As London Golf Club celebrates its 30th birthday, we sit down with chief executive Stephen Follett to talk about the past 30 years, today, and what looks to be a very exciting future.
Why do you think the club has risen to such prominence as one of the UK’s most prestigious venues over the last 30 years?
I think the tournaments have been a huge part. Our tournament history and our tournament pedigree has brought it to the forefront from a customer’s perspective and a visual perspective. The European Opens, World Matchplay events, the combination of senior tournaments and, this year, moving to things like the G4D have all helped us.
You look at the design, and the name behind the golf course being a Nicklaus Design, and I daresay that has helped as well. We were fortunate when the course was built that it was the largest golf construction project in Europe, they (Nicklaus Design) built it correctly and I think we’ve managed to maintain that.
The strategy of the business has also helped – a drive to keep evolving and never to stand still in terms of investment into the product. We’ve just taken delivery of another fleet of Club Cars (our third in eight years). We always want to keep pushing and learning and driving the business forward. We are a golf club, but we are also a modern golfing facility. We stay true to the traditions of golf, but I think it’s a more modern outlook on the business of golf.
Most people know the golf courses were designed by Nicklaus Design – with Jack Nicklaus himself designing The Heritage and Ron Kirby designing The International. How beneficial has the Nicklaus name been to London Golf Club?
It has been for sure, and it is something that we have played on more and more, as there are not many courses of his in this country. I think we view ourselves as the custodians of the design and the Nicklaus Design brand.
In our special 30-year edition magazine we did a huge piece on Jack Nicklaus and he gave us a quote directly for it. It’s an important part for us and our heritage. We’re only 30 years old – we can’t compare ourselves to some of the traditional golf clubs in the country, but the heritage we have we must hold on to.
Ron Kirby visited us in July 2022 and we did some work with him to take The International course back to some of the original designs, so it was fascinating to have his input again. Unfortunately, he passed away recently, but we have named our staff house ‘Kirby Cottage’ after him so he will always be remembered.
The club has hosted a range of DP World Tour tournaments and other events over that time. Is there one moment the club looks back on with great fondness?
Prior to my time it was the World Matchplay Championship in 2014. The stories, the atmosphere, the work done with IMG – it really resonated. They also did the European Open in 2008 and 2009, but every other tournament that we’ve held has been massively important.
We’re also conscious that the World Matchplay was almost ten years ago. Since then, we’ve hosted the Cazoo Classic and the Legends Tour, but now we want to move on and look at what else we can get involved in. We feel we can provide a turnkey solution for any tournament.
Prior to London Golf Club, you worked for several venues across Europe. What was it about London Golf Club that attracted you to move to the Kent countryside?
I will have been here eight years this August. It’s passed quickly, I think Covid took a couple of years out of that. It’s been eventful. I can’t say I have any regrets coming here, I’ve absolutely loved it and I think it will continue to grow and continue to occupy a huge part of who I am and my life.
I was drawn to London Golf Club and the opportunity to make an impact on a venue and to see it through each day; you can go out the drive at the end of the day, you’ve impacted that person, you’ve helped that member of staff, you’ve seen that customer experience and smiling faces. I’m always comfortable somewhere I can mould, and I can impact.
Over the last eight years, you’ve placed an impetus on both staff wellbeing and community outreach. Can you tell me a little bit about what initiatives have been run recently and why championing them is so important to yourself?
I go back to the early days of my career with Marriott and Troon – American companies that are very much customer focused but also have the priority of looking after its staff.
I like to help people. The team that works here spends more time at the club than they do at home, so I think wherever possible I like to see them benefit. I like to celebrate birthdays and sometimes those little gestures matter.
We’re a massive employer of around 145 staff, and 90-plus percent of staff live and commute from within Kent.
The Community Cupboard just ten minutes down the road is one of the largest foodbanks in Kent – on average they are distributing four to five tonnes of food a month to people less fortunate.
This year it is one of our staff-nominated charities and, once a quarter, we have a food drive for them and have food boxes in the canteen.
It is important that we support the community.
One of the positions we’re looking to recruit here is a golf community officer, somebody who will go out and take golf to the community through the schools, clubs and to let people know the benefits of the sport.
For us, it’s a very new role but it is something I’m very passionate about and something we feel can break down barriers in the community.
Our other charity this year is Demelza – a local hospice. In the Spike Bar, one of the menu items is linked to the charity, so whenever somebody has that we donate a certain amount of money.
Post-Covid, all these charities have struggled so it is about finding different ways we can support them.
The club is, of course, always evolving and there are some exciting plans in place for the next few years. What are your hopes for the future of London Golf Club?
It’s important that we must constantly evolve, we must constantly change and respond to the customers’ needs and the trends.
Going forward, we’ve not had a tournament for several years, but we are London Golf Club. We are lucky to have that name and be close to London. With the landscape of golf forever changing, we want to be ready for whatever that format takes in the future, and I’d like to think we are a turnkey solution for this.
We have Millwall Football Club coming along as neighbours and, beyond that, we have Brands Hatch, so as an area we are used to events and staging events. We want to create a ‘we are tournament-ready’ region and area.
We have tried and tested it with DP World Tour events, but there are global events – Ryder Cups, Solheim Cups – that we should be looking at and aspiring to host.
We are a part of the bidding process for the Ryder Cup. That’s been a fascinating exercise because the numbers they’re talking about – 70,000 people a day – is a different dynamic. But The London Project (a major expansion that will include a new hotel and spa) will stand us in good stead to become a venue to attract these global events. Mr Nagahara (the club’s first owner) wanted to create a venue to stage global tournaments. Now, the team is here, the facility is here, the product is here, and we believe we could put on a great show. I think that’s the right aspiration for the club to have.
It could be in 2031 or 2035. It gives us time to plan it and I think that is where I would like to see us go. I would like to see our facility become renowned alongside some of the other venues that have hosted Ryder Cups and Solheim Cups. That’s where we should be, we should be among those names.
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