1897

First Clubhouse

It was brought to the Committee's attention that a building adjoining Dorward's
House of Refuge (now a home for the elderly) could be rented for use as a
Clubhouse. The minute of a meeting of June 20th reads
"A General Meeting was held in the Queens Temperance Hotel on the evening of
the above date. There was a small attendance of members present and Mr
Falconer presided. The principal business before the meeting was to hear the
report of the deputation elected to ascertain particulars about the proposed
Clubhouse, situated adjoining Dorward's House of Refuge. A motion, that the
Club should rent the said house at a yearly rental of £1-15-0, was passed
unanimously. Mr Wm. Ross then intimated that he would have great pleasure in presenting to the Club the sum of £1 and also kindly offered to cover the floor of the largest room with linoleum. He also offered the Club the loan of £2 to assist in the general fitting up of the Clubhouse. Mr Ross was, on the motion of Mr Sheriffs, given the heartiest thanks of the meeting and his generous offers were accepted. Considerable discussion then arose as to whether a portion of the
prize money in competitions should be withheld. Mr Mitchell moved and Mr
Burgess seconded, that in future competitions of an entry of not less than 12
(twelve), 2 shillings should be retained and this was unanimously agreed to. After agreeing that in future all meetings, social and business, should be held in the Clubhouse, a proposal was put to the meeting that the windows should be protected by wire netting and a counter motion was proposed that wooden shutters should be procured. On a vote being taken, the motion that shutters be got was ultimately carried. Mr Jas. Falconer proposed and Mr Sheriffs seconded that the sum of £1-10-0 should be taken from Club funds to help to defray expenses of fitting up the Clubhouse, and it was carried on a vote being taken. Mr D. Burgess then offered to present to the Club a flag and the sum of £5 which was accepted with the thanks of the meeting. Mr Burgess was then asked to ascertain the probable cost of a flagstaff for said flag. A motion that lemonade only be kept in the Clubhouse except upon special occasions was unanimously passed and the lemonade was ordered to be got from Mr D. Taylor's manufactory. After arranging that a check lock should be put on the house door and that every member should buy a key for same, the following new members were admitted to the Club viz. Mr A.M. Brown, Mr F. Whiteman and Mr H. Duncan. It was also passed that a suitable table be got and two chairs and forms, Mr Ross kindly offering to see to same. It was also proposed to get the Clubhouse ready by Wednesday first and that the Arbroath Golf Club should be first guests. An intimation that a meeting would be held in the Clubhouse on Monday closed the business."
What is obvious from this minute is the enthusiasm of the members to have the
new premises in a condition to accept the members of the Arbroath Club during the week following the meeting at which it was agreed to rent the building. Also of
note is the generosity of the members, some of whose donations were
considerably larger than the annual rent. For those surfers who are young enough
not to have used the old £.s.d currency, the yearly rent of £1-15-0 (one pound and
fifteen shillings) translates to £1.75 in today's money, around the price of a pint of
lager at our 19th hole.

Visit of Arbroath Golf Club

The visiting golfers from Arbroath Golf Club, who participated in the first golfing event in the Club's newly rented Clubhouse at the end of June, were travelling by train, arriving in Montrose at the Caledonian Station. According to the minute of the Committee meeting in the week prior to the match, the Club considered that
the visitors "should be driven in a conveyance from the Caledonian Station to the
Clubhouse" but, after a vote it was agreed "that they be allowed to walk the
distance". At least once the players reached the Clubrooms and played the match
they would be treated to a meal paid for by the home side. Liquor was bought
from Mr Falconer, who undertook the duties of barman for the occasion. 4 dozen
bottles of beer, 2 bottles of whisky and 8 dozen of lemonade was felt to be sufficient to quench the thirst of the two sides.

First Captain v. Vice-Captain

In March 1899 the Club decided to open the season with a Captain v. Vice-Captain match, a tradition which still exists today.

Opportunity to buy Clubhouse

In April the Committee learned that they had the opportunity to buy the Clubhouse they currently rented, for the sum of £5. A special meeting was held on the 5th May for members to give their views on the proposed purchase. According to the minute of the meeting a proposal to buy the Clubrooms did not find a seconder. After a discussion about the "flourishing condition that the Club now found itself in", it was agreed that a new Clubhouse was needed to accommodate a growing membership. It was decided to raise £100 and find a suitable piece of land on which to build. Quotes were to be sought for buildings in both stone and brick.

Findlay Badge

A silver medal was presented to the Half Holiday Golf Club by a Mr Alexander
H. Findlay, a Montrosian residing in America who had attained success in golfing
circles. He was a renowned architect of golf courses in the United States, where
many of his layouts are still played on today. The Findlay Badge still forms part of
our weekly medal fixture list.

New Building Land

By March 1900, an agent appointed by the Club had negotiated with the Town Council to buy a piece of land for the building of a Clubhouse. The piece of land the Club had requested was the site on the corner of a field reasonably close to the course. This is situated on land which now forms the corner where Dorward Road meets Whinfield Road. On this site stands a stone built house which is currently occupied by a Mr and Mrs Sutherland. But back in 1900 the purchase of this piece of land had run into problems. In May the Council informed the Club that the piece of land they had been allocated was not their preferred corner site and the Committee felt that the ground that they were being told was theirs was unsuitable for building on. They recommended that the Club should apply for a piece of ground of 500 square yards lying next to that occupied by the Victoria Club and this was unanimously agreed to. This plot would probably have been where the Mercantile Golf Club are housed today. In 1900 they occupied "Golf Lodge", a veterinary surgery during the 1970's and 1980's, on the other side of the Victoria clubhouse, now Roo's Leap restaurant. The land which now houses the Royal Montrose and Mercantile clubs had not yet been built on at the turn of the last century. The sub-committee elected to deal with the buying of this land was issued with instructions not to offer a price in excess of one penny per square yard. The Club did not buy this piece of land and the reasons are not recorded in the minutes. Although we know that the ground on which the two clubhouses now stand was jointly owned by the Town Council, the Parish Kirk Session and the Ancient Hospital of Montrose, the plot was eventually purchased by Mr William M. Jamieson Paton, mill owner, for 3/4 of a penny per square yard. Given the limits issued to the Half Holiday club's sub-committee it would seem that the asking price was not the problem. August saw the calling of a special meeting to consider a recommendation to accept a piece of land staked out by the Burgh Surveyor. This was unanimously agreed to, contractors were to be sought to proceed immediately with the erection of a new Clubhouse. This was to be situated on a site two plots to the west of the corner feu which had been the original choice. The cost would be £400, a Bond was taken for this sum and members bought shares. This would be home to the Club for the next seventy five years, a stone built building standing in what we now know as Dorward Road. After the Club vacated these premises in 1975 it was turned into a house and is currently occupied by a Mr Robertson.

Match v. Brechin Artisans

Inter-club matches were arranged with Brechin Artisans. The Caley would host the first match in September with a return game at Trinity was arranged for October. Prizes donated for play in these fixtures included a field glass from Club Captain Mr Jessop and a silver mounted umbrella from Mr Petrie.

MONTROSE CALEDONIA GOLF CLUB Formed 1896	Welcome	Courses	Golf	Social	History
MONTROSE CALEDONIA GOLF CLUB Formed 1896	The Caley 1897-1900

The Caley 1897-1900

The Caley
1897-1900