Since I played there I have done some research and discovered that the three courses there are owned by the Jack Barker company. The internet is splattered with references to complaints and disputes concerning that company. On many of its courses it appears to have funded projects by selling rubbish dumping rights. The rubbish is then either used to either infill valleys on the course or re-model various holes. Apparently a great deal of money can be made by selling such rights, subject of course to planning permission being granted. Further research reveals that a large number of staff have been laid off or left at Delapre, and some departures involved their very best personnel. So, overall a very sorry state of affairs.
In a perfect world all golf courses would be run by people who genuinely love our wonderful sport. But clearly this is not the case.
A few years ago I played another course not so far away - Panshanger which is owned by Welwyn Hatfield Council. An absolutely superb course and superbly maintained. I personally feel that if a public course can be maintained to top standards then it is not unreasonable to expect courses in private ownership to at least match such standards.
