In the impressive trophy cabinet of The Glamorganshire Golf Club, in the seaside town of
Penarth, near to
Cardiff, in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan,
Wales, can be found a fine silver cup twice inscribed with the name: F. B. G. STABLEFORD.
The ‘CLUB CUP’ (for such is it’s title) was donated in 1894, four years after the formation of the Club, by Parker Hagerty, who subsequently became Club Captain in 1909.
Up until 1900, it was played for four times annually in a medal competition, after which it mysteriously disappeared. It was a full sixty years later that the trophy was re-donated to the Club.
Dr. Stableford won it on June 11th, 1898, with a round of 86, less his handicap of 10, a net 76; and, a second time on March 1st, 1899 (92-8-84). This was also the era when he was experimenting with his unique scoring system.
In 1961, the cup was returned to the Club with the following inscription on the reverse side:- “RE-PRESENTED TO THE GLAMORGANSHIRE GOLF CLUB BY THE KINDNESS OF J. N. COMMON, ESQ., MAY 1961”. The officials of the Club at the time of it’s return may not have been aware of the significance of Dr. Stableford, now known throughout the golfing world, as they proceeded to award the cup annually to the winner of the Autumn Tournament – Lower Division! The last entry on the cup was in 2007.
The fact that Dr. Stableford’s name appears twice on the trophy, was discovered only recently, by accident, by Eirian (Yan) Owens, another past Club Captain. Yan has been trying to track down the answers to the questions which the discovery of the cup has raised:
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Is this cup the only one in the golfing world with Dr. Stableford’s name inscribed on it?
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What became of the cup in between 1900 and 1961?
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Who was J. N. Common (the name does not appear in any Club records)?
We would dearly like to hear from anyone who can shed more light on this mystery. Please email or call us on 029 2070 1185, Ext. 3.