Wimbledon Common Golf Club was originally the The Wimbledon Town Golf Club, founded at a meeting held at the Wimbledon Hill Hotel (now the Dog and Fox) on February 20^th 1908.  The meeting was chaired by Mr H V Ely, (the Elys Department store in Wimbledon was - and remains - one of  the town's premier shops)  and  Mr G J S Booth was elected Captain. The MP for Wimbledon, Mr Henry Chaplin, was invited to be President and accepted this appointment. Membership was limited to 100 residents of Wimbledon and the entrance fee and annual subscription was one guinea each. By 1910 the membership limitation had risen to 250 residents of "Wimbledon and adjacent districts".

Why was the Club Founded?

The motivation for starting the Club is not recorded, but its formation was almost simultaneous with the move of Royal Wimbledon GC from the Common to its present course. RWGC also gave great assistance in the formation of the Club. One item required was permission from the Conservators to play on the Common, alongside the London Scottish Golf Club.  Permission was granted in August 1908.

One of the club's founders was Mr H G Dormer who owned various properties around the Common. One of these, No 11 West Place became the clubhouse but was superseded by the "Hermitage" in West Place in October 1908. The local newspaper reported "The Wimbledon Town Golf Club will be opening their new Club House today. The Mayor has consented to play a match with the Captain of the Club - Mr G G S Booth - in the afternoon.  At the club supper which will be afterwards be held at the Wimbledon Hill Hotel, the Mayor will take the chair. The members are to follow the usual custom and sup in red coats."

Three Times a Week

At that time, playing was permitted by the Conservators only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Another rule was that each player must employ a caddy, a practice which continued into the 1920's, apparently ceasing when the supply of caddies ran low. The Club continued to grow and prosper and in October 1909 maximum membership was increased to 150, and in 1910 this number was increased to 250 members, a figure which remained until the late 1990's.  In April 1912 the Club moved into part of what is now our clubhouse. The opening of the new clubhouse was celebrated by a match between four local professionals. They were Bernard Sayers (Royal Wimbledon), Rowland Jones (Wimbledon Park), Alex Herd (Coombe Hill), and Tom Ball (Raynes Park).

The Great War

The club's progress was substantially interrupted by World War One.  Much of the Common was taken over by the War Office, but two temporary nine hole courses were laid out. The original course was not returned to the clubs until 1922 and tedious negotiations with the War Office for compensation went on well into the 1920's.

Wimbledon Town becomes Wimbledon Common Golf Club

In 1919 the South London Golf Club amalgamated with WCGC. Before 1914 this club had played on a number of commons in South London but was unable to recover after the war.  Our club's name became "Wimbledon Common and South London GC" - a rather unwieldy title, which was shortened to "Wimbledon Common Golf Club" in 1928.

During the 1930's, despite adverse economic conditions, the Club prospered, even to the extent of reducing the annual subscription in 1932. During this period the freehold of our premises was acquired.

The Second World War

The 1939-45 war was a huge setback for the club, much more significant than the Great War. Many members left for military service and the Common was taken over by the military. The course was largely unplayable. Our financial situation deteriorated and in 1942 members lent the Club funds to pay off a bank loan. After the end of the war, efforts immediately began to restart the Club and the course. The pre-war greenkeeper, Don Kernick, was rehired and repairs of wartime damage were slowly made to the course. As in the case of the previous war, the government was notoriously slow in granting reparations and the financial situation was threadbare in those austerity years. Club members were active in maintaining and improving the clubhouse facilities.

Post-War Recovery

After the austerity period of the late 1940's, the Club gradually recovered. Membership was generally full and the club finances were solid if not brilliant. The greenkeepers' hut and trolley shed were moved to the back of the building thereby improving the outside appearance. In 1972, the club rules were revised and management streamlined by reducing the Management Committee from fifteen members serving five year terms to five members elected for three year periods. In 1976 improvements were made to the clubhouse, most notably to the bar area. Maximum possible drinking space has always been one of the cornerstones of the Club, and this tradition continues and is very unlikely to disappear!

The Past 25 Years

Over the last 25 years the Club has undergone significant change made necessary by increased competition for members from both other clubs and "pay and play" facilities. A serious dip in membership in the early 2000's was dealt with by the reduction of the joining fee to a nominal amount, and in recent years the Club has been generally successful in keeping playing membership at around 300 members, though we are keen to attract more;  there is a 350 limit imposed by the Conservators. Probably the most fundamental change in membership was the admission of ladies as members in April 2005. The Ladies Section got off to a strong start in a very short period of time.

Centenary Year

In 2008 we celebrated our Centenary with a week of special events. We played an Antiquarian Match, using hickory-shafted clubs against The British Golf Collectors' Society, The Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, and The "Royal Scots" (A joint team from our two nearest neighbours, the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club and London Scottish Golf club).  We also played a special challenge match against eight other clubs who shared centenary anniversaries with ourselves. (We won both events!)   The former World Trick-Shot Champion, Paul Barrington, gave a spectacular exhibition at an Open day for families and friends, and our week culminated in the club's first-ever Pro-Am, which was jointly won by professional  Michael Vandenberg and Jamie Spence with three-under-par 65s.  The professionals were most complimentary about the course, describing it as "a real challenge"!  And so it was - no other professional broke par.

With the credit crunch upon us, the club, like so many of its neighbours, is faced with huge challenges ahead.  But we are confident that with careful and enlightened management we can look forward to another hundred years playing golf on Wimbledon Common.