Page 10 - Alabama Golf Association

14
The Early Days of the
Alabama Golf Association
and the
Start of the State Amateur
In the beginning . . .
During my initial research and according to Alabama Golf Association documentation, I had determined the AGA began life on September 8, 1915, with their initial meeting at what was then called the Beauvoir Country Club (it would become Montgomery Country Club) in Montgomery. However, this proved to be only partially true as a newspaper account in the Montgomery Advertiser dated September 5, 1915, which was about the first State Amateur Championship to be played in Montgomery later that week, talked of the Alabama Golf Association being organized in July in Birmingham.
Hence my research led me to the archives of the Birmingham News, where I unearthed a story in the paper dated July 18,
The legendary Bobby Jones would have a lot of success in the state, including winning the Roebuck Springs Automobile and Golf Club invitation tournament in 1915.
(1915–19)
1915, that the AGA was indeed organized
on July 22, 1915, at the wonderfully named Roebuck Springs Automobile and Golf Club. This was in conjunction with Roebuck’s second annual invitation tournament and Thursday, July 22 marked the first round of the championship. That very evening the AGA came to life under the eye of John M. “Jock” Inglis, head of the Greens Committee at Montgomery Country Club.
Fast forward to the evening of September 5, after the first round of the first Alabama Championship Tournament (the precursor of the State Amateur), and George Stuart of Montgomery was installed president of the Alabama Golf Association and Inglis was named secretary and treasurer.
The Alabama Golf Association was on its way.