History - Inauguration
The story of Bamburgh Castle Golf Club mirrors the recent history of the village of Bamburgh. It is fully told in the book by Gordon McKeag published to commemorate the Club's centenary in 2004, which can be purchased for £15 from the club by application to the Secretary.
The club was founded in 1904 by Lord Armstrong of Bamburgh and Cragside, with the support of his friends, after the failure of two earlier courses on the links between Bamburgh and Seahouses. This effort was on a larger scale. He donated the clubhouse and funded the development of the course, which was laid out on leased land from one of his Newcastle based friends and colleagues, Mr Cruddas.
The club fitted in with his vision to develop Bamburgh as a holiday resort - it already had natural beauty, tennis courts, a cricket club, nearby rail links and to quote from Lord Armstrong's opening address, "the only thing wanted to make Bamburgh an ideal holiday resort was a golf links". The course was opened on 18th August 1904 with a tee shot struck by Lord Armstrong's 10 year old daughter, Winifreda, followed by a lunch and a competition.
There followed a week of competitions, including one for the first mixed foursome in Northumberland. (Bamburgh was unusual in having a Ladies Club at inauguration and has had traditionally a high number of Lady members). Blessed with good weather throughout, the Newcastle Daily Journal described Bamburgh Castle Golf Club's inaugural week as a "brilliant success" and an early mixed competition predicted "the founding of a first class golf course [would] raise Bamburgh to the first rank of golfing centres". The paper also noted the "fashionable audience" and the various social events complementing the golf. This was an early indication of an important factor in the Club's development: it was not a wholly local club. It has certainly relied on local members, but its unique success has been the ability to also draw on visitors and holiday home owners, initially mainly from Newcastle but later also from much further afield.