Club History
Temple Golf Club was founded in 1909 by Captain G MacDonald of The Guards Club in Maidenhead along with a number of other officers and local gentry. Land was leased from the estates of Bisham Abbey and Temple Park and Willie Park Jr. was commissioned to design and build the course. The Club was "quietly" opened for play on 4th May 1910.
Willie Park Jr.
Built on land once owned by The Knights Templar, The Temple Links, as the course was first known, was designed in 1909 by Willie Park Jr. In 1901 he had designed two nearby courses, Sunningdale and Huntercombe, and was the first to go into print on golf course design.
Willie Park Jr. was one of the top professional golfers of his era, winning The Open Championship twice. He built a significant career as one of the world's best golf course architects, with a world-wide business.
Captain G MacDonald (late Grenadier Guards) realised the potential in 'this 140 acres of the well known and beautiful Temple Park, situated on the right bank of the Thames...' and formed a Company to run the new golf club.
The Oppenheimer Family
In 1912 Louis Oppenheimer was invited to serve on the Board so starting the long and continuing association between the Oppenheimer family and Temple Golf Club.
Raymond Oppenheimer joined Temple as a junior towards the end of the Great War. By the age of 16 his handicap was down to scratch.
He played for England before and after the second world war and captained the team in 1947, 48, 50 and 51 during which year he also captained the Walker Cup team. During this period, Walker Cup teams held training weekends at Temple on more than one occasion.
Raymond Oppenheimer was one of those responsible for launching the Golf Foundation in 1952. The Golf Foundation is a charity committed to providing children and young people the opportunity to experience golf and experience the benefits it has to offer. He was elected President of Temple in 1956 and served in that capacity until his death in 1984. During his lifetime, Raymond Oppenheimer was friends with many of the game's greatest players including Sam Snead, Peter Thompson, Bobby Locke, Roger and Joyce Wethered, Bobby Jones and Molly Gourlay and many of them played at Temple. Molly Gourlay won the Temple Ladies Open in 1922 and went on to represent Great Britain in many international matches including the first Curtis Cup match, played at Wentworth in 1932.
Sir Henry Cotton MBE 1907-1987
Raymond Oppenheimer also took a close interest in the career of Henry Cotton who was appointed as Professional at Temple in 1954.
The towering figure of Henry Cotton, or Sir Henry as he became a few days after his death on 22nd December 1987, was the Master of British Golf for five decades.
He was Open Champion three times, a journalist writing all his own copy, author of many books, keen photographer, course architect and designer and a great teacher and supporter of young golfers.
