Owners of Fynn Valley Golf Club unveils green mission

Among the changes at Fynn Valley Golf Club in Witnesham Road is the installation of 100 solar panels which will create a saving of roughly £10,000 each year.

“We want to be the first golf club in the UK which is run on entirely renewable energy,” explained Robert Cawley, Fynn Valley’s managing director.

The new solar panel farm at Fynn Valley Golf Club. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod))

MP Dr Daniel Poulter speaking with members at Fynn Valley Golf Club. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod))

Dr Poulter in conversation with Fynn Valley's managing director, Robert Cawley. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod))

May marks the first anniversary of Mr Cawley becoming managing director of Fynn Valley.

The Witnesham club had been owned and run by the Tyrell family since its inception in 1991, until it was bought by Green Valley Leisure Resorts last year.

The club celebrated the milestone by unveiling a brand-new solar farm installed on the roof of their green keeper equipment shed.

These 100 solar panels run at 45 kilowatt hours and will save roughly £10,000 a year.

A screen monitoring the impressive output of these panels was unveiled by Dr Daniel Poulter, MP for central Suffolk and north Ipswich.

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The club has also upgraded its existing lodges, which are now complete with both saunas and hot tubs, and added another, the Orchid Lodge.

One day, solar panels will be added to the roofs of these lodge, and Mr Cawley said he is keen to explore harnessing wind energy, too.

Dr Poulter receives a golf lesson from golf coach Dayne Hawkins. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (G)

A screen showing the output of the new solar panel farm was unveiled by Dr Poulter on Friday. Pictured with MD Robert Cawley, left. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod))

Dr Poulter chats with female members of the club who are part of the love.golf initiative, which originated at Fynn Valley Golf Club, having been created by Alastair Spink in 2011. Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod) (Image: Fynn Valley Golf Club (Gary Dod))

Now, plans are underway to expand the golf club building to create a new restaurant, which will offer refined evening cuisine, and to add a first floor balcony.

The club was voted England Golf’s most welcoming golf club in 2017, and has worked to maintain this reputation.

A cohort of dedicated golfers arrive at the club each day to use the driving range and courses – many of them female, for the club was the birthplace of love.golf, an initiative to encourage women to take to the golf course.

The initiative, founded by coach Alastair Spink in 2011, has since been adopted nationally.

“Our aim was to become the envy of Ipswich, and that is exactly where we are heading,” said Mr Cawley.