The ‘Blue’ is the highest sporting accolade awarded at Oxford . A ‘Blue’ is won by competing in a Varsity Match against Cambridge. This is a momentous occasion marked by a player not only being given the chance to “shoe the ‘Tabs” but also being able to wear the ‘blues blazer’.

The Golf Varsity Match is played over a week. The Ladies and the Divots (Mens’ 2nd team) compete over 18 holes of foursomes and 18 holes of singles in matches played on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Varsity Week. The Men’s Blues play towards the end of the week. The reserves of each team are called ‘dinner-blues’. They compete on the Thursday over 18 holes foursomes and 18 holes singles to determine which side will pay for the dinner on Saturday evening at the end of the match. The Mens’ Blues Match begins on the Friday with 10 players from each club competing over 36 holes foursomes. The fixture is decided on the Saturday by 36 holes singles match play.

In recent times, the Varsity Match has been hosted by Royal Liverpool at Hoylake, Aldeburgh GC, The Honourable Company at Muirfield, Ganton GC, Walton Heath, Royal St George’s (pictured left), Royal Porthcawl and Rye GC.
And the fun of university golf doesn’t end when you go down from Oxford. Once a player has won a Blue in the Men’s and Ladies teams, he or she is normally invited to join the respective Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Societies.

The Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society is based at Rye GC but has fixtures all around the world. The preferred format is foursomes and their motto is ‘serious fun.’ The biggest competition of the Society’s season is the President’s Putter, played in January over up to 8 rounds of singles match play. The golf is excellent with some extremely good amateur winners in recent years. What’s more Society members of ages 18 to over 80 come from all over the world to play or spectate. They have some cracking lunches, wear a lot of tweed/plus-fours/garish cords and take the odd labrador out for a walk.