General Manager Dominic Eagle, who is also a PGA Member, says the young Essex club is ready for its most exciting event assignment yet
The PGA Professional Championship is heading to Ingrebourne Links – and the Essex club’s General Manager cannot wait for the week to begin.
A field of 144 players will descend on the site, just 20 minutes from Central London to compete at the tournament, which begins on June 10. They will all be hoping to recreate Craig Lee’s success at Conwy in 2024 and win the lion’s share of the £100,000 prize fund.
“It's phenomenal,” Eagle said. “We wanted to be able to host an event such as the PGA Professional Championship.
“We've had a strong relationship with The PGA since we opened, hosting the East Anglian Par 3 Championship on our Par 3 course, the Essex Open, the Essex Open Pro Am, the East Anglian Open, the Inter-County Championship last year, and now the PGA Championship itself.
"We’ve been 18 holes since July 2020, so to get to this stage, we're very pleased and we’re proud as well to get the golf course, with the help of the team, to this stage.”
Eagle has been part of the team at Ingrebourne from when the golf course was still an untouched landscape of sand and gravel. Under the stewardship of designer Alan Walker, the course has grown into a venue focused on peaking in condition all year round to cater for members and the events that come its way.
“We find by holding events such as the PGA Professional Championship and other events, the golf course tends to peak a lot throughout the year,” Eagle said. “If you only had one event throughout the year, the golf course would only peak at that time.
"Because we have multiple events, the greenkeeping team are pushed, but at the same time, we give them resources to do it and a challenge to keep the golf course at a higher level throughout the year.
“It’s very exciting for the team to be working with The PGA. Setting up a golf course for tournaments is different to setting up the course for day-to-day play for just members and golf societies.
It’s very exciting for the team to be working with The PGA. Setting up a golf course for tournaments is different to setting up the course for day-to-day play
“We’ve probably got about 24 volunteers who will help with ball spotting, helping with the leaderboards,” Eagle added. “We've got a shuttle bus that's going to be running golf professionals from our driving range back to the clubhouse, because there's a bit of distance between the two. It’s been very, very popular with the members.”
Ingrebourne Links Golf and Country Club not only has a golf course for members and visitors to enjoy, but also a 30-bay floodlit driving range with Toptracer technology, a team of PGA Professionals offering tuition, a state-of-the-art health and fitness facility and function rooms.
Ingrebourne has grown in popularity both as a sporting and leisure venue, and Eagle’s team have been working towards the June 10 start date, anticipating another exciting tournament week.
“We've been hosting fairly high-end (events), but having said that, this is another notch up with the PGA Professional Championship,” Eagle said.
“There has been additional focus on everything. All of the team are looking forward to it and we just want to give everybody the best experience they can have - the competitors and the people who come to watch the event, and from the golf course prep, the playability of the course, and their overall experience when they come to the club.”
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