GOLF is a hobby that can easily get a grip on you.

So what better investment is there for a keen golfer than to own your own course?

Seckford Golf Course, near Woodbridge, is up for sale with a guide price of just half a million pounds – on par with the cost of an up-market detached home.

Savills are selling the golf course, with offers invited by mid December.

The freehold investment property, of land let under ground leases to an established golf business, is being offered for sale at around �495,000.

Seckford Golf Course is one mile from Woodbridge and six miles from Ipswich, extending to around 87 acres and occupying an undulating, elevated position with far-reaching views.

Ellis Auger, handling the sale for Savills, said: “We are expecting a great deal of interest.

“It is being marketed at an attractive price and not many opportunities like this come on to the market.

“There are long leases, established tenants and members.”

Originally farmland, the business opened as a nine-hole golf course in 1991 and expanded to 18 holes shortly after.

Ellis Auger added: “There has been little opportunity to gauge the strength of the golf investment market in recent years, however the security offered by the ground leases and incumbent tenant covenant strength, underpin the attractiveness of Seckford Golf Course.

“Joint LPA Receivers were appointed in July 2010 to manage the disposal of the freehold interest.

“The guide price reflects both a genuine intention to sell and the attractiveness of this form of secure leisure investment.

“With many commercial investments offering very much shorter leases, the long-term, index-linked income at Seckford increases its desirability.

“We are asking purchasers to submit bids on or before noon on Tuesday, December 14.”