WE at Sherdley Park Golf Club understand the council’s predicament but there is another way of looking at the future of the site.


I have been a member of the course for 30 years and in that time, I have spent thousands of pounds in St Helens, despite being from Warrington, because Sherdley Park has always been one of the best courses in the North West.


If the course closes this will stop and St Helens will lose income from outside the area, and the over 50s will lose one of the best fitness activities there is for our age group.


The course is a valuable asset to the town and should be seen as a money-making tourist attraction and not a liability.


Until a couple of years ago, and for 40 years, the course provided valuable income to St Helens which has paid for lots of other leisure facilities.


The fact that the number of golfers is down on previous years is not only down to the lower profile of golf in the UK but the management has to take some of the blame.


There are still lots of golfers out there who form societies and play and eat at various clubs, most private ones depend on them.


They used to play at Sherdley Park but they were put off by a strange management decision to charge up front instead of via a deposit and pay on the day, which every other club in the country does.


I know this because I am treasurer of a society.


With regard to the driving range, we believe it should be considered separate to the course, they are not independent and there are lots of them available to the public.


We also believe that the office should be staffed with fewer and more flexible people who could be out looking after the course when not taking money.


If the council decides to take another look at the situation in the near future, SPGC would be happy to meet with any new entrepreneurial management that is put in to help them make a success of it.


We have lots of ideas which could help the course make money for the town.


James Thorp,
Warrington