Golf in London no more

placeholder graphic

Alex Callow reports on a decision that will affect keen golfers in the capital…

Do you want to play golf in London at an affordable price? Well, tough, because the last public golf course in London is set to close.

Beckenham Place Park Golf Club is set to be closed down by the council in order to build a new café and outdoor sports centre.

Lewisham Council have been awarded £4.9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund to restore the park to its eighteenth-century roots.

With these recent developments, is it any wonder that membership and participation numbers in golf are decreasing?

According to recent statistics gathered by England Golf, the amateur game’s governing body, club membership levels in England have dropped 20 per cent between 2004 and 2014, from 884,184 to 707,244.

Where are we going to find the next Nick Faldo or the next London superstar to rival Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, when golf participation is falling each year and the only public golf club in London is closing down?

The average price for a membership at a golf club in the UK is £752, so it’s no wonder that participation numbers are going down when the average person can’t afford to spend over £700 on a membership.

Local resident and secretary of Braeside Golf Club David Hansom, has voiced his concerns over the decision to get rid of the golf course.

“The only time the park had enjoyed public access has been since the laying out of the golf course. This is the historic landscape of the park,” Hansom said.

In an updated statement by the Heritage Lottery Fund, they said, “We will require more information to be submitted for the second round of the application process, including a conservation plan. This involve further consideration of the golf course’s future.”

Lewisham council are yet to release a full statement, but have said they will update the Heritage Lottery Fund with their proposals by spring 2016.

No posts to display