Big project on course at Beauport Park

Work to clear areas off the fairways of bushes and undergrowth is being undertaken on a number of holes in an effort to make the Battle Road course more playable.

Beauport Park managing director Charles Giddins said: “It’s a lovely golf course, but it’s a bit unforgiving. If you go off the fairway, you struggle to find your ball on a lot of holes.

“We’re just really trying to clear out a lot of brambles and scrub on the side of the fairways to make it as playable as possible.”

Giddins has had the project in mind for some time and has brought in some heavy duty machinery to carry it out. Work began in the latter part of the summer and will continue through the winter in readiness for the 2015 golfing season.

The majority of the work so far has taken place on the front nine, although the back nine will also see improvements.

Giddins has been assisted by senior professional David Hudspith, another senior professional David Ashton and course manager Eric Green, while some of the members have also helped out.

“It really needs to be done and it’s definitely paying dividends,” continued Giddins, who lies third in the Sussex PGU Alliance League standings. “When people hit the ball off line, they’ve at least got a chance of finding the ball.”

Beauport - a visually spectacular but very challenging course - has hosted professional tournaments in the past and hopes to do so again in the future.

Giddins added that work to fill in some of the valleys on the undulating layout will happen at some stage.