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“It’s crucial for us to keep evolving”
Christopher Reeve is shepherding an £80 million redevelopment that aims to push The Belfry’s credentials as more than a golf resort. Their Director of Golf & Leisure, and the PGA’s Manager of the Year 2024, explains more
THEY call it “The Next Chapter”. An investment that exceeds £80 million. An expansion, a redevelopment, that aims to transform the way people think about The Belfry.
For Christopher Reeve, the renowned resort’s Director of Golf & Leisure, it’s one of the most exciting times of his career.
When you think about The Belfry, many of you will conjure images of Seve Ballesteros driving the famous 10th – a stunning moment from one of the Warwickshire venue’s four Ryder Cups.
You may think about the three courses, capped, of course, by the showpiece Brabazon, or the welcome you receive after a round in Sam’s Club House.
These thoughts inevitably coalesce around golf. And the sport is undoubtedly hugely important to The Belfry and will remain so. But the resort is also looking wider. At families, at larger weddings, at big corporate events.
Their massive redevelopment is designed not to pivot, but to extenuate, and futureproof the resort’s offering.
“We knew that we needed to keep growing as a business. We were reaching capacities in certain areas,” said Reeve. “Our leisure club was getting a bit dated, so we’ve now gone out with a big £80 million development.
“We’ve got a brand-new ballroom, our biggest event space – the Masters Suite, 149 new bedrooms and a new leisure suite, which is going to have two swimming pools, a new gym, a climbing wall, and a 40-metre flume.
“I’m very excited about that 40-metre flume! Obviously, we’ve refurbished all the current bedrooms. The Ryder Grill has been extended to take that many more guests for breakfast.
“It’s very exciting times here.”
Patience is now the overriding virtue. The redevelopment was in the planning for a long time, only to be delayed by the Covid pandemic. The builders are in full flow, with the Masters Suite due to open in September and the work set to be completed by the end of 2025.
Reeve is currently working on two fronts – managing change within the redevelopment and looking to do so in the best possible way, while making sure his team can also operate at capacity.
“The key is communication,” he added. “We need to make sure that all the teams are really well informed about what we’re doing, what’s coming up, what challenges we may face and how we’re going to tackle those challenges.
“We need to make sure they all know exactly what’s going on.”
Reeve continued: “It’s crucial for us to keep evolving. If we stand still as a business, we know we’re going to come into trouble. We know we need to keep growing, keep making more money, trying to attract a bigger audience.
“We’re trying to get more families, for example with the new leisure club. Obviously, we’re still going with a huge event space. We’ll get bigger weddings, huge corporate events. For us, it’s just to make sure we’re not just tied down to being a golf resort.
“Golf is massively important. We’re never going to get away from the fact that The Belfry is famous for its golf. We’re still really proud to have tournaments here again and the British Masters is ongoing.
“So we’re not forgetting about golf, we’re just adding on.”
Such a massive transformation should further cement The Belfry’s position as one of the top golf resorts in Europe.
“We definitely look at how we rank and sit among others in Europe. [But] We’re very different,” Reeve explained. “We’re not Gleneagles. We’re not five stars.
“I know Angus Macleod, Director of Golf Courses and Estates, looks after the golf courses beautifully and he gets frustrated sometimes that we don’t sit at number one. But ultimately, I think we deliver a very good experience and we’re accessible to all people.
“We’ve got an amazing team. I’m very lucky. A lot of the key team members have been here for a long time. They’re all super proud of this place. They cannot wait to see what we’re going to produce when we open up.
“There are lots of exciting things going on in terms of managing those teams – just to make sure they keep informed about everything that’s going on.
“But they are ambassadors, really. They’re the ones that deliver it to the customers, so we need to make sure that they’re doing their jobs fantastically.”
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