‘We’ve had so much rain we were shut for five straight days’
Nature has thrown everything at Brough over the last couple of years. The Beast from the East, a major drought, and a chafer grub infestation that stripped fairways to the soil, club chiefs could be forgiven for despairing when the heavens opened and dumped a “tremendous amount” of rain all over the East Yorkshire course.
General manager Richard Jagger said, last Thursday and Friday alone, something in the region of 50mm fell.
Members of a greens forum, sat watching the liquid come down sideways as they were meeting, could confidently decide the course would be shut a day in advance – so sure were they how conditions would deteriorate.
— Brough Golf Club (@BroughGolfClub) November 8, 2019
It prefaced five days of consecutive closure and, when the course reopened on Wednesday, the 3rd through 12th holes were still out of action.
The respite was brief. As the rain came down again and closed the course on Friday, and with a wet winter forecast, Jagger admitted the conditions will present a challenge.
“We’re a reasonably well draining course, we’ve got a stream that runs through the middle and that burst its banks and overflowed,” he explained.
“We’ve got really wet areas. The really frustrating thing for us is that we’ve gone into the autumn with no chafer grub damage and the course in probably the best condition it has been in.
“I’m saying we can really kick on this autumn, we can get visiting parties in, push for membership, and it’s just a kick in the teeth when you see the course has been shut.
“We work in an outdoor sport so you’ve got to roll with it a little bit but it’s definitely challenging.
“We had a greens forum last week and it was coming down sideways – Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“We made the decision to shut the course almost 24 hours in advance because there was no way it could be opened.”
15.11.19. At least 20mm of rain overnight! Course unsurprisingly is closed! Doesn’t look good for any golf this weekend! @BroughGolfClub pic.twitter.com/D5OCIIVFul
— Brough Greenkeepers (@BGCgreenkeeping) November 15, 2019
The weather impacts many parts of the business, from visitor green fee income to society bookings and food and beverage sales.
But Jagger added Brough are looking at ways to manage the water and keep people playing.
“You lose the majority of income from food and beverage sales. I’ve gone into the autumn really optimistic that we’d be able to drive our visitor revenue – that’s decimated. We’ve been growing it and were confident we could improve again this year.
“We’ve got to manage it, adapt, and we’ve spent a lot of time with our course manager and greens chairman walking the course looking at ideas for managing traffic and where people go.
“We’re currently debating winter mats on the fairway and [the weather] certainly challenges the norm.”
How has your club been affected by the rain? Let me know in the comments below or you can tweet me.
More from our Golf Clubs vs Rain series
- How the weather is ‘killing’ Trentham Park
- How the Belfry escaped closure
- Course closed? This is how much damage the rain is doing
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 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 currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
