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Who will be crowned England’s best golf club?

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The finalists have been revealed for the England Golf Awards 2025. But who will take the crown of the nation’s best golf club? Here are all the nominees

England Golf Awards

They are a trio of clubs who should be very proud of their achievements. But only one of Abbeydale, Potters Resorts Five Lakes, and Shirley Golf Club will be crowned England’s best golf club in a glittering ceremony later this year.

They have been nominated in the Club of the Year category at the England Golf Awards 2025, which will be staged at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate hotel on Wednesday, April 2.

The Club of the Year victors will be one of 12 outstanding winners – players, clubs, facilities and counties – who, England Golf say, “have all gone above and beyond over the past 12 months to help elevate the profile of our great game”.

Ten awards were open to the public for nominations before a panel of 50 judges, comprising England Golf staff as well as key industry and media colleagues, picked the finalists.

England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson said: “Our awards night is always an important and special evening for us, as we recognise and applaud all the wonderful things that are happening around the country to help our great game take strides forward.

“Everyone who was nominated should be proud of what they have achieved, and what is a tough but ultimately rewarding task every year for our judging panels, we will welcome our remarkable finalists to Manchester in April to crown some of those outstanding achievements on what will no doubt be a night to remember.”

Who are the three Club of the Year finalists?

Abbeydale, in Sheffield, offer a Sunday and Social membership to those on its waiting list so they can build friendships before they become full members and also brought in a reduced-price Buggy & Social Membership category for their elderly and infirm members. They also relaunched their academy last year and have a ‘one club one comp’ ethos for competitions.

Membership at Potters Resort Five Lakes, in Essex, grew by 300 in 2024 to a record number of 960 playing members. The club offer a points-based membership appealing to every price point, a system that has attracted lots of younger golfers. The club also have incentives for the local golfing community, including £10 rounds at weekends and flexible pricing for twilight golf.

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Shirley‘s ‘Golf for Disabled Children’ project delivers free coaching to over 100 SEND children from local schools every week. The Solihull club have achieved this for over 20 years through money donated from members and its annual GFDC Golf Day. In the last 12 months, the club have also welcomed more than 160 new members and increased benefits to focus on mental and physical health through partnerships with local gyms, discounts to wellbeing events, and more.

England Golf Awards 2025 Finalists

England Golf Awards 2025

Here are the full list of finalists for the England Golf Awards 2025…

Club of the Year sponsored by Marsh
Abbeydale Golf Club (Yorkshire)
Potters Resorts Five Lakes Golf Club (Essex)
Shirley Golf Club (Warwickshire)

County of the Year
Cheshire
Hampshire
Lancashire

Respect in Golf Award sponsored by Citation
Skratch Women (London)
Walmley Foundation CIC (Warwickshire)
Woolley Park Golf Club (Yorkshire)

Facility of the Year
3 Hammers (Staffordshire)
HUKD Golf (Lancashire)
Need Golf Centre (Cheshire)

Participation & Development Coach of the Year
Darren Stratman (Ferndown Forest Golf Club, Dorset)
Hannah Crump (Stonebridge Golf Club, Warwickshire)
Harvey Couchman (North Foreland Golf Club, Kent)

Sustainability Project of the Year

Bidston Golf Club (Cheshire)
Birchwood Park Golf & Country Club (Kent)
North Hants Golf Club (Hampshire)

Volunteer of the Year sponsored by DotGolf
Bob Lacey (Surrey Golf)
Jo Taylor (Cheadle Golf Club, Cheshire)
Pete MacLeod (Bidston Golf Club, Cheshire)

Young Person of the Year supported by the Golf Foundation
George Cornall (Kenilworth and The Warwickshire, Warwickshire)
Megan Grimwood (Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire)
Ruby Fox (Kenwick Park, Lincolnshire)

Women & Girls Trailblazer sponsored by 54
Hannah Morrison (Mellor Golf Club, Cheshire)
Sally Benton (Eaton Golf Club, Norfolk)
Skratch Women (London)

Performance of the Year sponsored by FlightScope
Dominic Clemons (Gog Magog, Cambridgeshire)
England Girls’ Team
Kipp Popert (Wildernesse, Kent)
Lottie Woad (Farnham, Surrey)

Tournament Venue of the Year sponsored by Your Golf Travel
Ormskirk (Lancashire) – Carris Trophy
Stover Golf Club (Devon) – English Women’s County Finals
Tandridge Golf Club (Surrey) – English Girls’ U16/U14 Stroke Play Championship
West Sussex (Sussex) – Reid Trophy

Lifetime Service Award
This award does not have finalists. A winner is picked and presented with the award on the night.

Hall of Fame
The 2025 Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed on the night of the awards.

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Now have your say

What do you think of the England Golf Awards 2025 nominees? Who would you like to win? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.

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About the author

Steve Carroll
Steve Carroll

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

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