Thanks to the backing of an iconic British company associated with breaking ground and constructing new landscapes, JCB Golf and Country Club is set to bulldoze its way on to the elite golfing tournament scene later this year.

The week after the Open Championship at Royal Troon, the sprawling Staffordshire course, which opened in 2018, will play host to a field which is arguably as strong as the one going for the Claret Jug the week before.

LIV Golf presented by JCB takes place July 26-28 at a venue which will certainly not yet be familiar to millions of golf fans. The private club has around 80 corporate members and you will only find your way past the front gate by invitation.

Although if you’re lucky enough to get in, you won’t be paying a guest rate or a green fee to experience this fantastic place, which also boasts terrific dining, leisure facilities and ten luxurious four-bedroom guest lodges for their visitors.

There’s a certain air of mystique about this ambitious vision of JCB chairman Lord Bamford, which was subsequently brought to life by the skills of Robin Hiseman from European Golf Design. But general manager, Mark Addison, is ready to let the golfing world see for themselves when LIV Golf rolls into town in the summer.

Addison said: “I’ve been fortunate to be involved with the project from the ground up. When I joined in October 2017, the last fairway had just been seeded. The course design and most of the groundworks had been done and we opened the course the following June.

“When I first joined, part of the vision was to host championship golf and to be that Tour venue.

“The golf landscape has evolved in recent years and we are pleased to have secured the LIV event. We had some options to consider, but it came down to what we felt was best for the business.

“The intention from JCB was to have a tool to help grow its brand globally and we’re excited about how the club can contribute towards this.

“We’ve had two Legends Tour events with Darren Clarke as host and other big names such as Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie and John Daly – it was a really strong field.

“We also did two years of Rose Series events which we learnt a lot from as our first introduction to tournament golf.

“This is us opening the doors for the week, giving people the chance to enjoy some fantastic hospitality, see this amazing golf course and watch some world class golf,” he said.

Addison has youth on his side aged just 35, but already has years of experience at a wealth of top clubs, having started his own golfing career as a greenkeeper during his college days at Mersey Valley Golf Club near his hometown of Warrington.

A degree in golf management followed at the University of Central Lancashire – where he met his wife Emily – while also learning some commercial skills with retailer American Golf, during his studies. But he was able to forge his career alongside Daniel Hodson at the De Vere Group, before Addison then went on to rise through the ranks at Formby Hall, The Belfry and Cameron House on Loch Lomond.

Addison explained: “Whilst I was at The Belfry, I was aware of the project at JCB and was approached by a marketing business to assist them on a marketing strategy for the new club as they didn’t have any previous experience in the golf space.

“With the permission of my MD at The Belfry – a brilliant guy called James Stewart – I sat down with them to pass on a few business model ideas and some strategy work to focus on.

“From here I was introduced to JCB and subsequently asked to join the project,” Addison continued.

After initially joining as head of sales and marketing in October 2017 under Hodson, Addison took on the GM role two years later succeeding David MacLaren. Although the golf course was almost complete, the business itself was effectively a blank canvas.

He said: “At the time, Euan Grant, had been project and course manager since the start, coming with a wealth of experience from properties such as Turnberry and St Andrews.

“Robin also did an incredible job and the thing about golf course designers is that they often tend to get the credit many years later but he definitely deserves a lot of credit for what he achieved.

“Working alongside Euan, we pretty much built everything we see today – the academy, the clubhouse, the lodges and the gym but also everything else that comes with starting a new business.

“There are two simple reasons why JCB made that original investment: one was to be a tournament venue to complement the brand globally and the second was to be a VIP base for customers and dealers in the JCB global network. We feel like we are doing our bit to enhance that reputation.”

The size of the overall investment is not in the public domain and the privacy also ensures the golf course will remain out of reach for many keen golfers who would love the opportunity to play there.

Addison said: “I understand and accept why we exist, including the privacy of the club. However a lot of golfers here are guests of our members which is great to able to offer them the JCB experience.

“We love doing that and we will still do just under 10,000 rounds this year which keeps us busy.”

As you may expect, Addison ensures that standards are high but it doesn’t require a crack of the whip to keep anyone in check.

He said: “The guest journey is everything and because of who we are and the reputation we have, everything we do has to stand out. And we have to deliver that consistently. If we can’t deliver it consistently, it’s not worth doing.

“I have a team of about 70 staff split across the greenkeeping team, golf operations, housekeeping, food and beverage etc. When it comes to my team, I’m here to help them do their jobs. I’m not a micromanager but if I can assist them, I will.”

Perhaps a reflection of the quality of the course itself comes from those who choose to play there, with a Ryder Cup star among the members.

Addison said: “Tommy Fleetwood is a member here. He came to us to practice before the Masters a couple of years ago. He can choose to practice pretty much wherever he wants but he chose here because of the similarities to Augusta and the green complexes, which reflects on us pretty well, I think.”

And although he is no slouch himself having got his handicap down to five at its lowest, Addison’s children, Charlie (ten) and Molly (seven), have shown early signs of promise on the course.
He said: “They’ve both taken to it really well – Charlie nearly had a hole-in-one on the fifth hole not that long ago, however I did tell him ‘your golfing career would have peaked far too early if you’d achieved that’.

“I’m lucky if I play once a week in the summer but I tend to put my clubs away in the winter.

“Let’s put it this way, anything in the 70s is great for me.”