Chief Executive’s Message

Dear Member,

2026 is an important year for Roehampton Club in many ways. We are celebrating our 125th year and have an exciting programme of events to look forward to from April onwards.  Interestingly it seems we had a full programme of events here one hundred years ago as well if you click on Archivist Steve Riedlinger’s delving back into our historic social programme.

We are also in parallel continuing to execute the Masterplan 2035 with two main projects:

Indoor Golf Centre

We had our first preliminary meeting yesterday with Project Manager Sports Clubhouses, Contractor CPE and the relevant design consultants to work on the timetable to deliver this exciting project.

Mindful of the need to minimise disruption for all our key golfing events planned for the 125 celebrations we are looking to start the works mid-April after the Gold Cup Pro Am and Competition scheduled for 10/11th April.

The IGC will then be due to open in February 2027. We have established an IGC Oversight Committee consisting of Members with construction, finance and indoor golf expertise to scrutinise progress and to work closely with the Project Manager giving reassurance to the Board that all costs will be carefully managed.

Padel Courts

We had very positive pre-application meeting with Wandsworth BC officers yesterday where they gave the thumbs up for us to progress with a full planning permission application for installing five new padel courts with a roof and floodlights on Courts 4-6. They would like us to install some noise abatement measures which we will work on and as ever the impact on openness will need to be mitigated by ‘very special circumstances’ which will involve some community involvement at off peak times from local schools.

This is great news for the futureproofing of padel tennis at the Club. We will start work on the full application and hope to be granted planning permission by the summer. The Tennis Committee and the Board will then have to carefully consider where the three all-weather clay courts with floodlights will be repositioned to.  The planning officers were supportive of expanding the Health Club sunbathing provision and installing a new playground for families with young children. The Board is mindful that we must progress with these projects step by step and with careful thought as there is a lot of diverse Member interest in expanding different sports and activities.

Club Bistro evenings – New French Menu

Chef Kevin and his team continue to receive rave reviews on the high quality and presentation of our various menus. His new French menu for the Bistro is no exception.

Join us in the Polo Room each Thursday and Friday evening. Book your table at Reception or give the team a call on 020 8480 4200. Book tables 7 – 9pm. Last orders at 9.15pm. Walk ins welcome.

Bring your own wine to Bistro evenings. £15 corkage fee per bottle of wine | £20 corkage fee per bottle of fizz*

Steak Night – Monday 19th January

Responding to demand Chef Kevin is turning his hand to producing a regular Steak Night for Members to experience in the Polo Room. Join us each month for a delicious steak menu. Book your table with the Reception Team or give them a call on 020 8480 4200. Tables available 7 – 9pm. Last orders at 9.15pm. February Steak Night will be on Monday 16th February.

Patrick Dow – Wednesday 25th February 7.30pm

Coming up is an unforgettable evening with baritone Patrick Dow, one of the most exciting young artists redefining the classical music scene. With a foundation in world-class operatic training and a deep love for modern music, Patrick has developed a distinctive sound that bridges genres and generations. He has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, from the London Coliseum to the White House, captivating audiences with his powerful voice and unique style. In this intimate, one-night-only concert, he fuses opera and contemporary music in a bold, genre-crossing performance sure to enchant audiences of all kinds.

Members £20 | Guests £25. Book at Reception, give the team a call on 020 8480 4200 or login and book online via the Members’ website

Wine Committee

Two stalwarts from our Wine Committee stood down last week after serving over 5 years – Sally Gesua and Nick Goddard. Nick was Chair for many years representing Wine Committee on the Board’s House Committee.

Both were also lynchpins of the very successful Call my Bluff evenings, for which they have our thanks. The Committee has elected Katy Rickards as the new Chair and there are therefore two vacancies on the Wine Committee. Please click here for more information.

Thank you for your patience

At this time of year, we are always faced with challenges with the cold and wet weather. The team are trying to prevent damage to the golf course and croquet lawns, in particular to the golf greens so can I thank all Members for their patience when we have to close areas when they are frosty, slippery or saturated with water. We are fortunate to have ten indoor tennis courts but even the frost-busting heaters we have in place are being temperamental at present so again please bear with us while we try to fix those.

Our two new projects (IGC and covered Padel courts) as described earlier will go a long way to helping us next winter to have more facilities open for Members to enjoy despite the cold weather.

Best wishes,

Marc

marc.newey@roehamptonclub.co.uk