Kent Golf Veterans League
Est. 1978
[formerly known as 'Society of Kent Golf Veterans']
1. PROLOGUE.
It was in July 1972 that Winston Dearman of Eltham Warren Golf Club, challenged Al Culling of Bexleyheath Golf Club to form a team of eight members over sixty years old to play matches over 12 or 13 holes home and away. The challenge was accepted and the first matches were arranged at times when courses were comparatively quiet. Buffet lunches were provided and a very convivial time was enjoyed by all who took part.
In the light of this success, Winston Dearman gave some thought to widening the competition to other clubs in the area and form a League.. lie approached the veteran members of Barnehurst, Dartford, Shooters Hill, and Sidcup golf clubs, all of whom were very enthusiastic about the idea.
At that time very few golfers in the area played golf regularly on a competitive basis and many were physically incapable of playing eighteen holes. Some of the clubs also had difficulty in regularly raising eight players willing and able to participate in the matches, Early matches were therefore arranged on an ad hoc basis to accommodate the circumstances of the various clubs.
In addition to these League matches, veteran golfers played in Veterans Invitation competitions where members of the host clubs invited veterans from other clubs and partnered their guests in a four-ball better ball format. Prizes were generally awarded for the four best scores and usually between forty and fifty veterans competed.
Eltham Warren Golf Club also initiated an Open Competition each Autumn where teams of eight veterans played on a four ball better ball Stableford with the aggregate score of the best three cards counting for the Open Cup. The Cup was kindly presented by Major Norman Sellix, an Eltham Warren veteran. This event later evolved in to a competition between the members of the League hosted by each club in turn.
2. THE BEGINNING.
The success of the League, coupled with a general increase in the numbers of veteran golfers around the County, led Winston Dearrnan in 1977 to consider the possibility of spreading the gospel to other clubs in Kent. He accordingly wrote to a number of private golf clubs in the County suggesting that a Kent Veterans Golfing Society be formed. He was delighted to receive replies from twenty one clubs interested in the suggestion.
With this response it was possible to convene an inaugural meeting in the Spring of 1978. The society would be called the Society of Kent Golf Veterans and the participating clubs were divided in to five Groups arranged geographically in order to keep travel down to a minimum. The original group of clubs which had inspired the formation of the Society were designated Group 1 and the others were divided as follows:
Group I Group 2 Group 3
Barnehurst Cherry Lodge Knole Park
Bexleyheath Chiselhurst Lamberhurst
Dartford Royal Blackheath Wildernesse
Eltham Warren Sundridge Park Woodlands Manor
Shooters Hill West Kent Wrotham Heath
Sidcup
Group Organiser Group Organiser Group Organiser
Winston Dearman David Driscoll Mervyn Jones
Group 4 Group 5
Bearsted Ashford
Gillingham Hawkhurst
Mid Kent Hythe
Sheerness Littlestone
Sittingbourne Sene Valley
Tenterden
Group Organiser Group Organiser
Archie Munford David Marshall
Winston Dearman was appointed Honorary Secretary and David Driscoll Honorary Treasurer. These two together with the five Group Organisers formed the ‘Managing Committee’.
The newly formed Society enjoyed its first full season in 1978.
3. RULES OF THE SOCIETY.
In 1979 the Rules of the Society were agreed as follows:
(1) The Society shall be named the Society of Kent Golf Veterans.
(2) Membership is restricted to golfers of 60 years of age and over, belonging to private golf clubs situated in the County of Kent and its London environs, and approved by the Committee.
(3) Objects. The preservation of good fellowship fostered by the game of golf, with particular attention to the observance of etiquette and Rules, as laid down by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
(4) Competitions. The Committee shall control all competitions organised by the Society. The Group competitions shall be in the hands of the Group Organiser in conjunction with his sub-Committee and the Society Honorary Secretary.
(5) Trophies. The Committee shall arrange for the safe custody and insurance of all Society trophies. Such trophies to remain the property of the Society
(6) Officers. The Founder, the Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, each Group Organiser. The whole to form the Committee (5 to form a quorum).
(7) Accounts. The account year shall be from 1St January to 31st December. The balance sheet to be submitted by I 5~ February following. Two auditors shall be selected from Society members.
(8) Entrance Fees. And subscriptions shall be determined by the Committee annually”
The efficacy of successive Hon. Treasurers is illustrated by the annual fees which have been charged for membership:
1978—1983 £10
1984—1986 £15
1987—1991 £20
1992—2003 £25
2004 - £35
Whilst the above Rules were quite adequate for the early days of the Society, it became apparent in 1991 that in the changing circumstances of the Society they needed revision and a Constitution was also required. Jim Butler set about this task and in August 1991 the new drafts were circulated to the Group Organisers for discussion with their respective members. At the Annual Meeting in 1992 the new Rules & Constitution were agreed by the Committee.
These rules have been amended from time to time in the light of experience in running the Society. The latest main revision was made in 2002 when the restriction of membership the “private” clubs was removed in recognition of the de facto situation, Affiliate membership was established and the President was included on the Committee. The Current Rules are attached as Appendix 1.
4. LEAGUES & CHAMPIONSHIPS. At the inaugural meeting it was agreed that the clubs in each Group would play each other home and away scoring two points for a win and one point for a halved match. At this stage nothing more formal was prescribed although it was generally accepted that teams would consist of five pairs playing in a four ball better ball match play.
It was also agreed that a Club Championship would be held in the autumn of each year when the winners of each Group League would compete against each other. Each qualifying club would enter a team of eight playing a four ball better ball Stableford with the aggregate score of the team determining the winner.
Winston Dearman generously donated a silver cup to be called the Founder’s Cup in recognition of his founding the Society on which the name of the annual winner would be engraved.
In 1979 it was agreed that a Singles Championship would also be played in the autumn of each year. Each club in the Society would be eligible to nominate a member whose qualification would be left to the respective club to decide. The event would be a Stableford competition played off full handicap. Once again Winston Dearman donated a silver cup to be called the Singles Cup on which the name of each annual champion would be inscribed. At the outset, Winston decreed that in the event two competitors returned the same score they should jointly share the honour of being Singles Champion and both names would be inscribed on the cup. If more than two returned the best scores then count back rules would apply. This ruling remained in force until 1991 when it was rescinded in favour of the count back rules applying whenever there were tied winning scores.
5. THE WINSTON DEARMAN YEARS - 1978 - 1991
The first Honorary Treasurer of the Society was David Driscoll of Royal Blackheath. When he gave up in 1980 no volunteers came forward to replace him so Winston Dearman took on the office.
In 1981 Langley Park and Rochester & Cobham joined the Society and were allocated to Groups 2 and 4 respectively.
Around this time, Winston Dearman arranged for the Society to make an annual donation to RADAR, a charity of which he was particularly fond. He also affiliated the Society to the English Golf Union for reasons best known to himself This situation continued until 1991 when Jim Butler brought up the matter with the Committee who agreed that charitable contributions should be a matter for the individual clubs rather than the Society. At the same time it was also agreed that the affiliation to the English Golf Union served no useful purpose and should be discontinued.
In these early years the main prizes for the Championships were engraved tankards which were awarded to the winners (1 pint) and runners up (1/2 pint), with lesser prizes for other qualifiers. In view of rising costs this was later changed to all glass tankards of different quality for each team.
In 1982 Ted Summersby,of Shooters Hill , suggested that the Society should have its own tie. Geoffrey Kershaw volunteered to produce some designs and in fact submitted twenty alternatives for consideration.. Copies of the designs were sent to all member clubs for consideration and an overwhelming majority favoured the large “V” with the Invicta white horse inside and crossed golf clubs and a ball above. The members having decided on the motif, the ties were initially produced in navy blue, maroon and green. Subsequently a brown version was added to the range but did not prove very popular. The Society tie is now worn by hundreds of golfers around the County and is recognised far and wide.
In 1983, Reginald Denning of Shooters Hill agreed to take over the job of Hon.Treasurer to relieve some of the administrative burden from Winston Dearman.
By the late 1980’s, the Society was firmly established with Winston Dearman maintaining a very tight grip at the helm. In 1989 however, Winston’s failing health gave cause for concern and the Committee realised that the task of running the Society was perhaps proving too onerous for him. With Winston’s reluctant assent tentative steps were taken to find a successor to him however, although several worthy veterans were approached, no one appeared willing to take over the role. Winston was inevitably a hard act to follow.
In 1990 however, the matter became one of urgency after Winston fell ill and had to be taken home from the Club Championships at Royal Blackheath. Archie Munford, the Group 4 Organiser took over for the day assisted by the Honorary Treasurer, Geoffrey Kershaw and other Committee members who were present at the time. This unfortunate event made it imperative that a successor to Winston should be appointed as a matter of urgency if the 1991 season was to be properly]y administered.
The natural replacement in the circumstances was Jim Butler of Shooters Hill, who had replaced Winston as Group 1 Organiser and had assisted at Royal Blackheath. With Winston’s agreement it was decided that Jim Butler would be proposed for the post of Honorary Secretary at the annual meeting in the spring of 1991. In the event the proposal was carried unanimously.
When Jim Butler assumed office as Hon.Secretary in 1991 the Society was flourishing. The numbers of veterans in the member clubs was steadily increasing and with more ‘younger’ and physically fitter veterans the tenor of the League matches moved away from being purely social to more fiercely competitive matches. The original format of matches played over 12 or 13 holes soon gave way to the full 18 holes although they were still mainly played off the yellow tees. With more veteran players available it was possible to increase the size of the teams albeit with some playing as reserves. The playing reserves helped to placate the older veterans who were beginning to feel that the more competitive form of the matches was causing them to be left out of the teams.
About this time, and possibly as a result of the feelings expressed above, there were murmurs about the possibility of competitive matches just for the over seventies but the practicalities of running these in tandem with the League matches were insurmountable. (This matter was raised again in 2002 but after careful consideration it was agreed that the Officers of the Society, all of whom were volunteers, should not be burdened by the additional work of organising another League).
In 1988 West Malling joined Group 3 to become the first 'commercial’ club to be admitted to the Society.
With the new clubs joining each Group had a membership of six clubs which was generally agreed to be the optimum number that clubs could cope with having regard to other fixtures in which veterans were involved.
Sadly, Reg Denning the Hon.Treasurer died suddenly in 1988 and Geoffrey Kershaw volunteered to succeed him. Geoffrey kept a firm grip on the finances of the Society until 1998 when he relinquished the position on being elected President of the Society. Jim Clarkson of Littlestone volunteered to take over as Honorary Treasurer.
In recognition of the outstanding service Winston Dearman had rendered to veteran’s golf in Kent it was intended to make a presentation to him. Unfortunately when the time came Winston was too ill to attend so Jim Butler and Geoffrey Kershaw visited him at his home in March 1991 and presented him with an ornate clock and thanked him for working so diligently for so many years to ensure the success of the Society. Winston was overwhelmed and asked that the gratitude of his wife and himself be conveyed to the Committee and all Society members.
At the annual meeting in 1991 shortly after the presentation, the Committee agreed a proposal that a new office of President be created and that Winston should fill that office and be known as “Founder and President”. This appointment gave Winston great pleasure but, sadly he held the office for only a few months as he passed away at his home in Eitham in September 1991. His funeral was held at the Holy Trinity church, Eltham and many members of the Society were there so show their respects.6.
THE LATER YEARS - 1991 -2003.
It is important at this stage to express appreciation of the generous support afforded to veterans by their respective club Committees. A basic requirement of membership of the Society has always been that visiting teams participating in League matches will be granted courtesy of the course. This has been accepted not only by the private clubs but also by the ‘commercial’ clubs which have subsequently joined the Society. Having regard to the level of pensions received by many veterans this gesture has been much appreciated and has contributed in no small way to the ability of some clubs to raise a full team for their matches. Without the full co-operation of the Club Committees it is doubtful if veterans’ golf in the County would have flourished as it has done to the present day.
In October 1991, Jim Butler inaugurated an end of season Newsletter as a means of keeping the individual members informed about Society activities.
Following the death of Winston Dearman, the Committee met for the 1992 annual meeting and decided that the office of President should remain and be held for three years by a member selected in the light of his outstanding service to the Society. The obvious candidate at the time was Archie Munford of Mid Kent who was proposed and unanimously elected.
The Hon. Secretary is the principal administrator of the affairs of the Society, but also has the responsibility of organising the two championships in the autumn of each year. This is done in collaboration with representatives of each host club and the arrangement has worked very successfully over the years. The Club and Singles Championships soon became two of the most important dates in the veteran golfers diaries. The Club Championships have developed inevitably as the focal point for the better golfers in each club representing as they do the culmination of a full season of competitive matches between the clubs in each Group. This fact is exemplified by the fact that the winning aggregate scores of the teams of four pairs are normally over 160 points.
Despite the very keen competition in the Club championship, the matches have always been played in a friendly atmosphere and truly in accordance with the basic aims of the Society. The Hon.Secretary, as the ultimate referee for the championships, has on some occasions had to make difficult decisions and there have been occasions when teams have been disqualified for incorrect cards. It has been a fortunate coincidence that the dates agreed for the championships have almost universally turned out to be days with reasonable good weather (to the great relief of the Hon. Secretary !).
The Singles championship, whilst still very competitive, has generally maintained a slightly more social tenor. The representatives nominated by the member clubs for the competition are generally winners of a main veterans event. It is not unusual however to have competitors with high handicaps in the championship who lose several shots on the day with the maximum allowable handicap of 18. Such players have very little chance of coming in with a winning score but play solely for the pride of representing their club. A feature of the singles championship has been the support for the competitors when veterans Captains or friends accompany them as caddies. This tendency has grown until in later years probably half the field have caddies accompanying them. Another feature of the Singles championship has been the numbers of spectators as there are up to (at present) 48 clubs represented as against just the 8 participating in the Club championship.
These factors have all contributed to the Singles championship being played in a slightly more relaxed , though still competitive, atmosphere. In response to this, and bearing in mind the higher handicap players, from 2001 the number of scoring prizes was increased and two ‘nearest the pin’ competitions were added so that more players had a chance of winning a prize.
Whilst the championships generally fell on days when the weather was fine, a memorable exception was in 1993 at Knole Park. The event took place on October 1st and torrential rain fell throughout night with the result that the course was flooded and closed. With players assembling from all over the County and all the catering arrangements for the day in hand it was not feasible to postpone the day if any alternative could be considered. After discussion with the club, and a fortunate break in the weather the competition went ahead an hour late. The relief was however short lived as torrential rain returned and the course was soon flooded again. Many of the players completed their rounds and arrived at the clubhouse soaking wet and frozen. The later starters were forced to abandon the unequal struggle some having only played around 13 holes. The scrutineers were faced with a mass of soggy score cards many of which had to be re-written and some of which were incomplete. Fortunately, despite all this it was possible to determine indisputable winners and runners-up so that the trophies could be awarded without fear of recrimination.
In 1994 some of the member clubs in south-east Kent raised the point that the championships were generally held in the north-west part of the County. After some discussion it was agreed that there was no reason why they should not be hosted by each Group in turn and a rota was established setting out the order in which each Group would act as host.
Archie Munford’s term of office as President came to an end in 1995 and he was heartily thanked for his long and valued service to the Society since its formation in 1978. Gordon Emerton-Court was elected to succeed him.
The first withdrawal from the Society was in 1995 when the London Borough of Bexley refused to renew the lease on the Barnehurst course and the club was subsequently dissolved. This was a severe blow to the members as Barnehurst had held the lease since 1903 and the veterans had to seek other clubs in an already oversubscribed area or give up the game. This was without a doubt a retrograde step by the Council and perhaps already regretted by those who were party to it.
The place of Barnehurst in Group 1 was taken by Lullingstone Park who became the second ‘commercial’ club to join the Society.
Jim Butler remained in office as Honorary Secretary until the spring of 1995 when he stood down and John Cantle of Ashford was elected to succeed him. For the next five years, John Cantle administered the affairs of the Society and organised the Championships with a quiet efficiency which ensured the steady progress of the Society.
Hawkhurst regretfully withdrew from Group 5 in 1996 because they did not have enough competitive veteran members to make up the necessary numbers for the League matches and their place was taken by Lydd.
In 1998 Faversham applied to join the Society and, after consultation with all the clubs in Group 5 it was agreed that they could join that Group making it the only one with seven clubs. This brought the total membership of the Society to 31 clubs.
Gordon Emerton-Court served as President until 1998 when he was succeeded by Geoffrey Kershaw who had played a vital part in the development of the Society as Treasurer for the last ten years.
John Cantle decided to retire in 2000 having been Honorary Secretary for five years and he was succeeded by Tim Knights of Wrotham Heath.
Geoffrey Kershaw’s statutory period of office came to an end in 2001 and Jim Butler was unanimously chosen to succeed him as President. Jim had served the Society as Group Organiser and Honorary Secretary over a period covering most of the life of the Society.
Although over 20 clubs had applied to join the Society over the years they could not be admitted as it had not been possible to form new Groups of six clubs in any one area. Not unsurprisingly, the clubs who had been put ‘on hold’ grew tired of waiting and filled their programmes of veterans matches with friendly matches or locally arranged leagues. Another feature over this period was the fact that many new golf courses were opened across the County, not one of which was a private members club. The preference of the Society, as expressed in the Rules, for private clubs as members, may have contributed to the new clubs beng reluctant to apply for membership of the Society.
In 2000, Tim Knights decided to approach the clubs which had previously been unable to join the Society, and many of the newer clubs to ascertain the degree in interest in joining the Society and forming new Groups which would broaden the Leagues and bring in new blood.. The response was mixed but in 2001 a new Group 6 was formed with Broome Park, Canterbury, Etchinghill and Boughton and in the following year the Group was completed with the addition of Whitstable & Seasalter and Chestfield.
To this time the office of President had been a way of showing appreciation for an individual’s service to the Society and had no executive position. In 2002 Tim Knights pointed out that in the event of any disagreement between the officers of the Society there was no overriding authority who could arbitrate. The Committee agreed and the Rules were modified to make the President an executive member of the Committee rather than simply a figurehead.
In an attempt to widen the knowledge of the Society’s activities, in 2001 Tim Knights replaced the annual Newsletter with a one page ‘ Bulletin’ in large print that could be read very easily. The Bulletins are issued four or five time a year and posted on the Veteran’s notice board in each club. It is clear that this “highlight” approach has created more interest in the Society amongst the veterans.
Jim Clarkson stood down as Hon.Treasurer in 2001 and was replaced by the present incumbent, David Mime of Wrotham Heath.
For some time prizes for the Club Championship had been suitably engraved glass tankards. Bearing in mind the stronger financial situation of the Society, the decision was made in 2002 to revert to silver tankards for the winners and glass tankards for the runners-up.
In the course of approaching clubs to assess their interest in joining the Society it became apparent that several were interested but did not at this time have enough veteran members to be certain of being able to field a full team for all the League matches. Others were interested in the Society as a fundamental element of veterans golf in the County and wanted to be involved but not in League matches. Determined not to lose contact with interested clubs Tim Knights proposed that a new form of membership be established to be called Affiliate membership. Affiliate members would be full members of the Society in every way except that they did not compete in the League although they could nominate a representative to play in the Singles championship. The Affiliates would have priority over outside clubs when new League Groups were formed. In recognition of their not playing in the League they would pay only a nominal annual fee of~10. The advantage to the Society of this arrangement would be that the Affiliates would be involved in its affairs and have the opportunity of joining the League if they wanted to at some later date. In addition, by establishing clubs as Affiliates it became possible to see geographically where interested clubs were located and thus indicate where new Groups might be proposed.
The new membership was greeted with some enthusiasm and enabled Group 7 to be formed mainly from Affiliates and enter the League in 2003. The new League members were Edenbridge, Fawkham Valley, Nizels, Redlibbets, Shortlands and The Ridge.
This latter Group illustrates the increasing difficulty of forming Groups in close geographical proximity but better road communication makes travel within the County easier than in past years and the clubs involved are prepared to accept this in order to play in the League.
With the formation of the new Groups and the remaining five Affiliates, the membership of the Society represented more than half of the total clubs affiliated with the Kent County Golf Union. Of the remaining clubs in the KCGU, many do not have any significant numbers of veterans, others are fully committed with their own match programmes and many of the ‘commercial’ clubs will not entertain the basic requirement of the Society that green fees must be waived for League matches. In these circumstances it would appear that whilst a Group 8 may be formed in the foreseeable future, it is difficult to envisage the formation of more Groups except in the event that many more new clubs are established in the County.
Tim Knights relinquished the office of Hon. Secretary early in 2004 as he and his wife had decided to emigrate to Australia to join their sons. Cohn Houghton of Canterbury was elected to succeed him.
Jim Butler served his statutory period of office and retired early in 2004 at the end of the 25th.
year of the Society. He was succeeded by Neil Rodewald who has served many years a Group 2 Organiser and has been a constant source of help at the Championships.
It is a happy coincidence that in 2003, the 25 Year of the Society’s existence, the Founders Cup should have been won by Eltham Warren for the first time. Thus the Society, which was started by Winston Dearman of Eltham Warren has in its 25 years gone full circle. In the same vein, the flurry of activity which brought the original 27 clubs together to form the Society has occurred again as the 25th Anniversary approached. In the three years of Jim Butler’s Presidency, he and Tim Knights had been the driving forces behind the formation of the first new League Groups since 1978, the establishment of Affiliate membership and an increase of over fifty percent in membership. From its early beginnings, the Society had grown to represent around 2,500 veteran golfers in the County.
The culmination of the 25”~ Anniversary was celebrated with a Dinner at Wildernesse golf
club at which 168 members gathered together for a convivial evening and to be wonderfully entertained by the television golf commentator Alex Hay. This was the first time the membership of the Society as a whole had gathered together. Perhaps many of those present, on looking around at the gathering, became aware for the first time of the strength of the organisation which has grown over the last 25 years.
At the conclusion of his speech at the 25th Anniversary dinner, Jim Butler said “When my period of office ends in a few weeks time, I will be stepping down from a Society which as gone from strength to strength and with the continued support of the members, will I know continue to prosper in the coming years” - Would anyone doubt it!
In 2006:
A new Group 8 was formed with Boughton transferring from Group 6. The full group consists of Boughton, Deangate Ridge, Littlestone Warren, St. Augustine's, Westgate & Birchington and Walmer & Kingsdown.
2012:
Tudor Park joined Group 6 but unfortunately Hythe Imperial left Group 5 but wished to remain as an Affiliate member. Fawkham Valley ceased to be an Affiliate member.
After 34 years, the General Committee agreed to change the name of the Society to 'Kent Golf Veterans League' abbreviated to K.G.V.L.
The Group Winners Championship would now consist of 5 pairs per winning club instead of 4 pairs.
Commercial sponsorship was obtained from the electric golf trolley manufactures GO KART who donated prizes in addition to the K.G.V.L. prizes for the Singles Championship & Group Winners Championship.
2013:
Hythe Imperial rejoined Group 5.
2014:
Kings Hill joined Group 4 and Chestfield now have two teams in the league - one in Group 6 and another team known as Shrub Hill [Chestfield] have joined Group 8.
Membership currently consist of 55 clubs of which only 5 are Affiliate members. Six groups consist of 6 clubs each & the remaining 2 groups consist of 7 clubs each.
GO KART ceased sponsorship of the K.G.V.L.
The Ridge at the start of the season decided to withdraw from Group 6 but it is expected that they will re-join in 2015.
Golfstream has become the sole sponsor of the K.G.V.L.
2015:
Broke Hill joined Group 7 and the group now consists of 7 clubs. KGVL membership consists of 56 clubs of which only 5 are Affiliate members. Five groups consist of 6 clubs each and the remaining three groups consist of 7 clubs each. Lydd left Group 5 part-way through the league season
2016:
The Ridge re-joined and were placed in Group 5 now bringing their numbers up to 6 teams. Hemsted Forest could not be found an appropriate Group in 2015 and elected to join as an Affiliate member in 2016.
KGVL membership currently consists of 57 clubs 6 of which are Affiliate members. Five groups consist of 6 clubs each and the remaining three groups consist of 7 clubs each.
2017:
To celebrate the 40th. year of the KGVL a Pairs Championship was initiated and Derek Richford the MD of our sponsors Golfstream donated a crystal glass trophy. The Championship to be played for annually by a pairing from each club was known as 'The Golfstream Challenge Trophy'. The inaugural winners were Ian Slatter & Fred Potter of Tenterden Golf Club and the inaugural hosting club was Boughton Golf Club.
2019:
The Wildernesse Club resigned from the KGVL.
A project to consider restructuring the KGVL commencing in 2020 by relegation and promotion was carried out. Initially responses from a survey of all of the groups received positive comments. However, in a final vote it was agreed not to continue at the time.
Two groups however still expressed an interest and are to consider trialling P & R between these two groups.
2020:
North Foreland after only one year in the KGVL resigned from the league indicating pressure on tee times at the club for the reason.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic no league matches or Championships were played.
The Darenth were invited to join Group 7 and Stonelees invited to join Group 8, however due to Covid-19 they could not commence until the 2021 season.
2021:
Since the beginning of the KGVL [initially known as the Society of Kent Golf Veterans] all league matches and championship were on a no green fee basis and this was a requirement for any club patriating in the league.
However, due to pressure from a number golf course managers through their association the GCMA golf clubs were requiring payment for hosting a championship. Unfortunately this was a sign of the times in golf and the GOAM decided to make a donation [to be decided annually] to any club hosting a championship. This was not considered to be a green fee but simply a donation for hosting. The requirement for league matches and championships to be on a no-green fee basis still remains and is contained within the Constitution of the KGVL.
2022:
Birchwood Park who had been an affiliate club for 2 years were accepted into Group 1.
Unfortunately Knole Park and Rochester & Cobham resigned from the KGVL and along with Wildernesse who had resigned previously in 2019 have joined a so called 'Elite' inter-counties group. This group also consists of two other clubs from outside of Kent.
Any request from the 3 clubs mentioned above for re-entry back into the KGVL at any point in the future even as Affiliate Members will need to be a decision of the KGVL Group Organisers.
London Beech who had shown an interest to re-join the main league in 2022 have put this on-hold and will remain as Affiliate members.
Walmer & Kingsdown have decided not to re-join Group 8 in 2023 but will reconsider for 2024.
Kent Golf have agreed to continue supporting the annual KGVL Championships with provision of a Rules Official if available.
2023:
Upchurch River Valley to join Group 8 and will host the 2023 KGVL Pairs Championship.
Poult Wood to join Group 3 / 7 in the lower division.
Group 3 & Group 7 have combined and have joint Organisers. The combined Group have formed into an Upper & Lower Division to trial in 2023 Promotion & Relegation.
Currently the divisions consist of the following clubs.
Upper Division: Dartford, Hever Castle, Nizels, Weald of Kent, West Malling, Wtotham Heath
Lower Division: Lamberhurst, Poult Wood, Redlibbets, Shortlands, The Darenth, The Ridge
Faversham resigned.
2024:
Lydd G.C. joined Group 5
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© B.C.Sweetman 2012