{"id":572875,"date":"2026-05-08T11:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572875\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:47:12","slug":"surrey-golf-course-to-permanently-close-after-years-of-financial-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572875\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrey golf course to permanently close after years of financial losses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\tGolf has been played on the 18-hole course at\u00a0Gatton Manor in Surrey since it first opened in 1969, but that lengthy story will now come to an end with the layout set to permanently close following years of financial losses.<\/p>\n

\tSurrey Live<\/a> has reported that\u00a0a new luxury hotel, spa, and fine dining restaurant has been approved for the site that is located within tranquil countryside to the west of Crawley. The venue will be transformed as part of a \u00a341 million project that will introduce “81 guest rooms, two restaurants, a spa with indoor and wild swimming pools, gym, treatment and relaxation areas.”<\/p>\n

\tWhy Has This Golf Course Been Closed?<\/p>\n

\t\"Gatton<\/p>\n

\tThe existing hotel – which closed in 2022 – will be demolished and the golf course (as noted by The Golf Business<\/a>) will be “rewilded into a mixed wood pasture over a wildflower meadow and a wetland habitat.”<\/p>\n

\tDespite residents having concerns about how the development would impact the surrounding area, councillors granted permission for works to commence, which should last for around two years.<\/p>\n

\tLiberal Democrat Councillor Roger Adams said: “With global warming and rising temperatures I suspect a lot of people seeking a holiday will no longer be heading to the Mediterranean but may well seek to have staycations, and where better to stay for a holiday than Surrey.<\/p>\n

\t“We\u2019ve got beautiful country here and we do need developments such as this. It will provide employment and enhance the visitor schemes.”<\/p>\n

\tHis colleague, Cllr Monica Weller, also of the Liberal Democrats, added: “It really is quite fantastic as far as I\u2019m concerned. A business like this has got to bring something really quite fantastic to our area and that is really to be welcomed.”<\/p>\n

\tRegardless of whether these plans were given the green light or not, the course was going to close after running at a loss for a considerable time.<\/p>\n

\tGolfers Loved The Course & Thought it Had Potential<\/p>\n

\t\"Gatton<\/p>\n

\tThat said, clearly it had something to offer, as reviews on Golfshake<\/a> would indicate:<\/p>\n

\t“Good course with interesting holes.”<\/p>\n

\t“Picturesque and well worth the trip.”<\/p>\n

\t“The course was amazing and we will definitely be coming back.”<\/p>\n

\t“Thoroughly enjoy the challenges this course poses.”<\/p>\n

\t“Just finished a really enjoyable round at Gatton Manor – the course was in great nick, challenging without being to punishing – something for everyone here – would love to play this course more regularly.”<\/p>\n

\t“They’ve worked really hard to bring the course back to where it was.”<\/p>\n

\t“I have to say this is my new favourite course. So much character and variety.\u00a0Feels like a bit of a hidden gem and has so much potential. Also friendly welcome. Very highly recommended.”<\/p>\n

\tThose are just some of the commments that members of the Golfshake Community have submitted about Gatton Manor in recent years.<\/p>\n

\tBut sadly, the place will soon become a distant (although fond) memory as golf ceases to be played on these grounds.<\/p>\n

Kieran Clark<\/a> is the Digital Editor of Golfshake. He oversees editorial content, community engagement, forums, and social media channels. A lifelong golfer from the Isle of Bute in Scotland who has now lived in St Andrews for a decade, he began playing at the age of five and maintains a passion for exploring courses, with a particular affection for historic layouts. Kieran regularly contributes in-depth opinion pieces and features, drawing on his enthusiasm for the game and its culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golf has been played on the 18-hole course at\u00a0Gatton Manor in Surrey since it first opened in 1969,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-572875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}