Shahin Bani-Sadr, 28, appointed as general manager of Rowlands Castle Golf Club

Rowlands Castle Golf Club in Hampshire has appointed Shahin Bani-Sadr as its new general manager.

Incredibly, Shahin, who comes from Crown Golf, has, at the age of 28 and now one of the youngest golf club managers in the UK, lived for just two years more than the time the outgoing secretary was running the private members’ golf club for.

That man is Keith Fisher, who is retiring from his role as secretary at Rowlands Castle, which was founded in 1902 and shares its heritage with courses such as Sunningdale and Wentworth, which were all designed by international course designer Harry Colt.

Shahin Bani-Sadr said: “It’s a great honour for me to become the new general manager of Rowlands Castle. I am excited to get started and push the golf club forward. I am looking forward to working with a committee who is as passionate as I am at creating the best possible environment for its members.”

This will be Shahin’s first role in the private sector.

“It’s exciting for me to make the transition from proprietary golf clubs into the private sector,” he added.

“It’s great to see Rowlands become the latest club to take a chance on a younger manager. Golf is currently in a fragile state and I feel it is our duty to drive the sport forward. Seeing the likes of an old colleague getting the Sunningdale role at the age of 32 is inspirational to me and must be huge inspiration for other young managers.”

Rowlands Castle boasts a strong membership of around 750 members with many of them saying the golf course is the best it has ever been. So it seems there are exciting times ahead for Rowlands Castle Golf Club.

Mark Willcox, 2019 captain, said: “Although it is with sadness that Keith is retiring after such a long and distinguished service, the committee and I are eagerly awaiting Shah’s arrival within the next few weeks to start a new chapter in the club’s history. We look forward to working with him and continuing to move the club forward in these challenging times.”

A congratulatory LinkedIn thread about the appointment can be found here.