A DATE has been set for the re-launch of popular golf club that closed last year due to financial problems.

Woodham Golf and Country Club in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, will reopen its greens to golfers on Friday, August 1, almost ten months since its closure last November.

Its new owners, Stephen and Neville Hall, who bought the business last month, have been working hard to revamp the clubhouse and course in time for the re-launch.

As well as refurbishing the bar and function room, a new patio has been laid, new signage will be installed and the green keepers have been reemployed to ensure the greens, lakes and trees look pristine.

Golf professional Ernie Wilson, who first came to Woodham in 1993, has also returned to work and will be offering golf tuition to people of all ages.

Mr Wilson, 52, said: “We were all very disappointed when the golf club closed, as it is such a special course.

“The trees are well established and there are lots of streams and lakes.

“In the late eighties and early nineties we held professional events here and the new owners are keen to see championship competitions return to Woodham.”

This week, the golf course is a hive of activity, with sprinkler systems in use, new stock arriving for the shop, which reopens on Friday (July 25), and builders carrying out the finishing touches.

It was in sharp contrast to the scenes last November, when an administrator, acting on behalf of its former owner, Washington Developments, was forced to close the club owing to mounting financial difficulties.

The Irish firm had spend five years securing planning permission for 50 executive homes, a new clubhouse and 75-bedroom hotel on the site, and described the closure as a “bitter blow.”

The investment was expected to have a positive impact on the Newton Aycliffe economy and create at least 150 construction jobs and 70 permanent positions.

Neville Hall said the brothers, who also own Hall Construction in Newton Aycliffe, had not decided whether to take on the project.

“So far we have been concentrating on getting the golf course up and running again,” he said. “The development is something we may look into in the future.”