2020 is poised to be an exciting year for Waterlooville Golf Club despite the current pandemic.
Some of the new bunkers at Waterlooville Golf Club. Pic: Waterlooville GC.
Situated near Portsmouth in the heart of the delightful Hampshire countryside, Waterlooville Golf Club was founded in 1907. Renowned for its friendly atmosphere and warm welcome, the 18-hole championship golf course was designed by the great Sir Henry Cotton.
The Waterlooville course underwent improvements in the autumn of 2019 which will come into fruition during the 2020 playing season; cementing the club’s position as one of the finest golfing venues in Hampshire.
Course improvement projects include the implementation of a new irrigation system. Topturf Irrigation replaced the previous irrigation with a modern system allowing the greenkeepers to more efficiently water a greater area thus improving the quality of more of the overall playing surfaces, whilst minimising water wastage.
The £240k project saw the installation of new pipework, as well as a new pumphouse featuring two pumps that alternate and share the workload; a new tank 2 ½ times the size of the previous one, new control boxes and new irrigation heads on the greens, approaches and tees.
Autumn improvements also see renovation of bunkers
Added when the course was originally laid out in the 1970s, all thirty-two bunkers had become featureless and high maintenance. Waterlooville engaged Durabunker to redesign and renovate twenty-three of the course’s bunkers with a further nine filled-in after member feedback.
Twenty-three bunkers were then renovated with two of the larger bunkers being split into two new bunkers each, giving the course a grand total of twenty-five bunkers.
Durabunker excavated the bunkers before installing new drainage in each of them. Each bunker was then shaped and lined with a highly porous resin bound rubber crumb. Edged with signature, Durabunker tiling which gave a much sturdier structure for machinery. The surrounding areas were then returfed and China Clay sand installed in each of the bunkers
The new bunkers are now a positive feature giving definition and shape to the holes. They will also greatly reduce maintenance and withstand heavy rain better with minimal wash and improved drainage.
March 2020, will see the final major project
Also approved by the members, the 3rd and 4th greens have been drained by MJ Abbott, and later in the year MJ Abbott will be returning to renew the drainage on the 13th and 18th fairways. Secondary drainage will be added to the entire course to allow water to percolate better down to the primary drainage and enabling the surface to dry out more quickly, allowing better year-round playability.
The course improvements will end up seeing over £700k of investment in the course which also included £180k investment into new industry-leading, Toro machinery, earlier in 2019, to ensure that the right equipment is in place to maintain and present the course.
Also introducing new Club Professional, James Crawford
James Crawford. Pic: Waterlooville GC.
Waterlooville GC’s other major addition is James Crawford joining the club as Head Professional. James has taken over the running of the professional shop from the club, introducing a range of new brands and a larger stockholding.
He has invested £37k in a new swing studio from which he and his assistant can teach, offer custom fitting and run competitions for the members. James has also introduced new beginner ladies coaching using Love.golf as well as free junior taster sessions with a junior coaching programme launching in 2020.
James joins Waterlooville Golf Club from Royal Ascot, having been their Head Professional for 3 years. Prior to that he spent around 6 years as the head assistant at West Sussex with stints at Orpington Golf Centre and West Chiltingon GC prior to that.
James has been a welcome breath of fresh air; working hard to engage with members and improve the member experience by offering trips to other clubs and hosting his Pro’s Day where he subsidised the food and prizes.
Waterlooville Golf Club warmly welcomes new members, visitors, society groups and corporate guests throughout the year with. The Club prides itself on its uniquely friendly and sociable atmosphere that makes it more than just a golf club, it truly is a club for life.
For further information, please call
Waterlooville Golf Club on 02392 263 388
or visit www.waterloovillegolfclub.com
