The owner and director of Ramside Estates & Ramside Hall in County Durham talks about the venue’s growth from a hotel in the 1960s, to the building of two golf courses in the 1990s, to their development and the creation of a driving range, golf academy and now a short-game area and entertainment centre in the last few years, making it today one of England’s leading golf resorts.
There’s a saying in elite level golf that if you’re not improving, you’re going backwards – a mantra many players swear by to keep them on the right path and help achieve success. In truth, having that mindset to constantly improve is something that everyone can benefit from. At Ramside Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa in County Durham, the vision has never been clearer: to establish its position as the ‘North East’s No.1 Golf Resort’.
For John Adamson, the owner and director of Ramside Estates & Ramside Hall, no incentive is needed to keep elevating the 36-hole resort, which has grown considerably in the last few years – it’s in his blood. This is a business that started over 60 years ago, when his grandfather and another businessman built a 10-bedroom hotel on the outskirts of Durham. His father became the chef and married the boss’ daughter. John is third generation within a business that is very close to his heart.
“I remember coming to Ramside when I was a young lad,” Adamson smiles. “One of my first memories was coming here on Christmas Day. Growing up, we always lived in flats above pubs and hotels. As a young teenager, in the late seventies and early eighties, I remember earning pocket money working in the kitchens and the restaurants helping my father. It was great fun. I guess I was destined to work in the hospitality industry.”
What started out as a small hotel has become an expansive resort with 127 rooms, 10 treehouses, a luxurious spa, entertainment centre, 43-bay driving range, and golf academy – which employs close to 400 staff. At its heart sit two 18-hole championship golf courses, both of which have benefited from significant upgrades. With a stunning new short-game practice area scheduled to open in June, Ramside is set to reach new heights.
Had it not been for Adamson’s father being a keen golfer, Ramside would probably be a lot different right now. As it was, when an opportunity became available to purchase some farmland next to the hotel in the mid 1990s, his father grabbed the chance to raise Ramside’s profile by approving plans for a 27-hole golf course. In 2013/14, Adamson altered the layout to create two 18s, the Prince Bishop’s and the Cathedral. Over the next decade, Ramside went from strength to strength.
“Apart from improving the profile, the golf has brought in new revenue streams for the hotel,” says Adamson. “There’s a massive future for golf here, which is why we are improving both courses. We’ve spent over half a million pounds on drainage over the last two years, and we’re reconfiguring some of the holes to incorporate a floodlit short game area.”
It’s that saying again: if you’re not improving, you’re going backwards. Both courses are being futureproofed, with renowned golf architect Jonathan Gaunt returning to help with the upgrades, as well as The R&A. Working with course manager, Shaun Embleton, the future of golf at Ramside looks very bright, especially given what’s coming this summer.
It was during a trip to Woburn with golf consultant, Eddie Bullock, when Adamson saw the potential to transform Ramside’s golf offering. In June, the resort will open a fantastic new multifunctional, floodlit short-game area. “Going around the different golf clubs and looking at the various facilities, it became evident that the academy and the practice areas at Ramside needed improving,” says Adamson.
“For the golfer, whether that’s our members or visitors, practising is a very important part of the game. Let’s be honest, in this day and age, sometimes that’s all people have time for. What we have is unique – a top-end facility for those who want to come and work with our academy coaches, as well as an enjoyable place for hotel guests, casual players, non-golfers and beginners.”
Adamson’s relationship with Gaunt, of Gaunt Golf Design, goes back right to when golf first arrived at Ramside – and it’s he who has helped design the latest facility, one which features 17 tee positions, four bunkers and two greens. Together with a brand-new entertainment centre, there’s nothing else like it in the north east.
This is, of course, The PIN, which opened last October. With numerous other properties that fall under Ramside Estates – including The Impeccable Pig, Bowburn Hall and Hardwick Hall – Adamson has a busy workload to manage; and even when he’s on holiday, he’s always looking for new ideas to help take Ramside forward.
After a family trip to Florida just after Covid, Adamson says he was intrigued by just how popular Topgolf venues had become. “I also saw the [Topgolf] one in Dubai, and I thought, ‘We really need something similar in the north east.’
“I think the lightbulb moment for the entertainment centre, The PIN, was when we had numerous stay and play golfers with us, and they couldn’t get out because the course was closed due to inclement weather. We had groups from all over the country, Yorkshire, Lancashire, London, they were all jumping into taxis and going to Durham or Newcastle for a drink and something to eat.
“I had Topgolf at the back of my mind, and I kept thinking that we need to keep people on site. We’d just opened a fantastic spa at the hotel, but we still had to develop what we offered, both for golfers and non-golfers. I must say, there are a lot of non-golfers who are going on the range and enjoying it, and hopefully that will get more young people into golf, too.”
At The PIN, you’ll find a 43-bay Toptracer driving range, six-lane bowling alley, interactive games, a sports bar with big screens and a “menu full of crowd pleasers”. Adamson admits that he did allow himself a couple of hours off to watch a rugby match recently, although even then he was looking for ways to “polish the diamond”.
“I was saying to my management team, when we were watching the sport one Saturday afternoon, this room is full of people who would not normally come up the drive to Ramside, unless it was a birthday or a wedding. Yes, there were some challenges at the start, what with getting the staffing levels right and installing the equipment, but that’s all settled down now. The good news is that, financially, it’s exceeded our expectations. The numbers coming through the door are double what we thought, and the feedback has been fantastic.”
Looking to the future, Adamson says he wants to increase the number of hotel rooms. Golf bookings are up, and although that can only be good news for the business, it does give Adamson’s team “the next big challenge”. It’s time for the owner to do some brainstorming. He’s already “pinched the idea” of treehouses from somewhere in California, the wonderful triangular builds with hot tubs that overlook the 18th fairway of the Prince Bishop’s.
Remarkably, Adamson hasn’t played golf for 30 years – and he’s keen to put that right, too, especially given that his 10-year-old son has caught the golf bug. “I’ll have to get the clubs out and give them a little clean,” he jokes. “And then I’ll hit the golf course.”
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