Appleby Golf Club has secured an £8,000 grant which has provided a further boost after a post-lockdown membership increase.
England Golf this week announced a £500,000 cash injection to help clubs countrywide as part of a second round of COVID-19 support funding.
This has been provided by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and has seen £2.55 million distributed to 328 clubs, including 11 across Cumbria.
Clubs were invited to apply for grants of up to £10,000 and Appleby’s request for £8,000 was one of those given the green light.
Appleby club manager Helen Swaby called the news very welcome and said the money would be used to upgrade its till and membership support system. This will allow players to manage payments and competition fees remotely.
Helen also said the course had been really busy and in excellent condition since play returned to Brackenber Moor in June.
“We’ve increased our membership by about 60.
“It’s people who couldn’t play cricket, football or other sports,” she said.
“They came back to play golf, as have a lot of our original junior members.”
From the onset of the pandemic, England Golf worked closely with the R&A to set up an original fund before devoting a huge amount of time and staff resources to make sure money could be allocated to clubs both quickly and fairly.
However, at a critical time in golf’s development there was a clear need to help more clubs where possible, said a spokesman, who added that the additional investment announced this week by England Golf would support business development.
Chief executive officer Jeremy Tomlinson said: “I hope this will help to make a real difference to clubs and facilities who have shown amazing resilience and resourcefulness in a year of unprecedented disruption.”
Latest Appleby Golf Club results
NAWCH — 1 Brian Allison, 41 points; 2 Callum Marsden, 39; 3 Martin Cairns, 37. Fur and feathers (4BBB) — 1 Karl Smith and John Whittle, 43 (card play-off); 2 Paul; Hindson and Shaun Elliott, 43; 3 J. Winnard and M. Ridgeway, 43.
The Appleby winter league season is due to start on 15th November with six competitions being played — 6x6x6, Texas scramble, am-am, foursomes, greensomes and American foursomes.
The top four teams will play off with semi-finals and a final taking place with a matchplay format.
