China Fleet Country Club Plans £500k Golf Course Upgrade in Saltash

The sand in the bunkers will come from St Austell. The mowers will run through the night on their own. And the whole thing carries a price tag of half a million pounds.

China Fleet Country Club in Saltash has announced a £500,000 programme of works for its golf course, which it says is its most ambitious course investment to date. The programme is called Project 32 and is planned for completion by 2032.

The club, which sits on 180 acres on the Devon and Cornwall border, says the work covers three main areas. There is a full renovation of all 63 bunkers on the course, a new buggy path serving nine holes, and three robotic mowers supplied by Echo Robotics.

Dean Bennett, Managing Director at China Fleet Country Club, said: “Project 32 represents one of the most significant investments we have made into our golf course since it first opened. This is a long-term commitment to quality, and it reflects our absolute confidence in the future of China Fleet Country Club. We are building something that our members, our visitors and the wider golfing community in the South West can be genuinely proud of for decades to come.”

Cornish sand in every bunker

The biggest single part of Project 32 is the bunker work. The club is working with specialist contractor Durabunker, and its golf and course management team has gone through every bunker on the course one at a time. The course was originally designed by architect Dr Martin Grant Hawtree.

All 63 bunkers will be rebuilt and lined with Durabunker’s Rubber Crumb Liner, called DuraCrumb, which the club says gives consistent performance, better drainage and longer structural life. China Clay sand from St Austell will be used throughout, keeping the materials local to Cornwall.

Nathan O’Sullivan, Golf Course Manager at China Fleet Country Club, said: “Every single bunker on this course has been looked at with fresh eyes. Working with Durabunker and using China Clay sand from right here in Cornwall, we are going to deliver bunkers that not only look exceptional but perform consistently in every condition. For golfers playing this course, it is going to make a real difference to the experience and to the challenge that Dr Hawtree’s original design intended.”

The work is being done in phases, with one bunker finished at a time, so the club says disruption to play should be kept low.

A path for the wet days

The second part of the project is a new buggy path running across nine holes. The club says that in bad weather, buggies and course machinery have not been able to cross certain parts of the course without damaging the surface and raising health and safety concerns. The new all-weather path is meant to fix that, improve access for golfers, help course operations and add more playable days to the year.

Mowers that work day and night

The third part is three GPS-RTK robotic mowers from Echo Robotics. The club says the machines can run day and night in any weather and will keep the playing surfaces in good condition through the year. By taking over routine grass cutting, the course team can spend more time on the specialist jobs that define a championship course. The club says more details on this will follow.

Part of a bigger spend

“Project 32 is the latest chapter in a sustained and significant programme of investment at China Fleet Country Club,” Dean added. “In recent years, the Club has committed approximately £500,000 to green solar energy technology, including our ground-mounted solar array, and £100,000 to a complete renovation of The Brasserie. A further £300,000 was invested in a state-of-the-art gym refurbishment, introducing the latest cardiovascular and resistance equipment alongside a Hyperice massage recovery area. The Club has also invested in new corporate co-working facilities, the innovative BOX12 boxing fitness suite and a refreshed Aqua Spa and Barn Spa offering.”

The club says these add up to a wider £2.5 million refurbishment over recent years.

About China Fleet Country Club

China Fleet Country Club opened on 1st June 1991 and is owned and operated by China Fleet Trust, a military charity with origins in the original China Fleet Club in Hong Kong. It serves serving and former armed forces and their families, along with non-armed forces members and visiting guests from across the region.

The site offers an 18-hole championship parkland golf course, a Toptracer Driving Range, the Barn Spa and Aqua Spa, a 25-metre pool, a water slide, Woodland Adventure Golf, a fitness suite, group exercise classes, the Brasserie restaurant, function and wedding facilities, corporate co-working spaces and self-catering accommodation.