Council course

[Imurg]

I've just remembered that there was a little council run pitch and putt in the park that's about two par 4s away from my house....
Due to a lack of demand it was left to itself about 30 years ago and is now a wild flower meadow...

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I grew up playing at Windmill Hill GC in Milton Keynes which was Council owned & operated. I believe it is now privately operated in partnership with the Council.

Where i live now Sussex, there are no Council courses at all

It was still Council run until recently but not sure at the moment- the only one I know off in the area is Stockwood Park and that’s a decent course but it’s always under threat of closure- lots of land the council could sell

 

[Dando]

Can't believe @Dando didn't mention High Elms, in Kent. Amazing golf course for a council owned operation. A real test of golf too, as it's pretty tight through woodland in parts.
Lullingstone is another council run course nearby, 27 holes, but not as good as High Elms. Bit of a slog, slopey and some often flinty lies which will tear clubs apart... and that's in the middle of the fairway. Quite good fun though, and the 9 hole has some really good holes too.
And then there's possibly the jewel in the crown, Bromley golf centre and driving range, or Royal Magpie for those in the know! ?

They’re not council courses mate - owned by My Time

 

[Bazz]

We used to have 2 near us, Brandhall and Hilltop. Both enjoyable to play, tricky, plenty to keep you coming back. Unfortunately they’ve both been closed for last few years, not sure what’s happening with them now.

Last I heard was that brandhall was meant to be being developed into houses with green space, local residents have objected to the plans. Shame they didn’t do all that before they closed it.

Same as you probably but both courses are where i first started, miss both but not getting my balls nicked at Brandhall.

I thought Hilltop was closed but the plan was to refurb it? Was that just a rumour?

 

[Bratty]

They’re not council courses mate - owned by My Time

I thought mytime was part of the council. Oh well.

 

[Dando]

I thought mytime was part of the council. Oh well.

They have got links to the council - just looked at their accounts

 

[Bratty]

They have got links to the council - just looked at their accounts

Blimey! Friday nights are rocking at chez Dando! ?

 

[Dando]

Blimey! Friday nights are rocking at chez Dando! ?

I need help to go to sleep

 

[backwoodsman]

They’re not council courses mate - owned by My Time

A
I know they are run by MyTime but are the courses owned by them? I suspect ownership is retained by the council and just the management is contracted out. That's the usual way - but I may be mistaken in this case.

 

[chico]

I started playing at Knightswood. A very flat 9 hole course in Glasgow. It was good as a starter course and they've really put some effort into the upkeep over the last couple of years and it's in great nick.
As an aside they eighth was a a par 3 that you couldn't see the green from the tee. When I was a kid my mates and I used to hop over the burn and put a ball played up into the hole. A few people around Glasgow think they got a hole in one thanks to me and my mates.

 

[timd77]

Same as you probably but both courses are where i first started, miss both but not getting my balls nicked at Brandhall.

I thought Hilltop was closed but the plan was to refurb it? Was that just a rumour?

Just looked up Hilltop, you’re right, 3 years to redevelop it into a golf facility including a 9 hole course and an 18 hole foot golf course. Weird.

Don’t remember having any nicked at brandhall but lost a fair few! The opening hole was always a killer I thought, long and up hill! Good course and set up though, cheap as chips in the bar!

 

[need_my_wedge]

I grew up playing at Windmill Hill GC in Milton Keynes which was Council owned & operated. I believe it is now privately operated in partnership with the Council.

Where i live now Sussex, there are no Council courses at all

I live (for another 4 days) about 500 yards from Windmill Hill. It’s still council owned, and run by InspireAll. It’s an OK course I play it once a year but it’s very tired, and not in the best nick.

 

[need_my_wedge]

I put a link on another thread for Fife Council courses
For 2023 it's Unlimited rounds at all 7 courses for £350 a year

Mental cheapness

I’m moving to Fife next week. One of the 7 (The Scoony) is about 4 miles from the new place. I was looking at this ticket the other day

 

[fenwayrich]

I grew up just outside Nottingham. My first golf was played regularly at Woodthorpe Park pitch and putt, owned by the city council. I just checked and the 18 hole course is still there. £6 adults, £4 kids.

I don't know of any publicly owned full size courses anymore - certainly not in the Herts / Essex border area.

My first experience of golf was at Woodthorpe Park, and as you say it is still in operation. I then 'graduated' to Nottinghamshire's oldest course Bulwell Forest, also owned by Nottingham City Council. When it began life, Bulwell Forest was called Notts Golf Club, before the members moved to the now famous Hollinwell near Kirkby in Ashfield.

Bulwell Forest remains in decent condition and is great fun for £17.50. I suspect that it has one of the smallest acreages of any 18 hole course in the country.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Chesterfield has Tapton Park 18 and 9 hole courses (£18 and £9 respectively I think). Not played the 18 for a few years but it’s a tidy and interesting track. Played the 9 holes 18months ago and enjoyed the knock.

Cannock has, or had, a pretty decent 18holer and I played it a few times when I worked in Cannock maybe 15yrs ago.

And I believe Deaconsbank/Rouken Glen (in Glasgow‘s Southside) - the course I started on 50yrs ago - is still going strong - though it may now be under the wing of David Lloyd sports centres.

 

[Bazz]

Just looked up Hilltop, you’re right, 3 years to redevelop it into a golf facility including a 9 hole course and an 18 hole foot golf course. Weird.

Don’t remember having any nicked at brandhall but lost a fair few! The opening hole was always a killer I thought, long and up hill! Good course and set up though, cheap as chips in the bar!

Par 5 uphill without a range to warm up on, put me down for a 7 and I'll start on the 2nd.

 

[timd77]

Par 5 uphill without a range to warm up on, put me down for a 7 and I'll start on the 2nd.

Yep, that’s the one! ?

 

[patricks148]

Anyone know if Stockwood Park in Luton or Batchwood St Albans are still going.

 

[Golfnut1957]

We have a 9 hole par 3 course in the area which is about £10 to play. Very casual. Sadly the council courses have closed.

I saw a dangerous video on the BBC about “re-wilding” a closed golf course. Just in the way it was made to be short it almost subconsciously implied golf courses are the scourge of the countryside and that wildlife that was almost surely there beforehand had only just returned.

I saw that but feel that it is not unusual for the BBC. My own course planted 2500 trees years ago which are maturing nicely. The outcome is a course rich in wildlife, including fox, deer and a family of Buzzards, but despite being a club of predominantly working class folk we will still be viewed by many as being "elite".

They did a series on their sports website a few years ago comparing golf with cycling. Golf was elitist, expensive, non-inclusive and bad for the family as it took daddy away from the family for the whole day. Cycling of course was the exact opposite. They pointed out that for the price of a set of golf clubs you could kit out a whole family with bikes.

They conveniently ignored that you can get a membership at Wentworth for the price of some cycling frames and/or gear sets. A colleague of mine used to peddle 140 miles a day, often going to Skipton a back, he definitely didn't take the family with him.

I always believed that the whole series of articles was written by someone who had taken up golf and just sucked, so they took up bike riding instead, no skill required.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Crookhill in Doncaster is council run. Played it a few times at a charity golf day. Nice little course a bit rough around the edges. Think annual membership is £400 and a guest rate was like £15.

You get what you pay for. Won't be winning any awards for the condition of the course and greens etc.

Think there’s a maggot farm close to it,if you’re down wind in the summer ?