Across the world, historic golf clubs are connected by more than their age. They share values, traditions and long-standing friendships — often formalised in reciprocal agreements that allow members to visit one another's clubs. Yet these valuable relationships are rarely visible, and often hard for members to find or use.
At The Centenary, we wanted to honour these traditions and help them thrive in a digital world. That is why we created Circles: a modern home for existing reciprocal collaborations between golf clubs.
Why We Created Circles
In conversations with clubs around the world, we kept hearing the same themes:
- "Members don't know which clubs we have reciprocal agreements with."
- "Our network lives in old PDFs, emails or noticeboards."
- "We'd like to present our reciprocal partners more professionally, but keep full control."
These networks are often decades old and a real point of pride. Yet from a member's perspective they can feel invisible. From a club's perspective, they can be hard to present and maintain.
Circles was born from a simple idea: give these historic networks a digital home that matches their heritage — without changing the agreements themselves.
What Circles Actually Is
Circles is not a new type of membership or a replacement for what you already have. It is a layer on top of your existing reciprocal arrangements that makes them:
1. Visible for members
Members can see at a glance which clubs are part of their Circle, via:
- an interactive map with all participating clubs
- a clean, searchable list with key details
No more guessing, no more digging through old files. Just a clear, modern overview.
2. Centralised and consistent for clubs
Instead of every club maintaining its own list, Circles provides a shared, always up-to-date overview for the group. Logos, links and core information are managed centrally, so participating clubs present the same network in the same way.
3. A stronger identity for each network
Each Circle gets its own:
- name and story
- logo and visual style
- dedicated page with map and lister
What used to be a loose arrangement becomes a recognisable group with presence and prestige — something members can be proud of and talk about.
Current Examples: The 1895 Club & The 1892 Club
Circles already powers two well-known historic reciprocal networks:
The 1895 Club
One of the most recognisable reciprocal groups in the golfing world, the 1895 Club brings together golf clubs founded in the year 1895. Many clubs already enjoy informal access agreements within this group — Circles simply gives the network a clearer identity and a modern home.
Members can explore the 1895 Club via:
The 1892 Club
Inspired by the success of the 1895 Club, Circles also provides a digital home for the 1892 Club — a collection of clubs founded in 1892. Several clubs have already joined, with more expressing interest as the network grows.
Members can explore the 1892 Club via:
These examples show what Circles does best: honour tradition, modernise access, and strengthen cooperation between clubs that share a remarkable history.
Keeping Traditions, Enhancing Access
One principle guides everything we do with Circles: your traditions come first.
Circles does not:
- change your existing agreements
- set prices or conditions for you
- decide who you welcome or when
Your rules remain your rules. Clubs retain full control over how and when members from partner clubs can play. Circles simply makes it easier to communicate and celebrate those relationships.
Whether your club is part of a long-established group such as the 1895 Club, or a smaller, regional network of like-minded courses, Circles gives you a future-proof home for your shared history.
Why Clubs Appreciate Circles
Early partner clubs have told us that Circles helps them:
- make the value of membership more tangible for their own members
- strengthen cooperation between historic clubs
- present their reciprocal network in a modern, professional way
- reduce administrative work around maintaining lists and sharing information
- give long-standing arrangements a clearer structure and identity
Perhaps most importantly, Circles helps ensure that these relationships do not quietly fade away. Instead, they become more visible, more used and more appreciated.
A Future Built on Heritage
The mission of The Centenary has always been to celebrate historic golf clubs. With Circles, we extend that mission to the friendships between those clubs.
Golf is about more than fairways and greens. It is about the people you meet, the invitations extended, the letters exchanged between captains and secretaries over decades.
Circles makes those connections visible. It gives them a clear place in the digital landscape — while staying faithful to the spirit in which they were created.
Our hope is simple: that a member standing in one historic clubhouse gains a clearer view of the many other clubhouses they are quietly connected to — and feels inspired to visit, play and keep those relationships alive for the next hundred years.
