Through the Green Index

    Through The Green (TTG) is the Magazine of the British Golf Collectors' Society 

EDITORS

There have only been four editors of Through the Green over the twenty or so years of its existence. 
Each, in his different way, has moved the magazine forward, the last three building on the contribution 
of their predecessors through new standards of design and presentation. What is common to all four 
editorships is a consistently-high standard of content based on the expertise of the contributors.

David White, the first editor was one of the founding members of the British Golf Collectors' Society in 1987. David already had an important collection of golf memorabilia ranging from books, magazine, clubs and balls to ceramics and artwork. He used his wide range of contacts to encourage regular contributions from experts in various areas. Contributions were not always forthcoming and there are a number of appeals from the editorial columns, before a network of contributors was established. Handicapped by low membership numbers, simple typography was limited by cut, paste and photocopy on a restricted number of pages, with poor image reproduction. Nevertheless, quality of content was good, setting high standards for subsequent years.
Within the wider literature of golf, David is perhaps best known as publisher of re-issues of a number of classic titles in high quality leather bindings by the Ellesborough Press.

Dick Durran succeeded David White as Editor in 1991. He was responsible for major improvements in the layout of the magazine in a period of rapid membership expansion. Dick introduced a separate standard design cover for the magazine, permitting the introduction of regular advertising on the back and inside covers, mostly from the major auction houses. Standard headings and typefaces were also introduced, together with improved reproduction of tonework images, even though the printing method was still by commercial photocopying. The increasing size of the publication meant considerable effort for collating, stitching and despatch, much of which was undertaken by Dick and his uncomplaining family. Since retiring from the editorship in 1995, Dick has undertaken major work on the biography of that great writer and amateur champion, Horace Hutchinson.

Alan Jackson took over the editorship in March 1996, by which time, growing membership and print runs permitted the economics and print quality of commercial photolithography. This allowed Alan, together with the then Captain of the Society, Bob Grant, to undertake a complete redesign of the magazine, based on the new print process. Messrs Hughes of Pershore typeset the contents,
before printing and collation. Packing and distribution were undertaken by a contractor in London.
In a major initiative, sufficient numbers of three-colour covers were printed at the beginning of each year, to cover the whole year's print requirement, each issue being overprinted in black with the details of each quarter's issue. Cover designs then, as now, were based on Michael Brown's illustrations used for calendars distributed by the Life Association of Scotland. Typesetting to professional standards included the use of standard templates for titles and body text. Numbers of pages increased to around 40.
Alan is well-known for his interest in lost golf courses, and for his standard work of reference, The British Professional Golfers 1887 - 1938, which relates professional golfers to the clubs they served.

John Pearson took over from Alan Jackson in 2003. His contribution has been to incorporate more elements of golfing heritage into the layout, particularly in terms of typeface and banner headings. He uses modern software to typeset the contents himself, allowing more precise editorial control over the relationship between text and illustrations. Economics are obtained by rationalising the processes of printing, collation, packing and despatching on one location; this permitted the increase of page numbers to between 50 and 60, together with the use of colour where appropriate. Availability of colour on the inside of the covers also permits enhanced advertising revenues.
John is the author or co-author of club histories for both York and Silloth Golf Clubs, and booklets on Cecil Leitch and the practicalities of writing a golf club history. He also edited the centenary history of Fulford Golf Club.

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