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Phase 2 of the Stoneham Golf Club Project – the installation of a large reservoir – is underway and going well, fully managed by a team from TJ Transport.
The project commenced in late 2024, following the granting of planning permission, with the work due to be completed in 2027. The 33,000m³ irrigation reservoir is being installed to futureproof the golf course, which requires a substantial amount of water throughout the year to irrigate the fairways and green.
It was predicted that due to climate change causing droughts, in 50 years’ time, the Club wouldn’t have access to enough water to keep the fairways and greens in tip top condition. As a result, this project was implemented with the future and sustainability concerns in mind.
The reservoir will collect rainwater during the winter, to be used in the summer, which is not only useful, but also incredibly sustainable as it will allow rainwater to be recycled and used, rather than relying on freshwater supplies. The reservoir is located down the side of the 18th fairway, providing easy access without being intrusive.
As principal engineering contractor, TJ is responsible for supplying all the materials needed, including aggregates from our own Quarries at Butser and Hythe. In a nutshell, the project has involved reprofiling the existing land to create the ‘bowl’ for the reservoir, installing the lining, taking care of all the drainage infrastructure, as well as managing the recirculation of water, and installing pumps and settling ponds.
The TJ Team consists of a project manager who is overseeing the project in its entirety, a site manager and a team of between 3 and 5 staff depending on the operations going on at each stage. Subcontractors are utilised occasionally for specialist engineering works such as the installation of pipelines and so on.
TJ’s Managing Director, John Gosling said: “We’re already about halfway through the project and everything is going well and to plan. Despite the challenging marketplace and economic climate, we’re managing to keep the project on programme and within budget, which is fantastic.”
TJ completed Phase 1 of this project in 2022, which was to create an enhanced and modern driving range and practice facility. The work, which cost £1.2m, was planned with the aim of establishing the club as the premier golf course in Hampshire as part of their strategic 5-year plan, an aim that has been achieved, with the club regularly appearing at #1 in the county rankings.
The Phase 1 works called for vast amounts of soil to be imported to the site to increase the profile of the land and address the drainage issues. The materials utilised for this project came from pre-selected construction sites where the clean inert material would otherwise have gone to landfill. Instead the aggregates were tested, approved and diverted to this project. TJ used recycled aggregates wherever they could to ensure maximum sustainability.
TJ was responsible for supplying the materials, transporting them to the site and carrying out the initial shaping, screening and placing work to create the new facilities. TJ staff were on-site daily using specialist plant including bulldozers, excavators, dumpers and screeners to prepare the ground and to work with specialist contractors for the final shaping, finishing and building of the practice facility.
The project also saw many other improvements being made at Stoneham including greens drainage, new tees, pathway upgrades, a new halfway hut, the building of wetland areas and a new irrigation system.
Key features and successes of the new practice facility include:
The Club has an aspiration to host premier tournaments for both professional and amateur golfers, and their modern practice and teaching facilities now make this a viable possibility. The Club has been nominated for a number of awards in recent years including the BIGGA Greenkeeping Project of the Year (2022), for which they were a finalist.
Stoneham Golf Club was established in 1908 and is laid out in a beautiful piece of heathland on the Northern boundary of Southampton. It has always presented a good challenge to all standards of golfers. Every hole is different and the balance of five par 5s and five par 3s gives players a wonderful selection of holes.
Stoneham is an 18-hole, par 72, private heathland golf course. In 2012, the Club commissioned Ken Moodie of Creative Golf Designs, with input from former European Tour player Ken Brown and arboriculturist John Nicholson, to develop a blueprint for developing and modernising the golf course in order to maximise its potential.
Find out more about Stoneham Golf Club or get in touch with TJ to learn more about our Golf Course Construction work in the southern region.
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