Alistair Dunsmuir
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Congratulations to Anna Darnell, who moves to Emirates Golf Club in Dubai after 21 years at The Grove in Hertfordshire, where she rose from corporate golf co-ordinator to general manager.
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Former Royal Ashdown Forest head pro Tim Cowley succeeds Nick Williams after 45 years at St Enodoc and will lead the shop’s move in-house for the first time since 1890.
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Spey Bay Golf Club has been put up for sale for offers in excess of £1.5m, just three years after it was acquired by US-based LinksDAO, the golf organisation founded around cryptocurrency, NFTs and Web3 technology.
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Pádraig Harrington is to carry out a major redesign project at Seapoint Golf Links in Ireland, with the course set to close from January 2027 before reopening in spring 2028 with four new holes, seven new green complexes and an upgraded irrigation system.
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The Committee for Golf Club Salaries has recommended a 4% pay rise for key club staff while also suggesting an additional 2% be added to the wider benefits package to help clubs retain skilled managers and greenkeepers.
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Following a bitter row, members at The Glen Golf Club in North Berwick have voted 273 to 221 against continuing negotiations with The Ancient Links Golf Company’s £8 million investment offer.
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Brora, Tain and Golspie golf clubs have all made key senior leadership appointments. Royal Dornoch’s Gary Dingwall has become Brora’s first director of golf, Malcolm Murray has moved to Tain as general manager, and Simon Pope has been named the new general manager of Golspie Golf Club.
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Having played around 300 DP World Tour events, Stuart Manley steps into the high performance role at Wales Golf, while Matt Jones moves up to replace him as competitions co-ordinator.
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Having started out at Glenbervie Golf Club before roles at Portmarnock and in the Middle East, Andrew Whitelaw’s journey to PGA Master Manager status headlines a quarter that also saw Britain-based professionals Stuart Disney, Stuart Brewer, Sally Hinton and Nick Drane recognised through the PGA Excel awards.
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A golf club that shut its doors during Covid finally welcomes people back, a legal body flags a sharp rise in disciplinary cases and a Shropshire club shows what genuine community partnership can look like. Here’s three stories concerning the UK golf industry we learnt during September.
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Burhill Group’s golf division has reported another record year, with venue EBITDA rising 11% to £12.7m in 2025 as playing volumes increased 9% to more than 729,000 rounds.
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Scottish Borders Council has granted planning permission for an off-grid composting toilet at a coastal Berwickshire golf course, with officers confirming no adverse environmental impact from the waterless system.
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With demand so high its championship course fully closed tee bookings in 2022, Royal Dornoch has submitted the first detailed plans for a new 18-hole links course on land next to the Dornoch Firth SSSI, alongside an upgrade of the existing Struie course.
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Running unattended for up to 10 hours and collecting as many as 40,000 balls a day, Wayrobo’s WayPick 2 could save clubs up to £30,000 a year in labour costs while freeing staff to focus on work that actually benefits members and visitors.
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North East resort Rockliffe has reopened with a Michelin-trained chef’s new restaurant, a reimagined Grade II-listed East Wing and a bunker renovation on its 7,879-yard Hawtree championship course.
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Following concerns last year that the facility could close, BCP Council has confirmed golf is “here to stay” at Solent Meads, kicking off a tender process for a lease running potentially to 2051 that combines investment in the clubhouse and driving range with biodiversity improvements across the site.
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Formerly part of the leadership team at Carnoustie Golf Links, Kim Speirs joins Nairn Golf Club as assistant manager, working alongside general manager Paul Mills as the club embarks on a decade-long strategic plan.
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A community campaign is urging residents to oppose plans for 507 homes, a care home and medical centre on part of Sunbury Golf Course, which will see the venue lose several holes.
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Golf clubs can shortly take part in a major sector-wide study into how golf clubs source, store and use water – evidence organisers say is critical to building golf’s case with water companies and regulators as drought restrictions become more frequent.
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As BGL’s group chief operating officer, Stephen Brown will now apply lessons from leading the company’s Adventure Leisure and Ninja Leisure divisions to its golf operations, aiming to challenge convention on how people play, practise and engage with the sport.
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Developed in partnership with Oxford Frozen Foods founder John Bragg, Cabot’s newest destination – this time in Canada – will bring a riverfront course and a full slate of wellness and outdoor amenities to the Cobequid Mountains foothills.
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A gate and glass doors were smashed during a break-in at St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club last Friday night, with Cambridgeshire Police appealing for witnesses and dashcam or CCTV footage – particularly of a Land Rover seen in the area.
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Nearly two decades after it was unveiled, the David McLay Kidd-designed gWest course that stalled amid economic and political turmoil – and has been played by only a handful of golfers – is being marketed by the Al-Tajir family, with planning consent already in place for a resort, hotel and 170 homes.
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Golf boards are often dominated by people with decades of experience in the game. But Brandie Deignan, who’s just spent three years on Wales Golf’s board, argues that the most valuable voice around the table may be someone who’s never played – an outsider willing to question long-standing conventions, particularly over who golf is failing…
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Formerly known as Magnolia Park, the Boarstall golf club has been closed since the pandemic – but, under new owner Bespoke Hotels, it’s reopening with a restored Jonathan Gaunt championship course.
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After years of monitoring cliff movement, Seaford Town Council has reached final design stage on plans to relocate the 17th green and 18th tee at one of England’s oldest golf clubs, Seaford Head, inland.
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Moor Allerton Golf Club, founded in 1923, has been bought by The Club Company as it continues its expansion across England.
