Helen Warren Holm (née Gray) (14 March 1907 – 14 December 1971) was a Scottish amateur golfer. She was Scottish champion five times and she won the

British Ladies Amateur The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of th ...

twice. The Helen Holm Trophy is named in her memory.

Life

Holm was born in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...

which is part of Glasgow. Her mother was Violet Irene Emma Warren and her father Thomas was a Professor of Chemistry at the Technical College. Violet and Thomas had two daughters. She won her first golf championship at the age of 21 when she won the 1928 Lanarkshire Open Golf championship. It was the only one she won as Helen Gray as the following year, 1929, she was married and used the name Helen Holm. She won the

Scottish Ladies' Amateur Championship The Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It was first played in 1903 and is currently organised by Scottish Golf. The Scottish Women's Amateur Championship is conteste ...

in 1930. In 1934 she won the

at the

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel. The club has hosted many prestigious tournaments including The Amateur Championship on six occasions, the Wal ...

and in 1938 she won it again at the

Burnham & Berrow Golf Club Burnham & Berrow Golf Club is a 27-hole members golf club in Somerset, England which has hosted many of the leading amateur golf tournaments in Britain, including the Brabazon Trophy and English Amateur. History The club was first opened as Bur ...

. She was chosen for the biennial women's golf match between Britain and Ireland versus the USA known as the

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

in 1936 and 1938. The 1936 match was played at

Gleneagles Hotel Gleneagles Hotel is a hotel near Auchterarder, Scotland. It was commissioned by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1924. The bandleader, Henry Hall (bandleader), Henry Hall, performed at the hotel before the World War II, Second World War d ...

(King's Course) in

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, Scotland and the 1938 match was played at the Essex County Club in

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Manchester-by-the-Sea (also known simply as Manchester, its name prior to 1989) is a coastal town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is known for scenic beaches and vista points. According to the 2020 population ...

. After the war, she played on the 1948 team, and was chosen again in 1950 but refused the honour as she did not want to be parted from her son. Holm went on win the

four more times. In 1951 she became the captain of the British team and contested matches against Belgium and France and she played in Scottish home internationals in 1955 and 1957. Holm died in 1971 in a nursing home in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

Private life

She married a farmer named Andrew Holm in 1928.

Legacy

The

Helen Holm Trophy The Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship is the national women's amateur stroke play golf championship in Scotland (although entry is open to overseas golfers). It has been played annually at Royal Troon since 1973 an ...

was named in her honour in 1973 and is now known as the "

Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Amateur Stroke Play Golf Championship The Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship is the national women's amateur stroke play golf championship in Scotland (although entry is open to overseas golfers). It has been played annually at Royal Troon since 1973 a ...

" and it is always contested at

Royal Troon Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow. Founding and early years The club, which now has a total of 45 holes, was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. It lies adj ...

. The first winner was

Belle Robertson Isabella Robertson (née McCorkindale) (born 11 April 1936) is a Scottish golfer who won the British Ladies Amateur in 1981. Robertson represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup as a player on seven occasions and twice as non-playi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holm, Helen Scottish female golfers Amateur golfers People from Partick 1907 births 1971 deaths