Bill Murray, a long-serving golf administrator from County Durham, has accepted an invitation to become President of the English Golf Union in the year 2003.
Born in West Hartlepool in 1930, Murray played a key role in the EGU moving its headquarters to Woodhall Spa and purchasing the famous Lincolnshire course. He was appointed to the Futures Committee which was set up in 1991 to outline the way forward for the EGU.
“I was the one sent out on the road to look at various courses and in the end we settled on Woodhall Spa,” he says. He then played a major role on the Facilities Committee that set about the development of the new headquarters at Woodhall Spa along with Immediate Past President, John Flanders.
A retired auctioneer and estate agent and general commissioner for income tax, Murray’s introduction to golf administration came in 1978 when he became Honorary Secretary of the Durham County Golf Union. He spent 12 years in office before becoming Durham President in 1991-2.
He was also Secretary of the Northern Boys Championship for 10 years, Chief Referee of the Golf Foundation, Schools, Internationals and Age Group Finals for 15 years as well as Referee for the Daily Telegraph/Centre Parcs Junior Golf Championship in Georgia, a post he still holds.
His association with the English Golf Union began in 1983 and since then he has served on a number of committees. He was in charge of coaching for the North East area for 13 years and is currently a member of the EGU Council, Executive Committee, Tournament Panel, Facilities and Management Committees.
A self-confessed “very mediocre golfer, who is trying hard to play to a handicap of 18, often without success,” he did win the Durham CGU Second Division Championship in 1982.
Murray will be the first EGU President to come from Seaton Carew Golf Club in its 127-year history. He will also be the first EGU President to come from Durham since John Todd in 1969.
Murray is also a member of the Royal and Ancient and an Honorary Life Member of Morpeth Golf Club. Married to Lorna, an extremely keen and good 20-handicapper, he has two sons and a daughter and eight grandchildren plus two stepdaughters and a stepson with six grandchildren.
Reacting to his appointment, Murray says: “I was completely dumbfounded. This is magnificent for the county and Seaton Carew Golf Club. What I’m also pleased about is that as an administrator and never having played to a low handicap, you don’t often see people in my situation gaining these positions.”
English Golf Union www.englishgolfunion.org