When David Spencer joined Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club as general manager five years ago, little did he appreciate that he would be responsible for arguably the biggest change in the clubs 142-year history.

Established in 1880, Felixstowe Ferry is one of the oldest golf clubs in England and one of only 246 true links courses in the world.

Situated in Suffolk on the east coast of England, the course runs alongside the North Sea and features 27 holes of golf – 18 played on the Martello Course, and nine over the Kingsfleet Course. In recent years, the club has invested heavily in both courses as well as a new practice facility, and was recognised in 2018 as England Golf’s Championship Venue of the Year. But off the course, not everything was quite as rosy, with the clubhouse – battered by the North Sea for decades – in urgent need of repair.

And as a member of the club, and with a background in finance gained working for global shipping company Maersk, Spencer put himself forward for the GM role at the club when the position become available.

“Many people used to call me the company doctor, well maybe not the company doctor but the trouble-shooter,” he said, discussing his time at Maersk. “I referred to myself more of a dustman clearing up other people’s mess,” he laughs.

“If a part of the business had got into a bit of distress for whatever reason, and needed a little bit of guidance or help, that was the role which I had. I only managed to play golf when I came back to Felixstowe and was playing three times a month at most.

“I parted company with Maersk on very good terms, and my wife and I decided that we wanted to go travelling and towards the end [of our travels] this role became available. I only live across the road and thought that I could do that for a couple of years and maybe finally sort out the clubhouse that everyone had been moaning about for so many years.”

Although not employed by the board to focus solely on the clubhouse, it soon became apparent that this would be Spencer’s primary objective, which would define his tenure as general manager.

“The clubhouse was built in 1845 and was in urgent need of repair with a new roof costing more than £1 million, so we knew we had to do something.

“There has been some talk for the last 25-30 years that it would be nice if we got a new clubhouse, but it wasn’t until I arrived and sat down with the board that we focused on the priorities for the golf club.

“They were extremely happy with the course; they were extremely happy with the nine-hole over the other side, but the clubhouse stuck out like a sore thumb. So that was the catalyst really.”

As Felixstowe Ferry sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Spencer already knew that in terms of raising finance for the project it would prove sensitive, but with the membership in favour of a new clubhouse – rather than refurbishing the existing site – he began looking at options to raise the required funding.

The idea of building housing on the club’s car park to raise funds for a new clubhouse had been suggested before, but given the club’s proximity to the shoreline, and the fact that it sits in an AONB, Spencer knew that he would almost certainly need to turn to the membership for the requisite funding.

“The housing element actually had been spoken about before, but people said you’d never get it through planning. That’s when I spoke to a property lawyer who said, ‘I don’t think you’ll get it’, but I was determined to give it a try, and was introduced to a planning consultant… that was my drive to go and ask the question.”

Prior to Spencer joining as general manager, there had been several years of declining membership and staff cuts, with the club at risk of potentially closing if the status quo remained. So, with the assistance of the planning consultant, Spencer set about not only trying to resolve the long-burning issue of the clubhouse, but potentially the future of the club.

“We met with the local authority, and said, ‘Look, we’re in trouble and need to do something with the clubhouse. We know we’re in a sensitive area, so what do you suggest?” And to Spencer’s astonishment, he was advised: “If you can get the AONB, not necessarily to support it, but not to object against it, then the council will support it as well.”

This was a watershed moment for Felixstowe Ferry as Spencer recalls: “The last thing they wanted was to see the golf club go to the wall. So, I invited the planning officer down from the AONB and that’s when I heard about a concept I’ve not heard of before – landscape-led design – which is housing specifically designed to fit into the natural environment.

“The view here is all about the AONB. It’s the wild-living grasses; it’s the shingle; it’s the big open space over the estuary. That’s what characterises this as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and why we were informed that any housing had to be sensitive and had to be built properly.”

And with the AONB on-side, planning permission was obtained from East Suffolk Council conditional on the proceeds from the housing being used to finance the cost of the new clubhouse.

Named Balfour Place, after Lord Balfour a former British Prime Minister who was also captain of Felixstowe Ferry in 1889, the development of five select properties range in price from £1.25 – £1.85 million, all named after historical characters within golf.

“The idea was to give the houses a little bit of a unique selling point, so that you can trace the name of your house [back] to the origins of golf in England.”

All five properties – three of which are now reserved – are contemporary in design, and in certain characteristics, echo the design of the new clubhouse which will have a low, natural green living roof.

“We’ve got the tradition [of the old clubhouse] where we’ve got all of the honour boards which then needs to blend in with a contemporary building which is going to be a challenge,” admits Spencer.

Construction of the houses and the new clubhouse – which will be located closer to the shoreline – is due to commence this summer, with completion scheduled for 2023. The existing clubhouse will remain in use until the handover, before being demolished to make way for an overflow car park.

The club commissioned Wincer Lievenaar Architects to design the new clubhouse which will provide new public facilities, including a public putting green and café. “We will still retain the exclusivity of the members’ lounge and changing rooms on one side of the building,” states Spencer, “with the new public facilities on the other side which we see as a real benefit.

“You get this image of private members golf clubs and we have never really felt like that – we want to break down those barriers.”

With planning permission and the long-term future of the club secured, Spencer is determined to see the project through, whilst looking to his replacement. “We’re talking about a succession plan as I wasn’t intending to be here this long,” he admits.

“I’ll be 65 in June and I’m looking to see the project out. But, at the same time, I’m looking to recruit my successor here, and we’re out on the market looking for a general manager who can really make a career out of it.”

Whoever replaces Spencer, the new incumbent should be grateful for his fortitude, as without it, there may well have been no golf club – yet alone a career – for anyone in Felixstowe.