It is with great sadness that we have learnt of the death of two Major championship winning golfers with Hubert Green and Peter Thompson sadly passing this week.

Hubert Green was a fierce competitor and for much of his career used a strange old fashioned putter. He won the US Open in 1977, despite receiving a death threat while playing the final round. He also won the PGA Championship in 1985 and recorded 19 US Tour victories in total.

Peter Thompson dominated links golf and our own Open championship from the mid fifties to early 60s. He was the master of control in links conditions, no matter how windy the weather was. His last Open victory came in 1965 against a very strong field which included the dominant American duo of Palmer and Nicklaus. Each year Peter travelled from his native Australia to spend a few months at his home in Hope Street, St Andrews, which he regarded as the nerve centre of golf. It was a real honour to interview him there with his old friend John Jacobs just before the Open in 2010, when they both accepted OGRO Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Peter Thompson was one of the most interesting men I have met in my career in golf. He had very firm beliefs, which weren’t necessarily popular with everyone at the time. He did so much to promote the Asian golf tour and his philosophy on golf course design will be enduring. Above all he was a gentleman.

You will see in our lead article that a new golf body has been born. The UKGCOA has now changed its name and purpose and is now the UK Golf Federation. The UK Golf Federation will continue to champion all of those things that are important to people owning and operating golf facilities. But, much more than this it will also be championing the rights of the independent golfer. There are a minimum of 3.5 million independent golfers in the UK and these players are vital to the success of golf businesses and to the future of golf itself. There has been much talk about these golfers being taxed by some golfing authorities who are desperately looking for cash to plug their funding gaps. It is a stated goal of the UK Golf Federation that it will always offer complete resistance to any attempts to tax these independent golfers.

The UK Golf Federation is a really exciting development in the future of the game. Not everyone will enjoy the presence of this forward thinking group who will bring a breath of fresh air to the golf world. Golf Features will be covering all of the stories and news as the UK Golf Federation emerges over the coming months and years. Please sign up here - it’s free: www.ukgolffederation.com

Best wishes Colin Jenkins