Introduced in 1999, the original ‘trophy’ was donated to the Society by Mr Brydon to mark the Society’s only completely changeable competition, which is played during the B.O.V.

The format was decided each year by Chair, and early formats included:

“best 12 from 18”
“total stableford points over 36 holes”
“36 hole eclectic”

In 2004, the Society believed that a definitive format had been established to

determine the winner of this 'award-within-an-award'. The player returning the

'Best 9 Holes vs Par' over the course of the 2 rounds of the BOV, won the coveted 70's style icon - The Lava Lamp.

Being an attractive piece of table furniture, it was displayed in the home of the holder throughout the year.
 

In 2006, two coincidental (and some say spooky) events occured within just a few weeks of each other. Firstly, and very sadly, the Society's honorary horse - O'Reilly - had to be put down after sustaining fatal injuries in a collision with an automotive vehicle. Just a few weeks later, whilst on display in the home of Mr Brydon, the Lava Lamp suddenly just stopped working. Experts have never been able to fathom what exactly caused the lamp to malfunction and there are those that argue strongly the two events are linked in some mysterious way.

So when the Society met in Nov 2006 to contest the 06/07 BOV, it was agreed that The Lava Lamp would be 'retired' and replaced by the O'Reilly Memorial Vase (pictured below). As the BOV is now played over just 18 holes, the format of the OMV is to award the player who shoots the lowest score vs par over a six hole section, defined as holes 1-6, 7-12 and 13-18.

Ssshh. If you listen very hard on the first tee of each year's BOV, you may still hear the distant 'clip-clopping' of hooves from that stable yard in the sky...