Flooded course closed for seven weeks
A flooded Welsh golf course has been closed for nearly seven weeks because of the heavy rainfall that has hit much of the UK this winter.
It is thought to be Britain’s worst-hit golf club by the recent wet weather, in terms of course damage and lost revenue.
Some parts of Caerleon Golf Club in Newport are under three feet of water, and the club has brought in just £2.50 in revenue from the course since December 22.
Most of southern England saw more than twice the average rainfall for January, while some parts of the UK had their wettest January since records began.
The weather has had a major impact on golf clubs, with several seeing less business due to the rain and high winds. Hinckley Golf Club’s course manager, Dougie Johnstone, even died on the course while trying to repair storm-damaged trees.
Caerleon Golf Club is located near the River Usk, which burst its banks just before Christmas.
Since then the course has been submerged under water with its manager, Lee Fox, saying that revenue from clubhouse lunches is paying for his fuel to get to work.
“We are completely underwater,” he told the South Wales Argus. “It is still waist-high.
“We sold a basket of golf balls for £2.50, and because the course is closed no golfers are coming down, so the clubhouse is making next to nothing. It’s a struggle.
“It will take until the end of February to dry off and open. That’s another month of no income. It is a massive worry, it’s not cheap to maintain the course. Hopefully once we get it cleared up and people come back everything will be OK.
“We need a nice March weather-wise and I’ll be asking Newport council about whether we can do some sort of promotion to entice people to use the course.”
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UPDATE: It seems Long Sutton Golf Club has been even worse hit http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/VIDEO-Amazing-aerial-video-flooding-Long-Sutton/story-20410343-detail/story.html
The announcement in the House of Commons by Eric Pickles this morning (6th Feb) will hopefully help the club to claim for loss of earnings and repair work to the course. Make a claim through your local District Council before the end of March.
Flooded course closed for seven weeks » Golf Club Management http://t.co/aw9Lc9GnGx
A flooded Welsh golf course has been closed for nearly seven weeks because of the heavy rainfall that has hit… http://t.co/k5pSeNNGfD