Dunstanburgh Castle is one of the those links golf courses you simply must play. It is a golf course that isn’t shy of defining and beautiful views, as well as being the home of one captivating story.
Few golf clubs in Britain possess a story quite like that of Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Course. Yet there is still a tale even more extraordinary than the landscape itself. It is the story of Stuart Imeson, its co-owner. His journey from teenage apprentice to co-owner of one of Northumberland’s most characterful links is a tale of graft, obsession, community pride and a connection to the land that hosts such an accomplished golf course.
Here’s his truly remarkable tale…
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A Greenkeeper at 16, a Course Manager at 18
After leaving school, Imeson did what many village kids in Embleton had done before, he joined the club as a greenkeeping apprentice. But what followed was anything but ordinary.
Through what he describes as “slightly strange circumstances,” the head greenkeeper left, then the deputy left soon after — and in 2009, at just 18 years old, Stuart was told he’d be taking over.
“It wasn’t ‘will you do it?’ It was you’re doing it,” he laughs. “I didn’t particularly seem too young at the time, but looking back now… there’s not many people get into them situations.”
Thrown into the deep end, he learned fast, guided by a handful of supportive members, local agronomists and industry mentors.
“I steered the ship, I would probably say back then. I was an 18-year-old and doing my best.
“I felt quite comfortable, if I’m honest, I didn’t feel like I was out on my depth or anything like that. But as soon as I felt like that, I realized actually, I’m only scrape, scraping the surface of the job I’m doing. And yeah, and I think I was, I was sheltered very well by the owner at the time of feedback, which I kind of probably didn’t realize at the time, which obviously, was obviously a great thing, great thing for me.”
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Earning Trust the Hard Way
The Dunstanburgh of the late 2000s was a long way from the increasingly polished links golfers that many of us know today. Budgets were small. Machinery was old. Every bit of investment and improvement had to be argued for, justified or creatively improvised.
Imeson remembers it well. “The most money I earned as a head greenkeeper was £24,000 a year. I didn’t start off being a millionaire, and I’m certainly not a millionaire now.”
When a fire destroyed the greenkeeping facility in 2018, Imeson — then newly appointed general manager — had to rebuild almost from scratch.
“The business went through a pretty rough patch when the green keeping facility burned down,” he recalls. “I was quite new to the general managing role at the time. And I think I gained a lot of trust from the owner at that point, because I, pretty much had to beg, borrow and steal and get the golf course and the business back up on its feet. I think obviously that stood me in good stead to, you know, to be in the position I am today”
The experience solidified the trust placed in him by the then owner, who began quietly laying the foundations for Stuart to eventually take over.
“I Still Get Up at the Same Time as When I Was a Greenkeeper”
Even today, as co-owner, Stuart’s heart is still out on the course and out early doors.
“Every morning, still now, I get up at the same time as when I was a greenkeeper, get out on the golf course… It’s something I know, and it’s something I’m comfortable with.”
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This practical understanding of the product — the landscape itself — is unusual in club ownership, and a huge advantage.
“It underpins everything that the business does,” he says of the course. “We can make a decision straight away, but actually we know what it needs as well.”
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Have you ever played at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Club? Have you played golf in Northumbria? Let us by leaving a comment!
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