The most expensive ‘3’ you’ll ever have? Rare golf number plate up for sale
It’s a one-of-a-kind piece of golf memorabilia that’s up for grabs, but it’ll cost you
Want to stand out in your club’s car park? It will probably be the most expensive ‘Par 3’ you’ve ever had but a six-figure sum could be enough to secure you a unique piece of golf memorabilia.
Mullock’s Specialist Auctioneers and Valuers have been entrusted in selling a one-of-a-kind private number plate: ‘PAR 3’.
The registration number once adorned a classic 1967 Ferrari Dino and a Jaguar XF when it was held by Essex resident Terry Cowling.
So how much will it set you back?
Now, with the current owner asking to stay anonymous, Shropshire-based Mullock’s are asking for enquiries by private treaty.
Given a 2018 eBay auction listed it at £250,000, and Cowling told NCG in 2016 that he’d once been offered £80,000 for it by Wentworth members in the early part of this century, you’re going to need a wheelbarrow full of cash if it’s going to you.
Mullock’s director Ben Jones said: “I’ve not come across anything like this in my time. We mainly deal with antiques and this is just such an interesting item within golf.
“We’ve had a few enquiries and, the closer to the auction we get, we’d expect to get some more.”
The most expensive number plate ever sold by the DVLA was ’25 O’ for £518,000 in 2014. But if ‘PAR 3’ is a bit out of your price range, Mullock’s are holding an online sale of golf memorabilia on January 27 and 28.
To check out the auction items, click here.
What’s the most unusual item of golf memorabilia that you own? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
