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courses - Tandridge golf club
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A Surrey golf club is anticipating a
flurry of beginners to join after cutting
significantly its annual academy
membership fee.
Tandridge GC, in Oxted, has reduced its
academy membership fee by nearly 40
per cent, from £750 to £475, as it looks
to encourage more people - particularly
ladies and girls - into the sport.
Club secretary Andrew Tanner admits
it is a move some may consider ‘long
overdue’.
He explained: “We have an excellent
coaching staff here at Tandridge, in PGA
pro Chris Evans and his team, but - as a
private members club - historically we’ve
probably been guilty of under-utilising
their talents.
“We’ve never actively promoted
academy membership here as an entry
point to the sport in the local community
but that is changing - and it is a change
that many of us feel is long overdue.
“The chances of a beginner stepping
out confidently onto the course in the
early days are slim, so there’s little point
in factoring into the membership fee a
course-use charge. The fee should act
as an incentive for beginners to take
advantage of the excellent facilities we
have on offer - not a barrier.”
Academy membership entitles the
individual to 10 individual range lessons
of 40 minutes each, six one-hour group
lessons, and unlimited free use of
the driving range - with balls - for the
duration of the membership, ensuring
that, weather permitting, there should
never be any deterrent to practise.
Tanner added: “We will also maintain the
fee structure for subsequent years, so
newcomers don’t need to worry if they’re
making slower progress than they
thought they would. Academy members
will also be mentored as they undergo
the process of improving and getting
their first handicap.
“This is one more step we are taking
in making Tandridge GC more of a
community asset. It remains a private
members club, but it is now a private
members club for the 21st century.”
Evans, an Advanced PGA professional,
is a former winner of the Welsh
Professional Championship and
represented Wales in the Johnnie
Walker European Team Championship.
Until moving to Tandridge in 1998,
he was head pro at the former Open
Championship venue at Prince’s GC,
Kent.
He has led the team at Tandridge for
more than 20 years and said: “I am
Website: www.tandridgegolfclub.com
delighted and very excited by the
prospect of getting more players
into the game and, ultimately, seeing
them progress to become members
of a wonderful golf club right on their
doorstep.
“Having top-level PGA instruction, along
with free unlimited practice, should
be a catalyst for academy members
to flourish and reach a decent playing
standard. We are really looking forward
to the challenge of helping more people
get into golf.”
The delightful Tandridge course, near
Oxted, was designed by the legendary
Harry Colt and affords spectacular views
of the Surrey North Downs and the High
Weald, with the front nine running along
relatively gentle land and the back nine
sited in more rolling and dramatic terrain.
Visitors to Tandridge may play golf
by paying a green fee on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays, or any day
from 4.30pm, with prices from £40.
To enquire about academy membership
at Tandridge GC simply call assistant
secretary Jane Edwards, on
01883 712274, or email asst.sec@
tandridgegolfclub.com. The pro shop is
open seven days a week and the team is
on hand to answer any questions. Call
them on 01883 713701.