Drives or driveways.

[Tashyboy]

Am sure this has been discussed before, but now it is BBC news.

Why golf courses are in the crosshairs of Britain's housing crisis

Are golf courses the right places to build housing, or are they simply a soft target?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[rulefan]

Am sure this has been discussed before, but now it is BBC news.

Link?

 

[Tashyboy]

Link?

Forgot to put it in

 

[timd77]

Read this earlier. Will we ever shake this notion that golf is a rich man’s sport? The Ryder cup ticket prices suggests not!

There are a couple of courses near me which closed in the last 7-8 years, supposedly for housing development. Both are still sat there as over grown parkland. In fact one has now had a car park and cafe added for the dog walkers.

I wonder how many vacant, derelict, empty properties there are in the uk that could be redeveloped instead? I suspect it’s a fair few.

 

[Orikoru]

Read this earlier. Will we ever shake this notion that golf is a rich man’s sport? The Ryder cup ticket prices suggests not!

There are a couple of courses near me which closed in the last 7-8 years, supposedly for housing development. Both are still sat there as over grown parkland. In fact one has now had a car park and cafe added for the dog walkers.

I wonder how many vacant, derelict, empty properties there are in the uk that could be redeveloped instead? I suspect it’s a fair few.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Covid golf boom has completely fizzled out by now, given that most courses seem to have doubled their prices since then. I wouldn't call it a rich man's sport, but at the same time, it ain't cheap.

Several courses near me have closed in the last decade. Ruislip closed for HS2, Bushey Hall closed as it was sold to developers I think (not sure anything's started building yet). The nine hole and driving range near me closed as the owners simply ran out of money I think, that was at least 6 years ago and nothing has happened with that land yet. There has been one new course open up in the slightly wider vicinity, which was the Inspiration. As a new course though it's much more expensive than the ones we lost, of course.

 

[Depreston]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Covid golf boom has completely fizzled out by now, given that most courses seem to have doubled their prices since then. I wouldn't call it a rich man's sport, but at the same time, it ain't cheap.

Several courses near me have closed in the last decade. Ruislip closed for HS2, Bushey Hall closed as it was sold to developers I think (not sure anything's started building yet). The nine hole and driving range near me closed as the owners simply ran out of money I think, that was at least 6 years ago and nothing has happened with that land yet. There has been one new course open up in the slightly wider vicinity, which was the Inspiration. As a new course though it's much more expensive than the ones we lost, of course.

At our place there seems to be a big rise in the number of younger members over the last few years Covid might be fizzling out but YouTube golf seems to be getting the youngsters hooked

 

[D-S]

We have lost in our County Tracy Park (36 holes) sold to someone who is making it a private estate, we will lose Woodlands (36 holes) earmarked for housing and in due course Woodspring (27 holes) for housing.
Though this means that local courses will not be short of members for the foreseeable future, it will also deny new golfers access to the game and spells long term problems, especially as clubs will be able to charge more due to limited supply.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I believe the numbers are up overall. More people playing, more women, more kids.

 

[timd77]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Covid golf boom has completely fizzled out by now, given that most courses seem to have doubled their prices since then. I wouldn't call it a rich man's sport, but at the same time, it ain't cheap.

Several courses near me have closed in the last decade. Ruislip closed for HS2, Bushey Hall closed as it was sold to developers I think (not sure anything's started building yet). The nine hole and driving range near me closed as the owners simply ran out of money I think, that was at least 6 years ago and nothing has happened with that land yet. There has been one new course open up in the slightly wider vicinity, which was the Inspiration. As a new course though it's much more expensive than the ones we lost, of course.

No, it’s not cheap but I wouldn’t class it as a rich man’s sport really, depending where you play I guess. How much is a season ticket to football these days? Pushing on a grand? Not far off.

In our society we have a wide range of ages, from an 18 year old, through to young lads just starting their careers, family men in their 30-40s, right through to retirees. The club has a good number of juniors and the women’s section is thriving. It’s definitely part of the community rather than rich blokes wearing Pringle and driving jags.

I know we’re going to be biased because it’s our sport, but it gets very tiring having to defend it all the time!

 

[Orikoru]

No, it’s not cheap but I wouldn’t class it as a rich man’s sport really, depending where you play I guess. How much is a season ticket to football these days? Pushing on a grand? Not far off.

In our society we have a wide range of ages, from an 18 year old, through to young lads just starting their careers, family men in their 30-40s, right through to retirees. The club has a good number of juniors and the women’s section is thriving. It’s definitely part of the community rather than rich blokes wearing Pringle and driving jags.

I know we’re going to be biased because it’s our sport, but it gets very tiring having to defend it all the time!

Yeah I definitely agree, there are plenty of people who've never even dabbled in the sport who still think it's like it was in 1975.

Depreston made a great point above though, I think YouTube golf now has made great strides in getting young people involved. One of my football mates who's 8 or 9 years younger than me says he quite often turns up at a course with his mates and plays a scramble - I never would have dreamed of paying a green fee and not playing my own round and score, but the scramble is very much a staple of the YouTube groups such as ForeBros etc.

 

[sjw]

There are some people who will only be happy once every last inch of ground is covered by housing, I swear.

The trouble is, we don't just need more housing, we need more affordable housing. No use destroying things that people like to use to create houses that just get bought up by landlords to rent out - still no-one can afford them, the protestors have something else to moan about, and a community loses its golf course.

 

[simsini]

Some people deliberately describe golf as elitist when they know it isn't, because it fits with their political ideology. Basically, golf is played by rich people who I politically hate, so their golf courses should be closed for housing. I have a complete and utter disdain for such people. Golf is played by people of all types of backgrounds and actively brings people together. The country shouldn't be one massive housing estate with no recreational activities. Also, we don't need tons more housing, we need less people.

 

[Neilds]

Some people deliberately describe golf as elitist when they know it isn't, because it fits with their political ideology. Basically, golf is played by rich people who I politically hate, so their golf courses should be closed for housing. I have a complete and utter disdain for such people. Golf is played by people of all types of backgrounds and actively brings people together. The country shouldn't be one massive housing estate with no recreational activities.

Totally agree, but would add we also need shops, doctors surgeries, schools, etc, etc to service these new estates they want to build. The building firms either treat these as an after thought or ignore them completely.