West Hove Golf Club’s driving range has been weather-proofed with the addition of eight undercover bays.
The East Sussex venue has used a £98,000 funding package from NatWest to build a roof over eight of its 20 bays, protecting golfers from rain and shading them from direct sunshine.
The popular driving range is open all year round, but previously business would fall during periods of bad weather, with the club’s management estimating up to 100 days of trade were affected per year due to rain.
With the addition of covered bays, the club hope to increase visitor numbers, as well as host more golf lessons during the winter months and reduce the number of cancellations caused by wind and rain.
While the golf club itself is for private members, the driving range is open to the public and has around 30,000 users every year.
Following the lockdown, the West Hove’s courses and driving range are now pen to the public, while the restaurant and function rooms facilities will remain shut until July 4.
Gary Salt, General Manager at West Hove Golf Club, said: “Prior to the addition of the covered driving range bays, we would see a real dip in visitor numbers on the driving range over the winter months. Our driving range has a prevailing south westerly wind, so bad weather would have a significant impact on the number of golfers who would come to use the facility.
“A simple change like adding a roof over some of our bays will make a big impact to our business and to the people who use our facilities. The last few months have been challenging for us, but we’re looking forward to welcoming new and returning golfers to our updated driving range.”