THE owners of Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club in Durham is to invest £200,000 restoring and upgrading bunkers at its championship Prince Bishops’ golf course.

The Jonathan Gaunt designed championship course has over 80 bunkers and the restoration work will focus on upgrading 40 by installing new technologies to improve drainage and protect against the effects of flooding and adverse weather.

Roger Shaw, courses manager at Ramside Estates Ltd, said: “After 20 years of play, the drainage systems in our Prince Bishops’ bunkers have begun to struggle and need renovating.

“This is going to be the biggest bunker renovation project I’ve undertaken in over 30 years of greenkeeping and promises to deliver exceptional improvements in the way our bunkers play and handle wet weather.”

The 21-year-old resort has purchased a new Wacker Neuson ET65 excavator to carry out the two-year restoration project.

Ramside is also investing in Capillary Concrete, an innovative Swedish product, to upgrade bunker drainage and prevent wash-outs in bad weather.

The bunker renovations are the latest phase in a multi-million pound programme of investment that has seen Ramside build a second 18-hole championship course, an all-weather synthetic short game practice facility, a second practice putting green and a new storage shelter for 36 ClubCar golf buggies.

The renovation programme is underway and will continue through the winter. Ten bunkers have already been renovated and more are expected to be finished and ready for the 2018 season.

  •  If you have any local golf news over the winter get in touch with paul.fraser@nne.co.uk