Following its sale to Darwin Escapes in 2017, The Springs Resort & Golf Club in Oxfordshire has been transformed into a multi-purpose leisure venue that is as popular with stay-and-play golfers as it is with tourists visiting the area thanks to its wide range of quality accommodation and first-class hospitality. GBN Associate Editor Nick Bayly went to find out more….
Having visited countless golf resorts around the world where the fairways are lined with villas and apartments – many of which are now the proud owners of my golf balls following a litany of errant tee shots – it has always struck me as something of an anomaly that very few golf courses in the UK have much in the way of property that is integral to the overall facility.
Yes, there are lots of courses with on-site hotels, but there are very few clubs in the UK that offer accommodation – whether it be private homes or rental properties – in full view of the golf course, or at least very adjacent to it. So, it was with something approaching excitement that on pulling into The Springs Resort & Golf Club I stumbled on two lengthy rows of prefabricated – but extremely smart-looking – lodges occupying a sizeable stretch of land that backs onto the venue’s 18-hole golf course.
With many of the lodges having cars parked outside, the resort was clearly doing good business, which was impressive given that this part of the world was in the middle of one of the wettest Aprils on record, and it was long before the traditional staycation brigade moves into top gear.
After retrieving the key card to my lodge from the hotel’s main reception, I entered a spacious and luxuriously appointed suite which wouldn’t have looked out of place in a smart city-based hotel, rather than beside a golf course in the middle of the rural Oxfordshire countryside.
The one-bed lodge I stayed in featured a big double bed, separate shower and bathroom, a small sitting area and an outdoor terrace.
The larger lodges, which directly overlook the golf course, are even grander affairs, with two bedrooms, sitting rooms, open-plan kitchens, outdoor hot tubs and large terraces, and are most likely to appeal to larger groups and those using the club as the base for a longer stay, visiting the area for a self-catering mini break. With a Nespresso coffee machine, big flatscreen TV, Wi-Fi, quality bathroom accessories and a decent power shower, the smaller lodges provide all you need for a one- or two-night golf break.
Darwin Escapes bought The Springs out of receivership in 2017, after the previous owners went bust in 2014 and left it to rot and ruin. Darwin specialises in running holiday parks around the UK – 22 at the last count – but has only recently expanded its portfolio into the golf market, starting off by buying The Springs and Kilnwick Percy Golf Club in Yorkshire, and then adding the prestigious Dundonald Links in Scotland in 2019.
The company has spent the last five years – and over £20m – renovating The Springs from top to bottom. This has included the restoration of the Tudor-style manor house that was once belonged to Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan, which is now home to eight luxury hotel suites; installing the aforementioned lodge accommodation – which now runs to 19 -two-bed apartments and 28 one-bed – and renovating the 18-hole golf course. They’ve also built a small, but very well-appointed spa, featuring a steam room, sauna and a relaxation pool, with a gym completing the leisure facility offering.
The clubhouse has also benefitted from significant investment, with the renovated building reopening just over two years ago. Offering a mixture of the old and the new, a glass atrium entrance hall leads to the golf area on the ground floor – pro shop, simulator/swing studio, changing rooms – while the light and airy first floor features a bar and restaurant with a balcony looking out onto the golf course. The Ridgeway Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is popular with members as well as guests staying in the hotel and the lodges, with its tempting and varied menu certainly several cuts above your average golf club catering option.
The 18-hole golf course occupies a 150-acre area of parkland/woodland that is bordered by the River Thames to the south. Designed by former Ryder Cup captain Brian Huggett, it first opened in 1998 and presents a very interesting challenge. Time and 20-odd years of use had taken its toll on the layout, so in 2018 Darwin Escapes took on the services of experienced golf course architect Tim Lobb – in consultation with Huggett – to restore the course back to its best – as well as to accentuate and enhance some of the existing features.
This, among other things, included redesigning the bunkers to give them a much strong visual cue from the tee by introducing rough edges and raising up the back edges. Elsewhere, several of the holes that feature water, specifically 8, 10 and 17, have been improved with the introduction of wooden sleepers around the water’s edge which provides greater definition to the greens. The redevelopment also saw The Springs become GEO Certified, an honour created to recognise environmentally sustainable courses across the world and which has been awarded to less than 2% of clubs in the UK.
The course plays just shy of 6,500 yards, but there are other teeing options enabling all standards of player to enjoy a layout that does not have too many elevation changes, making it an easy walk. It’s also an easy run too, judging by the winning time of 34 minutes and 47 seconds for the British SpeedGolf Open held here last year. The winner’s score? A three-over-par 75.
Playing what was my first round of the year on UK soil proved to be a suitably challenging reintroduction to the joys of getting no roll on the fairways following the previous day’s torrential downpour, and a month of heavy rain before that. Still, the course stood up very well to the worst of a British weather and there was no hint of a splash or splodge as our four-ball covered the 18 holes in a very acceptable four hours. However the course is prone to flooding on its 14th and 15th holes when the Thames bursts its banks, which it did earlier this year, so a couple of reserve holes have been created on another part of the course to ensure that golfers get the full 18 should others be out of action.
Among my personal highlights were the short par-5 3rd, which has to be negotiated carefully as the fairway bunkers are all at significant points from the tee and also on the layup shot. The par-3s at 8 and 10 are serious tests, with water in play on both holes, and at 183 yards and 195 yards respectively, require a hefty blow. Back-to-back par-5s at 14 and 15 offer a decent chance of a birdie, as does the short 17th, a 270-yard par-4 that doglegs around a pond. Reachable for the biggest hitters, a cautious 5-iron, wedge approach can also yield dividends providing you don’t push your approach into the water.
The 18th, a 400-yard par-4, presents a suitably challenging finale, with a group of trees guarding the middle of the fairway some 180 yards from the tee demanding that you take a left or right route to set up a lengthy approach to the green. I chose straight, but thankfully managed to find a friendly spot between the tree trunks in order to punch one out and sign for a bogey.
All told, it’s a fun and entertaining course that places demands on all elements of your game, while not overly punishing the scorecard should you not bring your best golf to the party. With weekday green fees set at £50, and £60 at weekends, it is priced competitively, even more so when you play it as part of a stay-and-play package, which start from £135pp, for bed & breakfast, dinner and a round of golf.
For more details, visit www.darwinescapes.co.uk
