Whittington Heath Golf Club

Whittington Heath Golf Club, Staffordshire is a private heathland golf course, which was redesigned by golf course architect, Harry Colt in 1927.

Following the announcement that the new HS2 high speed railway would partially run through the centre of the course, the club needed to make major changes to its layout whilst maintaining the high-quality visiting experience for its members. The required works included construction of a new clubhouse, greenkeeper’s compound, halfway house, five new holes, a practice range, a new car park, ancillary features, a new access road, and the reworking of five existing holes.

The club remained live and operational throughout the project, with a high degree of planning and communication required to ensure minimal disruption to club staff and guests, including working closely with the club’s own course contractors.

Low carbon technologies - achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’

The new clubhouse benefits from a range of energy efficient technologies, including a ground source heat pump, roof-mounted solar PV, and LED lighting throughout. As well as helping to minimise the building’s carbon impact and contribute heavily towards its BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, the application of these specialist technologies will help to maximise comfort levels for club members and staff.

Client-led design

The project was overseen by highly-respected golf course architect, Johnathon Gaunt, who has designed over 30 golf courses internationally since 1987. J Tomlinson worked closely with a range of stakeholders involved in this significant project, including the club’s own course contractors, local ecologists, as well as HS2 funding providers.

We supported the client’s design team in numerous value engineering-led design reviews, including omission of a new basement to the new clubhouse and changes to several finishes (including tiling and roof finishes) to provide the client with better value options.

During construction of the new clubhouse, heritage features were retained including the club’s popular cast iron grandstand canopy, which was originally used to view the Lichfield races. This beloved feature was incorporated into the design of the new clubhouse.

Live and operational golf club

Works were undertaken in phases, with the new access road and car park created first. Early in the programme, J Tomlinson sponsored an afternoon tea event at the club, during which we delivered a short presentation to members to provide an overview of the programme. Throughout the project, we maintained our professional and unobtrusive approach to help minimise the impact of works across the existing club and course.

• LOW CARBON DESIGN - the new BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rated clubhouse benefits from an extremely energy efficient design, aided by the application of low carbon technologies including a ground source heat pump and roof-mounted solar PV.

• LIVE AND OPERATIONAL GOLF CLUB - working across a live and occupied golf club, our professional, unobtrusive, and safety-focused approach helped ensure minimal disruption to the club’s daily operations.

• LOCAL SUPPLY CHAIN - appointment of 70% local suppliers (through our tried-and-tested supply chain), contributed to the local economy and provided key work experience for apprentice trades.

• ADHERENCE TO SPECIALIST GOLF CLUB DESIGNS - provided a high-quality, user-centric finish.