PGA professional and director of golf Neil Pike is aiming to help historic club Ferndown Golf Club realise its ambitions for the future.
The Dorset club hosts the West Region qualifier for the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship in association with Peugeot on May 1.
The following month it will also stage regional Open Championship qualifying for the fifth year running but Pike has big plans for the club including in the future possibly staging the Glenmuir final itself.
“It is the first time we’ve hosted the Glenmuir qualifier which is a very prestigious event and one day we would like to host the final,” he said.
Meanwhile Pike says Ferndown, which is where BBC commentator Peter Alliss started his career as a PGA professional after the Second World War under the eye of his father Percy, has a number of plans for the club at all levels including generating new members.
“This is a popular club and we’ve been hosting a summer school here which has been quite a success,” said Pike. “We’re nearly full for this year. We have 40 places on offer but it usually gets us 10 extra members a year so that’s worked really well for us.
“As part of director of golf role, my job is to also to try and improve the corporate side of the business as well as the playing side.”
Playing will be the focus for the qualifiers however when some of the West Region’s best-known players will be in action at Ferndown including PGA Cup players Jon Bevan (Wessex Golf Centre) and Richard Dinsdale (Parc Golf Academy), Martin Stimson (Ashburnham), Graham Laing (North Wilts) and Daniel White (Players Golf Club).
They will be competing for a place in the £78,000 championship final which will be held at the De Vere Carden Park inCheshirefrom 7-10 August with an added incentive for the year’s eventual winner in the shape of the free use of a Peugeot 208 Active 5dr 1.4 VTi car for a year.
“We’re looking forward to hosting some of the best West Region players who reflect how strong the region is,” added Pike. “Because we are more to the east of the region, we tend not to attract the players from Wales or Cornwall so this will be a great chance to see them in what should be a very competitive field. If you can score around 70 then I think you’d stand a decent chance of qualifying.”
Ferndown Golf Club www.ferndown-golf-club.co.uk