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The prospect of a three-way match between the Senior Golfers of the USA, Canada and Great Britain was the entire stimulus for the formation of the British society in December 1926 and this bore fruit with the very first match played at Sunningdale in July 1927.
Bernard Darwin was nervous, when he arrived at the club to watch the match, to see the North Americans practising hard in the rain while the British were having a long lunch. He need not have worried as the British won all the foursomes matches and secured a first victory.
Four years later, at the 1931 Swinley Forest Triangular, Darwin commented – ‘it was the best & friendliest of days and to be a member of such good company is something to look forward to’. Darwin was indeed invited to become a member on his 55th birthday in September 1931. He represented the Society in the Triangular at Royal St George’s in 1933 and at Prestwick in 1935, and was Captain in 1938.
Prior to 1939, the Triangular was played every year, the odd years in the UK and the evens alternately in the USA and Canada. After the Second World War, the Triangular resumed at Woking in 1949 and, since the Muirfield meeting in 1957, it has been played biennially in each country in turn. The 1954 Triangular at St Andrews saw three former Walker Cup captains in the British side, Cyril Tolley, Tony Torrance and Dr William Tweddell.
It goes without saying that the competition is keen but the matches are always played in a most genial atmosphere. Lasting friendships are created.
Very appropriately, the next Triangular match will be hosted by us and played at Sunningdale, as the first was, in October 2027.
© Senior Golfers’ Society