The Bolton Golf Association has its origins in the competition to find Bolton's best golfer.
By 1913 there were nearly as many golf clubs in Bolton as there are today. 2 clubs the Haulgh and Bradshaw are now defunct. There was no inter-club contact other than an occasional inter-club match and the formation of the BGA was still some 20 years away!
Mr Fred Marshall, Captain of Bolton Golf Club around 1913 was undoubtedly the motivator behind the competition to find Bolton's best golfer and Preston's the Jewellers very generously offered to provide the Competition Trophy.
The very 1st competition was held at Worsley GC on November 5th 1913 resulting with the first ever Bolton Champion, George Bell of Horwich.
The 2nd competition was held at St Annes Old Links on June 10th 1914. It was at the Trophy presentation, held at the Commercial Hotel, Bolton, in July 1914 that the possibility of establishing an Association of Bolton Golf Clubs was first discussed.
However the Great War intervened and 'Bolton's Best Golfer' Competition did not resume until 1921 being played every year until 1931 when the Bolton Golf Association was formed, the competition becoming the Bolton Golf Association Championship, which continues to the present day.
