The golf club was formed in 1889 as a six-hole course in what was described as a hollow between Mutters Moor and Bulverton Hill, before being increased to nine holes a year later, writes Terry Carter.

The golf club was formed in 1889 as a six-hole course in what was described as a hollow between Mutters Moor and Bulverton Hill, before being increased to nine holes a year later, writes Terry Carter. In 1905 ex-Open Champion JH Taylor finally extended the course to 18 holes, and each year his putter is the prize coveted by two teams of Sidmouth golfers representing East Devon and The Rest Of The World. The match last Saturday featured 40 golfers who appeared to have stretched their loyalties beyond the dubious limits of birth or parentage. This annual match was the latest excuse for a good natured better ball matchplay format on the course, and the banter, if not the golf, was well up to the usual standard. First off were Paddy Tallon and Neil Anthony for East Devon against internationals Peter Emery and George Carr, although we were unsure why a Paddy could be described as a local man. This match finished all square, but the next also had us baffled when another Paddy played for East Devon. Paddy Hutchings and Julie Lye overcame Penny Lyne and Pat Bosshardt by 2 up, while Bob Welsman and his regular partner Alec Salway made it 2 points by beating Scouse Griffiths and Tyke Taylor by 3 and 1. Liz Chance and Mavis Vanstone beat Sheila Tallon and Yvonne Anning 4 and 2 to pull one point back for the ROTW, leaving Donald Cooper and George West to restore the margin when they beat Dieter Ritz and Ray Gunston on the last. Terry Jones and Colin Macklin pulled a point back again for the ROTW by beating John Lewis and Pop Banfield 6 and 5, but this was lost again when Maria Clapp and Angela Coles beat Jane Painter and Judy Ritz 4 and 2. Only three matches remained to overturn East Devon's two point advantage, and our prospects didn't look good when Rob Winter and I got to the turn four down against locals Mervyn Anthony and Richard Powell...thanks mainly to Mervyn playing fine golf and me mostly going awol. However, we bucked up on the way back, reducing the deficit to one point by the 15th, winning the next two and halving the last for a shock win. Behind us were our Mike and Janet Humberstone playing Neil Faulkner and Sheila Thomson, and the East Asian contingent were 2 up with only three holes to play. This point was looking in the bag and would have squared the match, but Mike has some problems with the language, and understood he had missed his short putt to halve the hole instead of to win it. He picked the ball up in error, and lost the hole plus the next two to concede on the last. He will have to explain himself to Janet in due course.East Devon had an unassailable two point lead with only one match to go and, although Philip Long and Peter Harrington beat David Hoare and Keith Newton 4 and 2, the game went to East Devon. In a boisterous clubhouse, international star Peter Emery congratulated the team he described as the natives through gritted teeth, but the JH Taylor putter is with them for another year.