“We’ve had the most successful winter league club competition ever”

A Cumbrian club has said it has had probably its strongest winter performance ever despite it being unseasonably wet.

In a sign of the continued strength of the UK golf industry since the pandemic started, Kirkby Lonsdale Golf Club said its membership numbers remained steady between September and March, despite the wet weather, and its winter league was well-participated in, and membership numbers are now expected to grow even further over the next few months.

Marketing officer and long-standing club member Graham Bywater said the club experienced the wettest season from September to March in living memory.

“We have had to cancel and postpone some events and the course has been closed a lot more often than usual,” he said.

“Despite this, the club has retained its membership at around 480 members and we are on a trajectory to achieve 500 members this season.

“We are also just completing what has probably been the most successful winter league club competition we have ever had.”

Visitor party bookings were coming in thick and fast and were in line with the past couple of years, which had been very healthy, he added.

The club has announced it will be hosting new competitions this year and has two new professionals in place.

Andy Duncan, 51, who lives in Lancaster and was previously PGA Lancashire secretary for ten years, heads up the retail operation. Steve Whiteside, who lives at Sedbergh and spent 20 years as head of a golf academy in Jersey, leads the coaching side.

“The pro shop has had a major refurbishment over the past couple of months to make it more user friendly for members and visitors alike. The main emphasis for myself and Steve is to make sure all members and visitors are served efficiently and are looked after when they come to the club,” said Andy.

Andy Duncan and Steve Whiteside

“We are very excited to have joined such a forward-thinking and successful club and to carry on the good work it does.”

Recent work on the course has included the installation of winter tees at the fourth and 14th holes and the green staff are rebuilding the greenside bunker at the third hole as part of a long-term bunker improvement scheme.

Meanwhile, La Hacienda Links Golf Resort in Spain has reported that 2023 was its best-performing year ever.

The Andalucian resort says total revenues increased by more than 50 percent last year compared to its previous record year in 2019.