ROY CASE INSTALLED AS EGU PRESIDENT
 Roy
Case (Pictured left - photo courtesy of Tom Ward), who helped
shape the careers of many of today’s leading tour professionals,
has today taken office as President of the English Golf Union
at its Annual General Meeting at Woodhall Spa.
Case, who succeeds Richard Palmer, has championed junior
golf within his home county of Nottinghamshire, with the EGU
and the R&A for three decades.
He takes over at the helm of men’s amateur golf in
England with a desire to see an overall improvement in playing
standards without compromising the traditions and the standing
of the game, and not just among the leading players.
“I’d like to see an improvement across the game
in England,” he says. “I’m not just thinking
of those players that wear the England shirt but seeing a
28-handicapper getting down to 20 is just as important.”
Case, 68, has played a major role within junior golf and
many of today’s star names such as Lee Westwood, Nick
Dougherty, Justin Rose and Luke Donald have benefited from
his wisdom and guidance.
“I am a player of limited ability so my contribution
of the game has been to give support and encouragement to
young golfers at the start of their golfing careers,”
he adds.
“I will be keeping an eye on what happens with the
youngsters this year and I would love to see England recapture
the European Boys Team Championship. It is being played at
Bled in Slovenia as it was in 1997. On that occasion Spain
beat us in the final with Sergio Garcia in their side while
our team included Justin Rose and Oliver Wilson.
“But I’d like to see success for all our teams.
I don’t necessarily gauge success by winning. If you
see improvement across the game winning takes care of itself.”
Case, the first EGU President from Nottinghamshire, is also
keen to stress the importance of the county unions. “I’m
looking forward to visiting the various county unions, renewing
old acquaintances and making new ones. It is important to
remember how the English Golf Union and the county unions
serve their membership, without whom there would be no need
for the governing bodies.”
His involvement with junior golf began in 1980 as Junior
Organiser at his home club of Radcliffe on Trent. He served
for five years after which he was club captain in 1984 and
‘85 and club president in 2000/1.
He has been chairman of junior golf in Nottinghamshire since
1984 and was instrumental in launching the McGregor Trophy,
now the English Boys Under 16 Championship, in 1982.
He served on the R&A’s GB&I boys selection
committee from 1994 until last year, while his involvement
with the EGU also began in 1994 when he joined the Venues
Sub Committee, of which he is still a member.
During his time as chairman of selectors, England won the
Boys Home Internationals ten times, the World Junior Team
Championship in 1998, ‘99 and 2002, and the European
Boys Team Championships four times.
He was also a member of the EGU’s Executive Committee
from 1994 until 2005, took over as chairman of the England
Boys Selection Committee, serving until last year, and was
chairman of the Junior Coaching Committee from 1994 to 2004.
From 1997 to 2004 he was chairman of the Junior Golf Committee
as well as serving on the Championship Committee and from
1992 to 1997 was on the Junior Coaching Committee, becoming
chairman in 1994.
He is currently a member of the EGU’s General Committee
as the voting member for Nottinghamshire.
Roy’s own sporting life began as an apprentice professional
at Nottingham Forest FC in 1955/56 after which he went into
the mining industry as a surveyor until 1963 when he joined
a large retail store-fitting company, later becoming its managing
director until retiring in 1993.
He was President of Nottinghamshire in 1990/1 and was presented
with the Gerald Micklem Trophy, awarded for services to amateur
golf, in 2000. He became Nottingham secretary in 2003 and
has been a member of the Nottinghamshire Council and Executive
Committee since 1987. He is also proud of initiating the Nippers
Tour in Nottinghamshire in 2002.
Roy, who was widowed in 2002, has two children. Son Shaun,
is a golf professional in Austria and daughter Sharon has
two children, Adam, who graduated from Southampton University,
and Tom, at Purdue University in the United States.
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