SIR MICHAEL AND LADY ANNE
Jon recalled: “Previous owners had promised much but had delivered little by way of improvements to the clubhouse and the course – and that had to change if we were to become a thriving club. I clearly remember a getting-to-know-you meeting in the Fairway Suite when I stood up, fresh-faced, in front of committee members and the club’s powers that be and said what a wonderful place Badgemore was going to become. There had been a chequered history of ownership however, and I believe there was a great deal of scepticism in the room. They had heard it all before. Among those asking questions that day were Ken Arlett – Henley’s mayor a few years earlier, who has since gone on to serve a second term – Mike Wood, who went on to become Club Captain and Alison Wood that year’s Lady Captain. Also in attendance were the SAGS, the Saturday and Sunday afternoon golfers, who were a big clique within the club at the time. As new owners, we soon realised we had a lot to prove. Some staff moved on when we took over and others stayed with us. Among them was Lindsay Anderson, our esteemed course manager, who has been with the club for 31 years and has overseen the development of a course that has gone from being open and lacking in definition to arguably one of the finest parkland layouts in the county.”
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