ASHTON Golf Club has made a “significant investment” to create a state-of-the-art short game practice facility which is claimed will be the best in the area.
Though the contractors have completed the work, the practice area won’t be opening until next year as seeding only recently took place.
The practice area, which is situated on an unused plot of land to the left of the driveway, was initially planned in 2019 but was delayed until now because of Covid-19.
And it features a 340 square metre green built to United States Golf Association (USGA) specifications which includes full irrigation, drainage and gravel bed green construction.
General manager Gareth White said: ‘’This facility has been a long time coming following the impact of Covid, but we are delighted with the results.
“As a club we are extremely grateful to the support shown by our members through Covid – this investment is a thank you to them.
“The committee and I are consistently reviewing the club’s strategic plan and we expect this project to be followed by others to continue to position of Ashton as the premier golfing destination in Tameside and beyond.
“We expect the facility to provide a first-class offering for all golfers, from scratch players to juniors just starting their golfing journey, and we are excited to see the benefits of growing the game for both the club and local community.’’
Greens’ chairman Jacob Hall added: ‘’The work done by our architect Ken Moody, of Creative Golf Design, and Simon Bird and Charlie Greasley from our contractors John Greasley Ltd has been of the highest standard – the new facility looks incredible.
“We decided on a USGA spec green which will be free draining and provide the best possible turf to work on your short game. The design by Ken has really come to life thanks to the skills of Simon and Charlie and we are grateful for their vision and commitment in completing the project.
“I should also thank member Simon Norton who provided the club with time lapse and drone footage of the works which really helped us show of the project to our members and on social media.
“Our head greenkeeper Lee Whittaker and his team have now taken over stewardship of the facility to manage the establishment and growing in of the seeded areas which we hope will be ready for play within the next 12 months.
“I’m proud of what we have achieved so far and can’t wait to see it in use.’’