Our Story.
More than a century of golf in Barry — from a meeting at the local YMCA to the Brynhill Golf Club we know today.
Humble
Beginnings.
Brynhill as it exists today began its life at Barry YMCA on Wednesday 9th February 1921.
A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr R. Fletcher to explore the possibilities of acquiring land for the purpose of forming a Golf Club in Barry.
BRYNHILL GOLF CLUB
From farmland
to fairways.
The ambition to establish a golf club in Barry quickly began to take shape.
A site was considered suitable and an agreement was reached with the tenant farmer to rent his land at £3 per year, on condition that he could graze his sheep on it.
This must have made teeing off at the 9th a little difficult!
Ted Ray
arrives.
Less than a month after that first meeting, Brynhill turned to one of the leading professional golfers of his generation to help shape its new course.
On 7th March 1921, professional golfer Mr Ted Ray was contracted to peg out Brynhill's greens and tees.
For his work helping to lay out the original course, he was paid £10.
BRYNHILL'S ORIGINAL GREENS & TEES
One of Britain's leading golfers of the early 20th century.
Edward Rivers John Ray (6 April 1877 – 26 August 1943), better known as Ted Ray, was a British professional golfer and one of the leading players of the first quarter of the 20th century.
Ray won two major championships. He became Open Champion in 1912 and won the U.S. Open in 1920. He also contended in many other major championships during his distinguished career.
His place in golfing history was further secured in 1927, when he captained the British team in the inaugural Ryder Cup.
It was therefore a golfer of considerable stature who came to Brynhill in March 1921 to help lay out the greens and tees of the fledgling club.
CHAMPION
CHAMPION
BRYNHILL
CAPTAIN
Building Brynhill
by hand.
The founder members did much of the construction work themselves, removing stones and building greens and tees.
A portable shed was borrowed from Barry Docks to use as a clubhouse and was placed close to the site of the current clubhouse.
David Rees
BRYNHILL'S 1ST CLUB PROFESSIONAL
David Rees became Brynhill's first Club Professional in May 1921.
At the time David had an eight-year-old son — Dai Rees.
That young boy would go on to become one of the most celebrated figures in British golf.
THE REES LEGACYDuring a long career, Dai won a total of 39 major tournaments, finished second in The Open Championship on three occasions and played in nine Ryder Cups.
He captained the side no fewer than five times and led the team to victory at Lindrick in 1957.
VICTORIES
APPEARANCES
CAPTAINCIES
VICTORY
Soon after that famous victory, Dai Rees was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He also won the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1957.
He remains one of only two golfers to have won that accolade.
A historic day for golf in Barry.
On Saturday 28th May 1921, the course was officially opened by the President of the Club, Major William Cope M.P.
Following Major William Cope MP's ceremonial “driving-in”, a foursomes match featuring the club captain and Mr David Rees versus two local golfers from Dinas Powys was played.
The match was filmed by the manager of Barry's Theatre Royal and subsequently shown in cinemas.
A clubhouse takes shape.
During the time when the course was being constructed, work was also taking place on the development of a clubhouse.
Two First World War army huts were purchased and transported from Salisbury Plain to Barry.
By the time the huts were redesigned and furnished the cost of the work had reached £2,000 — a considerable sum in those days.
The clubhouse opened on 12th November 1921. By that time a nine-hole course had been constructed and a round of 18 holes measured 6,300 yards.
Sir William Henry Cope
In 1928, Major William Cope M.P. was created a Baronet — Sir William Henry Cope, 1st Baronet of South Wales .
He was also appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services.
Bob Hope
comes to Brynhill.
More than six decades after Brynhill's first clubhouse opened, another memorable chapter in the Club's history was written.
In October 1984, a new clubhouse was opened and Brynhill was fortunate to have the one and only Bob Hope declare the clubhouse officially open.
Bob had come to Barry to reacquaint himself with his family home and kindly agreed to visit Brynhill Golf Club.
A New Course Takes Shape
An extra 65 acres of land adjoining the course was purchased and work started on a new course development in April 1994.
Golf Course Design Consultants Dave Thomas Ltd were contracted to design the course.
The Course is Completed
The course was finally completed in the summer of 1998 and became the challenging test of golf skills it is today.