What's In A Name?

Ever stumbled across an unusual-sounding golf club and wondered how it got its name? Jeremy Ellwood delves into some of UK golf’s less obvious christenings

- Jeremy Ellwood

Globally, plenty of golf club names are a little bit different, especially in America, but what about over here where we tend to be much more conventional? Yes, the vast majority do take the name of their town, county or area, but thankfully for the purposes of this article, not all, including my first club.

I was born and bred in the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, and you would think the town’s premier club would adopt that grand-sounding name. But it didn’t, or perhaps couldn’t, as Tunbridge Wells Golf Club already existed on the other side of town. Instead, the younger club, founded in 1914, opted for Nevill Golf Club, derived from the family name of the Marquess of Abergavenny, who leased part of his Eridge Estate land to the club for the course.