Public Schools' Golfing Society
75th Anniversary of the Halford Hewitt Cup

Anyone who has ever played in The Halford Hewitt will have read "A festival of foursomes" written by Peter Ryde, who followed in illustrious footsteps in writing for many years about golf in The Times.

For those who have played in The Halford Hewitt or who have followed the fortunes and misfortunes of players and schools over the years, it is hoped that this report on the 1999 Halford Hewitt will enable them to do so wherever they are in the world. For those who know nothing of The Halford Hewitt, it is hoped that these pages will give some flavour of one of the best known and most loved amateur golf tournaments in this part of the world.

Gerald Micklem wrote, in his foreword to A festival of foursomes,

"Everyone who has ever been part of The Halford Hewitt cherishes his own memories. It has a rich history of triumphs and disaster.

The Halford Hewitt is really a series of little tournaments within a big one. Many schools set out with limited objectives: getting through the first round satisfies the ambitions of some, and winning two matches at Sandwich in order to play at Deal is the immediate target of others. With the greatest respect to Royal St. George's, some traditionalists have a feeling of having missed something in the years they do not play at Deal.

The Draw plays a part in the achievement of these ambitions: a meeting in the first round between two of the most unsuccessful schools is fought as passionately as a final. The almost sacrilegious suggestion has sometimes been made that the draw should be seeded; but this would destroy the spirit of the tournament. Clashes of gladiators in the first round are as welcome as the possibility that a school with a modest reputation might, with a good draw and a bit of luck, reach the last eight or the semi-finals.

Some of us wondered whether The Halford Hewitt would survive the last war: whether the young players would have the time and money to take part, because without them the tournament would be nothing. The doubters were proved totally wrong and the event goes from strength to strength as the older generation helps the younger in so many ways. May the festival continue to flourish and provide a rich feast of incident in the future as it has done in the past." - Gerald Micklem 1984

Since then the tournament has continued to flourish with a waiting list of schools who live in the hope that one day one of the existing 64 schools will decide to call it a day and let them in.

Colin Callander - Editor of Golf Monthly and regular member of the Fettes' Team - read his story

Contact Information for Old School Societies Honary Secretaries.

Past Winners of the Halford Hewitt Cup