The Wirral Open Championship was established following a very successful PRO-AM event held in 1985 to commemorate the club’s silver jubilee. This event was such a success that all the members of the club considered that we should have a similar event in our golf calendar.
Accordingly the first Wirral Open Championship was held in 1986 and we were delighted that it exceeded all our expectations. This was the first truly open event held on a municipal course and in that year we had 230 competitors from over forty club from as far as Sussex, Ireland and Yorkshire. Over the previous 35 years we have hosted the Championship the Wirral Borough Council have been most supportive and have given their permission to have the sole use of the course for most of the day and for that the members thank them most sincerely. The green staff have also worked diligently to ensure that for every championship the course is the best it can be.
St Johns Hospice St. Johns Hospice has been the club’s official charity for many years, indeed quite a few of our past members have benefited from the facilities and care given by the Hospice. We originally started to help with their fund raising efforts for the building programme but once that was completed the Hospice still requires £1m per year of voluntary donations to continue to operate.
The club has been able to raise over £33,000 during the Championship. The work they do in caring for the terminally ill patients and their relatives is without parallel and only a very special person can do this without becoming emotional wrecks. The nursing staff and doctors at the St Johns Hospice are, in out opinion, the personification of angels.
Sponsorship Without sponsorship it would be difficult to hold an event of this magnitude and still be able to raise money for the Hospice. For the first five years our main sponsor was Peter Finlay of Bebington Glass. B & M Waste Services was also our mian sponsor for a few years. However Barry Pilgrim of Birkenhead Building supplies has been our main sponsor for the last few years. Each hole also has a local sponsor with some offering prizes for two’s. nearest the pin and the longest drive.The club would like to thank all those persons and companies who have helped us throughout all the years of the championship. Your assistance is not forgotten and we sincerely hope it will continue. If you are considering becoming a sponsor if you wish your sponsorship can be a donated prize of the equivalent value.
Championship Format
The Championship is an individual stroke play event off your full handicap. Competitors must have a valid handicap certificate and must be able to prove they belong to the club they say they represent. All competitors must play of a maximum handicap of 18. Those with a higher handicap can compete but must play of an 18 handicap. A society handicap is not valid. All competitors must be over 18 years. Competitors will be in three ball groups representing different clubs. Over the years we have found that this grouping offers the best speed of play that even with 200 competitors the last groups will complete the course in almost four hours.
While the Wirral Open Champion will be the gross winner there are prizes for the six best scores in both gross and nett categories. There are two long drive prizes each limited to specific handicap categories. There are four nearest the pin prizes available to all with the exception of the 2nd hole which is limited to competitors with a handicap of 15-18 only. Captains and Secretaries of local municipal clubs and the Sponsor’s representatives are invited and as our guests there is a prize for the best score among the captains/secretaries and the sponsors. The presentation of prizes will be at approximately 8.30pm and it would be appreciated if all the winners could attend.