PRESS RELEASE

BRITAIN'S OLDEST ACTIVE GOLFER (100)
GETS CHAMPAGNE LUNCH

The Shropshire Golf Centre, part of the Burhill Golf and Leisure Group, has celebrated the 100th birthday of club member Charles Viner, Britain’s oldest regular golfer, with a champagne lunch.
Charles has been playing golf for 81 years, and plays three times a month at The Shropshire Golf Centre, one of the leading public, pay-and-play golf venues in the West Midlands, where he has been a regular since 1993.
James Lever, general manager at The Shropshire Golf Centre, said: “It is an incredible achievement that Charles is still enjoying his golf with us as he celebrates this landmark birthday. He plays to keep fit and for pleasure, and always stays to enjoy a glass of white wine and a friendly chat afterwards.”
Charles teed off at the first hole to mark the occasion of his 100th birthday, hitting a 175-yard drive, before enjoying a champagne lunch, organised by the club for his closest family and friends. He also displayed his Telegram from the Queen, and was given a round of applause by the club’s senior section.
Charles, a retired Art Teacher from Wolverhampton Grammar School, believes golf has a lot to offer young people today.
“They hit the ball and they must take responsibility for what happens to it. Golf teaches you an important lesson about being responsible and accepting the consequences of what you have done. It has so much to offer everyone.”
He started playing golf in 1926 and still remembers what he learned in his first lesson.
“He told me I was trying to hit the ball, instead of doing that I was told, i.e. to let the club hit the ball and sweep it away. I still do that today.”
When Charles started playing he used only a driver, a brassie, a mashie niblick and a putter and says he could approach from any distance with any club because he would feel the shot and work out the trajectory, shape and distance needed. These skills helped him score the first of his two holes in one; the other he says was plain luck.
Charles is often accompanied by his 71-year-old son in law John Reynolds, who uses an electric trolley to transport Charles’ clubs around the 27-hole golf complex, set in beautiful rolling countryside outside Telford.
The Shropshire Golf Centre also marked Charles’ achievement as Britain's oldest active golfer by presenting him with a personalised commemorative sweater and golfing birthday cake.