Littlestone Golf Club (www.littlestonegolfclub.org.uk), has thrown open its doors to a brand new Pro Shop located by the main clubhouse overlooking the championship links, regarding by many as one of England’s finest courses.

The new modern structure will allow the club to stock a much more extensive range of golf equipment, clothing including a members’ branded range, shoes and golf accessories which can now also be bought online.

A brand new SAM PuttLab, the world’s leading putt coaching and training system, has also been installed for members and visitors alike who will be able to undergo a complete analysis of their putting and then make use of training modules to rectify any weaknesses in their stroke.

For many years the Pro Shop at Littlestone, which runs two memberships, The Championship Links and The Warren, was situated at The Warren, the club’s second course.

With The Championship Links membership and visitor numbers rising steadily over the last few years, the old premises was no longer fit for purpose as it was not able to fully service the increasing needs of main club. So, with The Warren Pro Shop also in need of serious repair, a temporary home was found in the main clubhouse.

Plans were then put forward for a completely new home for the Pro Shop by the main clubhouse. Once the site and design had been agreed, the club approached LEADER and the Rural Payments Agency in East Kent for help to fund the project. Fortuitously the Kent Downs and Marshes LEADER Programme reverted that it would assist with a grant aiding a new reception and Pro Shop.

“This is an ambitious project which will deliver jobs and growth to the Romney Marsh area and will attract additional visitors to the area,” commented Andrew Sinclair, Programme Officer for the Kent Downs and Marshes LEADER Programme.

“The project fits with the priorities for the LEADER Programme, which is part of the EU funded Rural Development Programme for England, to provide economic growth for rural areas.”

“The LEADER Programme’s support for this project was crucial and made the build possible so we are extremely grateful for their support,” said Sarah Saunders, Sales, Membership & Marketing Manager at Littlestone.

To coincide with the opening of the new shop, Littlestone has already employed a new PGA trainee so the club now has four golf professionals as well as a receptionist to handle the overall running of the new outlet.

The Pro Shop is very much seen as the flagship for future plans to create a Centre for Excellence Academy catering for golfers of all levels and ages.

In addition to the prestige of staging of The Junior Open in 2020, Littlestone will benefit from the hosting of The Open Championship at nearby Royal St George’s in the same year, attracting attention from around the world and no doubt more visitors looking to experience this revered championship links and benefit from the establishment of a new Pro Shop.

Littlestone and Royal St George’s are part of one of the finest stretches of championship links in England together with Royal Cinque Ports, host of The Open in 1909 and 1920 and Prince’s which staged The Open in 1932.

Littlestone itself is laid out on a stretch of land between the famous Romney Marsh and the English Channel where the sand dunes form natural, undulating ground ideal for links. The unique microclimate that exists on this part of the coast makes it one of the driest places in Britain and results in firm terrain that produces hard and fast fairways that are beautifully defined by the natural dunes, so typical of links golf. Together with the thick, wild rough and classic deep pot bunkers, the course demands accurate ball striking, well thought-out course management and speed control on the greens, making it a challenging test of golf.

For more on Littlestone, visit www.littlestonegolfclub.org.uk or call +44 (0)1797 363355.

ENDS

For further information or high resolution images of the new Pro Shop and Littlestone, please contact Helen Heady of Heady PR on helen@headypr.co.uk or call 07966 491 509.

Notes to Editors
The Littlestone links was first established thanks to the design input that was placed in the country’s Championship Links by some of golf course design’s most revered architects.
Although challenging and mature enough just six years after its inception to host the first LGU Ladies Championship in 1894, William Laidlaw Purves, along with the professional David Herd, were behind the design of the course that covers much of the same ground as the links now played today. Whilst the club’s first Captain, Purves was a also a member and the designer of Royal St George’s at Sandwich, now considered as one of the finest golf courses in England.
Not long afterwards, another of golf’s most famous architects was called in to further enhance the design of Littlestone. James Braid, then the professional at Walton Heath, was brought in to place bunkers on what was mostly a bunker-less course. His improvements can still be seen on several holes and include the great fairway bunker on hole 12 whilst the array of cross bunkers on the 16th are also fine examples of his work. Braid’s contribution added to Littlestone’s reputation and in 1910, Bernard Darwin in his classic book, Golf Courses of the British Isles, richly praised the course.
After the First World War, the club worked to repair the damage brought on by neglect and military activities that had been carried out on the site.
Then in 1924, the club approached Alister MacKenzie, another well-respected golf course architect and designer of Alwoodley Golf Club, for his ideas on further improving the quality of the course. Mackenzie would of course go on to relocate to the US and create two masterpieces there, Augusta National & Cypress Point.

MacKenzie duly presented the club with an extensive list of improvements, some of which were implemented immediately whilst others were gradually put in over the years. To this day, much of the strength and greatness of the course is directly attributable to his genius, namely the two excellent par 3s at the 6th and 17th, the greens on the 5th and 18th holes and the 8th hole.

The course has remained virtually unchanged since MacKenzie’s adaptations with the exception of some tee relocation to give some added length. In 1997 several new tees were added at the 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th & 12th holes in order to better challenge the stronger player, especially as Littlestone had been selected as a Qualifying venue for The Open Championship.

These legendary architects of their time have all left their mark on Littlestone which is still benefitting hugely from their legacy. To play golf there is like stepping back in time and a feeling of history and tradition continues to permeate through this somewhat undiscovered links. 

Reminders that the course has been there over 100 years abound such as evidence of the time when the area was at the heart of the Second World War. Incredibly a section of the Mulberry Harbour, which did not make it across the Channel following the D-day landings of June 1944, is still visible from the 17th tee.