Joyce Wethered, Lady Heathcoat-Amory (17 November 1901 – 18 November 1997) was a golfer regarded as the leading

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

woman player of the inter-war period. Joyce learned the game as a child, as did her brother

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, who lost a playoff for the 1921 Open Championship. Joyce 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 ...

four times (1922, 1924, 1925, and 1929) and the English Ladies' Amateur Championship for five consecutive years (1920–24). She married Sir John Heathcoat-Amory in 1937, and became Lady Heathcoat-Amory. Her play and swing were greatly admired by Bobby Jones, the American champion of the same era. Jones, who played several exhibition rounds with her, had a very high regard for her game. She essentially retired from competitive play by 1930. She played most of her golf at (and was a member of)

Worplesdon Worplesdon is a village NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and a large dispersed civil parish that includes the settlements of: Worplesdon itself (including its central church area, Perry Hill), Fairlands, Jacobs Well, Rydeshill and Wood S ...

Golf Club in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. She was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 1975. An exhibition of memorabilia can be seen at

Knightshayes Court Knightshayes Court is a Victorian country house near Tiverton, Devon, England, designed by William Burges for the Heathcoat-Amory family. Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "an eloquent expression of High Victorian ideals in a country house o ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, where she lived.

Team appearances

Amateur *

Vagliano Trophy The Vagliano Trophy is a biennial women's amateur golf tournament. It is co-organised by The R&A and the European Golf Association and is contested by teams representing "Great Britain and Ireland" and the "Continent of Europe". It is played in od ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1931 (winners) *

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 ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1932 (playing captain) *

Women's Home Internationals The Women's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for women contested between the four Home Nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland on an All-Ireland basi ...

(representing England): 1921 (winners), 1922 (winners), 1923 (winners), 1924 (winners), 1925 (winners), 1929 (winners)

Bibliography

* Wethered, Joyce ''Golfing Memories and Methods'' (1933) Hutchinson *''Knighthayes'' National Trust guide 2013,

External links

Articles on and by Joyce WetheredJoyce Wethered - The greatest Golfer ever?Electronic Resources
From SoHG Archives
Joyce Wethered Swing Sequences
From SoHG Master Classes English female golfers Amateur golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Wives of baronets 1901 births 1997 deaths {{England-golf-bio-stub