Construction on a new golf course at Channels Golf Club should begin later this month at Little Waltham, near Chelmsford. Designed by Swan Golf Designs the 18-hole course will be immediately to the north of the current site and will feature 13 new holes, while five from the existing design will be adapted to complete the lay-out. As part of the design brief, SGD will keep 18 holes open at all times in order to minimise disruption to the club’s large membership.
Channels opened its first nine-hole golf course in 1975 and two years later opened its second nine to make it an 18-hole course. In April 1994, the new 18-hole layout was opened while the original holes constituted a further nine-hole course called Belsteads. The new-look 6,670-yard, par-72 Channels course should fully open by 2017.
William Swan, SGD director stated, “Over the last couple of years we have been working through the detailed planning application process which has involved consulting with Chelmsford City Council, Essex County Council and the Environment Agency, as well as several other environmental, ecological and archaeological consultants. Throughout this process we’ve been making minor design alterations to the proposed golf course layout to take into account their advice but without compromising the objective of producing the finest golf course in Essex. Our brief is to provide a golf course fit for the twenty-first century, as the sport has, of course, taken massive strides technically in the last 30 years.”
