Golf Demonstration at the 1936 Olympics
Golf was played at the Olympic Games first in 1900 and 1904. In 2016, it made a long-awaited comeback. Between these years, there were rumblings of golf being played in 1908, 1912 and 1920, and eventually in Berlin in 1936 there was an exhibition game organized a couple of weeks after the Olympics, though not an official 'demonstration' sport.
1936 Berlin, Germany
The "Golfpreis Der Nationen" (translates as "Golf Prize Of The Nations") was held at Baden-Baden Golf Club on the 26th and 27th of August 1936 (the Olympics were held from 1-16 August). The tournament was won by the pair Tony Thirsk and Arnold Bently. The English pair over took the leading Germans on the second day, not before Adolf Hitler was on his way to present the winning trophy to his countrymen. When he was notified that they had not won, in fact dropping to third place, he was furious and turned around and headed back to Berlin.
Results
- England: 562 (A L Bentley 73 + 74 + 70 + 75 & T J Thirsk 70 + 70 + 65 + 65)
- France: 566 (M Carlhian 72 + 71 + 68 + 66 & J Leglise 76 + 73 + 69 + 71)
- Germany: 574 (L V Beckerath 68 + 67 + 72 + 71 & C A Hellmers 75 + 72 + 76 + 73)
References
- GOLF AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES by Bill Mallon
- Golf Anecdotes: From the Links of Scotland to Tiger Woods, By Robert T. Sommers. Oxford University Press, 2004
- Derek Holden "Golf and the 1936 Berlin Olympics", Baden-Baden Golf Club newsletter
Related Pages
- All about Olympic Demonstration Sports
- Golf at the Olympic Games
- Discontinued Olympic golf tournaments
- About the sport of Golf
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