Here’s three important developments in the golf industry from July

The last month has seen trends from golf clubs forming partnerships with luxury hotel brands to environmental activists vandalising golf courses across Europe.

Municipal clubs can be saved if they help their local authorities

Brackenwood Golf Club in Wirral closed last year because its council was experiencing a financial crisis.

That could have been the end of the golfing story – but its members stayed loyal and when the council revealed it needed to provide sports pitches aimed at schoolchildren, they offered to facilitate this if the club was reopened.

The council has now agreed that that is the best way forward.

Closed Wirral golf course is saved

Clubs are linking up with luxury hotel brands

Three major golf clubs have formed a partnership with Fairmont in the last few weeks.

The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Cheshire and Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa, which both have hotels, have been rebranded as Fairmont venues.

Now, Royal Ascot Golf Club, which doesn’t offer accommodation, has formed a partnership with a local Fairmont hotel to offer guests a stay and play package in the Berkshire countryside.

The club’s manager says the partnership will deliver memorable experiences “and forms part of our broader growth strategy”.

Royal Ascot becomes latest golf club to link with Fairmont

Self sufficient irrigation – and PR – might be the way forward

With environmental stories dominating the news agenda this summer, some clubs such as Hockley Golf Club in Hampshire want to develop a sustainable irrigation system in which rainwater is captured in winter and used to irrigate the course in summer.

This comes as Extinction Rebellion has vandalised 10 golf courses in Spain, and released a statement saying that golf uses too much water.

However, a sustainable irrigation system on its own might not help against eco activists.

Another group vandalised a golf course in France recently, making the same argument about water usage.

Afterwards a spokesman revealed that the club doesn’t actually irrigate its course via the local groundwater table, perhaps suggesting that clubs might want to promote their green credentials more.