Treasure the past while embracing the future.
Both Exeter Golf and Country Club and the Wear Park estate have a long history in Exeter.
Exeter Golf and Country Club started life, back in 1895, in the Pennsylvania area on the outskirts of the city. The golf course opened with just 96 members at Stoke Wood Farm.
In 1927, the growing membership needed more room, and the Wear Park estate was purchased to accommodate an 18 hole golf course, club house and, later down the line, tennis courts. The rest, as they say, is history. Until this point, Wear Park itself has it’s own story to tell with generations of wealthy families owning, and living, in the manor house.
The heritage of both the club and the Wear Park estate underpins the ethos of Exeter Golf and Country Club today; moving forward to the future while respecting the legacy of the founder members and all those who have shaped the club in the decades since.
A glimpse into the past
Luckily an archive of memorabilia, photographs, newsletters and handbooks has been preserved by both members and employees over the years, so the history of Exeter Golf and Country Club is well documented. One of these prized artifacts is a 1940s Official Handbook recently donated to the club by the family of one of Jose Bruce – one of the club’s longest-standing members – having been a golfer into her 90s. Jose passed away in 2022.
The handbook is primarily a longer version of what we might now call a Course Planner. The handbook has been typed into a PDF by the 2023 Ladies Golf Captain, Vicki Rogers.
