- Sunday 14th March 2010
A Moving History of British Golf
Golf Heritage - 26 Nov, 2009
The R&A’s Director of Film Archive, Peter Lewis, recently visited the World Golf Hall of Fame in St Augustine, Florida, and the PGAs of Europe Annual Congress held at La Serena Golf Resort in Murcia, Spain, to give a 45-minute presentation entitled A Moving History of British Golf. Introducing each of the 15 film clips, Lewis took his audiences through the history of filming and broadcasting of golf from 1898 to the present day.
In a journey through the history of film, radio and television, he showed a number of notable “firsts”. These included the earliest film of a golf event known to survive – the match between Willie Park Jr and Willie Fernie from 1898 – and the earliest surviving example of golf instruction by moving image from about 1911. These were in the form of Kinora reels, which were, in essence, mechanised flicker books.
Moving forward through time, he showed typical examples of silent newsreels and then explained how newsreels were affected by the coming of sound in 1930, as well as playing part of the earliest known BBC radio commentary of The Open to survive from 1938.
And there was joy and despair in equal measure with footage of Seve Ballesteros’ impassioned celebration of victory on the Old Course in 1984, contrasting with the subdued resignation of Tom Watson on the 18th green of the Ailsa Course earlier this year.
“These films and broadcasts bring the history of the game alive and are a vivid, accessible and important reminder of our game’s history and heritage,” explained Lewis.
“They shed light on all aspects of golf’s development: from highlights to home instruction, and from course conditions to tournament infrastructure, the evolution of the game comes alive. It’s a pleasure to take these films to other parts of the world and share them with those who have an interest in both the history of the game and its future.”
Featured products
Explore The R&A
