David Suruki and Kathy Tatar at Isle of Purbeck Golf Club
PUBLISHED: 11:14 30 May 2017 | UPDATED: 11:14 30 May 2017
Hattie Miles 07907 645897
You know the old quote: golf is a good walk spoiled. But at the Isle of Purbeck, it’s more a case of a good walk found.
If there is a better vista in Dorset, I have yet to find it. From the glass-walled clubhouse, the panoramic takes in a breathtaking sweep of heathland, Poole Harbour and Sandbanks.
Oh, and did I say the golf is magnificent to boot?
I last visited this 125-year-old club – once owned by Enid Blyton – 20 years ago while out walking in a heatwave. Barely feigning sunstroke, we were refused so much as a glass of tap water - we weren’t in jackets and ties.
Today – though Blyton is still very much in evidence, with her treasured old putter proudly displayed – the feel is very different. The new Californian owners – David Suruki and Kathy Tatar – could not be more welcoming or forward-thinking.
Neither has owned a golf club before but David, 54, is a businessman while Kathy, 55, is an interior designer.
In two years, the Studland course has been honed, the menu transformed and the decor updated: the old elitist ways are gone.
“We’ve relaxed the dress code,” says Kathy. “We’re open for everybody, not just members, and that includes children.”
A couple back in college, the two are now just good friends. David adds: “Kathy has an artistic flair, she’s friendly and she’s organised.
“I’m a number cruncher and I handle the golf. We make a really good combination.”
I can’t resist asking whether romance could ever again be on the cards.
“Who knows what will happen?” says David sweetly. “Never say never.”
Find out more at purbeckgolf.co.uk
