Hill Barn Golf Club is in celebratory mood.
With the Christmas and New Year festivities barely over, the proud West Sussex club has promised to continue the ‘party season’ with a series of events to mark its 70th anniversary.
A special themed golf day will kick off proceedings on May 12 with its roots firmly in 1936 – the year Hill Barn was founded as a club – while a special birthday party is planned in September to cap what officials say will be a memorable year in the club’s history.
Richard Haygarth, owner of Hill Barn Golf Club, near Worthing, said: "We are tremendously proud of Hill Barn and 70 years is a significant anniversary, so much so that we feel it is appropriate to mark it in a special way."
Fittingly, May’s golf celebration will be steeped in nostalgia with competition golfers using period golf clubs from the 1930s – as well as being encouraged to dress up in golfing apparel of the time.
Gone for 24 hours will be the big-headed titanium drivers and graphite shafts, in their place will be wonderfully-named hickory clubs such as the Spoon and the Wooden Cleek as fun-loving golfers relive bygone days.
Add to that flat caps and dashing plus fours and the fairways and greens of Hill Barn will be transformed into a wonderland of living golfing history.
Haygarth said: "We looked at many ways of marking the 70th anniversary at Hill Barn, and we decided that there was no better way than reproducing an era of golf which evokes fond memories in many a golfer who plays the game today.
"It was very much a gentlemen’s game back then and much of the sportsmanship has been retained, but how much of that sportsmanship will be retained when players realise they can’t hit that 300-yard drive with hickory clubs?
"It will be a great challenge and promises to be a tremendous and colourful event as the old meets the new at Hill Barn."
Haygarth added: "But that’s merely the start of things as we build up to our big birthday party in September – the culmination of what promises to be a special year of fun and golf that will live long in the memory."
The 1930s themed golf day on Friday, May 12, is open to members and guests.
For more details, how to enter, or more information on the golfing experience at Hill Barn, contact Richard Haygarth on 01903 237301.
Contact:
David Garlant, Dave Bowers or Pete Simm
08700 330550
david.garlant@prcpr.co.uk, dave@prcpr.co.uk or pete.simm@prcpr.co.uk
