New owners of a family-run golf club are planning to pump millions of pounds into the facility to make it one of the best “premium” clubs in Kent.
Over the next few years, West Malling Golf Club, in Trottiscliffe Road, could see a new driving range, an improved club house and better food and beverage offerings.
New owners at the club want to improve the club house, course and driving range
It’s part of a long-term plan to make the club, designed by former Open Champion and five-time Ryder Cup player Max Faulkner, a leisure destination not just for “car park golfers”, but somewhere for the entire community to enjoy all year round.
Declan Ausher, whose wife’s family have run the club since 1995, is joining forces with four others to take over the sports venue and will be injecting a huge cash investment to turn it into one of the best in the county.
Speaking to KentOnline, Declan said the new owners will be speaking to the club’s 1000+ current members to get their views on what they can do to improve.
Some ideas already in place include improving the driving range and adding tracking simulators, utilising the large clubhouse to be used for functions such as weddings, parties, wakes and more, as well as bringing in new architects to redesign some of the 36 holes it offers across its two courses – the Hurricane and Spitfire.
Ideally, the golf club hopes to have a “long-term” vision for the improvements and refurbishment fully completed within the next five to seven years but insist members will already be starting to see some changes after the deal to takeover was finalised at the end of March.
“The facility we’ve got here as a club house is huge, the land and opportunity is huge,” Declan explained.
West Malling Golf Club in Trottiscliffe Road has new owners who are planning to inject millions of pounds into developing it. Picture: Sean McPolin
“There’s a lot more scope we could do outside of golf but our key focus is making sure that we better the experience for our members.”
West Malling Golf Club has a long history of hosting cups and competitions, something the new owners want to bring back to the 160-acre estate in the future.
The club is looking to appoint an architect who can focus on redeveloping the golf course – including strategic course changes, fixing draining issues and sharpening up the greens.
It has aspirations to try and upgrade the driving range, which would see an increase from the current 12 bays and the introduction of specialist tracking software, new mats and targets.
Food and beverage offerings are another “key focus” in an attempt to increase footfall from other members of the community throughout the week.
The golf club has more than 1,000 members. Picture: Sean McPolinThe 18th hole of the Hurricane course at West Malling Golf Club in Trottiscliffe Road
Declan added: “There’s a huge opportunity for anything hospitality. We’re looking to work out a way where we can have more functions such as family weddings, wakes, and any corporate events for businesses who want to come here.
“In the long-term, we want to see if there is any opportunity to create a wellness facility for golfers such as a small amount of hotel rooms, a gym and a pro shop but that’s a long way down the line.”
The owners will be reaching out to members as they want their support in “utilising the facility”.
“We don’t just want people to be car park golfers where they turn up and drive off. We want them to come inside and cherish the club house,” Declan explained.
“We’ve got a great chef who turns out really good food, so we want to understand why there isn’t more footfall.”
The driving range at West Malling Golf Club in Trottiscliffe Road, which has new owners. Picture: Sean McPolin
In the future the club is keen to include a facility on site where they can invite schools and pupils down to try them out and get them involved in the sport.
The new owner added: “Getting new members involved in golf and trying to make it as part of the community is a driver.”
West Malling Golf Club was designed by former Open Champion and five-time Ryder Cup player Max Faulkner.
It first opened on June 4, 1974.
Mike Ellis and Ernie Thompson took over the club in 1983 and went on to introduce a second 18-hole course.