Founding of The Club
The origins of Sandiway Golf Club are founded in the old Mid-Cheshire Golf Club which was formed by Northwich golfers in 1902 with a course laid out in Winnington. The original course was, by all accounts, very short and of poor quality. A second nine hole course was laid out in about 1908 on land which is now the Moss Road/Cromwell Road area of Northwich and was a considerable improvement over the original course. The 1914/18 war caused a virtual cessation of golfing activities and after the was the Mid-Cheshire Golf Club was forced into liquidation because the land it occupied was required for road making and housing development.
Sandiway Golf Club was formed with the financial assistance of Brunner Mond & Co. and was incorporated on 20th October 1920 Under the Articles of Association Brunner Mond & Co. had the right to appoint the Club Secretary and a majority [five out of nine] of the Committee. At the time of the first Club committee meeting [18th November 1920] construction of the course had begun under the direction of Mr Edward [Ted] Ray. This had followed the agreement to lease approximately 115 acres of Lord Delamere's land lying to the south of the Chester Road at Sandiway.
Golf was being played on the new Sandiway course from the middle of 1921 although it was not until 1923 that it was considered ready for an official opening. The need for some sort of clubhouse was , by late 1921, very pressing and once again Brunner Mond & Co. provided assistance by giving to the Club a building known as Bachelors Hall. By the autumn of 1922 a number of Club competitions had started and correspondence with the R&A began the process of obtaining an official scratch score for the course.
The War Years
From the start of the war a large number of troops were stationed in the district, first British and later American. The golfers among these servicemen used the course whenever possible. However the 14th and 15th fairways were ploughed for food production so part of the course was temporarily lost. The course was maintained by three able bodied men, all over 70, supervised by the professional on a part-time basis.
One American golfing visitor carved his name on the trunk of one of the beech trees by 5th tee and this inscription can still be seen today. Another legacy of that period is the men's 4th tee. That was created during the war by bulldozing a 30 foot high horse-show shaped mound to be used as a rifle butts for American soldiers where they practiced their shooting skills prior to the invasion of Europe.
The Upheaval of the Fifties
The decision by the Ministry of Transport to complete the western portion of the Northwich bypass resulted in the loss of the 3rd hole and the abandonment of the 2nd and 4th holes. 49 acres of new land was acquired to the south of the course. This land no accommodates the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. A happy result of these enforced changes has been the legacy of the old 4th which is now retained as a very acceptable spare hole for occasional use.
Modern Times
During the 1960s and 70s Sandiway Golf Club enjoyed increasing membership and made improvements progressively to the course. An indication of the Club's standing in the golfing world came in 1967 when Sandiway was chosen as one of the two Clubs to host the qualifying competitions for the Open Championship - the finals being played at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. From that time on Sandiway has been the venue of both amateur and professional national competitions as well as innumerable County competitions and Inter-county matches. Indeed, Cheshire County Golf Executive has used Sandiway clubhouse as its unofficial headquarters for many years.
During this period the clubhouse has been extended and many improvements to facilities have been undertaken; a professional's shop has been constructed; large investments in machinery and equipment to maintain the course have been made; and not least, leases have been purchased so that that club now owns the freehold of its assets.
The latest improvements are the installation of a new water sprinkler system across the course and replacement of outdated sewerage facilities.
Centenary
1920-2020 Happy 100th birthday Sandiway! The Centenary celebrations began on January 4th, with a day of golf and an opening ceremony during the annual Professional's Day. Over 200 members attended the golf and afternoon ceremony when the Centenary flag was raised and the Centenary sandstone was unveiled.
One hundred years after its inauguration the club is regarded as one of the best courses in Cheshire.
