If things had worked out differently for Steve Slinger, he admits, he might have been an English teacher. His mum was a head teacher… but his father was a golf professional at the Devon seaside resort of Sidmouth, where the ten-year-old Steve first caught the golf bug, and that’s what, ultimately, determined his chosen profession.

In a way, it’s been circular, as he’s now back on the south coast as general manager at Hayling Golf Club, in Hampshire, fulfilling one long-held ambition: to work at a links course.

He explained: “I do love my history. I do love the traditions of the game and, of course, the links is where it originated.

“I absolutely love the real, raw, natural look that a links course has. Here at Hayling as well, we are a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and we respect that hugely. Indeed, we embrace it. You’ve got this wonderful game of golf flowing in among the most incredible nature. And it’s just nice to have that sea air, as well.

“Let’s face it, there aren’t many links courses, on the south coast. And I always wanted to manage a links. I played Hayling about 30-odd years ago in a county match and loved it then. I always thought to myself if the timing was right, if everything aligned, I’d be very interested in this role.”

Slinger’s route to Hayling was a little more circuitous than that of some of his Hayling members, who, as he says, can live in south-west London and “whizz down the A3 in an hour and play true links golf.”

As a teen, he was offered a place at the University of Winchester, to study English, but turned it down to attend Surrey’s Merrist Wood College, instead, where he learned about the golf industry. While there he was ‘poached’ for the University of Surrey by a lecturer who worked at both establishments and studied sports science in tandem with his golf studies.

Already a Sussex county junior, he played for the uni’s golf team and, representing Surrey, helped them win the 1997 British Universities Golf Championship, beating St Andrews in the final, at Lindrick.

His PGA training was undertaken at Orchardleigh Golf Club, in Somerset, under the tutelage of former European Tour pro Peter Green, a man he now regards as a “surrogate father.” After a couple of years as head pro at Orchardleigh, in 2000, he jumped at the chance to move to a post in Ireland, at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club.

He enjoyed his time on the Emerald Isle, and it wasn’t without its memorable moments.

“At the time, as a professional, I used to get my balls from Titleist, and would put my initials, SAS, on the balls. I remember playing a game of golf with some of the locals in Ireland – looking as I do, with no hair and being a little bit broad and all that – and they wondered what the hell I was doing in Kerry with SAS on the side of my golf balls. It was quite amusing.”

The American market was huge for the club at that time, but, with the tragic events of 9/11, the bottom fell out of the market – “It was as if a light switch had been turned off,” recalled Slinger – and he realised he needed to move again.

He returned to England’s south-west, as director of golf, at Manor House Golf Club – part of the Exclusive Hotels Group – in 2002, and, five years later, was asked to take on the role of general manager for the company’s portfolio of golf clubs, based at Mannings Heath, in West Sussex. It was a hugely valuable experience.

Slinger said: “Exclusive Hotels is a fantastic company, but they are hoteliers through and through. I left on fantastic terms, but I fancied a change. And Effingham came calling in Surrey. I spent ten years at Effingham, as general manager, and I was able to utilise the commercial experience I gained from Exclusive Hotels.

“I had really got an insight into the way hoteliers look at their business model and was able to apply that thinking to the golf model, taking it into the private members arena at Effingham and now here at Hayling, in a way that is palatable for the members.”

He joined Hayling in January 2024 and was quick to implement changes – many of them aesthetic – to the historic club. He also found himself in a unique golfing environment.

“It’s not just about the golf,” he explained. “While we’re 140-plus years old, we’ve got a modern clubhouse that’s only 25 years old, in an Art Deco style, with the most incredible views all the way around.

“We own the beach that goes around the golf course as well. We then have partners we work with: a kite surfing school; a cafe on the beach; and a sailing club on the beach. We also have Sinah Lake – a freshwater lake that runs alongside our 17th and 18th holes – so we’ve saltwater on one side and freshwater right next to it on the other. It’s unique.”

He continued: “We’ve been able to make some physical enhancements. We went from probably having the worst-looking car park on the south coast to, now, I’d like to think, the best-looking car park on the south coast.

“And what I wanted was for people to feel like they had arrived at a links golf club. Previously, when you first arrived at Hayling, you didn’t get that sense.

“We’ve got new signage in and around the car park – wooden sleepers, that sort of ‘washed sea look’ everywhere you look. We’ve fescue grass in and around the boundaries, a new sign at the front, everything to make it a ‘beachier’ feel. I want people, when they come to the club, whether they’re using the golf facility or not, to get that links vibe.

“The biggest thing, certainly in terms of investment so far, is that we’ve signed a five-year lease with Toro, as I was keen to make sure the guys here have the tools to do the job. The kit from Toro and the support has been outstanding.

“We’re proud to be in the top 50 golf clubs in England, but since when has that ever been good enough? But nonetheless, we’re very proud of that. And I wanted to ensure we’re not, each year, asking, ‘now, what do we need? What should we get?’

“It’s more planned, now, to enable allow Graham Roberts, our course manager, and his team, to deliver that top-50 product. We’ve got budget certainty because we know where we are over the next five years.”

Aside from the normal golf club challenges he faces at Hayling, Slinger is also aware of the trials facing the golf industry as a whole in the UK.

He opined: “Pre-Covid, from my experience, an annual figure of mid-30,000 rounds was kind of the norm. Certainly, that’s what we were doing at the clubs I was managing, and similarly here at Hayling, by all accounts. You look at the other side of Covid and clearly, there was a huge surge after the pandemic passed.

“But that number has certainly not gone back anywhere near to where it was. So we’re now in the mid-40,000s in terms of total rounds. And that was very similar at Effingham as well.

“That’s a great thing for the game of golf, but it is challenging if you’re a member. The context has changed. It’s not just new people into the game. It’s members, as well, wanting to play more than, perhaps, they ever used to.

“So, I’m having to manage it carefully as I want to reduce the amount of golf that’s played out there but give more times back to our members.”

That’s great news for his members. But his efforts are also beneficial to those of us who wish to visit and experience what is, arguably, Hampshire’s only true links course. One thing’s for sure: a bright future beckons. Hayling’s not ailing.