GENERAL MANAGER'S UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2026
Short Game Area
Following the launch of the Strategic Plan in 2023, a new short game area was identified by the membership as a desired key enhancement to the golf facilities.
To develop our golfing facilities on our Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) it is vital to work closely with our Natural England Land Management & Conservation officer. Our course manager Liam has worked tirelessly with our local officer, and consent was given for ‘the removal of scrub and creation of a golf chipping area within Unit 1 of Berrow Dunes SSSI during the period 01.09.2026 to 31.03.2027’
The Board and management team were delighted to receive this news.
Development on our SSSI site is a carefully planned process. With consent for the short game project granted the Board agreed to proceed.
Kindly be informed that unfortunately we continue to face an objection from Natural England planning department in relation to our second irrigation lake. You may recall this process commenced in February 2024. Following two consecutive drought summers we are engaged with the R&A and our local Member of Parliament to see if a solution can be found.
As of 27th August 2026, the stance from the Senior Sustainable Development Officer
Wessex Team Natural England (our case officer) is:
‘It is likely any proposal within the SSSI or the location of the irreplaceable habitat would not be supported by Natural England due to the direct loss of habitat resulting from the reservoir.’
The images below resemble our vision for the short game project and are provided by our golf course architect, Martin Ebert.
Some small variations are being made to the design pack. You will observe a practice chipping green area along with a large practice tee. The chipping green will significantly add to the membership experience, and the large practice tee may be used for future championships. Competitors would hit practice shots out towards the 1st and 9th of the channel course. This would significantly lengthen the practice range as per the R&A’s request. The current driving range can then be used for other tournament infrastructure.
PLEASE NOTE – Due to the discovery of a badger set on the site the driving range tee and adjacent dune slack will not go ahead at this interval. Having consulted Crown and Burrow Badger Experts, the cost to carefully relocate the badger, in the region of £40,000, was not viable. The construction of the tee top will be postponed.
Construction of the short game area continues as the project team remains the required distance (perimeter) from the badger set. The navy-blue rectangle below outlines the area that cannot be disturbed or modified.
Clubhouse Development Project:
Please be informed that planning permission has been received for the Clubhouse Development project. Thank you to Mark Biddle for driving this project. The working group re-convened on the 22nd September as our appointed designers continue detailed design along with our interior designer. You may recall from previous communication that this stage is vital to provide accurate building costs for the three stages.
Summer 2026 Irrigation Challenges
Following another dry summer, significant budgeted expenses supported our water demand.
Mains water to the Dormy tank, which in turn is pumped to the irrigation lake, was turned on as early as 2nd April this year to keep our lake topped up and postponed the abstraction from natural resources (the Rhyne right of holes 7 and 8 plus pond at the far end of the driving range).
Mains water through this method is likely to have incurred a cost of approximately £30,000.
In addition, at the height of the drought, four weeks of tankers delivering 30 cubic metres of water per load was initiated. This method delivered 120m3 of water per day. The mains water delivered 125m3 per day.
Following last summer’s experience with the tanker supply, thank you to Adrian Deakins, Liam (Course Manager), Jon White (Club Captain elect) and Jays Transport, who collaborated along with Bristol Water to bring in water through tankers at a vastly reduced cost compared to last year.
The total cost of water (mains and tankers combined) between April and September is expected to be in the region of £55,000 to £60,000 once all invoices from Bristol Water are received. This figure is down from £164,000 last year. The strategy of bringing in mains water earlier and a much-improved tanker arrangement over 4 weeks as opposed to 8 weeks has been key here. The Boards acknowledge this is not a long-term sustainable strategy and therefore focus on the 2nd Irrigation lake challenge will continue.
WHS rating of the Channel and Championship Course:
The Channel Course has been re-rated by Somerset Golf Union qualified raters. The changes were adopted on 7th September. The Championship course has been re-rated, and we are awaiting the outcome.
Once the new Championship Course Slope and course rating are active, we will update the membership.
Natural Bunkers – Championship Course:
As you will have experienced, a few of the Championship Course’s natural bunkers suffer from wind blowing sand out of the hazard and onto the rough or fairway. Several links courses have reduced this challenge by introducing sleepers to the impacted side of the bunker. The team have experienced success on the 15th and 3rd holes. The same approach has been completed on the 16th fairway bunker. Thank you to Liam and the team for completing the project in a couple of days. Before and after images below.
Green Fee Revenue
To finish on a further positive note, we are finalising visitor green fee revenue for the fiscal year, and the record total of £885,000 has surpassed budget and last year’s figure of £830,000.
Trophy Dinner:
The annual trophy dinner is scheduled for Saturday 14th November. This is always a popular event in the diary. Sign-up instructions will be announced soon.
Please enjoy the reminder of the golfing season.
Best wishes
Barney Coleman – General Manager