A grassroots revolt against The Jockey Club’s closure decision is breathing new life into Wincanton Golf Course – Steve Keenan reports

An organised revolt by a small army of veteran golfers has forced the mighty Jockey Club to retreat on plans to close the golf course in the middle of Wincanton racetrack.
The nine-hole course was losing money and The Jockey Club had alternative plans to build an equine “centre of excellence”, including jumps and straights for horse training, on the land.
But given just six months’ notice to quit, the golfers immediately rallied, presenting The Jockey Club with strong arguments for retaining the course and drawing up a plan for a path to profit. They have won a reprieve of at least 12 months.
It is a hugely important victory, particularly given that public sport facilities could lose grants as part of Somerset Council’s wider plans to bridge a £100m funding gap for 2024/25.
Dr Tamsin Graham, a GP at The Surgery in Silton, said the course benefits the health of many in the area. ‘Not only does it help improve physical strength but also mental health through the fellowship, friendly competition and a good laugh,’ she told the BV Magazine.
‘It’s the ideal medicine for over-50s, and with the NHS under considerable pressure and Somerset Council no longer able to fund such amenities, it is a sensible way to stay out of the clutches of the medical profession.’

A systemic decline
No one disputes that the golf club had been in decline for some years, broadly coinciding with the arrival of Jack Parkinson as manager of both Wincanton race and golf courses in November 2020 – while remaining manager at Exeter racecourse.
Ground staff were gradually switched from golf to racecourse duties. The quality of the greens suffered and members left. Then, 18 months ago, the machine used to maintain the greens was stolen and has not been replaced. Inclement weather didn’t help either.
By 2023, membership had declined to approximately 55, and the quality of greens was poor. It meant that income from golf operations is currently 30 per cent lower than five years ago.
The Jockey Club projected a £13k loss in 2024, and said it would close the course to save money.
A golfer on the Golfshake website summed it up last year: ‘I’ve played a few times over the years and it has always been just about OK. However, it really has fallen by the wayside … There seems to be no interest in golf from the owners. It is being run by the manager of Exeter racecourse, who, quite naturally, has absolutely no idea whatsoever on running a golf course.’
In November, Mr Parkinson returned to Exeter and Wincanton appointed a new manager: Blaithin Murphy, 25, fresh out of completing The Jockey Club’s general manager trainee programme.

An arcane system
What really irked members was that there had been no attempt to market the course or to appeal to new players. And it hadn’t put up membership fees enough. The club had a general committee who decided handicaps and arranged competitions, but they had no access to membership details, which were held by The Jockey Club. It transpired the Club had not implemented GDPR (General Data Production Regulations) in 2018, so were not able to release members’ information to the committee.
The golf club didn’t even have its own website – and tee-off times were booked through an “inefficient” third-party platform. The frequent lack of a phone signal in the clubhouse caused even more issues, as golfers couldn’t pay by card – staff had to write down card numbers and process payments when there was a signal.

The teed off members campaign
A three-man kitchen cabinet committee was formed, led by Andrew Wilkinson. Another member, John Wolstenhome, represented the senior players and Jonathan Howard the casual pay-and-play contingent.
‘I knew the people at The Jockey Club as I worked for them on live music events, and I understood the problems on the golf side,’ said Andrew.
He also knew The Jockey Club had apparently shelved plans for an equine centre of excellence, and there was no Plan B.
‘It became clear quite quickly that to form a golf club (30 years ago) was one thing – but to run it was a hurdle too far for The Jockey Club.’
He estimated that to simply close the course would cost The Jockey Club an additional £37k over and above the £13k current losses, due to loss of income and costs of simply maintaining the land. ‘To leave the course fallow in the coming years would be a huge waste of a valuable asset and a very real additional cost to The Jockey Club.’
But he believes that, with better marketing, there could be an income this year of £110k, enough to move golf operations into profit.
‘If The Jockey Club can achieve a well-maintained course, it will get to that point. The course is playing well and drains well. Now we have to sit down with them and work on marketing, find out what they are going to do.
‘Forming a Wincanton Golf Club (WGC) entity responsible for membership communication, marketing and setting membership and green fee rates is an essential change that should be made. Marketing alone, which to date has been non-existent, would benefit revenues substantially in future years.
‘Recent publicity in the BV Magazine regarding the closure of the course has resulted in a remarkable level of enquiries from prospective new members.’
The 55 members were surveyed and 52 (95 per cent) agreed to pay increased memberships of £600. It was also proposed to increase green fees for casual players to £18.
The committee also wants to overhaul the current ‘prehistoric’ booking systems and suggests turning the clubhouse (which has three bedrooms) into accommodation for a couple to clean and run the place. Andrew England, a pro with 40 years’ experience, previously ran the clubhouse, prepared the golf kit and gave lessons. He is no longer involved with the course.

The latest state of play
The Jockey Club has decided not to raise annual fees to £600 – membership fees for 2024 are £495 and it has pegged green fees to £15 for the casual pay-and-play users.
In a statement, Ms Murphy said: ‘Following a lengthy review process involving discussions with stakeholders and members of the local community, we are pleased to announce that Wincanton Golf Club will remain open for at least a further 12 months before we review its status once again.
‘This is a fresh start for the golf course. It will now be managed entirely by the racecourse, and we ask our members for patience and support as we transition into this new phase.
‘While the costs of running this venue are still high, we understand that the course is incredibly valued by our local community. We look forward to working closely with those who regularly use the facility and thank everyone for their support to ensure this course can thrive in the long term.
‘Memberships will be on sale from 1st February 2024, with pay-and-play also available.’

Award-winning writer Sam Peters looks for a game-changing playbook with Jerome Kaino’s Dorset evasion clinic providing a beacon for the future

The headlines surrounding rugby union’s safety record have been pretty dreadful for the past decade or more.
I should know – I’ve been responsible for many of them.
Having witnessed the sport morph from a physically demanding amateur game into an extreme version of its former self, following the onset of professionalism in 1995, I spent more than 15 years as a national newspaper reporter, including four as rugby correspondent at the Mail on Sunday and two more at the Sunday Times, warning anyone who would listen that rugby’s risk profile was becoming intolerable. But for much of that time, it felt as if I was screaming in an empty room.
In August last year, still convinced there was a problem, I published a book: Concussed; Sport’s Uncomfortable Truth, which recounts the many battles I’d fought within the sport to raise the alarm about concussion and other injuries, and my hope that rugby could one day revert back to an evasion-based sport enjoyed by players of all shapes and sizes. In November, it was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

It starts in Dorset
A legal case involving more than 300 former professional players, alleging the sport’s governing bodies were negligent in their handling of concussion following the onset of professionalism, hardly bodes well. Some fear if the sport doesn’t act decisively to reduce injury risk, rugby as we know it may not even exist in two decades time.
While some have sought to dismiss and denigrate those (me included) involved in the legal case, others believe it could be the catalyst for much-needed change which helps de-power the sport, reduce collisions and educate players to prize skill and evasion over brute power and force.
Anecdotally, parents are increasingly concerned about concussion rates, which have spiked in the past 20 years as professionalism has encouraged players to become bigger, faster and stronger. Inevitably, levels of participation in schools is being hit as a result.
Unquestionably, change is already beginning. In January, something quite remarkable happened here in Dorset, at Clayesmore school.
Former New Zealand star Jerome Kaino, the holder of two World Cup winner’s medals and no fewer than 83 All Black caps, schooled dozens of young players from around the west country in the lost art of evasion – how to explore space and in doing so reduce collisions on the field.
Players and staff from Bath and Stade Toulousain academies joined a training session which, while held on a biting-cold January morning, could not fail to warm the soul of anyone who cares about rugby’s long-term future.

A very different style
Watched by a collection of interested parties, including Clayesmore’s rugby-loving head teacher Jo Thomson, head of games Dan Conway, and head of rugby Richard Dixon, the players hung on every word the 40-year-old Kaino uttered and followed every direction given.
‘We (Stade Toulousain) love to keep the ball alive and the more time we can do that, without going into rucks or contact, that can be beneficial,’ Kaino said.
Dixon added: ‘You see a lot of rugby which is not about space, it’s about collisions. We’re more interested in teaching our boys there is another way to do this. Use your brain … create space … use space.’
No doubt sensing the opportunity to impress, boys from Clayesmore, Monkton Combe and St Edwards Bath were willing participants in a session demonstrating a very different style from the simplistic collision-based game many modern coaches are fixated by – but eschewed by legendary Toulouse and France coach Pierre Villepreux.

Improving tackle techniques in order to reduce concussion was also a focus.
‘I am a huge believer in the importance of rugby and the values it instils in young people,’ Thomson told me. ‘But the data you show in your book is hard to argue with. Rather than bury our heads in the sand, we want to look for solutions to parental concerns about the risks of playing rugby. We want to safeguard the future of this brilliant game.’
With other schools around the country also looking to address safety concerns, it feels as if change will be driven not by reluctant and conflicted governing bodies, but by forward-thinking educational establishments such as Clayesmore, willing to tackle the toughest conversations and institute change accordingly.
And if they do, perhaps those headlines will begin to change for the better.
I, for one, dearly hope so.

Concussed: Sport’s Uncomfortable Truth by Sam Peters SHORTLISTED for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2023

Yeovil town council steps up with tax increase to safeguard beloved recreation ground amidst Somerset’s budget cuts

There is some good news from Yeovil on the future of the town’s valued and much-used recreation ground, which was threatened with closure as part of Somerset Council’s draconian cuts – part of a nationwide picture of underfunded rural councils facing financial melt-down.
Yeovil Town Council, which has unanimously decided to increase Council Tax for the upcoming fiscal year, agreed budget plans aimed at preserving the athletics arena. This move is part of a strategy to allocate resources for the upkeep and operational expenses associated with Yeovil Recreation Centre.
Andy Kendall, the town council Liberal Democrat leader, says it is the first step towards saving the facilities, but there are still months of negotiations ahead with Somerset Council.
Somerset Council currently faces a £100 million funding deficit and consequently has some hard choices to make – but the threat to Yeovil’s important leisure facility inspired a huge campaign by users, including a petition which has already attracted more than 14,000 signatures.
Geoff Cole, chairman of Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club (AC), says: ‘The athletics arena is used by the Yeovil Olympiads AC, Dorchester AC, Yeovil Town Road Running Club and Running for Time Running club. In addition to those clubs, more than a dozen local schools and colleges used the athletics track in 2023, from all over South Somerset and North Dorset. There is no other facility like it locally.’
Closing the arena could mean the end of schools and club competitions, ‘and Somerset County Athletics Championships could not be held in Somerset,’ he said.
There is similar strong support from other users, including Jo Stephenson of Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club. The construction of the artificial pitch in 2013 was a collaborative venture between South Somerset District Council, the Hockey Club and England Hockey, and the club continues to invest in the facility. It has just made a contribution of £10,000 towards the provision of equipment so the café can provide players with meals and bring more income to the Rec. She said it would be ‘devastating’ if the facilities the club had worked hard to establish were lost – ‘Once gone they will be gone for good,’ she warned. ‘It would be another nail in the coffin of this area of South Somerset, which is recognised as one of the most deprived areas in the South West.’
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said the council both owns and operates Yeovil Recreation Ground: ‘Therefore, it is not “funded” as such, in the way that we grant-fund some other leisure centres, which are operated on a contractor basis. The annual operating cost for Yeovil Recreation Ground is c£190,000 net.’

As local towns fight to save their sports facilities, Rachael Rowe highlights the clash between budget cuts and public health priorities

What do you do when a sports centre or recreation ground that plays a critical part in the community’s health and wellbeing is at risk of closure?
With limits on the public monies available, local authorities have to make difficult spending decisions. Cutting sports and leisure funding seems inevitable. How can recreational facilities be protected, maintained and become sustainable, when closing them seems to fly in the face of the council policy of keeping people healthy?

QE Leisure Centre, Wimborne
In March 2022, Dorset Council Cabinet agreed to serve a two year notice period on the QE Leisure Centre. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they get best value for money within their limited budgets, and their contribution to the leisure centre in Wimborne is £550,000 annually – a third of Dorset’s entire leisure budget.
From April this year, the management of the leisure centre will be handed to the Queen Elizabeth School and the general public, apart from those in clubs with prior arrangements, will no longer be able to use the facilities.
In 2021, 64 per cent of the 1,799 respondents to a public consultation said they used the facilities. A petition was launched as soon as local residents heard news of the closure. Stuart Paterson, from the group QE Leisure Centre Action, which is working on the response, described the initial reaction to the news in 2022: ‘At the time, although the clubs were happy to discuss the issue, there was a bit of reluctance to do anything because there was a widespread view that alternative arrangements would be made.
‘It’s a very popular centre and there is a lot of support for it. It looks like that’s the end of the public facility, so it will have a big impact on the community. We have a 25 metre pool that’s deep enough for scuba diving clubs to use. There are daily hydrotherapy sessions, which people are referred to for medical reasons. The prospect of that closing is a major issue. And the Wimborne Wagtails is a disability swimming group which uses the pool. Some don’t have their own transport and public transport often doesn’t tie in with the timing of sessions.
‘Although the council is quick to point out that there are three other council-run leisure centres within a 20 minute drive of Wimborne, it’s not like-for-like. Some centres don’t have the facilities that we have.’
Initio Learning Trust, which runs the school says:
‘We understand the concerns expressed by users of the QE Leisure Centre and swimming pool after the council’s decision to withdraw from running the facility from 31st March. The pool requires improvements, and in order for those to be carried out it will have to be closed for a period. It will therefore be unavailable for use from 1st April 2024. We anticipate the works will be completed in time for the new school year in September this year, which is when we expect school lessons to restart. From that point the pool may also be hired to swimming lesson providers, clubs and community groups, but we do not intend to directly provide lessons or general public swimming.’

Sturfit
Much like the QE Centre in Wimborne, Sturminster Newton Leisure Centre’s purpose was always to provide a sports facility for the high school as well as the local community – the land for the building was provided by the Pitt-Rivers Estate with a covenant on it to that end.
When it was at similar risk of closure due to lack of funds in 2011, an open Sturminster Newton Town Council meeting was held to find a solution. During the meeting, it was proposed that a charitable trust might take over the running of the centre as a not-for-profit organisation, and various local residents volunteered to be the trustees of the newly-formed Sturfit charity.
Sturminster Newton High School recently joined the Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST) and Sturfit and SAST have continued an already excellent working relationship. The leisure centre is used by several thousand people each week.
Chairman of Sturfit, Courtenay Hitchcock says: ‘During term times, Sturfit has full use of the gym and dance studio, and the school has priority use of the main hall. We manage the facility on behalf of SAST and they are responsible for the fabric of the building. We employ a full time manager, other staff are subcontracted, and we also support the numerous local small businesses who run the various classes and clubs here.
‘One of the challenges we face is the common misunderstanding that we are funded and run by the council – we’re not, and haven’t been since 2012! But the model we have is working well for all parties. Sitting down together and working out what works for everyone was key.’
The Sturfit trustees have had to work through lots of important lessons, and their experience could perhaps help those places that are now at risk of closure. Courtenay added: ‘Leisure facilities are in a difficult situation right now when running either as a for-profit private enterprise or, especially, as a cash-strapped council-funded facility. Our model is a really good solution for us and for the school.
‘From the outside, I can’t see why it wouldn’t work for Wimborne too. If there is a core of people with the will and momentum to change to a charitable model, it’s a viable option that can also open up further opportunities in terms of grant funding.’

• To support the QE leisure Centre Action petition, sign here.