SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



Golf took root in Northampton^hire, as in 

 most other parts of Southern England, in the 

 early ' nineties.' There are now six well- 

 established clubs, namely, those of Northamp- 

 ton, Peterborough, Kettering, Wellingborough, 

 Oundle, and Market Harborough. The last 

 is included because the club has its links 

 within the county limits. All these clubs 

 were established during the above-mentioned 

 period, and in the first enthusiasm of the game 

 several smaller ones were formed which have 

 since collapsed. 



The nine-hole course of the Northampton 

 club may be regarded as the best in the county 

 and one of the best of the shorter inland greens 

 of England. Founded in 1893, and originally 

 located in another situation, the club has now 

 for many years held on lease an elevated tract 

 of land just outside the northern limits of the 

 town. Much of the course is over undulating 

 ground covered with thick, firm turf, and 

 sprinkled with gorse, giving a very fair imita- 

 tion of the natural contour of sea-side links. 

 The hazards consist very largely of old 

 pits and hollows, in which, being all turf, 

 a badly hit ball, though sufficiently punished, 

 is always playable unless caught in the gorse. 

 Trees, hedges, long grass, and other tire- 

 some and uncharacteristic obstacles are con- 

 spicuous by their absence. The putting greens 

 are extremely good, nearly all the course is 

 hard and keen and is practically unaffected 

 by the wettest weather, while the grass can be 

 readily kept short and fit for play by grazing 

 through the summer. In a word, it is a sporting 

 course, difficult but fair. If straight a moder- 

 ate driver reaches safety, while the long driver 

 reaps his due reward. Few inland greens 

 require more accurate play or reward it more 

 fully. Air and outlook are both fine, and 

 Northampton is on the whole fortunate in a 

 course full of character and far above the 

 average of inland greens. There is a good 

 club-house and a resident professional ; spring 

 and autumn meetings are held as well as the 

 usual minor competitions, and several out 

 matches are played. 



There are over a hundred members, besides 

 thirty or forty ladies, one of whom has played 

 for England in the international competitions. 



The Kettering club has its course, the only 

 one of eighteen holes in the county, about ten 

 minutes' walk from the centre of the town. It 

 possesses no natural advantages, being ordinary 

 smooth-lying ground upon a clay soil, which 

 in wet weather greatly interferes with play. 

 The natural hazaids consist of hedges, ditches, 

 and a brook twice crossed. 



Play is prevented in summer by the luxuri- 

 ance of the grass, the season ending 30 April. 



The club, founded in 1891, consists at 

 present of about 120 members, including 

 ladies. It possesses a club-house, has spring 

 and autumn meetings, and plays several inter- 

 club matches. 



Like those of Kettering, the links of the 

 Peterborough Gordon Club, situated some two 

 miles from the town, are unfortunate in a clay 

 soil ; and summer play is, on account of luxu- 

 riant grass, impossible. The course consists 

 of nine holes with good natural hazards. 

 The greens are fair, and the distance once 

 round is about two miles. There are nearly 

 a hundred members, including very few non- 

 players, and over thirty ladies. The club 

 was founded in 1894. 



The Wellingborough club, founded in 

 1895, has its nine-hole course about a mile 

 from the town on dry, high-lying iron-stone 

 soil. The turf for the most part is, like that 

 of Northampton, keen and firm, remaining 

 dry in a wet winter and at the same time 

 permitting play during the summer. Some 

 of the greens are well placed and most are 

 well protected and of good quality. The 

 ground is undulating and the situation pleasant. 

 The distance twice round is three miles and 

 a quarter. There are about seventy mem- 

 bers, including ladies, and there is a small 

 club-house. 



Oundle has the smallest club in the county, 

 but it has flourished since 1893, with a nine- 

 hole course at Biggin, a mile and a half from 

 the town, where play is possible all the year 

 round. The hazards are all natural, consisting 

 of stone pits, brooks, and fences. There are 

 thirty members including several ladies ; but 

 though so small a club its permanence seems 

 well assured. 



The course of the Market Harborough Golf 

 Club is situated one mile and a half from the 

 town, and consists of nine holes. It is laid out 

 over ordinary pasture fields, which are of a 

 hilly character and consequently dry. The 

 hazards consist mainly of hedges and ditches, 

 and several of the shots are played over deep 

 valleys ; otherwise the course is plain and 

 without natural features. The greens are 

 good. Some sixty members, including 

 ladies, are on the club books, and there is 

 a small club-house. The links are open 

 all the year round, but the grass sometimes 

 interferes with play during the summer 

 months. 



In conclusion one may fairly assume that 

 golf has taken a permanent hold in the county, 

 and will at least maintain its present popularity 

 among the well-to-do class of both the larger 

 and smaller towns and their immediate neigh- 

 bourhoods. 



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