The Old Etonian Golfing Society

Founded in 1920, The Old Etonian Golfing Society currently has about 600 members. The Society’s activities are made up of its own meetings for its members, participation in old schools team events, and matches against other golf societies and clubs.

The largest and longest established of these is the Summer Meeting held over a full weekend in July at Royal St. George’s Golf Club, including a dinner at the Club on the Saturday evening. There is also a one-day Spring Meeting at New Zealand GC, and a Scottish Meeting in June at Prestwick. A spin-off from the Summer Meeting is the Under 35s event in August at New Zealand when younger members compete for the James Bond All Purpose Challenge Trophy, a sterling silver chamber pot presented in the 1960s by Ian Fleming, who was Captain of the OEGS in 1960.

A recently introduced event is the O35 vs U35 OEGS members match at Sunningdale in early November, where we play for the Myles Frisby Salver. There are currently 16 other matches each year against other clubs and societies.

The Halford Hewitt at Royal St. George’s and Royal Cinque Ports is the largest of the inter-schools tournaments. Eton was one of the 6 schools that took part in the first contest in 1923. Now 64 schools participate involving 640 players. Eton won the tournament in 1924, 1925, 1926, 1955, 1956, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1989, 2013, 2015 and 2024, and has never been beaten in a final.

Eton also competes in the Grafton Morrish at Hunstanton and Royal West Norfolk Golf Clubs, and is one of the few southern schools to take part in the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Schools Trophy at Royal Burgess near Edinburgh. OEGS teams also take part in The Bernard Darwin (O55s), The Senior Darwin (O65s) and The Very Senior Darwin (O75s), all at Woking in June and July. The Very Senior Darwin was won for Eton by Rudy Krefting and George Pinto for 5 consecutive years from 2005 to 2009.