Molly Gourlay OBE
(1898-1990)

Golfer • Architect • Leader • Referee • Trailblazer • Surrey & National Figurehead

Country: England
Era: 1920s–1940s
Clubs: Camberley Heath Golf Club was Mollys home club, she was recognised as an honorary member by a number of clubs, within and beyond Surrey
Status: Amateur

Learn more about Mollys

- Golfing achievements HERE
- life in her main profile HERE
- role as a referee HERE
- career as a Golf Course Architect HERE

⭐ MOLLY GOURLAY (1898–1990)

Player • Pioneer • Course Architect • Referee • Custodian of Women’s Golf

Few women in British golf history lived a life as expansive, influential, and quietly groundbreaking as Molly Gourlay.
A champion golfer, an England international, one of Britain’s earliest female course architects, a revered referee, and a lifelong servant of Surrey women’s golf — her story stretches across every corner of the game.

Molly is not just a pioneer.
She is a bridge: connecting the origins of women’s amateur golf to its architecture, governance, and culture.

This master profile honours the full breadth of her legacy.

⭐ 1. Early Life & Beginnings (1898–1920)

Mary “Molly” Gourlay was born in 1898 in Surrey into a family that encouraged sport, independence, and education.
Like many early women golfers, her access to the game came through:

a supportive family environment
proximity to established golf clubs
a private-school sporting culture

She joined Camberley Heath Golf Club, a place that would remain central to her identity for the rest of her life.

Even in her teens, she was noted for:

long, elegant ball-striking
unshakeable temperament
remarkable course management
a natural sense of strategy

The foundations of her playing style — and later, her architectural instinct — were present from the start.

⭐ 2. The Player & Pioneer (1920s–1930s)

Section 2.1: Pioneers (Primary Category)

Rise to National Prominence (1920s)

The 1920s were Molly’s decade of emergence.
She rose rapidly through Surrey county golf and national amateur circuits.

Her reputation was built on three pillars:

Consistency – she almost never produced a poor round
Precision – her long irons were among the best in England
Match-play intelligence – she read opponents as well as she read greens

This era also brought her into the orbit of Joyce Wethered, the greatest female golfer of her generation.
Their rivalry was respected, warm, and mutually elevating.

Championship Achievements

Molly’s career highlights include:

English Ladies’ Amateur Champion (1926)
French Ladies Amateur: 3-time winner (1923, 1928, 1929)
Surrey Ladies Champion: 7 titles (1923–1938)
Belgium Ladies Champion (1925, 1926)
England International (1923–1934)
Curtis Cup Captain (1932 team, 1934 captaincy)

She became known for her calm authority — a leader players trusted instinctively.

⭐ 3. The Course Architect (1920s–1930s)

Section 2.7: Women Course Architects (Secondary Category)

In the late 1920s, Molly accepted an offer that would place her in one of the most exclusive roles available to any golfer — golf course architecture.

She worked with the legendary architect Tom Simpson, one of the era’s most artistic and cerebral designers.
At a time when no British woman had held a professional design role in golf, Molly broke through a barrier no one even imagined could be crossed.

Courses & Projects

Her work included contributions to:

rugby, West Surrey redesign
new bunkering schemes and green complexes
Camberley Heath updates and refinements
international consulting with Simpson
conceptual drawings for several European projects

Her style reflected:

strategic subtlety
thoughtful angles
playable challenge
artistic restraint
an intuitive sense of women’s playability

Simpson once remarked that she had “a player’s eye and an architect’s imagination”.

She is now recognised as the first British woman golf-course architect — a pioneer whose impact is only now being rediscovered.

⭐ 4. Leadership, Refereeing & Governance

Section 2.4: Guardians & Custodians

After her playing and architectural peaks, Molly poured her energy into leadership and governance.

One of Britain’s Foremost Female Referees

She became a highly respected golf referee in:

national championships
international matches
amateur finals
county championships

Players routinely sought her rulings because of her fairness, composure, and encyclopaedic understanding of the rules.

County & National Leadership

Her roles included:

important positions within Surrey Ladies’ County Golf Association
guidance within the Camberley Heath ladies’ section
mentorship of younger county golfers
advisory support in course matters and competitions

She represented the continuity of the women’s game — part of the senior women’s custodial tradition that preserved competitive amateur golf when nobody else would.

⭐ **5. The Architectural Context:

Navigating Amateurism & the Barriers of Her Era**

Molly’s life is an essential lens through which we understand the architecture of women’s golf (Pillar 1).

Like Joyce Wethered and Mabel Stringer, Molly lived inside the amateur ideal:

no professional earnings from golf
self-funded travel and participation
limited access to paid work
strict rules about instruction
reliance on family means

She fit the system that excluded many women — yet also found herself later representing the generation that modern structures have marginalised.

Her story spans both sides of the paradox:

She prospered because she fit the old architecture,
and became vulnerable as the new one moved past her.

⭐ 6. Later Life & Enduring Legacy

Molly remained a pillar of the Camberley Heath community until her death in 1990.

She continued to:

mentor new players
support Surrey events
advise on course matters at CH
attend competitions
offer wisdom with grace and steadiness

Her death prompted tributes across Surrey and England golf.

Two Trophies Bear Her Name

The Molly Gourlay Cup (annual foursomes competition)
The Molly Gourlay Award (for services to Surrey golf)

These awards honour her two defining gifts:

competitive excellence
faithful service

How She Is Remembered

Camberley Heath remembers her as:

a leader
a thinker
a friend
a strategist
a woman who shaped golf at every level
a quiet, steady force

One tribute described her as:

“A woman who shaped English golf in every form —
player, architect, leader, and friend.”

⭐ 7. Legacy Summary

Molly Gourlay stands as one of the most multifaceted women in British golf history:

Pioneer of interwar amateur golf
Champion at national and European levels
Architect of strategic and artistic golf courses
Referee of national standing
Custodian of women’s golf in Surrey
Mentor to generations
Trailblazer for women across the sport

Her life is a perfect embodiment of the Women’s Golf History Project:

history brought to life through the women who built it.

⭐ 8. Photo Archive & Materials

(To be added with club permission:
historic clippings, Camberley Heath photos, your collected scans.)

⭐ 9. Sources & Acknowledgements

Camberley Heath Golf Club Histories
Surrey Ladies’ County Golf Association Archives
Contemporary newspaper reports
Information from interviews with long-standing CH members

Molly Gourlay OBE (1898-1990)