Courses around the UK are focussing on increased demand for new and better practice facilities. Charlie Greasley from specialist golf course contractor John Greasley Ltd details what some forward-thinking clubs will be opening in the next few weeks.
The last few years have seen an increase in clubs having an appetite to invest in practice areas, ranging from upgrading putting greens and short game areas through to complete driving range schemes with attached par three academy courses. The latter is increasingly driven by inert soil importation schemes, offering turnkey facilities constructed to high standards. These are funded by the revenue borne through the importation process and therefore improvements are achieved without expenditure by the club. For 2025, we are involved with three such projects, along with several member-funded contracts.
Soil engineering
We are working with Booth Ventures at Selby Golf Club, Yorkshire, who are nearing completion of soil importation into the existing driving range area and a section of land previously unused. The design, carried out by Jonathan Gaunt, Gaunt Golf Designs, involves a complete new driving range outfield with natural target greens, a chipping green complex and a three-hole academy par three course. Having reconstructed all bunkering around the course with Jonathan Gaunt, it’s nice to return to the club as preferred contractor to complete these exciting new facilities.
Burnham Beeches GC, Bucks is drawing close to opening its new range and short game area this spring. We have been involved over the last few years working to designs by Bruce Weller. A new short game chipping green, with extensive contoured surrounds, a practice bunker, and a substantial natural turf driving range tee was constructed two years ago in advance of the range outfield being sown down last autumn. A series of five artificial target greens have also been installed by us this winter on the range outfield, along with a 23m x 4m wide, artificial teeing area.
Maximising the land
On the flipside of very large-scale projects, we see many clubs striving to get potential out of unutilised land around the main hub areas with suitable parking and access. A carefully designed facility can often be integrated and constructed within areas which have previously been overlooked. With the skills of a professional golf course architect, it is really impressive to see how new chipping and putting greens can be added or redeveloped to a greater degree of quality and useability.
A prime example is the new short game area and adjacent putting green recently opened at Wildernesse Golf Club, Sevenoaks, designed by Jonathan Gaunt. The club had been wanting an area close to the main car park and clubhouse, however space was limited. The removal of a select few trees, some beech hedging around a practice net area and some careful reshaping of the landscape has allowed a new 650m² chipping and bunker practice green with over 1,000m² of contoured surrounds which afford a multitude of different shot / stance variations.
Occasionally we do have projects that demand reconfiguration of holes to allow for practice areas to be integrated. At Ferndown GC, we constructed a new 9th green on the Alliss Course along with a new putting green. The old 9th green was chosen to be converted into a chipping green, due to its proximity to the practice range and central location. The clever planning and redesign was carried out and overseen by Ken Moodie of Creative Golf Design.
In a similar fashion, John O’Gaunt GC, Beds had the foresight and vision last year to clear an area of scrubland nestled between the main car park and practice ground. Measuring 2,000m² in total, the area was large enough to accommodate a 550m², rootzone-based chipping green with sand capped surrounds. Completed and seeded in late August 2024, opening is due this spring.
Getting technical
In April 2024 we were commissioned to construct a new putting green adjacent to the ruins of Woodseat Hall, in the heat of the amazing JCB Golf & Country Club. Having had an involvement during the construction of the course, it was great to be invited back to carry out such an important project.
The new 1000m² technical putting green at JCB Golf & Country Club is a unique concept, designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design. The putting surface is split into six distinct zones, each of a different prescribed gradient, from perfectly flat and then in 0.5 percent increments from one to three percent, to replicate the gradients found around the on-course hole locations at JCB. Each zone is identified by discs set into the green surrounds. Putting coaches and golfers can practice putting techniques with assurity about the break and speed of putts on different slopes. Grading had to be millimetre perfect for the concept to work and this painstakingly precise work was done by John Greasley Ltd, with Charlie Greasley taking responsibility for the project. No green has ever been built with as little margin for error and Greasley delivered a sand profile that Hiseman was happy to sign off as ‘perfect’.
As with any USGA style green construction, the key importance is to ensure that precise grading is achieved in the base ‘sub-soil’ formation. The gravel and rootzone layers should then reflect the base profile in parallel. With such tight margins and the need to ensure absolute certainty, the final rootzone surface was laser graded a second time.
It’s very difficult to see the grade transitions with the naked eye, particularly when the surrounding topography has such an impact on your perception of levels. I’m sure the top level of professional golfers will find this system really helpful and I can imagine this type of design being adopted by many courses or academies in the future.
The JCB greekeeping team, headed by Callum Wark, have taken on the growing in of the putting green, which is expected to be ready in time to be used by the tour professionals playing in the LIV event in July 2025.
For more information, visit www.johngreasley.co.uk
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