Tournaments and Professionals
Tournaments
In 1970 Notts GC gained international recognition when it hosted the John Player Classic and attracted some of the top professional golfers of the time. Christy O'Conner Snr won the tournament collecting the £25,000 prize money which then, was the highest ever prize money for a professional golf tournament.
There have been many other top professional and amateur events hosted here including:
- In 1982 the European Tour’s top professionals played for The Tournament Players Championship sponsored by Haig Whisky - Nick Faldo won.
- The Brabazon Trophy for a record equalling 5 times, most recently in 2015 when Cormac Sharvin of Ireland won. Other past Brabazon winners here include Sandy Lyle, Ignacio Garrido and the club’s own member Charles Banks.
- R&A events such as the Boys Amateur Championship in 2012 won by Matthew Fitzpatrick and a long history of Regional Qualifying for the Open Championship.
- In 2017 the club hosted the R&A’s Final Qualifying for the Open Championship for the first time. Joe Dean and Mark Foster tied for the lead on 10 under par, joined at Royal Birkdale by Laurie Canter who sealed his place via a playoff. Joe Dean's second round score of 64 was a new professional course record, equalling that of John Bland in the 1982 Haig.
Nick Faldo with the Haig Trophy |
Cormac Sharvin |
Roll of Honour
| Year | Title | Winner |
| 1906 | News of the World Matchplay Champioship | Alex Herd |
| 1913 | Ladies Open English Championship | Mrs F.W. Brown |
| 1925 | Daily Mail Golf Tournament | Charles Johns |
| 1935 | English Amateur Championship | J. Woolam |
| 1947 | Lotus Championship | Norman Von Nida |
| 1953 | England v Canada Ladies International | England |
| 1957 | Dunlop Masters | Eric Brown |
| 1959 | Brabazon Trophy | Doug Sewell |
| 1961 | Dunlop Golf Tournament | Kel Nagle |
| 1964 | English Amateur Championship | David Marsh |
| 1968 | Sumrie Golf Tournament | Brian Huggett |
| 1970 | John Player Classic | Christy O'Connor |
| 1975 | Brabazon Trophy | Sandy Lyle |
| 1976 | English Ladies Amateur Championship | Lynne Harrold |
| 1977 | PGA Club Professional Championship | David Hush |
| 1978 | Ladies British Open Amateur Championship | Edwina Kennedy |
| 1982 | The Haig (Tournament Players Championship) | Nick Faldo |
| 1983 | Brabazon Trophy | Charles Banks |
| 1987 | British Youth Amateur Championship | James Cook |
| 1989 | English Ladies Strokeplay Championship | Sara Robinson |
| 1992 | Brabazon Trophy | Ignacio Garrido |
| 1994 | Ladies British Senior Championship | Diane Williams |
| 1996 | English Amateur Championship | Shaun Webster |
| 2000 | English Mid Amateur | Francois Illoux |
| 2002 | Midland Open | Gary Wolstenholme |
| 2004 | English Amateur Championship | James Heath |
| 2007 | Jacques Legise Trophy | GB & I |
| 2012 | Boys Amateur Championship | Matthew Fitzpatrick |
| 2015 | Brabazon Trophy | Cormac Sharvin |
| 2017 | Final Open Qualifying | Joe Dean, Mark Foster and Laurie Canter |
 Christy O’Connor winning the John Player Classic |
The Professionals
Tom Williamson
Tom Williamson’s career as greenkeeper, professional and club maker at Notts GC spanned more than half a century from 1896 until his death in 1950. By serving for 54 years, the club believe Tom set a world record for a club professional in full time service.
His first introduction to golf was as a boy when he came across the previously mentioned Mr Doleman and Mr Harris playing golf across the common before a course had been set out. He saw Mr Harris hit a ball and so ran after it and returned it to him, only to be reprimanded, and made to replace the ball exactly where he had collected it from.
Though he had an early introduction to golf, he wanted to work on the railways however he failed his eye test and instead headed for North Berwick to learn club making at Hutchinson’s shop, which later went on to become Ben Sayers. During the first world war, he combined his work as the club’s professional with working in a munitions factory.
He played in his first open championship in 1897 at Hoylake and went on to set another world record by playing in every open for fifty years between 1897 and 1947, finishing 4th at Prestwick in 1914.
He was a regular foursomes partner for the great Harry Vardon and also played a number of exhibition matches, including in 1933 partnering AG Beck of Sherwood Forest against the Open Champion Densmore "Denny" Shute and the great Walter Hagen.
As a teacher he was very proud to teach one of the World's greatest lady amateur golfers Miss Enid Wilson from 1924, when she was 14 years old. She went on to win the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship 4 times.
The famous Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Harold Larwood was born in nearby Kirkby in Ashfield and for a while caddied at Notts Golf Club as a boy. He was dismissed by Tom Williamson though for bad behaviour!
Brian Waites
Appointed as the club’s professional in 1969, he set the course record of 68 during the 1970 John Player Classic held at the club. He managed to combine a successful career as a club professional with that of a tournament professional, winning twice on the European Tour and representing Europe in the 1983 Ryder Cup at PGA National in Florida.
