Centenary Competition Trophy

Centenary Competition Trophy

As part of our 100th Birthday celebrations, we’ve added a new competition to our annual roster. The inaugural Centenary competition is in a few weeks on Saturday 10th June 2023 and rather than trying to top our already amazing silverware, we’ll be playing for a rather special golf club instead. No, not a new Ping G430 Driver but something much rarer and uniquely associated with BFGC - “The Jack Hooker Mashie”.

The mashie (equivalent today’s 7-iron) is a beautifully crafted blend of American hickory, hand forged steel and English leather. It was hand made at Neckinger Mills, in Bermondsey, London between c 1925 - 28 by craftsmen of The Stadium Golf Manufacturing Company Ltd and purchased by an early BFGC lady member.

How on earth do we know all that, you may ask ?  

Well, firstly hickory club makers nearly always marked their clubs with what was known as a cleek-mark, a symbol unique only to them. The anchor with an S on the shank can be traced back to Stadium Golf and the L (and shorter length of shaft) stamp indicates a Ladies club.

Secondly, and laugh if you will, but the name “Hooker” was synonymous with Beeston during the club’s early decades. To help sell their golf clubs, makers also used to offer to stamp them with the golf club or retailer they had made them for. Thus, you can see below “Jack Hooker, Beeston Fields GC” stamped onto the back of the Mashie.

Jack Hooker was BFGC’s first Professional and came from a family steeped in golf. His father, Ernest Hooker was already a professional golfer when Edward “Jack” Hooker was born on 19th October 1903. Jack was the middle of three brothers who, remarkably all became professional golfers too, so he would have grown up immersed in the great game.

He stepped up to become our first professional at Beeston before he even turned 21, probably after serving as an apprentice to his father at Crew Hills Golf Club, “the jewel of north London”. He was with us at Beeston from 1923 - 29 and I do hope Jack’s days at BFGC were happy ones. He was sadly taken ill whilst here in 1929 and died the year afterwards on 1st May 1930 at the tender age of 26.

The Hooker name endured at Beeston for many more years however. Jack’s younger brother Kenneth “Ken” James Hooker picked up the reins at Beeston and was a very successful Professional at the club from 1929 to 1947.  More about Ken Hooker at a future point.

Another nice connection between BFGC and this new “trophy” is that the owner of The Stadium Golf Manufacturing Co Ltd was none other than Hugh Williamson, brother of Tom Williamson who designed Beeston Fields.  Keeping business in the family no doubt, although to be fair, the Stadium Golf had a great reputation for making very modern clubs in its day.

In its new reincarnation as trophy rather than club, The Jack Hookier Mashie has had fifty discs attached to the shaft that can be engraved both sides to record future winners & years. Thus, it will hopefully serve this fresh purpose until the club celebrates its bi-centenary in 2123, and beyond. There is also a silver golf-themed vesta-match case attached that opens to include some documented history about the club. With some careful angling, the mashie just squeezes into the Trophy Cabinet with about 3mm to spare where it will hang alongside so many other pieces of our clubs rich history - other than those all too brief appearances on Presentation Evenings of course. However, it will be also be on display in the Pro’s Shop for this first competition on 10th June if you would like to take a closer look.

Enjoy the fact that the club will certainly have already given pleasure in its more active days, long before it perhaps gives you pleasure too, by winning it one day.  Good luck !

Dave Andrews, May 2023 - with particular thanks to John Lewis & Jane Eden.

Made by : Hugh Williamson, Stadium Manufacturing Company Ltd 1925-29

Sold by : Jack Hooker, BFGC Professional 1923 - 1929

Donated by : John Lewis, BFGC Secretary 1997 - 2013

Refurbished and researched (club) by : Dave Andrews, BFGC 2023

Researched (Hooker family) by : Jane Eden, BFGC & Beeston Local History Society 2023