"Looking back to move forward - Britain’s restoration opportunities"
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UK Golf Guy David Jones queried a range of people, yours truly included, about restoration and what classic British courses could use some dusting off and light sprucing.
In contrast, British projects are a little less high profile. There are some exceptions, such as at Woodhall Spa, Moortown and ongoing work at The Addington, but relatively few of the really classic British courses have been touched.
Clubs may be put off by the extravagant sound of a ‘restoration’, and indeed some of the budgets in the US are truly mind-boggling. Upcoming work at Yale is said to be costing $25 million.
Dai Thomas makes the point that a multi-million pound budget isn’t necessarily needed to make significant changes. He say, ‘What many courses need in the first instance is comprehensive tree removal and wider mowing lines. Mowing line work doesn’t really cost much if anything. Tree removal usually does cost quite a bit but once done makes a huge difference’.
