Rebuilding ……………Again!
So it was that in 1950 after a decade of turmoil the club had repossessed its golf course and was able to set about the rebuilding process. An early set back in April was the resignation of the club’s long serving professional Fred Steel who had seen the club through some very dark days since 1906. However the club didn’t have to look far for a new pro as Fred’s son Bob took over his duties and was to hold the post with similar popularity for another 32 years.
The club took time to get back on its feet after the wartime ‘occupation’ and as always money was in short supply, nevertheless in an act of true ‘generosity’ the Committee agreed to fund an electric fire for the Ladies Section sitting room. In fact such was the Committee’s generosity that they also had installed an electricity slot meter which took one shilling pieces. However the ladies weren’t entirely dependant on electricity for warmth, because in an overwhelming act of compassion the men’s Committee gave instructions “for a coal fire to be lit in the Ladies Lounge each Tuesday.”
Further evidence that money was a bit tight came with a continuing decision by the Committee not to increase subscriptions. In fact they remained static until 1956 when the full member’s subscription rose to £12 12s 0d or twelve guineas (for those old enough to remember them); a full member under 30 was £9 9s 0d; and ladies £7 7s 0d. However members were still not getting full distance for their money on Sundays, with the club once more dictating that no ball should be played from the back tee of the 18th hole while the church congregation were heading down the road from the railway entrance to the lych gate beside the fairway.
In 1955 Rochford Hall was still in shared occupancy with Mr Hurst the tenant farmer. That part which is now the main bar and dining room was at that time two separate rooms sharing a common wall. With a much smaller club bar one side and Mr Hurst’s living room the other, so for members it must have been a fairly cramped existence.
In 1957 Membership subscriptions increased to £14 14s 0d for full members and £8 8s 0d for Ladies. Although there is no certainty about the size of the club in the late fifties there was a proposal in 1959 to limit the number of full members to 200. Even with that number concerns were beginning to be voiced about the number of people playing the course. Eventually in 1960 it was agreed that “due to congestion, the course be closed to visitors other than those playing with a member.” So it seems that after many years of turmoil the club’s fortunes were beginning to turn the corner with welcoming signs of recovery from the wartime and post war problems. Indeed there was even better news when Robert Tabor agreed to a 21 year lease for the club. All appeared to be set fair – apart from the sheep. The Committee had an embryonic plan for providing a permanent water supply to the greens, but to do this the sheep needed to go. The Captain and Secretary made another unsuccessful bit to persuade Mr Hurst to remove them from the course, but all to no avail, so the plan was scuppered and the club had to resign itself to the fact that Mr Hurst’s sheep were staying.
It seems that life at Rochford Hundred Golf Club was never meant to be straight forward, so it should have come as no surprise when, in 1961, a rumour began to circulate that Southend Council had plans to extend the airport runway which would result in the club losing the 10th, 11th and 12th holes. The consequence of this was quite a few members joined other clubs as a “standby.” Fortunately amongst the club membership was an ‘insider’ able to monitor the situation. Although this rumour was to hang around for some time club life had to go on and despite the sheep issue, the plan for piping water to the greens was revisited with an estimated cost of £2000. This plan eventually came to fruition, but it was not until 1967 that the 2nd, 10th, 11th and 17th greens were joined to the system.
In 1964 the airport runway extension plan was still hanging around like a bad smell and members were further alarmed when Rochford Parish Council submitted a planning application to ‘adopt’ 1,330 square yards of land at the north east corner of the churchyard as an additional burial ground. Fortunately the church’s ambitions didn’t get very far and neither did Southend Council’s plan to extend the runway. The scheme was turned down and the Council had were left to settle the club’s bill for fighting the plan. 
Although there were some members who privately admitted to enjoying the sight of lambs prancing and frolicking in the middle of the course in the Spring, it would be an understatement to say that the whole club let out howls of joy when in March 1969 a financial agreement was reached with Mr Hurst and the sheep departed. This certainly created a debating vacuum, so the members turned their attention to the clubhouse accommodation, which was less than one third of what it is today yet housed a membership of in excess of 600. Cramped would be something of an understatement.
With concerns over the club’s lack of space hotting up a report outlining suggested clubhouse alterations costing £16,000 was produced. Then in the middle of this debate Mr Tabor delivered the news that Mr Hurst the tenant farmer would be quitting the Hall. Minds raced at the possibilities that this could create for the club.
It’s worth recording that Cecil Hurst took over the farm tenancy at Rochford Hall in October 1930 at the age of 28. By 1973 most of the responsibility for running the farm was shouldered by his son Oswald, but sadly in September 1973 Oswald had a heart attack and died, he was aged 45. Cecil then retired to live with his wife across the road from the golf club at 6 St Andrews Road. Cecil survived until 1995, but his wife Gertrude Louisa died in 1992 and both are commemorated in St Andrews church cemetery by a memorial to the right of the main entrance.
By 1973 the club had formed itself into a limited company and with the clubhouse generally bursting at the seams and Mr Hurst gone the club entered into discussion with Charles Tabor concerning the prospect of the golf club taking over the entire north east wing of Rochford Hall. At that time it was not anticipated that the Hall would become a Schedule I listed building, but once the building had received a visit from the archaeological authorities in Chelmsford it was soon found that they would need to be consulted about any move the club wanted to make. The planned extension was effectively vetoed, but the club was able to remove a partition wall that previously separated the existing bar from Mr Hurst’s living accommodation to create the bar lounge and dining room we have today.
Water, or rather the lack of it became a major problem for the club in 1975 and the course was suffering as a result. The solution was running through the course and if we could find a way to extract water from the streams rather than relying on the mains it would not only go some way toward making the club self sufficient, but significantly cut the clubs water bill. By April 1977 with the necessary pipe work installed the pop-up sprinkler system was fully operational.
Undoubtedly one of the most important turning points in the club’s history came in June 1980 when the Tabor family offered to sell the Hall and the course to the members. By November contracts had been signed, sealed and delivered for £125,000, thus ending a very happy landlord-tenant arrangement that had existed since 1896. Rochford Hundred Golf Club was now its own master.
In 1981 the club was saddened by news of the death of Leslie Winney who had been the club secretary from 1929 until 1967, and who throughout the Second World War was Rochford Hundred Golf Club. Leslie’s loyalty to Rochford Hundred was unerring and when in 1969 the club was searching for a secretary he again filled the breach. The following year Bob Steel the club professional told the committee of his intention to retire. Bob had been with the club for thirty two years and in 1950 succeeded his father Fred who took the post in 1906. Thus a period of 76 years of the Steel reign as Rochford Hundred club professional came to an end. More dedicated and faithful servants would be hard to find at any club.
Throughout the 1980’s golf at Rochford Hundred was dominated by a local lad with Welsh roots named David K Wood. For almost a decade David dominated in club and county competitions, representing both Great Britain and Wales in European and Home Internationals. One can only speculate whether the club’s relative lack of golfing honours up until the 1960s was due to its previous turbulent existence. But even a cursory glance at the club’s honours board shows how, once there was stability and a more predictable future, the club wasted no time in making up for lost time. With the fairways cleared of sheep initial successes for the modern Rochford Hundred were achieved by the ladies, who with Beverly Lewis and Jo Rumsey amongst their number, proved formidable opposition for anyone. In later years both Bev and Jo became professional golfers playing prominent roles in the administration of the WPGA. The club is justifiably proud of the succession of young talented golfers it has produced over a period of more than 30 years and the development of junior golfers will continue to be a cornerstone of the club’s strategy for years to come.
During the next few years Rochford Hundred Golf Club will be embarking upon a strategy of improvements to upgrade both the course and clubhouse. A tree planting programme has already begun and plans to replace the course irrigation system are at an advanced stage. A schedule of Refurbishments within the clubhouse began in May 2011, which combined with the club’s junior golf development programme will enhance Rochford Hundred’s status as one of the premier golf clubs in Essex.