After a period of ups and downs, the Melbourne Club at the Brocket Hall Estate in Hertfordshire is now in the best financial shape for over a decade thanks to a strong membership base and unprecedented demand for society and corporate days at the venue over the last 18 months.
The health of the Welwyn-based golf club’s finances has also been boosted by a surge in demand for overnight stay-and-play packages at the former stately home which are increasingly popular with couples and small groups.
The Melbourne Club, as it is now known, now boasts a membership of over 1,000 – its largest since 2002 – and continues to grow on a month-by-month basis. Such is the rise in popularity of the club that, from September 1, an increased joining fee of £6,200 was introduced.
“It is a massive achievement for Brocket Hall to be in a position of such financial stability given a few turbulent years over the last 10 years or so,” commented Michael Longshaw, Managing Director at Brocket Hall. “Moreover, the estate is now in a position where it can look to the future with positivity and to consolidate our reputation as the home of two of England’s most picturesque golf courses set against the backdrop of one of the country’s finest stately homes.”
Opened in 1992, the club offers two of 18-hole championship courses: the Melbourne Course, designed by former Ryder Cup golfers Clive Clark and Peter Alliss, and the more technically demanding Palmerston Course created by Donald Steel and adapted by Martin Ebert. With its stunning views over the property’s stately home and lake which is straddled by a bridge, the Melbourne guarantees visitors a highly enjoyable and memorable day out whilst the Palmerston suits competent golfers looking for a strategic, challenging round of golf.
The golf club is also in advantageous position to many other courses in the area as its two courses are generally open 365 days per year. “I recall we have only had one or two days of closure in the last few years and last autumn we invested a lot in drainage work to ensure that muddy days on the golf course are a thing of the past here at Brocket Hall, especially in January and February when many courses are forced to shut for at least a few days,” said Longshaw.
The profile of Brocket Hall was recently given a boost when it hosted a new event, the Rose Ladies Open supported by Justin and Kate Rose, on the LET Access Series over the Melbourne Course in late September. Won by Sweden’s My Leander, the event was extremely well received and benefited from TV coverage that was beamed all over Europe. The club is confident that the increase in awareness that it received by supporting the LET Access Series event will attract even more members, particularly in the female section which it is keen to see expand.