Misplaced Pages

#659340

84-484: (Redirected from Professional Golf Association ) Professional Golfers Association may refer to: Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain and Ireland) Professional Golfers' Association of America Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Professional Golfers Association . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

168-413: A convenient cover for his disinclination to marry; the matter cannot be conclusively proven. In later years mediums claimed to pass on messages from her – see the " Cross-Correspondences ". Balfour remained a lifelong bachelor. Margot Tennant (later Margot Asquith) wished to marry him, but Balfour said: "No, that is not so. I rather think of having a career of my own." His household

252-471: A disagreeable irrelevance. Balfour developed a manner known to friends as the Balfourian manner . Harold Begbie , a journalist, attacked him for what Begbie considered Balfour's self-obsession: This Balfourian manner...an attitude of mind—an attitude of convinced superiority which insists in the first place on complete detachment from the enthusiasms of the human race, and in the second place on keeping

336-530: A knack for negotiation, a taste for intrigue, and care to avoid factionalism. Most importantly, he deepened his close ties with his uncle Lord Salisbury. He also maintained cordial relationships with Disraeli, Gladstone and other national leaders. Released from his duties as private secretary by the 1880 general election , he began to take more part in parliamentary affairs. He was for a time politically associated with Lord Randolph Churchill , Sir Henry Drummond Wolff and John Gorst . This quartet became known as

420-543: A leader of the WSPU . Balfour argued that he was "not convinced the majority of women actually wanted the vote", in 1907. A rebuttal which meant extending the activist campaign for women's rights. He was reminded by Lytton of a speech he made in 1892, namely that this question "will arise again, menacing and ripe for resolution", she asked him to meet WSPU leader, Christabel Pankhurst, after a series of hunger strikes and suffering by imprisoned suffragettes in 1907. Balfour refused on

504-484: A new, coach-centered education system that meets the needs of coaches and, ultimately, players. The PGA is divided into seven regional sections and a dedicated women's section (the WPGA), each of which has its own headquarters and organises its own tournaments: The PGA also has an international community for members outside Great Britain and Ireland. All students who go through the three-year course and succeed in passing

588-615: A political lightweight. In Parliament he resisted overtures to the Irish Parliamentary Party on Home Rule , which he saw as an expression of superficial or false Irish nationalism . Allied with Joseph Chamberlain 's Liberal Unionists , he encouraged Unionist activism in Ireland. Balfour also helped the poor by creating the Congested Districts Board for Ireland in 1890. Balfour downplayed

672-577: A programme for European Jews to settle in Palestine. However, in 1905 he supported the Aliens Act 1905 , one of whose main objectives was to control and restrict Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. The budget was certain to show a surplus and taxation could be remitted. Yet as events proved, it was the budget that would sow dissension, override other legislative concerns and signal a new political movement. Charles Thomson Ritchie 's remission of

756-668: A public funeral was declined, and he was buried on 22 March beside members of his family at Whittingehame in a Church of Scotland service although he also belonged to the Church of England . By special remainder , his title passed to his brother Gerald. His obituaries in The Times , The Guardian and the Daily Herald did not mention the declaration for which he is most famous outside Britain. Early in Balfour's career he

840-743: A referendum on food taxes), the Unionist peers split to allow the Parliament Act to pass the House of Lords, to prevent mass creation of Liberal peers by the new King, George V. The exhausted Balfour resigned as party leader after the crisis, and was succeeded in late 1911 by Bonar Law . Balfour remained important in the party, however, and when the Unionists joined Asquith 's coalition government in May 1915, Balfour succeeded Churchill as First Lord of

924-698: A regular tennis player. Four years previously he had been the first president of the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain. At the end of 1928, most of his teeth were removed and he suffered the unremitting circulatory trouble which ended his life. Before that, he had suffered occasional phlebitis and, by late 1929, he was immobilised by it. Following a visit from Chaim Weizmann, Balfour died at his brother Gerald's home, Fishers Hill House in Hook Heath, Woking , where he had lived since January 1929, on 19 March 1930. At his request

SECTION 10

#1732764933660

1008-456: A reputation as a philosopher. Balfour divided his time between politics and academic pursuits. Biographer Sydney Zebel suggested that Balfour continued to appear an amateur or dabbler in public affairs, devoid of ambition and indifferent to policy issues. However, in fact he actually made a dramatic transition to a deeply involved politician. His assets, according to Zebel, included a strong ambition that he kept hidden, shrewd political judgment,

1092-498: A strong government. This was dashed when Campbell-Bannerman faced down an attempt (" The Relugas Compact ") to "kick him upstairs" to the House of Lords. The Conservatives were defeated by the Liberals at the general election the following January (in terms of MPs, a Liberal landslide), with Balfour losing his seat at Manchester East to Thomas Gardner Horridge , a solicitor and King's Counsel . Only 157 Conservatives were returned to

1176-582: Is a great revising Chamber, the safeguard of liberty in the country." The issue was forced by the Liberals with Lloyd George's People's Budget , provoking the constitutional crisis that led to the Parliament Act 1911 , which limited the Lords to delaying bills for up to two years. After the Unionists lost the general elections of 1910 (despite softening the tariff reform policy with Balfour's promise of

1260-423: Is beautiful and distinguished––music, literature, philosophy, religious feeling and moral disinterestedness, aloof from all the greed and crying of common human nature. But a strange paradox as Prime Minister of a great empire! I doubt whether even foreign affairs interest him. For all economic and social questions I gather he has an utter loathing, while the machinery of government and administration would seem to him

1344-498: Is one of many Professional Golfers Associations around the world, but has no territorial designation in its name because it was the first in the world to be founded. For many years it was a combined organisation for club professionals and tournament professionals , but when the two branches of the golfing profession diverged due to the increasing financial rewards available to leading tournament golfers, it split in two. A separate Tournament Division with its headquarters at Wentworth Club

1428-556: The Chief Secretary for Ireland , resigned because of illness and Salisbury appointed his nephew in his place. The selection was much criticised. It was received with contemptuous ridicule by the Irish Nationalists , for none suspected Balfour's immense strength of will, his debating power, his ability in attack and his still greater capacity to disregard criticism. Balfour surprised critics by ruthless enforcement of

1512-709: The Committee of Imperial Defence , which provided better long-term coordinated planning between the Army and Navy. Austen Chamberlain said Britain would have been unprepared for the First World War without his Committee of Imperial Defence. He wrote, "It is impossible to overrate the services thus rendered by Balfour to the Country and Empire....[Without the CID] victory would have been impossible." Historians also praised

1596-626: The Crimes Act . The Mitchelstown Massacre occurred on 9 September 1887, when Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) members fired at a crowd protesting against the conviction under the Act of MP William O'Brien and another man. Three were killed by the RIC's gunfire. When Balfour defended the RIC in the Commons, O'Brien dubbed him "Bloody Balfour". His steady administration did much to dispel his reputation as

1680-636: The Entente Cordiale with France, an agreement that paved the way for improved relations between the two states and their predecessors. He cautiously embraced imperial preference as championed by Joseph Chamberlain , but resignations from the Cabinet over the abandonment of free trade left his party divided. He also suffered from public anger at the later stages of the Boer War (counter-insurgency warfare characterised as "methods of barbarism") and

1764-576: The Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 and this was expanded by the Conservatives in the land purchase scheme of 1885 . However the depression in agriculture kept prices low. Balfour's solution was to keep selling land and in 1887 lowering rents to match the lower prices, and protected more tenants against eviction by their landlords. Balfour greatly expanded the land sales. They culminated in the final Unionist land purchase programme of 1903, when Balfour

SECTION 20

#1732764933660

1848-903: The University of Cambridge , where he read moral sciences at Trinity College (1866–1869), graduating with a second-class honours degree. His younger brother was the Cambridge embryologist Francis Maitland Balfour (1851–1882). Balfour met his cousin May Lyttelton in 1870 when she was 19. After her two previous serious suitors had died, Balfour is said to have declared his love for her in December 1874. She died of typhus on Palm Sunday , 21 March 1875; Balfour arranged for an emerald ring to be buried in her coffin. Lavinia Talbot, May's older sister, believed that an engagement had been imminent, but her recollections of Balfour's distress (he

1932-585: The county of Haddington . In October 1922 he, with most of the Conservative leadership, resigned with Lloyd George's government following the Carlton Club meeting , a Conservative back-bench revolt against continuance of the coalition. Bonar Law became prime minister. Like many Coalition leaders, he did not hold office in the Conservative governments of 1922–1924 , but as an elder statesman, he

2016-574: The " Fourth Party " and gained notoriety for leader Lord Randolph Churchill's free criticism of Sir Stafford Northcote , Lord Cross and other prominent members of the Conservative "old gang". In 1885, Lord Salisbury appointed Balfour President of the Local Government Board ; the following year he became Secretary for Scotland with a seat in the cabinet. These offices, while offering few opportunities for distinction, were an apprenticeship. In early 1887, Sir Michael Hicks Beach ,

2100-414: The 1920s, and died in 1930, aged 81, having spent a vast inherited fortune. He never married. Balfour trained as a philosopher – he originated an argument against believing that human reason could determine truth – and was seen as having a detached attitude to life, epitomised by a remark attributed to him: "Nothing matters very much and few things matter at all." Arthur Balfour

2184-588: The Admiralty . When Asquith's government collapsed in December 1916, Balfour, who seemed a potential successor to the premiership, became foreign secretary in Lloyd George's new administration, but not in the small War Cabinet, and was frequently left out of inner workings of government. Balfour's service as foreign secretary was notable for the Balfour Mission , a crucial alliance-building visit to

2268-545: The Anglo-French Convention (1904), which formed the basis of the Entente Cordiale with France that proved decisive in 1914. Balfour may have been personally sympathetic to extending suffrage, with his brother Gerald , Conservative MP for Leeds Central married to women's suffrage activist Constance Lytton 's sister Betty , but he accepted the strength of the political opposition to women's suffrage, as shown in correspondence with Christabel Pankhurst ,

2352-700: The Anglo-Irish landowners. The Education Act 1902 had a major long-term impact in modernising the school system in England and Wales and provided financial support for schools operated by the Church of England and by the Catholic Church. Nonconformists were outraged and mobilised their voters, but were unable to reverse it. In foreign and defence policy, he oversaw reform of British defence policy and supported Jackie Fisher 's naval innovations. He secured

2436-607: The British treasury and used them for local improvements. Balfour's introduction of Chinese coolie labour in South Africa enabled the Liberals to counterattack, charging that his measures amounted to "Chinese slavery". Likerwise Liberals energised the Nonconformists when they attacked Balfour's Licensing Act 1904 which paid pub owners to close down. In the long run it did reduce the great oversupply of pubs, while in

2520-550: The Commons, at least two-thirds followers of Chamberlain, who chaired the Conservative MPs until Balfour won a by-election for a safe seat in the City of London . According to historian Robert Ensor , Balfour can be credited with achievement in five major areas: The Education Act lasted four decades and eventually was highly praised. Eugene Rasor states, "Balfour was credited and much praised from many perspectives with

2604-678: The Council . In 1921–22 he represented the British Empire at the Washington Naval Conference and during summer 1922 stood in for the foreign secretary, Lord Curzon , who was ill. He put forward a proposal for the international settlement of war debts and reparations (the Balfour Note ), but it was not accepted. On 5 May 1922, Balfour was created Earl of Balfour and Viscount Traprain, of Whittingehame , in

Professional Golfers Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-623: The Home Rule crisis, the formation of the Ulster Volunteers and Irish Volunteers, and a period of growing nationalist and unionist radicalisation that culminated in the Easter rebellion of 1916 and the subsequent War of Independence. In 1886–1892 he became one of the most effective public speakers of the age. Impressive in matter rather than delivery, his speeches were logical and convincing, and delighted an ever-wider audience. On

2772-656: The House and First Lord of the Treasury. His management of the abortive education proposals of 1896 showed a disinclination for the drudgery of parliamentary management, yet he saw the passage of a bill providing Ireland with improved local government under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 and joined in debates on foreign and domestic questions between 1895 and 1900. During the illness of Lord Salisbury in 1898, and again in Salisbury's absence abroad, Balfour

2856-478: The House of Commons after his stroke in July 1906, but he was unable to make much headway against the huge Liberal majority in the Commons. An early attempt to score a debating triumph over the government, made in Balfour's usual abstruse, theoretical style, saw Campbell-Bannerman respond with: "Enough of this foolery," to the delight of his supporters. Balfour made the controversial decision, with Lord Lansdowne , to use

2940-535: The Liberal Unionist leader of the 1880s) left Balfour's Cabinet weak. By 1905 few Unionist MPs were still free traders ( Winston Churchill crossed to the Liberals in 1904 when threatened with deselection at Oldham ), but Balfour's act had drained his authority within the government. Balfour resigned as prime minister in December 1905, hoping the Liberal leader Campbell-Bannerman would be unable to form

3024-671: The Member of Parliament for Manchester East . In spring 1878, he became private secretary to his uncle Lord Salisbury . He accompanied Salisbury (then Foreign Secretary) to the Congress of Berlin and gained his first experience in international politics in connection with the settlement of the Russo-Turkish conflict . At the same time he became known in the world of letters; the academic subtlety and literary achievement of his Defence of Philosophic Doubt (1879) suggested he might make

3108-610: The PGA took a big step forward with the appointment of Commander Roe as secretary in 1934. He was at the helm for 28 years and under his leadership regulated membership, improved the quality of tournaments, balanced the books and generally endeavoured to promote an increase in the number of people playing the game. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the advent of the Ryder Cup, new golf heroes such as Walter Hagen , Gene Sarazen and Henry Cotton , all helped golf's popularity and reinforced

3192-670: The PGA's position as a leading golf organisation. As the tournament circuit flourished in the late 1960s and 1970s, the PGA Tournament Division went from strength to strength, ultimately going on to form the European Tour in 1984, while the interests of the club professional continued to be represented by the Association at its Belfry headquarters. During the 1960s and 1970s, the PGA rejuvenated its training and education programme, something it has continued to

3276-556: The Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith in a 1911 delegation of the women's movements representing the Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association but it was not until 1918 that (some) women were given the right to vote in elections in the United Kingdom, despite a forty-year campaign. After the general election of 1906 Balfour remained party leader, his position strengthened by Joseph Chamberlain's absence from

3360-869: The US in April 1917, and the Balfour Declaration of 1917, a letter to Lord Rothschild affirming the government's support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine , then part of the Ottoman Empire . Balfour resigned as foreign secretary following the Versailles Conference in 1919, but continued in the government (and the Cabinet after normal peacetime political arrangements resumed) as Lord President of

3444-570: The United Kingdom or becoming independent. From 1891 he led the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, serving under his uncle, Lord Salisbury , whose government won large majorities in 1895 and 1900 . An esteemed debater, he was bored by the mundane tasks of party management. In July 1902, he succeeded his uncle as prime minister. In domestic policy he passed the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 , which bought out most of

Professional Golfers Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

3528-531: The bill in the end but not for its progress to the Grand Committee, preventing it becoming law, and extending the activist campaigns as a result again. The following year Lytton and Annie Kenney in person after another reading of the Bill, but again it was not prioritised as government business. His sister-in-law Lady Betty Balfour spoke to Churchill that her brother was to speak for this policy, and also met

3612-498: The comprehensive examinations at the end of that period are then known as PGA Professionals and are able to teach and work within the golf industry anywhere in the world. The Professional Golfers' Association qualification (Foundation Degree in Professional Golf Studies) is recognised as one of the most prestigious golfing qualifications in the world. For information on how to become a PGA professional see [1] on

3696-509: The contrary: Balfour's air of detachment was a pose. He was sincere in his conservatism, mistrusting radical political and social change and believing deeply in the Union with Ireland, the Empire and the superiority of the British race....Those who dismissed him as a languid dilettante were wide of the mark. As Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1887 to 1891 he manifested an unflinching commitment to

3780-502: The countryside dramatically declined as some 200,000 peasant proprietors owned about half the land in Ireland. However, the Irish Parliamentary Party recovered after its bitter post-Parnell split was healed and became the dominant political force in Ireland once again, eventually using its position as Westminster kingmaker to secure the passage of a Home Rule Act when the Liberals returned to power. This led in turn to

3864-500: The death of W. H. Smith in 1891, Balfour became First Lord of the Treasury  – the last in British history not to have been concurrently prime minister as well – and Leader of the House of Commons . After the fall of the government in 1892 he spent three years in opposition. When the Conservatives returned to power, in coalition with the Liberal Unionists, in 1895, Balfour again became Leader of

3948-682: The dominions and the colonies, and produce a positive programme that would facilitate reelection. He was vehemently opposed by Conservative free traders who denounced the proposal as economically fallacious, and open to the charge of raising food prices in Britain. Balfour tried to forestall disruption by removing key ministers on each side, and offering a much narrower tariff programme. It was ingenious, but both sides rejected any compromise, and his party's chances for reelection were ruined. Historians generally praised Balfour's achievements in military and foreign policy. Cannon & Crowcroft 2015 stress

4032-432: The factor of Irish nationalism, arguing that the real issues were economic. Regarding ownership and control of the land, he believed that once violence was suppressed and land was sold to the tenants, Irish nationalism would no longer threaten the unity of the United Kingdom. The slogan "to kill home rule with kindness" characterised Balfour's new policy toward Ireland. The Liberals had begun land sales to Irish tenants with

4116-426: The grounds of her militancy. Christabel pleaded direct to meet Balfour as Conservative party leader, on their policy manifesto for the General Election of 1909, but he refused again as women's suffrage was "not a party question and his colleagues were divided on the matter". She tried and failed again to get his open support in parliament for women's cause in the 1910 private member's Conciliation Bill . He voted for

4200-409: The heavily Unionist House of Lords as a check on the political programme and legislation of the Liberal party in the Commons. Legislation was vetoed or altered by amendments between 1906 and 1909, leading David Lloyd George to remark that the Lords was "the right hon. Gentleman's poodle. It fetches and carries for him. It barks for him. It bites anybody that he sets it on to. And we are told that this

4284-512: The hope of glory he still possesses the means of Grace ." Balfour was not initially included in Baldwin's second government in 1924, but in 1925, he returned to the Cabinet, in place of the late Lord Curzon as Lord President of the Council , until the government ended in 1929. With 28 years of government service, Balfour had one of the longest ministerial careers in modern British politics, second only to Winston Churchill. Lord Balfour had generally good health until 1928 and remained until then

SECTION 50

#1732764933660

4368-448: The importance of the Anglo-French Entente of 1904, and the establishment of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Rasor points to twelve historians who have examined his key role in naval and military reforms. However, there was little political payback at the time. The local Conservative campaigns in 1906 focused mostly on a few domestic issues. Balfour gave strong support for Jackie Fisher 's naval reforms. Balfour created and chaired

4452-442: The importation of Chinese labour to South Africa ("Chinese slavery"). He resigned as prime minister in December 1905 and the following month the Conservatives suffered a landslide defeat at the 1906 election , in which he lost his own seat. He soon re-entered Parliament and continued to serve as Leader of the Opposition throughout the crisis over Lloyd George's 1909 budget , the narrow loss of two further General Elections in 1910, and

4536-451: The leading players of the day, led by the legendary J.H. Taylor had galvanised enough support to form the London and Counties Professional Golfers' Association . The formation of the association was announced in The Times on 9 August 1901. Arthur Balfour consented to be the president of the association. The association had already announced its first competition, to be held at Tooting Bec Golf Club , Furzedown on 8 October. The event

4620-440: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Professional_Golfers_Association&oldid=1121918488 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Professional Golfers%27 Association (Great Britain and Ireland) It

4704-561: The maintenance of British authority in the face of popular protest. He combined a strong emphasis on law and order with measures aimed at reforming the landowning system and developing Ireland's backward rural economy. Churchill compared Balfour to H. H. Asquith : "The difference between Balfour and Asquith is that Arthur is wicked and moral, while Asquith is good and immoral." Balfour said of himself, "I am more or less happy when being praised, not very comfortable when being abused, but I have moments of uneasiness when being explained." Balfour

4788-514: The official site. A second route into the PGA is via a three-year BA Hons Degree in Applied Golf Management Studies at the University of Birmingham. The AGMS is the first degree of its kind in the UK and is ideal for golfers interested in pursuing senior managerial roles in golf. It was a letter from a North Wales pro in Golf Illustrated on 12 April 1901 that triggered the idea of a professional golfers' association, advocating that pros needed to band together to protect their interests. Within months

4872-452: The passage of the Parliament Act 1911 . He resigned as party leader in 1911. Balfour returned as First Lord of the Admiralty in Asquith's Coalition Government (1915–1916). In December 1916, he became foreign secretary in David Lloyd George 's coalition. He was frequently left out of the inner workings of foreign policy, although the Balfour Declaration on a Jewish homeland bore his name. He continued to serve in senior positions throughout

4956-531: The present day with assistant professionals now graduating with foundation degrees and honours degrees covering all aspects of golf – from playing and coaching through to golf business and marketing. The PGA has strong links to Europe as a member of the PGAs of Europe and is committed to growing the game and helping ordinary golfers enjoy the game to its maximum. Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour , ( / ˈ b æ l f ər , - f ɔːr / , 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930),

5040-401: The promotion of pro-am golf tournaments and amateur golf, which provide work for its members; and the promotion of junior golf. The PGA, on behalf of the sport of golf, also leads on the development of coach education and training. A full review of the existing coach education structure, following guidance from the quality standards of the UK Coaching Certificate , has led to the establishment of

5124-423: The rift grew in the Unionist ranks. Tariff reform was popular with Unionist supporters, but the threat of higher prices for food imports made the policy an electoral albatross. Hoping to split the difference between the free traders and tariff reformers in his cabinet and party, Balfour favoured retaliatory tariffs to punish others who had tariffs against the British, in the hope of encouraging global free trade. This

SECTION 60

#1732764933660

5208-414: The shilling import-duty on corn led to Joseph Chamberlain 's crusade in favour of tariff reform. These were taxes on imported goods with trade preference given to the Empire, to protect British industry from competition, strengthen the Empire in the face of growing German and American economic power, and provide revenue, other than raising taxes, for the social welfare legislation. As the session proceeded,

5292-415: The short run Balfour's party was hurt. Balfour failed to solve his greatest political challenge – the debate over tariffs that ripped his party apart. Chamberlain proposed to turn the Empire into a closed trade bloc protected by high tariffs against imports from Germany and the United States. He argued that tariff reform would revive a flagging British economy, strengthen imperial ties with

5376-453: The side of votes was obvious and deterrent....Public money was thus made available for the first time to ensure properly paid teachers and a standardised level of efficiency for all children alike [including the Anglican and Catholic schools]. For most of the 19th century, the very powerful political and economic position of the Church of Ireland (Anglican) landowners opposed the political aspirations of Irish nationalists. Balfour's solution

5460-487: The success [of the 1902 education act]. His commitment to education was fundamental and strong." At the time it hurt Balfour because the Liberal party used it to rally their Noncomformist supporters. Ensor said the Act ranked: among the two or three greatest constructive measures of the twentieth century....[He did not write it] but no statesman less dominated than Balfour was by the concept of national efficiency would have taken it up and carried it through, since its cost on

5544-417: The suppression of obstruction, yet there was a slight revival of the criticisms of 1896. With Lord Salisbury's resignation on 11 July 1902, Balfour succeeded him as prime minister, with the approval of all the Unionist party. The new prime minister came into power practically at the same moment as the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and the end of the South African War . The Liberal party

5628-431: The vulgar world at arm's length....To Mr. Arthur Balfour this studied attitude of aloofness has been fatal, both to his character and to his career. He has said nothing, written nothing, done nothing, which lives in the heart of his countrymen....the charming, gracious, and cultured Mr. Balfour is the most egotistical of men, and a man who would make almost any sacrifice to remain in office. However, Graham Goodlad argued to

5712-562: Was "staggered") were not written down until thirty years later. Historian R. J. Q. Adams points out that May's letters discuss her love life in detail, but contain no evidence that she was in love with Balfour, nor that he had spoken to her of marriage. He visited her only once during her serious three-month illness, and was soon accepting social invitations again within a month of her death. Adams suggests that, although he may simply have been too shy to express his feelings fully, Balfour may also have encouraged tales of his youthful tragedy as

5796-614: Was a British statesman and Conservative Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the Lloyd George ministry , he issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917 on behalf of the cabinet, which supported a "home for the Jewish people" in Palestine . Entering Parliament in 1874 , Balfour achieved prominence as Chief Secretary for Ireland , in which position he suppressed agrarian unrest whilst taking measures against absentee landlords . He opposed Irish Home Rule , saying there could be no half-way house between Ireland remaining within

5880-448: Was a sister of the 3rd Marquess , the future prime minister. Arthur's godfather was the Duke of Wellington , after whom he was named. He was the eldest son, third of eight children, and had four brothers and three sisters. Arthur Balfour was educated at Grange Preparatory School at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire (1859–1861), and Eton College (1861–1866), where he studied with the influential master, William Johnson Cory . He then went up to

5964-429: Was born at Whittingehame House , East Lothian, Scotland, the eldest son of James Maitland Balfour and Lady Blanche Gascoyne-Cecil. His father was a Scottish MP, as was his grandfather James ; his mother, a member of the Cecil family descended from Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , was the daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury and his first wife, Mary Frances Gascoyne (born 1802; m. 1821; died 1839), and she

6048-646: Was consulted by the King in the choice of Stanley Baldwin as Bonar Law's successor as Conservative leader in May 1923. His advice was strongly in favour of Baldwin, ostensibly due to Baldwin's being an MP but in reality motivated by his personal dislike of Curzon. Later that evening, he met a mutual friend who asked 'Will dear George be chosen?' to which he replied with "feline Balfourian satisfaction," "No, dear George will not." His hostess replied, "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. He will be terribly disappointed." Balfour retorted, "Oh, I don't know. After all, even if he has lost

6132-617: Was decided that, subject to certain conditions, it would amalgamate with the London-based Professional Golfers' Association and become the northern section of the new enlarged association. The same meeting also agreed to accept an offer from the Leeds Golf Club to host a tournament on 6 May at which the club would provide a prize. This prize became the Leeds Cup . Administration and organisation of

6216-482: Was delayed by a week and was played on 15 October. The Tooting Bec Club donated a " silver challenge cup " to be awarded to the winner. Of the 50 members who entered 46 played, the tournament being over 36 holes of stroke play. The name of the association was changed at the first AGM on 2 December 1901 to The Professional Golfers' Association. Membership was reported as 59 professionals with 11 assistants and funds of just over £47. The golfing landscape in those early days

6300-638: Was established in the 1970s, and in 1984 this became the independent PGA European Tour . Its activities include the training of assistant professionals and the continuing education of members; the organisation of golf tournaments, including tournaments for its members such as the PGA Cup , contested between Great Britain and Ireland, and the Ryder Cup organized in conjunction with the Professional Golfers Association of America ;

6384-433: Was homosexual, or, in view of a time during the Boer War when he was seen as he replied to a message while drying himself after his bath, Lord Beaverbrook 's claim that he was "a hermaphrodite " whom no-one saw naked. Balfour was a leading member of the social and intellectual group The Souls . In 1874 Balfour was elected Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertford until 1885. From 1885 to 1906 he served as

6468-665: Was in charge of the Foreign Office , and he conducted negotiations with Russia on the question of railways in North China. As a member of the cabinet responsible for the Transvaal negotiations in 1899, he bore his share of controversy and, when the Second Boer War began disastrously, he was first to realise the need to use the country's full military strength. His leadership of the House was marked by firmness in

6552-550: Was maintained by his also unmarried sister, Alice. In middle age, Balfour had a 40-year friendship with Mary Charteris (née Wyndham), Lady Elcho , later Countess of Wemyss and March . Although one biographer writes that "it is difficult to say how far the relationship went", her letters suggest they may have become lovers in 1887 and may have engaged in sado-masochism , a claim echoed by A. N. Wilson . Another biographer believes they had "no direct physical relationship", although he dismisses as "unlikely" suggestions that Balfour

6636-466: Was not sufficient for either the free traders or the extreme tariff reformers in government. With Balfour's agreement, Chamberlain resigned from the Cabinet in late 1903 to campaign for tariff reform. At the same time, Balfour tried to balance the two factions by accepting the resignation of three free-trading ministers, including Chancellor Ritchie, but the almost simultaneous resignation of the free-trader Duke of Devonshire (who as Lord Hartington had been

6720-464: Was prime minister and George Wyndham was the Irish secretary. It encouraged landlords to sell by means of a 12% cash bonus. Tenants were encouraged to buy with a low interest rate, and payments drawn out over 68 years. In 1909, Liberal legislation required compulsory sales in certain cases. As the landlords sold out, they relocated to Great Britain , giving up their political power in Ireland. Tensions in

6804-836: Was still disorganised over the Boers. In foreign affairs, Balfour and his foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne , improved relations with France, culminating in the Entente Cordiale of 1904. The period also saw the Russo-Japanese War , when Britain, an ally of the Japanese, came close to war with Russia after the Dogger Bank incident . On the whole, Balfour left the conduct of foreign policy to Lansdowne, being busy himself with domestic problems. Balfour, who had known Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann since 1906, opposed Russian mistreatment of Jews and increasingly supported Zionism as

6888-409: Was thought to be merely amusing himself with politics, and it was regarded as doubtful whether his health could withstand the severity of English winters. He was considered a dilettante by his colleagues; regardless, Lord Salisbury gave increasingly powerful posts in his government to his nephew. Beatrice Webb wrote in her diary: A man of extraordinary grace of mind and body, delighting in all that

6972-453: Was to buy them out, not by compulsion, but by offering the owners a full immediate payment and a 12% bonus on the sales price. The British government purchased 13 million acres (53,000 km2) by 1920, and sold farms to the tenants at low payments spread over seven decades. It would cost money, but all sides proved amenable. Starting in 1923 the Irish government bought out most of the remaining landowners, and in 1933 diverted payments being made to

7056-478: Was very different to the modern game with pros, even the very best like Taylor, Vardon and Braid, earning a living from club duties, club and ball-making, green-keeping, teaching here and there and of course competing in tournaments. A separate Northern Counties Professional Golfers' Association was formed as a result of a meeting in Leeds on 9 January 1902. At a subsequent meeting, also in Leeds, on 24 March 1902 it

#659340