Brailsford, Letchworth, Lancaster and Seckford aim for England Golf’s ‘Club of the Year’

The nominees have been announced for the England Golf Awards 2023 and they see Brailsford, Letchworth, Lancaster and Seckford golf clubs battling it out for the club of the year award.

This year’s ceremony – back as an in-person event for the first time since 2019 – will take place in Manchester on Thursday, March 2.

The four nominees for Club of the Year are:

Brailsford Golf Course (Derbyshire). This community-centred club is introducing primary school children to golf and setting up a brand-new youth team. Open days are organised for existing members to volunteer to show visitors around the course and grow the membership. Biodiversity is key to the club’s future with bamboo tees, bird boxes and bug hotels playing a crucial role in their sustainability project.

Letchworth Golf Club (Hertfordshire). Progressive and forward-thinking, the club offers monthly gender neutral, mixed and single sex competitions to cater for members’ demands. It works alongside the Jewish Golf Initiative to introduce local people to the game and their Mike Amos Golf Foundation recently raised sufficient funds via a golf day for a local special educational needs school to purchase a new minibus.

Lancaster Golf Club (Lancashire). Home to a thriving women’s section with over 150 members, the club has also formed a new committee to represent the junior section. It enjoyed a membership retention rate of 93 percent in 2022 and implemented a complete club rebrand. Recently, the club partnered with the Lancaster and District Chamber of Commerce to increase its growing and modernising profile.

Seckford Golf Club (Suffolk). Membership has grown from 400 to over 1,000 in just three years and participation in the club’s junior programme is up by 60 percent. The female section continues to grow at an impressive rate while a third of the non-executive directors are female. New solar panels are being installed to help the club move to a sustainable future.

Other categories include:

County of the Year

· Bedfordshire
· Hampshire Ladies Golf
· Yorkshire Ladies Association

Participation and Development Coach of the Year

· Aaron Lansberry (Stonebridge GC, Warwickshire)
· Amy Taylor (Hinckley GC, Leicestershire)
· Kevin Flynn (Tournerbury GC, Hampshire)
· Mike Dodd (Sturminster Marshall GC, Dorset)

Performance of the Year

· Dylan Shaw-Radford
· England Women’s Team
· Lottie Woad
· John Gough

Sustainability Project of the Year

· Bigbury Golf Club (Devon)
· Mendip Golf Club (Somerset)
· The Drift Golf Club (Surrey)
· Woburn Golf Club (BB&O)

Tournament Venue of the Year

· Saunton Golf Club (Devon)
· Silloth on Solway Golf Club (Cumbria)
· Lincoln Golf Club (Lincolnshire)
· Sherwood Forest Golf Club (Nottinghamshire)

Diversity and Inclusion Champion

· Bring It On Brum! Holiday, Activity and Food Programme
· Get Glowing Golf
· Brent Valley Golf Academy
· Muslim Golf Association.