\n From April 1, South Buckinghamshire Golf Course will be reduced to nine holes after Wycombe Wanderers FC agreed a long-term lease of the site and Farnham Park Playing Fields from Buckinghamshire Council.\n<\/p>\n
\n Golfers say they were given just six weeks\u2019 notice that half the course would be taken out of play, despite previous assurances that the site would remain \u201copen as usual\u201d during the planning and design process.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Wycombe Wanderers said the golf course had seen declining use and had become financially unviable to operate in its current form.\n<\/p>\n
\n South Buckinghamshire Golf Club says the move will fundamentally disrupt league fixtures, internal competitions and formal handicap golf relied upon by its members.\n<\/p>\n
\n Club chairman Michael Murphy said the proposed nine-hole layout would be in a different configuration and would more than likely not have an official course rating any time soon.\n<\/p>\n
\n The golf course in Farnham Park (Credit: Buckinghamshire Council)\n<\/p>\n
\n Without a recognised rating, formal competitive play and handicap qualifying golf cannot take place.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cOur members have been given just six weeks\u2019 notice that half of the golf course will be taken out of play and long-standing Golf Club arrangements are to be withdrawn.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis fundamentally disrupts golf organised there. If the proposed 9-hole configuration does not have an official course rating, it means competitive and handicap golf \u2014 the core of club sport \u2014 would not be possible.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cLast year we were assured that the site would remain \u2018open as usual\u2019 during the design and planning process. Reducing the course from 18 holes to 9 holes and removing relevant framework for golfers cannot reasonably be described as operating as usual.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Stoke Poges Task force said the move would weaken local access to affordable sport, also arguing that the green belt between Stoke Poges and Farnham Royal exists to prevent urban sprawl and protect the separation between the villages.\n<\/p>\n
\n It said: \u201cThis move reverses clear promises, bypasses meaningful consultation, and permanently alters public green space before planning scrutiny has even begun. Once public land is lost, it is lost forever.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n A petition opposing the reduction gathered more than 600 signatures within 48 hours.\n<\/p>\n
\n Laura Yiannouzis, who is a member alongside her 14-year-old son, said golf provides a rare space where all generations can play alongside each other.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMy 14-year-old son and I are both members of the club,\u201d she said. \u201cHe plays competitive football for Slough Town FC, training four times a week and competing in both the U14 league and JPL.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe fully supports youth football development. However, golf provides him with a different sporting outlet \u2014 one that builds focus, confidence and allows him to compete alongside adults of all ages.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat intergenerational aspect is one of the unique strengths of golf. It creates a social environment where teenagers, working adults and older residents mix and compete together on equal terms through the handicap system.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n She said the club is not just exercise for many of its older members but also a \u201cvital social connection\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n She added: \u201cSouth Bucks Golf Course is the only council-run 18-hole golf course in Buckinghamshire and one of the more affordable and publicly accessible facilities in the area.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe reduction to nine holes materially alters competitive provision, affects women\u2019s participation and junior development, and is proceeding ahead of the submission of a full planning application for the wider redevelopment.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis is not a \u201cfootball versus golf\u201d issue. It is about balance, transparency and ensuring that significant changes to public recreational land are properly consulted on before becoming irreversible.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n But Wycombe Wanderers said the changes would help secure the club’s long term future.\n<\/p>\n
\n It said: \u201cA key part of the long-term vision is to bring financial stability and sustainability to the site, and to do this the Club is proposing some changes to the golf course and overall operating model.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe believe these changes will help secure the club\u2019s long-term future by widening access to golf and supporting participation across all ages and abilities, alongside upgraded facilities for wider sport and recreation.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe proposals also improve walking and running routes, strengthen sustainable travel options, create jobs, and embed long-term environmental stewardship.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n It added that this would be the first step towards widening participation and making phased improvement to the facilities.\n<\/p>\n
\n The club said a wider public consultation on its longer-term proposals for the whole site would be held in the next three months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From April 1, South Buckinghamshire Golf Course will be reduced to nine holes after Wycombe Wanderers FC agreed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4106],"tags":[2826,79,16,15],"class_list":["post-784645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116122536374903369","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}