The first-ever Gloria Minoprio Challenge, hosted by Robert Birman of the Northwest Hickory Players, took place on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Port Townsend Golf Club. A field of 20 players competed with one club (an iron cleek or driving iron) in a 9-hole event, all wearing trousers in honor of the great one.
Gloria Minoprio, a British woman golfer of the early 1930s, and an amateur magician to boot, stunned the conservative British golf world by showing up at the 1933 English Ladies Championship wearing, gasp, trousers! This was simply not done. But that was not the end of it. The daring Miss Minoprio would play only one club, a hickory-shafted cleek.
Conditions were most favorable for this style of event, as we enjoyed a brisk fall day (low 60s) and following a traditional Northwest summer, fairly baked-out conditions in the vintage-era fairways at Port Townsend, which have never benefitted from underground irrigation. The full field – men and ladies – played from the same tees, which were a blend of the course’s red and white tee boxes, at just under 2,500 yards. The host furnished custom scorecards and tee markers for the occasion, and many had so much fun that a second nine was played after the break for lunch and awards.
Top honors went to Kit Ledbetter, from Lopez Island, who shot a remarkable even par for the round, with three birdies. Second place went to club pro, Gabriel Tonan, at four-over, and third place – following a playoff – to event organizer Robert Birman, at 9-over par. Two male players tied at 44 (Birman and Josh Lieb) and Kathleen Turner shot an admirable 45, so all three agreed to a closest-to-the-hole playoff from the 160-yard tee box on Hole 7 for third place honors. Remarkably, Turner and Birman tied at 16-feet on the first attempt, so a second attempt was had, and alas Birman prevailed.
NWHP expects this to become an annual event, many players expressing great joy at the prospect of competing with a single low-lofted iron. The future of Port Townsend Golf Course is up in the air, at present, with City officials threatening to deny the renewal of the lease in spite of yearly operations since 1904. Shout out to 11-year-old Silas Kane who competed for the first time with a hickory club in his first year playing golf. He’s already had a modern golf hole in one! NWHP looks forward to building on this event in the future, and may combine this challenge with a differing format for a combined 18-hole event in 2024.
Click on any photo in the gallery below to bring up full-size images.
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- Dave Hall considers a shot.
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- A foursome at the 2023 Gloria Minoprio Challenge. Event host Robert Birman is second from right.
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- Gabriel Tonan, Port Townsend GC professional.
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- Twenty-player field at the first Gloria Minoprio Challenge.
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- Gloria Minoprio in a photo from the 1933 British Women’s Amateur.