Investment in a new course layout and upgrading equipment has proved popular with members and visitors at Blyth Golf Club in 2020.
Following the sale of a portion of the club’s land to homebuilder Bellway, £250,000 was invested in creating a new fourth hole to return the layout to 18 holes after losing the old 10th hole near the car park.
The new par four fourth is a risk and reward hole played from a tree-lined tee box. Two fairway bunkers will catch any mishit drives while the new green, with its undulations and surrounding pine trees, fits in well with the existing course.
A new tee has created the new fifth hole, a par three, which is played to the original fourth green.
The new fourth hole was designed by Andrew Mair and Ken Ferrie of Golf Design International and constructed by Midland Contractors with ongoing maintenance carried out Blyth’s greenkeeping team.
The club has also invested significantly in on-course equipment, including a greens iron and new mowers, and feedback from members and guests during 2020 has been overwhelmingly positive. Future plans at the club include a new greenkeeping unit and a clubhouse refurbishment.
Blyth’s business manager Steve Moffett said: “Following the sale of some land, the golf club made the decision to invest heavily in the golf course and we’re delighted with the progress of the main focus of that investment, our new fourth hole. The feedback since the hole opened has been very positive, as has the feedback on the conditioning of the whole course this summer. Credit goes to Andrew Mair and Ken Ferrie, and Midland Contractors for their fantastic work designing and building the new hole, and most importantly to our course manager Tom Pattison and his team for their work this season.
“We are now progressing into the medium and long-term plans for the golf course, which will see continued investment on the course and we look forward to seeing it take further steps forward.”
