History
Our course is probably the longest continually played-upon links in England. No-one is sure exactly when golf was first played here, but seven holes were picked out in the early 1860s by members of the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers, who were stationed on the common.
The club itself was officially formed in 1865, which means it is the third oldest English golf club after Royal Blackheath and Royal North Devon (the well-known illustration, right, is of an early home match between LSGC and Royal Blackheath in 1870).
The course was extended to 18-holes in 1871, the same year that an Act of Parliament took the common away from the ownership of Earl Spencer and into public hands.
A number of our holes, such as Long Butt, Running Deer, Blockade and the Long Hole, were originally laid out along the lines of rifle ranges. Old bullets are occasionally still found on parts of the course.
The first clubhouse was in Mrs Doggett's cottage under the shadow of the windmill, then in 1871 golfers moved to the ‘Iron House’ further back near Parkside, where the rifle volunteers were based. The current building – one of the few remaining Victorian golf clubhouses in Britain – was purpose built in 1897.
The club had been opened up to civilians in 1869, and a major dispute erupted between the military and non-military members in 1881, leading the civilians to create what later became Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Royal Wimbledon played on our course until constructing its own links just off the common in 1907.
The legendary JH Taylor, five times Open champion, made the course his home between 1896 and 1899 when he was professional at the Royal. He returned to London Scottish in 1926 to redesign the course.
Wimbledon Common Golf Club was founded in 1908, and plays on the same course as us, although with a different clubhouse and starting point. We have a joint greens committee and work closely together.
See the wikipedia entry for LSGC here. Copies of the 354-page club history by John Downs (in hardback or paperback) can be bought at the club for £10 or via amazon here.
Some notable past members
Lord Elcho, Whig politician who became the 10th Earl of Wemyss; Marquis of Lorne, married Queen Victoria's 4th Daughter, Princes Louise; Young Willie Dunn, the first unofficial champion of America in 1894 and runner-up in the first US Open of 1895; AJ Balfour, Prime Minister 1902 to 1905, MP from 1874–1922, and Foreign Secretary in David Lloyd George's coalition government 1916-1919; George Duncan, Open Champion at Deal in 1920 and victorious captain of the 1929 Ryder Cup team; George McPartlin, founder of the Golf Foundation in 1952; Mickey Abrams, three-times ABA flyweight champion and 1970 Commonwealth Games boxing bronze medalist; Matt Lorenzo, TV sports presenter.