THE LAGAVULIN CHALLENGE QUAICH
Islay Golf Club's oldest trophy has returned to the Club after almost a
hundred years.
In 1894, Sir Peter Jeffrey Mackie, the owner of Lagavulin Distillery,
together with like minded businessmen, including John Ramsay, inaugurated the Islay Golf
Club.
At that time new formed clubs were vying with each other to attract the
best of British golfers and in so doing Mackie presented the magnificent Quaich for open
competition. The first player to win the trophy was local man J Bolland. In subsequent
years the trophy was won on three separate occasions by H C Cameron.
As was the custom in those days the winner, despite the cost of such an
expensive silver trophy, was allowed to retain it and so in 1899 it left Islay.
It remained in the Cameron family till the early 1970's when it was
sold at auction in London. A local jeweller purchased the silverware and contacted the
Club to do further business. Thinking it was one of the trophies stolen from the hotel a
few years earlier, committee members were despatched to identify it. Unfortunately it was
not one of the stolen items and the Quaich remained with the jeweller. The quaich was
subsequently offered back to the United Distillers Company for an agreed figure.
During the 1980's the trophy was played for by teams in the distilling
trade and for the past ten years it had been used only for display purposes.
Recently approaches have been made from U.D.'s offices at Shieldhall to
John Edgar one of their golfing employees at Lagavulin. As a result the trophy was
recently officially handed over from Mr Michael Nicholson, Lagavulin's Manager to Ralph
Middleton, the Club's captain.
Top of Page
