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Milford-on-Sea Golf Club, Hampshire. (1890s - WWI)

The club was instituted in 1893.

Thanks to Michael Morrison for informing us of the former Milford-on-Sea Golf Club. 

Milford-on-Sea in late 1895:-

Golf at Minster-on-Sea - To the Editor of Golf (November 1895). Sir,— In the Autumn of this year I was at Milford-on-Sea, and I think it may interest your readers to know of the existence, at that quiet and pretty spot, of Golf links. Milford-on-Sea, is a comparatively unknown place on the Hampshire coast. It immediately faces the “ Needles,” and is close to Hurst Castle. The village is referred to at some length in the recently published book on the “Climates and Baths of Great Britain” (Vol. 1.) The course is one of nine holes, and was laid out two years ago by the professional from Bembridge. The first two holes, both of which are protected by bunkers, run parallel to the sea, and are within a few yards of the shore. A sliced drive is severely punished, as the ball finds itself on the stony beach. The third hole, similarly protected, is prettily placed close to Sturt Pond. The fourth, a short one, requires judgment in playing, for a slight deviation from a straight drive, or an in­ sufficient allowance for windage, will bring the player into difficulties from gorse and whins. If the drive is correctly played there is still a very true “ approach ” to be made, for the green is a small one, and should the ball over-run it, or fall short, rough and stony ground is its fate. A reasonably long drive will place the ball on the fifth green, and this hole offers no special difficulties. In playing to the sixth, a particularly nasty hedge, thick and broad, has to be crossed, and it is at just the aggravating distance from the tee. If the drive is short the lie is usually, a bad one, and forcible language is not unknown in playing this hole. Should the player get well away from the seventh tee, he may feel fairly certain of reaching the green without finding many difficulties, but woe betide a topped, pulled, or sliced drive. The eighth must be approached with caution, for if the hole is but slightly over-played a ditch is the penalty. The home hole is without bunkers or other obstacles, but if the south-west wind is high, varied experiences of driving “up the wind” are to be had. Taken as a whole, the links are difficult ones, for bad strokes meet with more severe punishment than they perhaps deserve. The membership (ladies and gentlemen) is at present small, and visitors are made very welcome, and a most modest subscription is charged for a month’s play. A small pavilion was recently opened by Colonel Cornwallis West, of Newlands Manor. There is a high-class hotel capitally situated about five minutes from the links, and lodgings can be secured in the village. The local doctor is the courteous and energetic secretary of the Golf Club. Milford-on-Sea is worth a visit from an one who wants a quiet change, and some Golf, in a healthy and picturesque Hampshire village, where parades and bands are unknown. I understand that the links are to be enlarged and improved; by now this may be accomplished. I should add that the golfer must be prepared for some lost balls, and must not be above carrying his or her own clubs. Good caddies are scarce. I am, Sir, &c., X IT

The third hole was close to Sturt Pond.

Golf Friday 20 December 1895. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Entry from the Golfing Annual 1897-98.

Reappearance of the club in 1907 with a course laid out by James Braid.

Dublin Daily Express Monday 28 January 1907. Content provided by THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From James Braid and his Four Hundred Golf Courses  - John  F Moreton and Iain Cumming - "James Braid visit in January 1907 - Golf Illustrated and the Golfer's Annual reveal the Braid design of the course. The former, on 8 February 1907, announced that "Braid has just laid out a course at Milford-on-Sea  (Hants)" and the latter states "Inst, 1906 - The course which has been planned by J Braid, overlooks the Isle of Wight."

Not even the Milford Historical Society could produce much in the way of detail. It suggested the course was between Westover and Sturt Pond, an area built over now, and that as Lymington to the east and Barton to the west were nine-hole courses, probably Milford was too. The magazine Golf, predecessor of Golf Illustrated, adds further details. In 1895 it announced that the re-opening of the golf course designed by the professional from Bembridge, Isle of Wight. The third hole was by Sturt Pond, confirming the theory above. So, the course pre-existed 1895, and Braid was redesigning rather than designing. Who's Who in Golf and Golf Club Directory, 1913, the full name  of Hamer's book, concludes this fairly bizarre story. Under "Milford", it simply says "The club has ceased to exist". Low membership numbers was surely one reason. The proximity of Lymington and Barton, no doubt, was another, more powerful one."

The Ordnance Survey Map below is from the 1890s. It shows Sturt Pond (to the south), location of the golf course.

O.S. Map Revised 1896; © Crown Copyright {year of publication 1898}.