Meet the manager: David Green

New golf course openings always create a buzz – but even more so when an old course with a great reputation relocates to a new venue to begin a fresh and exciting chapter in its history. Basingstoke Golf Club, now situated in the quaint north Hampshire village of Dummer, just a short distance from its original site, began a phased reopening period in June. Ten holes are now in play and a full 18 are scheduled for the end of the year, with a full reopening set for September 2025.

It has been one of the most talked-about golf development projects in the UK and is being headed up by general manager David Green, who joined the club in late 2023.

Here, David tells us about the journey the club has been on since moving three years ago, and the grand plans that are in place to make Basingstoke one of the premier golf venues in the south-east of England that will include a new state-of-the-art clubhouse and first-class practice facilities.

The new Basingstoke Golf Club has recently reopened for business – tell us about that…

Yes, Basingstoke Golf Club reopened ten of its holes on our new site in Dummer – which was formerly the home of Dummer Golf Club – in late June. It has been quite a journey to get here but our new course, which was completely rebuilt following our move in 2021, is really starting to shape up nicely and the layout is looking great. We officially opened on June 24 and the tee sheet has been very busy since. Of course, the layout is going to take some time to bed in, even the holes that are now open for play, but the feedback has been very positive and the course really is looking fantastic. It is such an exciting time!

When will the new course be fully open?

Nothing is completely set in stone, but the hope is that we will have the whole golf course open by the end of the year, a further three holes are being introduced early this month [the interview was conducted in early August] and three more hopefully towards the back end of August. We hope to have our grand opening in September 2025 when all facilities will be up and running, including a new clubhouse which we hope to be in very soon and is looking fantastic. The reason for the later official opening is that our new driving range will be the last of the facilities to open due to a soil importation scheme that finishes early spring 2025 and therefore the outfield being sculpted and laid to seed in mid-spring 2025.

Golf course moves are quite rare – how close was the old course?

Very close. Our new site at Dummer – which is a beautiful village to the southwest of Basingstoke – lies no more than 400 metres as the crow flies from where the old course used to sit. The old Basingstoke Golf Club was a lovely set-up with a good reputation, and the club was blessed with a strong and loyal membership that had strong roots in the town. It was a lovely parkland course designed by James Braid, with a history dating back to 1907. There was nothing wrong with the club, but an opportunity came up to sell the land and reinvest, and as a result we find ourselves in a position where we have a wonderful opportunity to take the new club on to the next chapter. However, it is important we retain the history and legacy of the original Basingstoke Golf Club – and I certainly feel we are doing that. Yes, there is a modern twist with what we are doing but there is always a gentle nod to the past.

It sounds like a project with massive potential…

For me to join the club as general manager, the opportunity came up last summer, and to be able to come in and set the golf club up for the membership and play a part in what is a £15 million project, you don’t really get too many opportunities like that. It is rare for golf course projects to see such an investment, but everything is being done to make this one of the best golf venues in the south.

How did you come to be involved?

It has been a varied path which has led me to Basingstoke. Starting out as a young golf pro at Princes aged 18 with aspirations to be a tournament player. I was fortunate enough to play a few events on the European Challenge Tour but struggled to find a sponsor and to play competitively week in week out became expensive so shifted my focus to being a golf club professional and went into teaching and retailing whilst keeping my hand in playing tournament golf. I have occupied various roles including head pro, director of golf and general manager and group general manager. Now here I am at Basingstoke with some fabulous challenges.

So, what’s new?

With the new Basingstoke Golf Club, there’s bigger acreage, a bigger footprint to the clubhouse, which is very much state-of-the-art, a driving range is being built with a new short-game area.

There are so many components to this golf club that weren’t on the old site when it was Dummer Golf Club. We have 162 acres of land out here of which about 50 acres weren’t being used before.

To be able to redesign the golf course and use the space to its entirety is so exciting. The routing of the course will prove a real hit with some amazing signature holes.

What are the main challenges that you’re facing?

The biggest challenge will be helping the present membership transfer into their new home which will have a different feel to the last one, a different operating structure and a different budget.

The opportunities are fabulous for the members but inevitably things will be different at a new club. There is plenty to do to get a golf club operation like this fully ready to open to its members, with a new governance structure, liquidation of a company and starting up another to trade the assets. Whilst there is a lot of admin work, it is also very interesting to see the changes that need to be made in getting a new golf club ready and having that new governance structure in place along with updated rules and policies that will enable the team and I to get the club operational and focussed on delivering the investment the club has made for its future and its membership.

Describe some of the characteristics of the new course

The layout was designed by Bruce Weller of Weller Designs. We have some real definition on the ten holes that we opened at the end of June, particularly towards the back of the golf course where the fescue has grown through and has this wonderful bluey / purple tinge to it presently. This will really highlight the rolling hills that we’ve got out there and frame those holes around the back half. It has been lovely to watch the course grow this summer and to picture how the holes will look when the fescue grass has grown properly and of course being on chalk downland gives us a great opportunity to deliver a challenging course all year round.

How long will it be?

Off the back tees it is just over 6,800 yards long, so it will be a good test, especially when the wind blows. It is going to be a challenging test but without being one where you feel you’re continually hitting par fours over 450 yards uphill and into the wind. There’s a real variation, too. We have got half a dozen holes where you can stand on those tees and go, ‘Oh, wow, this must be the signature hole’.

There must be plenty of ambition behind this. So, where would you like to see the new Basingstoke Golf Club positioned when it has fully reopened?

It is a shared vision to get Basingstoke recognised as a ‘Top 100’ course. Yes, that is ambitious, of course. Even if we don’t get into the top 100, I think it is worthwhile that you’re aspiring towards it because it helps set goals for the team to work towards. I think the club has the ability to get into the top 100 rankings due to its fabulous layout and facilities that come with it. It certainly has the potential to be one of the premier golf courses and member clubs in Hampshire and, hopefully, in the south as well.