Fundraisers aim to save golf course in Bath

A municipal golf course in Bath that has not reopened following the first lockdown in 2020 could be saved after a fundraiser was launched.

Campaigners have set up a gofundme page in order to raise £15,000 for Bath Approach Golf Course, which has not been fully maintained in months.

The venue closed in the March 2020 lockdown but has not reopened since, and Bath and North East Somerset Council this year rejected the only bid so far to run the facility – as a disc golf course.

‘A group of residents and golfers have remained in discussion with the council to look at ways to allow golf to be played again, and a low-cost solution is now on the table for the greens and tee areas on the 18 hole course to be restored and maintained by a local charity,’ states the gofundme.

‘To fund this work we are aiming to raise an initial £15,000. This would pay for the sprinkler system to be brought back into use, the tee areas to be tidied up, the greens to be cut, repaired and reseeded, plus an initial six months of regular maintenance. Once the course is up and running again, the intention is to re-establish ongoing funding by encouraging golfers to donate each time they play, and by once again offering club hire on site.’

Before Covid-19 forced its closure the golf course offered an 18-hole and a 12-hole course and cost the council £30,000 a year.

News of the fundraiser follows Kevin Guy’s commitment in May in his first speech as council leader to keep a golf course on the site, subject to a viable operator being identified.

He said the authority had “listened to the thousands who signed a petition on BathApproach Golf Course”.

Bath Approach Golf Course. Image from Twitter

Two councillors, Lucy Hodge and Mark Elliott, have each donated £50 to the fundraiser.

They said in a joint statement: “We fully support the gofundme campaign led by Ben Reed on behalf of the Friends of Bath Approach Golf Course.

“This positive and inclusive approach offers a way forward for the resumption of golf on the High Common, the popularity of which was powerfully demonstrated by the 5,000 signatures to a petition opposing an alternative, unsightly use of this important green space.

“The resumption of golf, by contrast, does not represent a change of use.

“We support all efforts to restore an activity dear to the hearts of generations of Bath residents and visitors alike.”