Sandiway Golf Club named a finalist at BIGGA awards

Sandiway Golf Club has been announced as a finalist in the Greenkeeping Project of the Year category at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association Awards.

It comes as a result of the club’s Project 1946 redevelopment which has sought to revert the course to its original heathland characteristics.

Course manager Richard Sinker said: “We are incredibly proud as a team just to be selected as a finalist, so to go any further would be a career highlight for all of us.

“Recognition from peers in the industry is always confidence boosting.

“The volume of work produced was incredible but the standard and quality of the work was even better and it's great that we can show this off on a national scale.”

The 1946 RAF aerial image of Sandiway Golf Club (Image: Supplied)

Project 1946 involved the team at Sandiway studying an RAF aerial image of the course from 1946.

They used this image to restore the original layout, shapes, designs and environments that legendary golf course architects Ted Ray and Harry Colt had a hand in creating.

“A once heather-dominated site has been lost over the last 90 years and it is our aim to restore that and the ecology that utilises such an environment,” said Mr Sinker.

“The shaping and designs from the 1920s could be seen as being outdated for the modern game, but as we have seen from data collected from the holes already completed, it has made the golfing experience tougher, not easier.

“The scale of this project is vast and is a plan aimed at securing the future of the golf course and improving the environment for another 100 years to come.”

Some of the work being completed at Sandiway (Image: Supplied)

All of the work is being completed by the in-house team at Sandiway, who look to reuse as many materials as possible in a bid to make the project environmentally sustainable and financially efficient.

For this, they have been named a finalist for Greenkeeping Project of the Year.

They will be up against Basingstoke and Dudley golf clubs.

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “It has become something of a BIGGA tradition that we sign off the year by revealing the finalists of our annual awards and I couldn’t be prouder of this year’s line-up.

“The performance of a greenkeeping team can massively impact the fortunes of a golf club and these finalists all show instances of greenkeepers possessing the confidence and ability to take the lead and ensure their golf club’s ambitions are fulfilled.

“I wish them all the best for the awards and look forward to discovering the winners at the BIGGA Awards on the opening night of BTME 2024.”

The winner will be revealed at the opening evening of the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition later this month.