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Pádraig Harrington to design first 18-hole course
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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A pandemic-era closure reopens and a golf club’s neighbours are better off because of it
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 reports record revenues and rounds played
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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Eyemouth Golf Club to install waterless composting toilet
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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Royal Dornoch unveils plans for third links course amid “chronic oversubscription”
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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This robotic golf ball picker frees up range staff and keeps golfers happier
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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Rockliffe reopens after multi-million-pound transformation into luxury golf destination
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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Your clubhouse is costing you money – and you don’t even know it
Dark entrances, awkward retail and silence at the clubhouse door are quietly driving golf club members and visitors away, says a behavioural psychologist. Fortunately, some of the world’s leading venues have worked this out, and here, according to Ian Knox, head of European Tour Destinations, is what they’re doing differently.
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Procurement launched to secure future of Solent Meads’ golf course
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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Knowing a member saves golfers nearly £60 a round on average, new index finds
A new database tracking what member’s guests actually pay to play – rather than the visitor rate every club publishes – has found the discount is worth most at Britain’s top-ranked courses, where signing in with a member can save more than £180 a round.
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Nairn Golf Club appoints Kim Speirs as new assistant manager
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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Campaigners push back as developer defends 507-home Sunbury Golf Course plan
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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UK golfers have lost 94 years of play to extreme weather since 2016, new research finds
A decade-long analysis of UK weather data reveals extreme heat and rainfall have made courses unplayable for a combined 34,359 days since 2016 – with Cumbria the worst affected region and further increases forecast by 2040.
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Golf clubs urged to take part in national water resilience census
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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How CardsSafe is helping golf clubs secure card payments on and off the course
From equipment hire to on-course drinks buggies, CardsSafe’s card-retention system is now used at clubs including Foxhills, Silvermere and The London Golf Club – which has expanded its installation three times since first adopting the technology in 2008.
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BGL appoints Stephen Brown as group chief operating officer
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.