Gustavus Kirkham Faulkner (1893 – 6 August 1976) was an English

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 ...

, best known as the father of

Max Faulkner Herbert Gustavus Max Faulkner, OBE (29 July 1916 – 26 February 2005) was an English professional golfer who won the Open Championship in 1951. Early life Faulkner was born on 29 July 1916 in Bexhill-on-Sea, the son of Gus (1893–1976), ...

, the winner of the

1951 Open Championship The 1951 Open Championship was the 80th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Until 2019, it was the only time the championship was played outside England or Scotland. In it, Max Faulkn ...

. He won the

Welsh Professional Championship The Welsh Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for Welsh players. It was the first of the four home countries to revive its national professional championship on a regular basis. History The cha ...

in 1922 and was tied for 12th in the 1931 Open Championship.

Early life

Faulkner was born

Walton-on-the-Hill Walton-on-the-Hill is a village in the Reigate and Banstead district, in the county of Surrey, England. It is midway between the market towns of Reigate and Epsom. The village is a dispersed cluster on the North Downs centred less than one m ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1893. He was brought up near

Walton Heath Golf Club Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas ...

and was an assistant to James Braid before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He competed in the qualifying stage of the 1914 Perrier Water Assistant Professionals' Tournament, an event whose final stages were later cancelled because of the war.

Golf career

After

, Faulkner took a position at Pennard Golf Club on the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

in south Wales. Faulkner played regularly in domestic and national tournaments. He won the

in 1922 at Rhos-on-Sea Golf Club. He had tied with James Horn on 292 for the 72 holes but won the 36-hole playoff the following day, scoring 148 to Horn's 151. He tied again in 1923, this time with Jack Milner, but this time lost the 36-hole playoff by a single stroke, having been 6 behind at lunch. In 1926 Faulkner took a position at a golf facility in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

but the following year took a position at Bramley Golf Club where he remained until 1945. After leaving Bramley, Faulkner was briefly at

West Bay, Dorset West Bay, originally known as Bridport Harbour, is a small harbour settlement and resort on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England, sited at the mouth of the River Brit approximately south of Bridport. The area is part of the Jurassic Co ...

and Worlebury Golf Club,

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

. In 1948, together with his son,

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, they bought Selsey Golf Club in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. The purpose of this was to provide Max with practice facilities to help him win 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 ...

. They remained the owners until selling the lease in 1957.

Personal life

Faulkner married Ellen Eliza Hussey in 1915. They had three children,

(1916–2005), who won the

, Reginald (born 1918) and Frank (1919–1941). Frank was an assistant professional to his father at Bramley before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but was killed in a road traffic accident near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, while serving as a corporal in the Army, aged 21.

Death

Faulkner died in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

on 6 August 1976 aged 82.

Professional wins (1)

*1922

Results in major championships

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Gus English male golfers People from Reigate and Banstead (district) 1893 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English sportsmen