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Ryde Golf Club, Westridge Course, Isle of Wight. (1895 - 1903)
Founded in 1895 and originally called Westridge Golf Club.
The following article is from the Isle of Wight Observer December 21st 1895 “Sir, will you kindly allow a small piece in your paper to bring to the notice of those interested in the increasingly popular game of golf , that the Westridge Golf Club, which was established on the 8th October, is progressing favourably. The club now consists of 45 members and it is hoped that the pavilion, now under construction, will be erected by New Years Day, when the services of a green-keeper are to be engaged. The links of nine holes are about a 30 minute walk from the centre of the town between Westridge House and Woodlands Vale. Yours, E Dowson Hon Sec, Westridge Golf Club, Hillside, Ryde”
The club was only known as Westridge for a short time.
Ordnance Survey Map from the 1890s showing the Westridge Golf Links.
O.S. Map Revised 1896; © Crown Copyright (year of publication 1898).
Result of a competition played on Saturday 2 May 1896; Captain Byng, 21.78; E Dowson, 113-25-88; G Fardell, 118-30-88; Captain Walcot, 119-30-89; M Whittam, 110-21-89; F Brook, 110-21-89; Rev. W G Whittam, 102-12-90; F Wardell, 117-22-95; H G Biden, 94+4-98.
Isle of Wight County Express Saturday 6 June 1896. Content provided by THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The annual dinner in April 1898
Isle of Wight Observer Saturday Saturday 23 April 1898. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Result of a competition played in June 1898; H Mitchison, 99-20-79; H G Biden, 81+1-82; Rev. Whittam, 93-10-83; H Morley, 99-9-90; A S Gordon, 99-8-91; S E Brook, 109-13-96.
Results from the Easter meeting in April 1899.
Isle of Wight Observer Saturday Saturday 8 April 1899. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Result of a match played on the Needles and Freshwater course in May 1899.
| Needles & Freshwater Golf Club | Ryde Golf Club | ||
| F Tankard | 6 | J H Morley | 0 |
| Dr. C H Hands | 0 | A S Gordon | 5 |
| C Miles Vicars | 9 | Captain A H Byng | 0 |
| Major W Stratford | 5 | S E Brook | 0 |
| 20 | 5 |
The annual meeting was held in October 1899 with the following officers elected; Captain, E Dowson; hon. treasurer, H G Nutt; hon. secretary, A S Gordon; committee - Capt. Byng, W Brewster, G H Harrison, A C Heaslop, J H Morley, W H Riddett, F C Wardall. The membership stood at 72.
Ryde Golf Club button.
The fifth annual meeting in November 1900.
Isle of Wight Observer Saturday 3 November 1900. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The end is nigh for the earlier club, clubhouse up for sale in November 1903.
Isle of Wight Observer Saturday 3 November 1900. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The original club went into abeyance in about 1903.
There is no entry for Ryde Golf Club in the 1905 Nisbet's Golf Yearbook.
The current club moved to its present site in the early 1920s.
Location of the Westridge course in 1898. Grid reference SZ61290,90895, co-ordinates 461290,090895.