In 1960 Miss Dorothy Bacon of Stoneham read in Golf Illustrated that Kent had formed a Society of Lady Captains. After discussing this with friends they decided to send a survey to Hampshire Clubs and from the interest shown, Miss Bacon, Miss Diamond, Lady Brickwood and Mrs Payne held a preliminary meeting and formed themselves into a committee. By the first AGM held on 12th February 1962 at the Potters Heron Hotel there were 113 members who had paid 10 shillings (50p) to join and a 7s 6d (37.5p) subscription. The venue remained for the annual meeting until 1998 when it was moved to Waterlooville Golf Club to accommodate the increased number of members wishing to attend the lunch.
At the 1963 AGM it was agreed that a Captain be appointed to challenge other county past captains’ associations. In 1964 it was agreed that the committee should design a badge and a silver-plated version at 11s 6d (57.5p) was purchased. By 1969 there were 228 members.
After the death of Millie Diamond in 1978 two engraved salvers were obtained for a gross prize presented with a voucher. Until then all prizes were for handicap, initially for 1st to 4th and a consolation (booby prize), the prizes were later increased to 6th place. An “extra class” was introduced in 1980 for combined handicaps exceeding 50 to give long handicappers a chance of winning a prize, this in turn lead to the introduction of three divisions blue, green and red at meetings. At the 25th AGM in 1985 Miss Bacon retired as the Secretary having seen the Society grow to 359 full members. Cigarette boxes were presented in 1985 for the overall handicap winners and ash trays for runners-up in 1986.
Membership continued to grow rapidly partly due to the large number of new clubs in the County and by 1990 it had reached 523. This level of membership continued until 2010 when membership dropped to 466 plus 32 life members. As numbers began to steadily reduce the Spring and Autumn foursomes meetings were changed to greensomes, a format members prefer. Since 2000 our membership has dropped from 400 to 300 in 2016 and, despite regular recruitment drives it was 250 in 2024.
In 2011 our oldest member of 101 years was Elenor (Sandy) Sellors; she was one of the original members and played in the first meeting at Liphook on 26th March 1962. Sandy was Captain of the Society between 1967 & 69 having been Lady Captain at North Hants in 1951 through to 1957 during which time she also played for the County. We were extremely pleased when Sandy joined us for our Jubilee meeting at North Hants on 18th June 2012. Sadly, Sandy died in 2013. Co-incidentally the same year the AGM resolved to change the name of the Society to the Association of Hampshire Lady Captains to reflect our status as past captains who could play golf!
In 1986 a suggestion was made to purchase bottle green jumpers embroidered with the Society logo, after several debates it was agreed to place an initial order in October 1992. In March 1993 it was agreed to add a white polo shirt and ask that match players wear these with navy slacks or skirts. As the matches are played in the summer a green sleeveless jumper was added and then a white cable version, unfortunately both are now unobtainable.
On many occasions since 1960 the issue of having to pay green fees rather than receiving the courtesy of the course had been discussed. In 2010 Rushmore GC, Wiltshire, charged a £13.00 green fee for a match, in 2011 Blackmoor were asking for £10.00 for a match and several of the leading clubs in Hampshire have discussed charging a green fee for the Past Captains’ Societies. By providing a gratuity of £500 to the host club to date (2026) green fees have not been levied for our meetings.
Having faced the possibility of green fees since the inauguration of the Society it is now a reality. In 2017 the away match venues increased their prices to include a nominal green fee. Since 2023 Clubs in Hampshire started to introduce a fee. With match fees varying considerably the annual match fees were set at an approximate average, and the Association met the difference. In 2025 the variance was greater which prevented a standard fee being charged, with prices set according to the cost with a subsidy paid.
January 2026