PETER OOSTERHUIS 1948-2024
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Peter Oosterhuis (57-67) was arguably the greatest sportsman to study at Dulwich College. He represented his country playing golf at both amateur and professional levels from 1964 until 1981. He was effectively selected for every team for which he qualified during this period and had an impressive individual record. He uniquely played in the Halford Hewitt, the Walker Cup and the Ryder Cup. An achievement unlikely to be repeated. Peter was born in Dulwich to an English mother and a Dutch father. His father had escaped from the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. When Peter was 12, his parents allegedly asked Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Golf Club if Peter could pick blackberries on the course. He fortunately soon became more interested in golf, playing almost every day and, taught by Len Rowe, the long-time professional at Dulwich and Sydenham, he became a scratch golfer within two years. Peter’s influence on golf at the College was immense. Before his considerable achievements, golf was considered a very minor sport. It was decidedly inferior to the team sports of rugby, cricket and hockey. Peter raised the game’s status at the school and inspired all those who followed him. He was a committed member of the Old Alleynian Golfing Society. As Vice-President, he regularly sent messages of support and encouragement to the Halford Hewitt team.
OLD ALLEYNIAN GOLFING SOCIETY The Old Alleynian Golfing Society (OAGS) has had a busy year as we look forward to our centenary year in 2025. We have played in the usual three major tournaments and had mixed results. We lost in the first round of the Halford Hewitt to Ampleforth, who subsequently ran the eventual winners Eton closer than anyone else. In the Cyril Gray (over 50’s) we again lost in the first round ( to Brighton) but then reached the final of the plate, losing to Merchant Taylor’s. It was one of our best performances and we have high hopes for the future. Sadly, we did not qualify for the Grafton Morrish. We have also had many very enjoyable days for the whole society to enjoy during the year and it is worth noting that the OAA provides the society with a grant each year, which allows us to support those society members aged 30 and under. This means that the cost to play for the younger society members is kept to a reasonable level, as half of the green fee charged is subsidised. This has led to a significant increase in the number of younger players participating in our events which has been fantastic to see, with many of those players now representing the society in the teams. The society started its year with the Halford Hewitt Centenary dinner at Grosvenor House and the OA Sporting dinner at the RAC in Pall Mall. Both were well attended and very enjoyable occasions. In 2025 we have our Centenary Dinner at the East India Club, which is sure to be a great evening. We even have our own Old Alleynian wine to celebrate with! Our golfing season commenced with the Brewmaster trophy match against Deal in January. The match is always great fun, with the trophy named after our Grafton-winning Old Alleynian Tony Brewer (60-67). We then played a society day at New Zealand in early March. It is always a privilege to play at New Zealand and we were blessed with a dry sunny day. Our society golf continued with matches at Tandridge against Tonbridge and Shrewsbury, a match against the school at Dulwich and Sydenham, the spring meeting at Princes (played in atrocious weather and won by our Captain for the year Hugo Avshu (01-12), a great day at Rye which will be our spring meeting in 2025, a match against our old Rugby foe Whitgift at Tandridge, where many old foes recount times gone past, a new match against King Edward’s Birmingham at Chislehurst, and a match against Sevenoaks at Tandridge (Littlestone in 2025). We have a break in the summer as many of our regulars are away, and resume in mid-August with our most popular match with Royal Ashdown Forest when we play for the Deakin Cup, which is usually presented by the legendary Bob Deakin (42-45), now 97 years young, and still playing, and having lessons. We then play against Old Johnians at New Zealand, and finish the year with a society meeting at The Berkshire, which next year will be the Autumn meeting, a society day at Tandridge (which this year was the autumn meeting where John Simpson (58- 68) won the Roy Thirkell Cup for the best score, and Felix Suther-Jones (11-16) won both the Scratch and handicap combined prizes for the best scores over both the spring and autumn meetings), a great day at St George’s Hill organised by Alistair Defreiz (61-69) and not to forget a match with Alleyns at Dulwich and Sydenham, which this was appropriately halved due to the OA’s generously playing the last appalling in the deciding matches. The year rounds off with the AGM at Wildernesse when golf is entirely optional, and the main event is the fantastic lunch that follows the AGM, which hopefully lasts no more than five minutes! In 2024 we will be electing Nick Owen (72-81) as Captain for the centenary year. As can be seen we have a wide and varied calendar of events and if you would like to play in any of the many other society events, then please do let me know or visit the society website. We are, as you would imagine all being OA’s, a friendly bunch and always looking for new players. We of course all have one thing in common, and you would be surprised how often you come across an old school fellow you haven’t seen for years, or someone in the same house as you with similar memories of our great College. If you are interested in playing in any of these great events, which are all played off scratch as foursomes, please let me know at honsec@oags.co.uk Peter Foord (72-81) Secretary OAGS
He won the prestigious Berkshire Trophy in 1966 when still at school, and played in the Walker Cup in 1967, also whilst still at school. He then represented Dulwich College in the 1968 Halford Hewitt, playing with Bob Deakin (42-45) in all three matches, and winning two of them. Peter then turned professional in November 1968. By this time, he was 6ft 5in tall, with a compact swing to suit his height and a wonderful short game. Mike Kirby remembers playing with Peter when he was just 14, saying he was “quite small, with a long flowing swing”. Obviously, he had a huge growth spurt and adjusted his swing accordingly and most successfully. In 1969 Peter won the Sunningdale Foursomes with Peter Benka and finished runner up in the Natal Open, being named Rookie of the Year. Peter went on to be the dominant force in European golf in the 1970s and early 80s, winning the European Tour Order of Merit from its inception in 1971 to 1974. He had seven tournament wins on the European Tour and three on the Sunshine Tour. Peter was a stalwart of the Ryder Cup, playing for Great Britain and Ireland six times from 1971 to 1981. Although he was on the losing side in every match during a period of American domination, Peter won 14 of the 28 matches he played and halved three. He beat Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller. In 1975 Peter started to play fulltime on the PGA tour in the USA. Whilst never reaching the same heights as in Europe, Peter was a successful player on the tour for many years and won the Canadian Open in 1981. Peter finished runner up in The Open twice, in 1976 and 1982 and had success in the other majors, but never quite got into the winner’s circle. Peter stopped playing fulltime in 1986 and from 1987-93 he was Director of Golf at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades California. In 1994 Peter embarked on a broadcasting career in golf, which would prove to be equally successful as his time playing. He retired in 2015, after announcing that he was suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s. Peter Oosterhuis passed away on the 2 May 2024. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and his sons, Robert and Richard, stepsons Byron and Matt and four grandchildren.
Written by Peter Foord and David Rutnam (70-77)
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