Houghton Join The Hundred Club

May 12 2008 by The Journal

Houghton Golf Club has launched its centenary year with a major development and refurbishment of the clubhouse, the appointment of a new catering team and taken the unprecedented step of selecting a married couple to perform the duties of club and lady captains. The investment in the clubhouse is overdue but worth waiting for; members, guests and visitors can now enjoy a facility fit for the 21st Century.

Gone is the small cluttered professional shop where potential customers had difficulty in spotting PGA professional Kevin Gow - he is now housed in an ultra-modern extension overlooking the putting green and 1st tee.

The all glass-fronted shop is bright and spacious, and provides Kevin with the room to display his range of competitively priced golf equipment and accessories.

Gone are the antiquated locker rooms, the contents of which are rumoured to be on their way to Beamish Museum! The new changing rooms and toilet facilities are first class where members have the use of modern up to date wooden lockers.

There is a new sports bar with two pool tables and a 30 inch flat screen television, a new committee room/secretary's office, and a totally new bar and dining area. Two 50 inch flat screen televisions have been installed in the bar area.

The catering services have been franchised out to Stefano and Gabriella Tansini who started at Houghton at the beginning of April. Stefano, who was employed as the head chef at Marcellos in Sunderland, has introduced a menu of mouth-watering dishes and include a mixture of both Italian and English recipes.

He said: "The introduction of Italian cuisine into the menu appears to have gone down well; the locals seem to like the Italian style. I am providing international salads along with a menu that's half English and half Italian."

And overseeing all the changes, the appointments of Frank and Dee Greenshields as club and lady captain respectively have to be a first for the region - especially with it being Houghton's centenary year. Dee is no stranger to the captaincy; she performed the duties in 1999 so her experience might be of some assistance to her husband.

Frank is now in semi retirement, following a distinguished career working as a solicitor in the Sunderland area.

He is looking forward to his year in office and said: "We are going to have a week's celebration throughout the 2nd week in June. The week will start with Ladies Captains day on the Sunday followed by a Ladies Texas Scramble involving 16 Durham County clubs.

"On the Tuesday there is a mixed club competition and on Wednesday, a competition involving Houghton's members playing with members from the 32 clubs from the old Durham County. Thursday is Veterans Day and that is followed by a Past Captains and champions competition with a ceilidh in the evening.

"There is a Club Texas Scramble on the Saturday and the week finishes with my Captains Day on Sunday."

The final day will also include a trick shot entertainer and an evening barbecue. And later in the year, a centenary dinner is to be held at Shotton Hall on the outskirts of Peterlee.