Thomson Reuters Golf Society
The Society, based in London, is a continuation of the Reuters Golf Society founded more than 40 years ago. Membership is open to men and women and members’ immediate family.
The Society was established in the early 1970s, in its first incarnation as the Reuters Golf Society. At the time there was a host of keen golfers among the journalists and teleprinter operators then working in Fleet Street. There were six or seven who could turn in the occasional score in the 70s; some of them played together now and then but the outings together were infrequent. Then, in 1973, one visionary saw the way ahead and acted to overcome the difficulties posed by shift work and the widely scattered locations at which the company’s golfers lived.
If the precise date of the Society’s birth is unknown, there is no doubt about the driving force behind its formation. This was the late John Marks, a World Desk journalist and a member of the Finchley Club. As the prime mover in getting the Society organised, John was enthusiastically supported by fellow journalists Dave Nicholl and Harry Kerly, later a member at Old Fold Manor, Commonwealth correspondent Seaghan Maynes, at that time a prominent member of Malden, and several of the operators, notably Tommy Brewster and Bill Pook. Nevertheless, for the first two or three years Marks combined the roles of captain, secretary and treasurer doing all the work while everybody else had a good time.
The first meetings were held on a monthly basis at Malden and Finchley and the Society grew slowly as additional members joined gradually from the technical departments, Accounts, and other areas. At the same time, retirees were encouraged to participate and several wives were active competitors. New venues were sought to try to even up the horrors of long-distance travel. Chief among these was Home Park, well situated on the Thames near Kingston, and Hendon, Mill Hill, and Old Fold north of the river. To the south, there were Shirley Park; Cherry Lodge near Biggin Hill (with planes soaring overhead); Wimbledon Common (members had to wear red to play there, since it was common land); Cuddington where Dave Mathew was a member; and later Gravesend, home club of Geoff Dunk, at that time manager of the pension fund.
With membership still growing, and its viability assured, the Society’s senior members decided to offer the honorary presidency to Gerald Long, the company’s managing director. Long, a non-golfer, readily agreed when assured that he did not have to “play himself in”, as at the Royal and Ancient, or do anything else. It took only a short while after this to persuade the managing director to put up a trophy for annual competition. Mathew, who was then captain, apparently sensed that Long’s time in the company would not last beyond the early 1980s and Mathew stipulated that this annual prize should be known as the President’s Trophy. This made it easier for future chief executives to embrace the society. In addition to the President’s Trophy, the Society now hosts several competitions each season in addition to the individual events, there is a well stocked trophy cabinet on view in the 5th floor atrium area of the South Colonnade building at Canary Wharf.
Reuters and then Thomson Reuters continued to support the Golf Society, enabling the ongoing tradition of an egalitarian and ever expanding membership. This ended in 2013 when the company withdrew its sponsorship. Membership of the Society offers a rare opportunity for current employees from a diverse variety of job roles and departments, to meet socially. It also provides an opportunity for retired colleagues to meet and keep in contact with current employees.
COMPETITIONS
- David Ure Trophy
- President’s Trophy
- Harry Kerly Goblets
- Thomson Reuters Challenge Trophy
- Committee Trophy
- Terry & Gerry Cup
- Summer Trophy
- Winter Trophy.
CONTACT golf.society@trgsociety.com