Silk Willoughby 9 hole and Birdies driving range closing next March :(

[Curls]

Did not want to see the sign outside Silk Willoughby (otherwise known as "Birdies") near Sleaford in Lincolnshire this weekend. Closing March 1st 2020. It is a great facility, easily the best range for miles with a little short game green pitching area (which is the photo in the link below) and a bunker to boot. I always hit it for an hour before the 2 minute drive to Sleaford for a comp. The course itself was a short, straight forward but decent 9 hole and at one point the greens were excellent (though they lost them in the drought last year). This was a place you could turn up in your jeans and trainers and play, it encouraged plenty to try the sport for the first time with zero fear of snobbery. I took a few newbies out in my time and they all enjoyed how relaxed it was.

Silk Willoughby golf

But casual trade does not support a golf course. There's a lot of talk here about banning dress codes and making the game more accessible, but here is a place doing exactly that and it's gone under. The owner is returning to farming apparently, meaning this will soon be crops. I will be gutted to see the range and practice area disappear. My favourite memories will be meeting Bobmac on a cold winters morning expecting a swing lesson but instead learning what golf is actually all about, and my annual foursomes match with my (non golf playing) Mrs against a buddy and his (non golf playing) Mrs, as hotly contested as any Ryder Cup tie.

Shame.

 

[Siolag]

There is a similar facility near me closing in October. Ok, it wasn't the best course, but it was a decent intro to the sport, and had a par 3 course too which I like for practising with my Wedges. It's a shame as the only other par 3 in the area is dreadful (Stirling Uni).

 

[Slab]

Shame indeed, from the the website it looks like the kind of place that should be thriving (green fees seem too cheap to be practicable though) but it seems to have most of whats really needed (except a golf gear shop)

You know if you took that little conservatory seating bit and gave the space to someone like golfbidder or some other mass golf retailer, the foot traffic would go up more than a little

 

[bobmac]

They used to have a shop but it was hardly used so closed down.

 

[Slab]

They used to have a shop but it was hardly used so closed down.

Same thing happened to Toys R Us... doesn't mean no one buys toys anymore though


edit: Sorry bit flippant, just meant shops have to work on supply and demand too so if it was hardly used it was maybe the wrong kind of shop/stock etc

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Same thing happened to Toys R Us... doesn't mean no one buys toys anymore though


edit: Sorry bit flippant, just meant shops have to work on supply and demand too so if it was hardly used it was maybe the wrong kind of shop/stock etc

I think a lot of small golf retaillers/shops have closed up with the trend for people to inspect and try in the shops and buy cheaper on line. Its a bit harsh to say shops should work on supply and demand when they have the extra costs involved with bricks and mortor as well as actually even being in this country

 

[Roops]

It's a shame when you hear of somewhere closing that you have a link with. We used to use Birdies when visiting my parents in Billingborough. My son and middle daughter used to enjoy having a thrash at the range, happy days.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

That is a shame and as Curls said it doesn’t matter what the dress code is if the demand isn’t there for casual golf then places will suffer - it’s a shame as it looks a good set up. I can see why a shop wouldn’t get much business - going against Pro shops in local courses plus the big on line retailers it’s going to be hard without a membership base

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Did not want to see the sign outside Silk Willoughby (otherwise known as "Birdies") near Sleaford in Lincolnshire this weekend. Closing March 1st 2020. It is a great facility, easily the best range for miles with a little short game green pitching area (which is the photo in the link below) and a bunker to boot. I always hit it for an hour before the 2 minute drive to Sleaford for a comp. The course itself was a short, straight forward but decent 9 hole and at one point the greens were excellent (though they lost them in the drought last year). This was a place you could turn up in your jeans and trainers and play, it encouraged plenty to try the sport for the first time with zero fear of snobbery. I took a few newbies out in my time and they all enjoyed how relaxed it was.

Silk Willoughby golf

But casual trade does not support a golf course. There's a lot of talk here about banning dress codes and making the game more accessible, but here is a place doing exactly that and it's gone under. The owner is returning to farming apparently, meaning this will soon be crops. I will be gutted to see the range and practice area disappear. My favourite memories will be meeting Bobmac on a cold winters morning expecting a swing lesson but instead learning what golf is actually all about, and my annual foursomes match with my (non golf playing) Mrs against a buddy and his (non golf playing) Mrs, as hotly contested as any Ryder Cup tie.

Shame.

Looked the sort of place I'd spend a lot of time at especially the pitching area. Hard but without footfall going to be hard to meet overheads. Not sure what these places and some pay and plays do to buck the trend and so likely more and more places like this will go