Herbert Charles Jolly (15 February 1895 – 16 April 1983) was a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He is best known for being a member of the first British

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

. He also played for Britain in the

international match ''International Match'' (Swedish: ''Landskamp'') is a 1932 Swedish drama film directed by Gunnar Skoglund and starring Georg Blomstedt, Fritiof Billquist and Olof Sandborg. It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm and on location in the ...

against America at Wentworth in 1926.

Golf career

He was born near

L'Ancresse L'Ancresse ''()'' is an area in the Vale, Guernsey, comprising a common and several beaches covering 737 Vergées (298 acres). History The sea levels having risen and stabilised around 9,400 BC leaving L’Ancresse looking similar to the current ...

Vale, Guernsey Vale (Guernésiais: ''Lé Vale''; French: ''Le Valle'') is one of the ten parishes of Guernsey in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Channel Islands. In 933 the islands, formerly under the control of William I, then Duchy of Brittany were annexed by the ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, and began his career as an assistant professional at the Royal Guernsey Golf Club which was founded in 1890. He fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was then club professional at Foxgrove Golf Club (1919–33),

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, Benton Park and then at Branshaw Golf Club in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. In the 1923

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was an international golf tournament in the English Yorkshire area before the European Tour was founded. It was a match play tournament for most of its existence, but switched to stroke play in the 1940s. The ...

, Jolly only qualified for last-32 knock-out stage by winning a five-man, 18-hole playoff for the final place. After winning his first round match comfortably, he only beat

Abe Mitchell Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1 ...

at the seventh extra hole after Mitchell had missed from 2 feet at the third extra hole. Jolly holed a 9 footer at the 7th, despite being "partially stymied". In the third round, he beat Gus Faulkner at the second extra hole before a 2 and 1 semi-final win. In the final against

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

, the match went to the 36th hole, Jolly winning by 2 holes. Jolly had been 4 up after 7 holes of the afternoon round but Hagen levelled the match at the 13th. Jolly won the 17th after Hagen was bunkered and then won the last after Hagen three putted. Jolly was not initially selected for the nine-man

1927 Ryder Cup The 1st Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The first competition was dominated by the United States who won by the then landslide score of 9–2 points. USA Captain Walter Hagen became the firs ...

team that was announced in early March. In May, the health of

, the British captain, gave some concern and it was eventually decided that he was unfit to travel. Later he was operated on for appendicitis. Seven members of the team left on the

Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...

on 21 May,

Aubrey Boomer Aubrey Basil Boomer (1 November 1897 – 2 October 1989) was a professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. Boomer had three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. He was a frequent competitor in the French Open and won the event ...

being picked up in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. With the team a man short, the

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Secretary Percy Perrins recruited Jolly who sailed on a later boat, the Majestic, and arrived in New York on 31 May, four days after the rest of the team. The Ryder Cup was played in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

on 3 and 4 June. Jolly played in both the foursomes and the singles, losing both his matches. Jolly continued to have considerable successive in the

. He lost three successive finals in 1927, 1928 and 1929 before winning for the second time in 1930, beating Owen Sanderson 3 and 1 in the final. The match was played on the same day as the 1930

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

final in which Bobby Jones beat

Roger Wethered Roger Henry Wethered (3 January 1899 – 12 March 1983) was an English amateur golfer, and the brother of female golfer Joyce Wethered. Early life Born in Surrey, Wethered was the only son of Herbert Newton Wethered and his wife Marion Emmeli ...

. Jolly won the

Roehampton Invitation Tournament The Roehampton Invitation Tournament was a British golf tournament played each April at the Roehampton Club from 1920 to 1935. From 1922 the tournament was played over three days. There was 36 holes of stroke play on the first day with the leading ...

in April 1931 and, in early May, after a series of trial matches using the new American-sized ball, he was selected as one of an initial six players in the British

1931 Ryder Cup The 3rd Ryder Cup Matches were held June 26–27, 1931 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9 to 3 points. The course was the venue for U.S. Open in 1926, won by amateur Bobby Jone ...

team. The team was finalised after the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in early June. As well as announcing the final member of the team it was also reported that Jolly had withdrawn because of a lack of form and had been replaced by

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

. Jolly had failed to qualify for the Open Championship after scoring 84 and 78 in the qualifying rounds, the only occasion between 1926 and 1936 that he failed to qualify, He died in Clayton, Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Brothers

Jolly's three brothers, Thomas Blackmore Jolly (born 16 May 1892), William Henry Jolly (born 24 January 1897), and John Henry Jolly (born 23 August 1898), were also professional golfers.

Tournament wins

*1921 Kent Professional Championship *1922 Kent Professional Championship *1923

*1924 Kent Professional Championship *1930

*1931

Results in major championships

''Note: Jolly only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.''
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1926 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain):

*France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolly, Herbert Guernsey male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe 1895 births 1983 deaths