TALKING BUSINESS
GOLF CLUB STILL IN THE SWING AFTER 125 YEARS
A historic golf club which has more than 1,000 members and helps some of the county’s best players to hone their skills is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Northampton Golf Club director of golf BARRY RANDALL looks back on the venue’s growth and development.
Northampton Golf Club is a magnificent 18 hole championship course with a stunning clubhouse which caters for more than 1,000 members. It began life on 1 July 1893 in fields near Cliftonville but only
stayed there for a couple of years before moving to its next home in Kettering Road, Northampton. Its nine hole course at Kettering Road was built by the legendary Scottish professional golfer Old Tom Morris and the club remained there for nearly a century until it moved to its present site in the old grounds of the Althorp Estate in 1990. The club’s director of golf Barry Randall said: “The
old course was on prime development land and the club received an offer to relocate in 1990 to our fantastic site at Harlestone. “At our old site we had a smaller clubhouse,
typical of many older golf clubs, but here we have developed a championship 18 hole venue with a stunning clubhouse in the magnificent setting of Harlestone Park. “During my 15 years with the club I’ve seen
the grounds mature and the course develop into a superb venue.” The club has busy a timetable of events every
build and develop the junior section of the club which now has more than 60 members and offers more than 40 events a year.” The club has also received the English Golf Union’s Golf Mark
standard which recognises junior and beginner friendly golf facilities. To celebrate the club’s landmark anniversary it is hosting its
‘WE LIKE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX – WE’RE KEEN TO PROMOTE THE SOCIAL SIDE OUTSIDE OF GOLF TOO’
year, including a Pro Am tournament, open competitions and a variety of charity days which it hosts for other businesses such as BMW Wollaston Motors. It fundraises for its Ladies Captain’s chosen charity of the year and has also been a great supporter of Northamptonshire Chamber’s charity golf event. In addition it hosts a number of weddings each year and a
variety of social functions, such as a Sunday carvery throughout the winter months and music events featuring local performers. Barry added: “We have just over 1,000 members, including
740 golfers, and it’s our ambition to put a smile on all their faces. We are continuously developing the golf course and have established it as one of the best venues in the area. “This is recognised by the fact that some of the county’s best
professional players use our facilities to hone their skills. Our PGA Club Professional, Nick Soto, works with top English golfer, Charley Hull, on her putting in our dedicated Odyssey Putting Studio which opened in 2012. The studio is an established centre for putting excellence in the region and is equipped with Science and Motion PuttLab and V1 Analysis software to enable our staff and golfers to analyse up to 28 different parameters of the putting stroke and receive precise feedback which is not available to the naked eye. Nick also works with Meghan MacLaren who
recently won the 2018 Women’s NSW Open in Australia. “We’re also incredibly proud of our fantastic junior section.
Last year junior organiser, Steve Bowers, who is a committed volunteer who supports our junior section, was presented with The Gallacher Award by the Golf Foundation. This award is designed to honour people who have made a significant impact in the development of grass roots junior golf. Steve richly deserved the award because he has given up hours of his time to
32 inbusiness AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
125th Anniversary Festival of Golf Week in September which will feature a Junior Open, a Midland PGA Pro-am, Captain v Ladies Captain Challenge, a Mixed Senior Teams Open, an Autumn Ladies 4 Ball Alliance, a Men’s Invitation Day and an Autumn Mixed 4 Ball Alliance. Barry added: “We have also set up an inter-club challenge with Oundle Golf Club and Wellingborough Golf Club, who are also celebrating 125 years, where we will be competing against each other and that has been very popular with members. “We’ve held a range of social events,
including a large summer ball at the end of June which was a huge birthday celebration,
and we’re also organising an away day for members to see the racing at Newmarket Racecourse. We like to think outside the box – we’re keen to promote the social side outside of golf
too because it’s like one big family here.” Looking to the future the club has more plans in store to
improve its course and facilities further to enable it to continue to attract the best golfers in the area. Barry said: “Every year we are moving forward because we
invest money back into the club and the course. We have had some great years recently and our 125th anniversary year looks like it will be another fantastic year. “Projects for the future include looking to refurbish the bunkers
and tees throughout our course over the coming years and to improve our practice and clubhouse facilities further so we become even more attractive to all golfers and can attract more players like Charley Hull and Meghan MacLaren to the club.”
The club is celebrating its 125th anniversary
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