A landmark half a million-pound programme of works will transform the playing experience at one of the South West’s most celebrated parkland courses, cementing China Fleet Country Club’s position as the premier golf destination on the Devon and Cornwall border.
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China Fleet Country Club, the multi-award-winning destination leisure and golf Club situated in Saltash, Cornwall, has today announced its most ambitious course investment programme to date. Named Project 32, the initiative carries an estimated investment of £500,000 and is planned for completion by 2032.
Dean Bennett, Managing Director, China Fleet Country Club:
“Project 32 represents one of the most significant investments we have made into our golf course since it first opened. This is a long-term commitment to quality, and it reflects our absolute confidence in the future of China Fleet Country Club. We are building something that our members, our visitors and the wider golfing community in the South West can be genuinely proud of for decades to come.”
The programme encompasses three major strands of development: a comprehensive renovation of 63 bunkers across the championship parkland course, the installation of a new extended buggy path serving nine holes, and the introduction of state-of-the-art robotic mowing technology supplied by Echo Robotics.
A Course Reborn: The Bunker Programme
At the heart of Project 32 is a significant bunker renovation programme. Working in close partnership with specialist contractor Durabunker, China Fleet Country Club’s golf and course management team has conducted a meticulous, hole-by-hole assessment of every single bunker on the course, originally designed by the celebrated architect Dr Martin Grant Hawtree.
Each of the 63 bunkers will be individually reconstructed and lined using Durabunker’s industry-leading Rubber Crumb Liner, DuraCrumb, ensuring consistent performance, improved drainage and long-term structural integrity. In a commitment to Cornish provenance and local sourcing, China Clay sand from St Austell in Cornwall will be used throughout, rooting this investment firmly in the county’s landscape and heritage.
Nathan O’Sullivan, Golf Course Manager, China Fleet Country Club:
“Every single bunker on this course has been looked at with fresh eyes. Working with Durabunker and using China Clay sand from right here in Cornwall, we are going to deliver bunkers that not only look exceptional but perform consistently in every condition. For golfers playing this course, it is going to make a real difference to the experience and to the challenge that Dr Hawtree’s original design intended.”
Due to the phased approach, disruption will be minimal, with bunkers completed one by one throughout the duration of the works.
The New Buggy Path
The second major element of Project 32 is the creation of a new dedicated buggy path, extending access across nine holes. This is a significant development in terms of year-round playability. In challenging weather conditions, buggies and essential course machinery have historically been unable to travel on certain areas of the course without risking damage to the playing surface and causing health and safety issues. The new all-weather path addresses this directly, improving accessibility for all golfers, assisting course operations and extending the number of days per year golf can be played and enjoyed to its fullest.
The Future of Greenkeeping: Echo Robotics
The third element of Project 32 is the acquisition of three high-performance GPS-RTK robotic mowers from Echo Robotics. Capable of operating day and night and in all weather conditions, the machines will maintain the course’s playing surfaces to an exceptional standard throughout the year. By automating routine grass cutting, the Club’s experienced course management team are freed to focus their expertise on the specialist work that truly defines a championship course. Further details on this exciting development will be announced shortly.
“Project 32 is the latest chapter in a sustained and significant programme of investment at China Fleet Country Club,” added Dean. “In recent years, the Club has committed approximately £500,000 to green solar energy technology, including our ground-mounted solar array, and £100,000 to a complete renovation of The Brasserie. A further £300,000 was invested in a state-of-the-art gym refurbishment, introducing the latest cardiovascular and resistance equipment alongside a Hyperice massage recovery area. The Club has also invested in new corporate co-working facilities, the innovative BOX12 boxing fitness suite and a refreshed Aqua Spa and Barn Spa offering.”
These investments form part of a broader £2.5 million refurbishment in recent years, reflecting the long-term ambition of China Fleet Country Club to remain a leading leisure, golf and wellness destination in the UK.
China Fleet Country Club was officially opened on 1st June 1991 and is set within 180 acres on the Devon and Cornwall border in Saltash, Cornwall. Owned and operated by China Fleet Trust, a military charity whose origins stem from the original China Fleet Club in Hong Kong, the Club serves both serving and former armed forces and their families, non-armed forces and wider membership and visiting guests from across the region and beyond.
