A course is reborn at Ingestre Park Golf Club
In 2013, it was announced that the proposed path of a new high-speed train was to go through Ingestre Park Golf Club. Luckily, land was available nearby and the course has been developed.
Greens Director, Martin Cox, has overseen the project with the help of course architect Jon Hunt from International Design Group (IDG), Master Greenkeeper Phil Helmn and course construction contractors MJ Abbott Ltd.
Formed in 1913, the club was initially known as the Stafford Artisans Golf Club, a nine-hole golf course created on common land in Stafford. Play could not take place on Sundays nor during April, May and June as this was the prime time for cattle to graze on the lush grass.
The club was devastated in 2013 when plans for the HS2 were put in place, however, after the club was named a community asset, there was hope for the future. Martin said: “The first feeling was that the golf course would be closed. We went through a lengthy process to find suitable land, but we were fortunate to get IDG who helped with the process.”
“We decided to use a proportion of the compensation money to upgrade the old holes that were kept. Taxpayer funding had a specific clause that no betterment to the course would be allowed, therefore we needed consistency between new and old holes. The new side of the course was flat fields; it was a cut-and-fill design, using 102,000 cubic metres of material - we only brought in the sand and rootzone.”
When the course opened there was a sense of pride but also huge relief, he explained: “It has been like our baby; sometimes you look at the old drone shots and think how far we have come to develop this. I want the members to look at the course and think this it is all for them and it was worth the journey.”
The making of a course
Construction started in spring of 2021, with the overall agreed project timeline being three years; spring 2021 to summer 2024. Initially, MJ Abbott Ltd quickly recognised that the land was very wet and it became difficult to work on after heavy rainfall, and Course Architect Jon Hunt sent out questionnaires, aiming to design the course to what members wanted. Martin explained: “Jon didn’t want the course to be Championship difficulty. We are a private member’s golf club and we want them to enjoy playing here.”
The greens have been constructed to USGA type specification, as have all approaches. The approaches have also been sand-capped and form a 200m2 area in the lead-up to every green.
Martin discussed the terrain: “The site is clay-based, which has brought a few challenges over the years. The old course had to close a lot during winter due to poor conditions, but we are now ahead of the game. For the new course, 40,175 metres of drainage have been put in.”
Along with extensive drainage, the club have planned for all weathers: “We have 2,200 kilometres of ditches and 10,500 square metres of lakes. It has all been designed with sustainability in mind; it means we can harvest the water and all of the ditches lead to the lakes. Should a drought happen, we should be covered.”
“We have planted 13,000 trees and 5,100 aquatic plants as part of an ecology push. The tree management programme and ditch management programme are helping us to maintain these.”
The greenkeeper perspective
Martin expressed the challenge for the greenkeeping team: “We have staff who have been here for 25/30 years and it’s been a big change for them. It’s all new; new specifications, new kit and equipment and, of course, a new landscape.”
All of that promoted uncertainty and there were a lot of questions from the greenkeeping staff. Head Greenkeeper, Craig Potts, said: “It was unfamiliar territory for them and they weren’t used to USGA specification greens. Water management was another aspect that the team had to get to grips with as I wanted the team to take ownership of the new course. In the coming months, we will all be learning about the course and the different challenges which may arise.”
Craig joined Ingestre back in 2022 and reflected on the challenges the new course has brought: “This is my 13th year in turfcare and it has been the biggest learning curve to date. It is the first time I have done a project like this, so I have tried to always lean on the professional consultants. A big task was managing the old course while the new course was being developed; being a private members club meant we weren’t able to close, as we needed that financial support. As the new course matures, there are different challenges every day, but it’s an exciting time.”
Now that the course is open Craig wants to focus on course standards and staff: “We are hoping to get planning in place for a new greenkeepers facility. The aim is to have this in the centre of the course - making it easier for staff to navigate to different tasks.”
Members reaction
Ordinarily, when you build a golf course, you get the infrastructure ready and then you look for membership. However, Ingestre already had a membership and Martin explained the problem with this: “It was all about managing the change. We had a soft opening and it was only recently that we were able to open all 18 holes for play. Of course, we understood that some members would temporarily leave, however, thankfully, most of them stayed.”
Martin implemented a Membership Engagement Programme early on which the club runs every three months. “We wanted to keep members informed about what was happening, so regular information about the construction plans and work was sent out. The greenkeeping team attended all the meetings, so that members knew who they were and could approach them to ask questions; we want the club to be a collective.”
Martin added: “We are still managing footfall and the number of members playing each day; it’s an immature course and we want to see how it reacts to people playing on it. Initially, we used mats on tees, fairways and approaches which wasn’t very popular, however, we have reaped the rewards for doing that during the winter.”
He concluded with the benefits of getting members involved: “We’ve built up an artisan team, which was great because they’ll come in and help out. They take ownership of the course and have pride in it; they’ve spread that through membership, promoting good practices and good etiquette. They also work with the greenkeeping team and have learnt about the job; they now see it as much more than just cutting grass.”
2013: A nightmare year
When plans for the HS2 were revealed in 2013, the club was devastated. Martin told us what the feeling was at the time: “The club has a turbulent history; they came here due to a housing estate being built on the previous site. A lot of people left because they assumed that this was the death of Ingestre.”
Club members, led primarily by Geoff Matthews and Mel Jones, fought to save the club for over eight years before reaching an agreement in 2021 to build 13 new holes and upgrade 5 existing ones; changing the course configuration and allowing for future prosperity. Their loyalty has been outstanding, particularly when the first stages were extremely challenging. MJ Abbott, Phil Helmn and IDG have all been fantastic throughout the project.”