Lakeside Golf Club - a brief history
As any ex-CEGB employee will probably confirm, there was a time when nearly every Power Station had its own golf course, albeit in most cases, a pitch and putt or at best, par 3 course. Rugeley Power Station was no exception. Shortly after the Power Station opened in 1961, the employees' Sports & Social Club was formed, and one of the first activities to be established was a Golf Society. A small area of land was made available to the golfers and by the end of the 60's, a 6-hole pitch and putt course was in use. Another, much bigger area of land became available and was converted into 5 new holes. These are still in use as holes 1 to 5 of the current course. The 6 pitch and putt holes were converted into 4 very challenging par 3's and the resulting 9-hole course was long enough to be officially recognised as a course by the Staffordshire Union. The name of Lakeside Golf Club was adopted when affiliation to the County Union was completed in 1975.
In 1988, the Club was offered the riverside land for further development. The members rose to the challenge and in 1991, nine new holes were opened extending the course to a full 18 holes. By the end of the 90's, due to changes in ownership of the Power Station and some of its land, the 4 par 3's had been lost and replaced by more holes on the riverside, bringing the course to its current layout.
Membership of the Club is available to the general public, however since the course lies entirely within the Power Station boundaries, access to the course is not available to casual visitors. Non-members may play the course only as the personal guest of a member or as part of an organised society visit.