Justin Rose Pledges Support To Save Hampshire Golf Course

[TomC]

Thought this may be of interest to you guys, it is right next to the new Golf Monthly offices.


http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/news/...ave-southwood-golf-course-in-hampshire-142081

 

[Curls]

First, we close the course.

Then, we reallocate it as "green space"

Then, we sell a little bit of it to developers. And then a little more...

 

[jim8flog]

It is one of the main courses where I started to play golf.

It would be a great pity if it goes because municipal golf is one of the cheapest ways to find out if it is a game that you will continue with.

Hampshire/ Surrey do not need any more public open spaces they have masses of it already.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This is probably to do with where the council wants to give over public access green space land to developers for housing and they have to find alternative green space to compensate for the loss of that given over. And by converting a golf course (limited access) into public free access open space they achieve what they want. Some way towards meeting the local housing need. At loss of a golf course.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Always sad to see courses shut, even more so when they are municipals and so for many the only access to golf they get. While it's great to see Rose back the campaign, I wonder how set the council are. You only have to look at the way Blue Mountain in Bracknell was allowed to shut even with a covenant in place that should have protected it

 

[El Diablo]

I began my golf at pay and play (and live within 4 miles of Southwood) but I played mainly at the likes of Blue Mountain (became "member" to get handicap), Downshire, Pine Ridge because they have driving ranges, better courses (and no where near as wet), lessons easier to source etc. and the traffic and usage at those course was always far higher.

Sad to see closures but is all about economics and pressure for housing for councils these days.

I always love the shock, horror, indignation when these things come up - the course is losing money and the council is footing the bill - if all these people are so motivated to save it then they should have used it more and/or paid more for the privilege before they lost it.

Where were they before the threat of closure ? If the course stays open will they play and pay more often ?

You can almost guarantee a temporary uplift in usage now but for how long ?

Given councils cannot pay for basic services these days why would they subsidise what is seen as an elitist minority sport that is frequently non inclusive ?

I know some local councillors (play golf with them from time to time !) and it could be said the locals are lucky it is becoming a SANG rather than being built on as they will build new homes on less controversial areas and like SLH mentioned this change maintains their ratios (for the moment) of green public space in a simple way.

A few more thousand homes on old barracks in Aldershot and a brownfield site at Pyestock are far more palatable to the local nimby's (Hart and Rushmoor work together on aspects of this).

Being a cynic I would suggest houses at Southwood will be inevitable as planning rules change over time !

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I began my golf at pay and play (and live within 4 miles of Southwood) but I played mainly at the likes of Blue Mountain (became "member" to get handicap), Downshire, Pine Ridge because they have driving ranges, better courses (and no where near as wet), lessons easier to source etc. and the traffic and usage at those course was always far higher.

Sad to see closures but is all about economics and pressure for housing for councils these days.

I always love the shock, horror, indignation when these things come up - the course is losing money and the council is footing the bill - if all these people are so motivated to save it then they should have used it more and/or paid more for the privilege before they lost it.

Where were they before the threat of closure ? If the course stays open will they play and pay more often ?

You can almost guarantee a temporary uplift in usage now but for how long ?

Given councils cannot pay for basic services these days why would they subsidise what is seen as an elitist minority sport that is frequently non inclusive ?

I know some local councillors (play golf with them from time to time !) and it could be said the locals are lucky it is becoming a SANG rather than being built on as they will build new homes on less controversial areas and like SLH mentioned this change maintains their ratios (for the moment) of green public space in a simple way.

A few more thousand homes on old barracks in Aldershot and a brownfield site at Pyestock are far more palatable to the local nimby's (Hart and Rushmoor work together on aspects of this).

Being a cynic I would suggest houses at Southwood will be inevitable as planning rules change over time !

Is not the land Southwood is on drainage system overspill area - so that if there is a period of torrential rain and the local drainage system gets overwhelmed then it will discharge onto Southwood? Anyway that's what I was told by someone many years ago as the reason there is a golf course there and not already built on.

 

[jim8flog]

The old 9 had the concrete gullies which took the water away from the RAE airfield. When they extended to 18 holes the worst holes for flooding were abandoned (the old 3rd 4th, 5th, from memory ).

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The old 9 had the concrete gullies which took the water away from the RAE airfield. When they extended to 18 holes the worst holes for flooding were abandoned (the old 3rd 4th, 5th, from memory ).

that's sounds like what I heard. Does that still not apply now that the airfield is commercially used?

 

[sawtooth]

Southwood GC is closing , council call it land designed as RANG meaning it will be left as a green space so they can build houses in the area.

That’s 2 public courses gone in the last few years in a 10 mile radius of where I live.

Going to hurt the future of golf in this country for sure as it’s happening all over the country. Very sad.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Going to hurt the future of golf in this country for sure as it’s happening all over the country. Very sad.

In the past 20-30 years there has been an explosion of golf course building. We now have too many to be supported so some are going to close. It may be that the wrong ones are closing but you can not control that.