The Cradle of English Golf- 160 years and counting…

To mark the 160th anniversary of Royal North Devon Golf Club, Stephen Proctor, author of ‘The Long Golden Afternoon: Golf’s Age of Glory, 1864-1914’, talks to RND member Dan Davies about the club’s early history and the pivotal role it played in the birth of English golf. The conversation covers the first time golf was played on Northam Burrows, the early visits of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris to North Devon, the club’s founding members, money matches on the links, the club’s ties with St Andrews and Hoylake, Horace Hutchinson and John Henry Taylor, and the huge impact they both had on the game in Britain, the formation of the world’s second oldest Ladies Club, and much more besides.

‘The Long Golden Afternoon’ was shortlisted for the 2023 Sunday Times Sports Book Awards and the USGA’s Herbert Warren Wind Book Award. Stephen Proctor’s previous book, ‘Monarch of the Green’, tells the remarkable story of Young Tom Morris, golf’s first superstar. Proctor previously served as a senior editor at The Baltimore Sun, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Houston Chronicle. He is an honorary member at Askernish GC and a co-presenter of the Duffer’s Literary Companion podcast.