SPOTLIGHT

Puttenham Golf Club, nestling in the foothills of the Hogs Back just off the A31 in Surrey celebrated its 125th Anniversary in 2019. PUTTENHAM SPOTLIGHT ON

The club ran many very well supported events throughout the year to mark the milestone, however the most popular decision that was made by the club to celebrate 125 years was to reduce the full membership subscription to just £1,250 (not just for new members but for existing members as well) and to fix this price for a three year period. Twelve months into this three-year plan and Puttenham Golf Club is definitely a club on the up and looking forward to its next 125 years.

Across all categories over 100 new members joined Puttenham Golf Club in 2019 and the start of 2020 has been just as buoyant.

Gary Simmons the Secretary/ Manager at Puttenham said “Embarking on the Puttenham 125 Project was a calculated risk. The club was effectively giving away considerable guaranteed income by reducing existing member subscriptions by offering both new and existing members the same price of £1,250 and fixing the price for three years.

Too many businesses reduce prices to new customers who they don’t know from Adam and expect their loyal customers to keep on paying the full rate. We aim to reward customer loyalty and our retention rate has been phenomenal since the launch of Project 125”.

Les Bygrave who became a member at Puttenham in April of 2019 described his experience in glowing terms, “You know what it’s like, you’ve been a member at a club for years and you feel comfortable, you know the course, the staff, even the management! Well, that was me up until April 2019. I play regularly with my brother, so we both decided to go and visit Puttenham for a game – let me say at this point, it really was the best golfing decision we’ve ever made. As we stood on the 3rd tee, with its risk and reward tee shot beckoning, and with those superb views across the hog’s back laid before us, my brother turned to me and said – “I’m joining, this place is fantastic”.

That was in March 2019, and now coming up to the end of our first year at Puttenham I can only reinforce those initial favourable impressions. Members have welcomed us with open arms, giving us opportunities to join in with one of many ‘roll ups’ the club operates over every weekend. Competitions are plentiful, the course, which is predominantly based on sandy soil drains extremely quickly

If you are interested in becoming a member a or you would simply like to play the course and sample the Puttenham experience as a visitor, then please contact the club office for full details on:

01483 810498 or alternatively email enquiries@puttenhamgolfcub.co.uk

and rarely do you suffer any muddy shoes, poor lies or playing areas during the winter months.

The bar area is friendly and welcoming, the pro-shop staff equally so. The driving range and covered practice bays are superb, the food in the clubhouse is outstanding and you are even provided with a half-way hut between the 9th green and 10th tee to grab a bite or a cuppa.

So, I would say to anyone thinking of joining a club, the question is not should I visit Puttenham and see for myself – it’s when should I visit. Becoming a member here really has been the best golfing decision we’ve ever made.”

2019 also saw a reinvigoration of the clubs Junior Section. Puttenham first decided to expand their Free Junior Membership offer that is made to children or grandchildren of existing adult members, from the age of 16 or under, up to the age of 18 or under. Then they reduced the annual Junior Membership subscription for children of non-members to just £50.

An enthusiastic Colin Reardon, a former Club Chairman took over the role of Junior Organiser, and along with his trusted lieutenant and fellow member Colin Price enrolled on an ASQ Level 1 coaching course run by the Professional Golfers Association. Their thinking was so they could make the most of this new interest in junior golf at Puttenham they needed to be able to assist the Club Professional Dean Lintott with the ever-expanding number of children attending the Junior Academy.

Colin Reardon commented, “As a 20-handicap golfer I felt it was important that I understood the fundamentals of coaching the juniors. My swing has been likened to trying to kill a snake in a phone box, so I didn’t want to pass this on to our youngest golfers. The basics taught on the Level 1 course were incredibly useful and have helped my game too!”

As a result of the success thus far of the ‘Puttenham Plan’ the additional members have helped Puttenham to continue to invest in its course and clubhouse and thrive as a member’s club. The clubhouse has enjoyed a complete redecoration in 2019, and the hardworking team of greens staff have received well deserved recognition as the picturesque woodland and heathland course that they maintain with great pride has been ranked as one of the best in Surrey by Top 100 Courses.