Keith Wood grew up playing golf at Gloucester Golf Club.

So when he was told that his beloved club was going to close he was determined it wouldn’t happen.

And his determination certainly paid off. Not only did he succeed in saving the course that had been his second home for so many years, he is now also the club’s general manager.

And that same determination that kept the club open is now the driving force behind pushing the club forward – a determination that has seen membership rise from 300 to more than 370 in the past nine months.

It was only nine months ago that the golf club, which has been a fixture on Robinswood Hill for more than 40 years, looked to have run its course.

And it surely would have closed but for the efforts of Keith Wood, who was the club’s head professional at the time.

“We got told by the previous owners on 6th October that they were going to close the club on 31st October,” said Wood. “They said the golf club wasn’t viable and that they were making a six-figure loss every year.”

So what did Wood do?

“I approached them and told them they couldn’t close the golf club, I said it was 40 years old,” he explained.

Wood knew how much the club meant to so many people and he backed up his words with deeds, so much so that by 11th November he was in a position to sign a lease for 20 years.

“I’ve done a deal to lease it on behalf of the members,” said Wood. “The members have backed me to become general secretary, they’ve been brilliant 100 per cent.”

So how did it feel when Wood, who was born and bred in Gloucester, got the deal over the line?

“It was quite special,” he admitted. “I’d grown up here, there was no way I was going to let it close if I could help it.

“It’s a massive part of my life, that’s why I did everything I could to keep it open.”

Wood said that the previous owners Coleman and Basinghall Ltd, who still own the franchise, were very helpful in helping to conclude a deal.

However, what many people didn’t know was that while there was all this drama going on in Wood’s professional life around this time, there was a fair bit of drama in his private life as well.

“I’d just bought a new house,” said 38-year-old Wood, who lives with his partner and three children. “I completed on the house in Curlew Road in Gloucester on the Friday and then on the Monday I was told the golf club was closing!

“The house needed renovating and needed a new roof. It wasn’t an easy time, it was very stressful.”

Fortunately it has all turned out well but Wood knows there remains plenty of hard work ahead at the 18-hole par 72 course.

A relatively new two-tier driving range built by the previous owners is a big attraction and Wood has invested heavily in machinery to ensure that the course is in tip-top condition.

The aim is to have 500 members and Wood also wants to strengthen the ladies’ section as well as the juniors – “That’s where I started,” he added.

That process has already begun with the appointment of Nicky Lawrenson as the club’s new pro with part of her remit to look after the academy side of things.

Wood, obviously, can no longer find time in his busy schedule to be the club’s pro and these days when he plays, he plays for fun.

But back in the day he was a seriously good golfer.

“I started playing when I was 12,” he said. “My gramp got me into it. I started playing in a field and then I joined Painswick Golf Club before joining Gloucester when I was 16. I progressed from there.”

That’s a bit of an under-statement because by the time he was 20 he was turning pro.

“I’d got to a handicap of one,” he explained.

He worked in the pro shop at Gloucester and that gave him enough time to show that he could mix it with some decent players when it came to getting out on the course.

“I won the West of England Order of Merit for under-30s,” he said. “And I lost in the semi-finals of the assistants’ British Matchplay in Scotland.

“I set a course record in that tournament. It was at Crail and I shot a 65 which was six under.”

He also played on the Euro Pro Tour which took him all over the country and also in Florida where he still plays when he’s got time. “Yes, there are some massive alligators there,” he laughed.

His talent has enabled him to play on an awful lot of courses over the years which makes him very well qualified to talk about his ‘home’ course.

“Every hole at Gloucester is different,” he said. “The front nine is relatively flat and then on the back nine you’re on top of the hill.

“There are great views at the top. You can see the cathedral and on Saturday afternoons you can hear the roar from Kingsholm.

“It’s a really challenging, good standard golf course.”

And the good news is that it will be open for business for many years to come.