An everyday English golf course

A long-promised vacation in the northwest English countryside of Yorkshire yielded my first real break from work in years … almost. My wife is the serious gardener, and I am very much the yard laborer, but we share a penchant for classic landscaped parks, and so we set off for a self-guided tour of various Royal Horticultural Society properties without any golf clubs in tow. I almost stayed away completely.

But there we were, in the castle and historic market town of Skipton, midway between the Lake District and the historic walled city of York, and a local map indicated a golf course just a mile from our B&B. Off I went for a quick hike, and the visit proved enlightening as to the state of golf in the country.

In golf reporting, it’s easy to get carried away with the elite, championship facilities. Yet famed venues like Birkdale, St. George’s and Sunningdale are no more representative of English (or British) golf than Augusta National, Winged Foot and Cypress Point are models for golf business in the U.S.

Case in point: Skipton Golf Club, a pleasant club with an active local membership that is also open to the public. That’s the case with most of the everyday courses across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. They don’t hide behind a veil of secrecy, and they rely on the additional income from casual day play to supplement their operational budget. The difference is that unlike premier facilities such as Dornoch, Muirfield and Portmarnock, these clubs don’t have steep guest fees of 150 to 250 pounds per round.

At places like Skipton GC, about two-thirds of the club’s annual operating budget of £730,000 ($934,000) derives from the £1,200 ($1,536) annual membership fee paid by the club’s 500 members. The rest of the club revenue accrues from guest play, outings and F&B.

Skipton GC developed in 1893 with nine holes. It gradually expanded in fits and starts — 12 holes, 15 and finally 18 in the 1970s — and as recently as six years ago got three new holes on the north side in open country that relieved some of the routing pressure. It sits on the rolling hillside of the Yorkshire Dales, and combines open meadow, parkland and 105 feet of elevation change for what is a pleasant country walk.

Almost all play is on foot, with most golfers utilizing various incarnations of battery-powered trolleys to convey their golf bag. The club registers 18,000 rounds a year, 20 percent of it guest play. That suggests the average member plays 29 rounds a year. Skipton GC is open year-round. While winter play is limited, snow coverage or frost is a rarity and only fleeting in impact at most.

Greenkeeper Ian Brown, 37, has been on the job for 14 years. He comes from a farming background, studied horticulture and sports turf in college, is a BIGGA member, and regularly attends the association’s annual meeting and trade show in Harrogate, only 28 miles to the east.

At Skipton GC, Brown manages a budget of £230,000 ($294,000), 72 percent of which goes to labor and benefits. There are four full-timers (including himself) and one seasonal laborer. That total is well under half of what is spent on a comparable U.S. course for maintenance, while the share of labor is much higher — reflective of the mandates of the British social economy.

The overall site comprises 156 acres, with 54 acres of rye/Poa fairway that have no irrigation. There are only system heads encircling greens and on tees. The greens are relatively small, averaging 3,500 square feet and they feature a lot of contour. Two triplex mowers handle the putting surfaces. The rest of the equipment fleet includes two fairway mowers, one tractor-trailed rough mower, two deck mowers, a ProCore aerator, a Greens-Iron roller unit, three tractors and three utility vehicles. Off peak-season, the staff mechanic generates additional facility revenue by grinding reels for area lawn bowling and tennis clubs.

There is a distinct sense of informality to the golf at Skipton GC. The clubhouse looks and feels like a converted old farmstead. I counted 16 kegs of beer outside the main entrance to the building — evidence of hearty activity après golf. The club’s PGA professional, Peter Robinson, has been on the job for 40 years — and he’s only 57. In an effort to maintain green grass loyalty by members, his shop is part of the 560-club TGI Buying Group across the UK and Europe that networks buying power to price match online shops and provide quality service “on your doorstep.”

I didn’t get to play. This was, after all, a vacation with other priorities. But a few hours spent at an everyday English club provided plenty to admire and learn from about the golf business.