From farmers field to centre of excellence

Monday saw the grand opening of our new practice facilities and what a fantastic facility it is!

As I watched our Lady Captain, Captain and President all tee off to mark the official opening, I thought back to what a journey this piece of land has gone through.

When I joined Ringway in 2002 we had a driving range in exactly the same spot as we have today. A truer description would say that we had a farmers field. There was some hard standing to park on and that was about it. The land all fell away from the parking area so it was hard to tell if the 7 iron you had just hit went any further than the previous 9 iron. There was no ball dispenser, so provide your own was the order of the day. Flat lies were hard to come by too. The best area was about 20 yards down the left hand edge where there was a small flat area. Failing that the first few feet from the parking area was the next best option. Getting a space to play was never an issue as demand was low. Although the practice ground was never closed, it was unused through the middle of winter, as the poor drainage meant most balls plugged never to be seen again!

Realising that we had a great potential resource, the club some time later, invested in a number of improvements. Drainage was installed, two target greens were created, a flat grass teeing area was constructed along with a strip of astro turf for winter use. A range ball dispenser was installed in a newly built brick structure that you see today. The area was now no longer a farmers field but had transformed into a true driving range. There were no covered bays however, so many a time was spent sat in the car waiting for the rain to stop so that practice could continue. Those tight for time reluctantly leaving part way through their session.

Many members won't have had the opportunity to have experienced the previous iterations and some will have forgotten what it was like.

Now, we have one of, if not the best practice facilities in Cheshire. Covered bays, covered teaching facility and a wonderfully landscaped driving range. That is quite some evolution from our humble farmers field.

Neill Hickson

4th March 2026

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