Tournament to help put Sandwell Park back on map

The club, based off the Birmingham Road in West Bromwich, was one of the country’s premium golfing venues during the 1950s, 60s and 70s with the European Ryder Cup team often using it to warm up.

And now golf development manager Richard Prophet is determined to make it the go-to venue for pro events in the West Midlands.

On June 22, Sandwell Park will host The Clutch Pro Tour – a new tour recently launched for male and female professionals in the UK.

It is sponsored by Modest! – the management company co-owned by One Direction star Niall Horan – as well as Cobra Puma Golf.

Entries are now open for the competition which will see the winner earn £6,000 in prize money while there is also a £1,000 reward for anyone who gets a hole-in-one.

And Prophet – a former pro who played for England as an amateur – is delighted the ambitious Clutch Pro Tour has chosen Sandwell Park to stage one of its events.

“This is the type of event I would play in when I was a pro – but I would always have to travel north or south,” he said.

“What we want to do at Sandwell Park is bring as many big golfing events as we can to the West Midlands.

“We have got the courses to do it.

“The course here at Sandwell Park, for example, is fantastic.

“We have had a few European Tour players play on it recently and they have all commented what a wonderful course it is and how impressive the greens are.

“Back in the 1950s, the Ryder Cup team used to warm up here and, in the 1970s, we were one of the premium golf courses in the country.

“We determined to get ourselves back on the map – back where we once were, so we’re delighted to be staging the Clutch Pro Tour event.

“It’s sponsored by Modest Golf! It’s going to be a great day with a brilliant prize. We’re all really looking forward to it.”

Professional golfers have to be quick to register their interest if they want to take part – with the event being staged in just 12 days time.

A host of top names have already enquired. Burntwood-based emerging pro Richard Mansell is due to take part and a full list of who is expected to play set to be revealed next week.

“It is a quick turnaround but we are in a great location and we’ve got a lot of brilliant golfers who are local and have already said they are keen to play.” Prophet continued.

“It’s going to be a great competition and it is just the start for us.

“We have already got another pro event lined up for later this year. We will be staging the Jamega Tour in September which in the past has predominately been held in London or the south.

“And we’re already looking at events for next year. We want the event this month to be the first of many pro events at Sandwell Park.”