Southwood Golf Course In Farnborough Closes

Southwood Golf Course in Farnborough will not re-open after its parent company Mack Golf went into liquidation

Southwood Golf Course In Farnborough Closes

A Hampshire public golf course has closed five months early after its parent company recently went into liquidation.

Mack Golf, who leased their golf courses, went into liquidation earlier this month with all eight of its UK courses closing in one day, however some have re-opened thanks to council inputs.

Southwood was due to close anyway in March 2019 with the local council wanting more green space for new properties in the area.

The local council Rushmoor have been unable to keep it going for the next five months and it will not re-open.

It is one of the few non-private clubs in the area and also had much cheaper fees than its neighbouring courses.

The club's captain Mark Perry told local news station Eagle Radio, “This is devastating news, we planned for the eventual closure next March but to lose the golf course now is devastating for all the members and the thousands of users who play the course each year.

“A lot of the local clubs in the area are private facilities and the cost of playing there is twice as much as a season ticket at Southwood, so a lot of the those senior members will ultimately give up golf – that’s their social meeting place.

“What’s happened to the golf course has broken up a community all the members have gone in different directions some have joined other clubs – some have given up golf altogether."

Southwood Golf Course's fate was ultimately sealed last December at a local council meeting where the cabinet agreed to shut down the Farnborough municipal.

Related: The best golf courses in Hampshire

Its 50 acre land was agreed to be turned into a country park, featuring 'natural open spaces' plus walking and cycling trails.

Rushmoor Council said Southwood's closure will provide what is known as Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) - to accommodate new housing developments nearby.

Major champion and Olympic Gold Medallist Justin Rose, who played the course as a junior, growing up in nearby Fleet, pledged his support for the course last September.

Rose tweeted, "Played Southwood many times as a junior, it's a great course to grow this great game."

"Rushmoor Council you should think again...."

However, that wasn't enough to change the council's mind.

Annual rounds at Southwood had dropped from 40,000 to 25,000 according to the council, who were paying £40,000 to subsidise it.

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