reason for exercising across the courses, simply explain that you are a walker. And in order to support engagement between fellow members, you will receive an ID badge.”
Who wouldn’t love to be able to boast of membership of Royal Mid-Surrey, whatever the category?
The royal prefix is one thing, but anyone who knows the first thing about golf would be still more impressed by the club’s first three professionals: JH Taylor (from the great triumvirate of Taylor, Harry Vardon and James Braid), Henry Cotton and Max Faulkner.
Taylor won five Opens between 1894 and 1913. Cotton won three Claret Jugs from 1934-48.
Max Faulkner captured the 1951 Open at Royal Portrush. With a round still to be played, this incorrigible character had a six-stroke lead and is reported to have signed autographs with the postscript “1951 Open Champion.”