England Golf celebrated its 100th anniversary with the Centenary Dinner & Awards last night (Tuesday) at the very place it was born – The Midland Manchester Hotel.
And, as part of the celebrations, 11 different awards were handed out while 12 names were also inducted into an all-new England Golf Hall of Fame.
Hosted by former European Tour player and Sky Sports presenter, Nick Dougherty, The Midland Manchester Hotel welcomed 450 guests and recognised heroes from across the country who have gone above and beyond to make the game of golf what it is today.
There were 11 category winners announced each with a unique story to tell, while nine of those categories were nominated for by the public, before 46 judges from the golf industry and golf media examined the nominations to whittle them down to one winner per category.
The nominees for the Tournament Venue of the Year and Performance of the Year category were put forward and then judged by staff in the England Golf championships and performance departments respectively. Each award winner received an engraved glass trophy and a gift hamper to mark their amazing achievements.
To find out more about each category winner and for quotes from each, simply click on the links below:
– Club of the Year (sponsored by DotGolf) – Bedfordshire GC (Bedfordshire)
– County of the Year (sponsored by Marsh) – Devon Golf
– Diversity and Inclusion Champion (sponsored by Citation) – Nicola Bennett (Bush Hill Park GC, Hertfordshire)
– Participation and Development Coach of the Year – Alex MacGregor (Addington Court GC, Surrey)
– Performance of the Year (sponsored by Performance 54) – Kris Kim (Walton Heath GC, Surrey)
– Sustainability Project of the Year (sponsored by Zellar) – Colmworth GC (Bedfordshire)
– Tournament Venue of the Year (sponsored by FlightScope) – Shifnal GC (Shropshire)
– Volunteer of the Year – Abi Frodsham (Wallasey GC, Cheshire)
– Women and Girls’ Trailblazer (sponsored by Your Golf Travel) – Jersey Ladies Golf Development Group
– Young Volunteer of the Year (supported by the Golf Foundation) – Freya Allen (Elsham GC, Lincolnshire)
– Lifetime Service Award – Graham McCormack (Birchwood GC, Cheshire)
This year’s awards saw the inaugural England Golf Hall of Fame inductees named, as picked by the England Golf Centenary Committee. They are: Sir Michael Bonallack, Allison Nicholas, Gerald Micklem, Peter McEvoy, Trish Johnson, Gary Wolstenholme, Georgia Hall, Peter Alliss, Dame Laura Davies, Sir Nick Faldo, Bridget Jackson and Luke Donald.
England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson said: “What a night it was at The Midland Manchester, not just in celebrating 100 years of England Golf and the Rose, but in continuing to recognise the amazing people across the game today, who make it what it is.
“We received many fantastic nominations for clubs, volunteers and individuals across the country and we’d like to congratulate all of our finalists, and of course, our winners. I would also like thank Nick Dougherty who was an exceptional host, and we look forward to our next occasion in 2025.”