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Club History

Rotherham Golf Club is rich in history, some wonderful folklore, and for centuries its grounds at Thrybergh Park was home to some of the county’s most noble families.

Thrybergh - which is mentioned in the Domesday Book - was given to William de Percy, a chief aid to William the Conqueror and founder of the great Percy family, after the Conquest in 1066.

The estate passed on to the Normanvilles around 1200 and remained with them until 1316 when Sir Adam Reresby became Lord of Thrybergh. There then followed an unbroken succession of sixteen generations of Reresbys over the next 400 years.

Folklore has it that Reresbys took part in the battle of the Spanish Armada in 1588, a victory which the then Lord of the Manor is reputed to have commemorated by planting a large grove of chestnut trees on the estate - two of which are still standing and can be seen by the 18th tee.

One story, which has never been verified, concerns Sir William Reresby, who it is said, staked part of the estate in a cock fight and lost. True or otherwise, his family’s association with the estate came to an end.

In 1811 the then owners of Thrybergh, the Fullerton family, sold a large amount of timber from the estate in order to raise money to build a magnificent neo gothic residence which is now our imposing clubhouse.

Much of the history and romance of Thrybergh Park is told by its official coat of arms.

The crest depicts a turreted tower, a red cockerel and a golden galleon.

The tower represents our 200 year old neo-gothic cubhouse, the cockerel refers to the infamous cock fight while the galleon is a reference to the estate’s war efforts as a source of sturdy timber used to replenish the country’s shipping fleet following the Spanish Armada.

The golf club was formed in 1903 and there are few clubs in the UK that can claim such a glorious location and magnificent building for a clubhouse.

Originally a nine-hole course laid out by Sandy Herd, in 1906 it was increased to 18 holes and was subsequently modified by the renowned Scottish golf club architect, James Braid and today we are proud to have an exceptionally well laid out design, where golf is played over parkland of great beauty.