Many changes have been made to county boundaries since the early days with the formation of unitary authorities but the D.G.U. have along with their neighbours Flintshire resisted changes and still adhere to the originally defined areas.
The preliminary meeting to set up the Denbighshire Golfing Union was held on 22nd April 1952, where Mr. L. Peckover Burrill was invited to become the first President. It was also agreed that Dr. A. M. Millar became Chairman. Please note that the office of Captain was not considered at that time.
The First Council Meeting was then convened on 27th May 1952, and the 1st A.G.M. took place at the Plough Hotel, St Asaph on 30th April 1953 when the above officers were re-elected.
The original member clubs of the Union were; Abergele & Pensarn, Colwyn Bay, Denbigh, Llangollen, Rhos-on-Sea, Pwllglas-Eyarth and Wrexham, four of which were 9-Hole clubs at the time.
Since then, there have been changes to names and the number of holes at some of the clubs, Abergele & Pensarn moved to their present course in 1969 and became an 18 hole course and are referred to as Abergele, Denbigh became 18 holes in 1986, and Pwllglas -Eyarth are now known as Ruthin-Pwllglas. The Colwyn Bay Club ceased to exist in the 1950's and a club established at the present Old Colwyn course.
At the 1954 A.G.M. the president was again re-elected and Mr. Frank Keefe took the office of Chairman. However there was a team captain elected for each year and Mr. E. R. Gorst held that position for the first few years. During the1954-55 season there was a change of emphasis on the position of Chairman and during that year, the Chairman- Mr. F. Keefe became the Captain, although there is no record in the minutes of such a change. Records in the minutes of the 1955 A.G.M. is the election of County Captain-Mr. F. Parry and Mr. F. Keefe is referred to as the retiring Captain and not Chairman.
1956 - Captain-Mr. W. F. Kelly but also Mr. F. Parry elected as Chairman (Confusing) F. Parry signs the next minutes.
1957 - Captain-Dr. D. G. Roberts (Llangollen) who now also chairs the meetings.
1958 - Dr. David Roberts re-elected
1959 - Captain-Lt. Col. Douglas Williams (Wrexham)
1960 - Captain-Mr. Gwilym Humphreys (Denbigh)
Although elected Captain at the A.G.M. in November, the Captain's active year of office was the following year and therefore I have recorded the list of Past Captains with the year of active captaincy. It was then decided to adopt a rota for the Clubs to nominate a Vice-Captain. The order changed when Rhos-on-Sea failed to nominate a Captain in 1980 and again joined the rota in 1991.
Mr. L. Peckover-Burrill O.B.E. served the Union with loyalty and distinction as President until November 1974 during which time he also held office as Chairman of the Welsh Golfing Union. On his retirement as D.G.U. President, he was immediately honoured by being made a Patron of the D.G.U.
His successor was Dr. David Roberts who was President until retiring in November 1988. It was then decided to elect a President for a term of 3 years.
Mr. T. E. Clutton (Wrexham) was President until November 1992 to follow by Mr. I. G. Roberts (Denbigh). Once again, changes were made and the office of President is now reduced to a period of 2 years. Candidates for the office of President are nominated for the office by the Clubs, and the selection made by the executive council.
During the 1990's, we saw the growth of other clubs in the county and these in turn have joined the D.G.U., all serving a period of the three years as associate members, before assuming full membership.
1993 Bryn Morfydd (May)
1993 Chirk (September)
1994 Plassey (July) club ceased 1995
1994 Clays Farm (July) now known as Clays Golf Club
1996 Plassey Club reformed & reinstated
1998 Pen y Cae (March) club dissolved in 2000
1998 Moss Valley (November)Club but dissolved Dec. 2006
2005 Plassey now renamed as Plassey-Oaks
2007 Moss Valley reformed & reinstated 2007 (December)
2008 Bryn Morfydd (December) club ceased
2012 Chirk (October) Club ceased
The Union is primarily to promote golf within its boundaries and successfully does this with a full and varied programme of fixtures and activities. These include three divisions of inter-club leagues, along with seasonal meeting and championships. A great deal of energy and resources are devoted to the juniors with coaching, competitions and inter county matches. The three age groups have done exceptionally well over the last few years claiming all North Wales titles on several occasions and the challenge each year is to win the North Wales League and also perform well in the Welsh Inter Counties
Regular bimonthly council meeting have been held at the different locations. Denbigh Golf Club has in the main acted as our headquarters for all meetings. The Annual Dinner Dance is held in October at various venues. At the A.G.M. held on the first Wednesday in December, officers are elected and include- The President, The Captain, Secretary, Treasurer, Junior/Youth Manager, County Team Manager and Competition Secretary. Each of the 11 clubs have 2 voting representatives of which the Club Vice Captain is the main representative.
Several Clubs have celebrated their Centenary and are recorded below in chronological order:-
1999 - Rhos-on-Sea
2005 - Ruthin-Pwllglas
2006 - Wrexham
2007 - Old Colwyn
2008 - Denbigh
2008 - Vale of Llangollen
2010 - Abergele
A number of past officials have been honoured by the Union in recognition of their industry, commitment and enthusiasm to the Denbighshire Golfing Union and acknowledged by the D.G.U. as Hon. Life Vice Presidents. The Union is pleased to record the names of those duly honoured;
L. Peckover-Burrill O.B.E. (Ruthin-Pwllglas), Dr. David Roberts (VLGC), J. Brown (Wrexham), T. E. Clutton (Wrexham), G. G. Lewis (Ruthin-Pwllglas), J. Ll. Jones (Abergele), Jim Johnson (Wrexham)
Compiled from the D.G.U. County Records. A more detailed account was printed in the Golden Jubilee Booklet.
by E G Howells (Hon. Secretary. 1987 - 2007).
