Brocket Hall resurgent after a ‘turbulent’ few years
Having endured a ‘turbulent’ few years Hertfordshire club Brocket Hall is celebrating a dramatic turnaround in fortunes.
Twice in the last five years the Welwyn Garden City country club, which includes two 18-hole courses, was sold out of administration, most recently at the start of 2020. During that time the club had to contend with large debts and official accounts, covering the year to August 2018, revealed they had reached more than £6m.
However in the last two years membership has increased from 400 to more more than 1,000 – its largest for 20 years – and last month it re-introduced a joining fee of £6,200.
Brocket Hall has also enjoyed a boom in attracting stay-and-play golfers and the huge increase in revenues has meant the club is finally breaking even.
The turnaround has extra meaning for Managing Director Michael Longshaw. In 2016 he was brought back to run the club having previously done so between 1996 and 2007.
“It is a massive achievement for Brocket Hall to be in a position of such financial stability given a few turbulent years over the last 10 years or so,” he said.
“Moreover the estate is now in a position where it can look to the future with positivity and to consolidate our reputation as the home of two of England’s most picturesque golf courses set against the backdrop of one of the country’s finest stately homes.”
The golf club is also in a massively advantageous position to other Hertfordshire courses as its two courses are generally open 365 days per year.
Longshaw added: “I recall we have only had one or two days of closure in the last few years and last autumn we invested a lot in drainage work to ensure that muddy days on the golf course are a thing of the past here at Brocket Hall, especially in January and February when many courses are forced to shut for at least a few days.”
The profile of Brocket Hall was also given a huge boost last month when its Melbourne Course hosted a brand new event, the Rose Ladies Open supported by Justin and Kate Rose, on the LET Access Series (LETAS).
Opened in 1992, the club offers two of England’s most picturesque courses: – the Melbourne Course, designed by former Ryder Cup golfers Clive Clark and Peter Allis, and the more technically-demanding Palmerston Course, created by Donald Steel and adapted by Martin Ebert.
For further information please visit www.brocket-hall.co.uk or for membership contact [email protected] or call 01707 368700.