It was love at first sight! "As soon as I drove in, I knew this was the place for me," said Graham Payne, the new owner of what was then called Chesterton Golf Club.

Payne has ambitious plans to turn Bicester Golf and Country Club, as it is now known, into a first-class leisure facility with a 52-bedroom hotel next to the existing attractive clubhouse, which is already being refurbished.

With planning permission for the hotel having already been secured several years ago, building will start in the summer on two of its three wings.

One of these wings will provide leisure facilities, including a swimming pool and a gymnasium.

"We want to make the club a fun place to be at," said Payne.

The last few years at Chesterton certainly seem not to have been much fun, judging by the number of members who left the club, unhappy with the deteriorating fac- ilities.

Membership dipped below 300, but already since Payne took over in December, the number has raised by 40, with several old members return- ing.

Payne, who completed the purchase from previous owner Brian Carter three months ago, has not hung about.

As one who built the Castle Royal Golf Club, near Wokingham, from scratch to make it the ongoing concern it is today, he appears to know how to get things done.

Already the builders are in, making major internal alterations to the clubhouse.

Out on the course, with the assitance of head greenkeeper Paul Winson and his staff, new tees are being built on many of the holes.

A planned irrigation system, which involves enlarging the two existing lakes, will transform the drainage which often led to the 14th hole being out of commission for much of the winter months because of waterlogging.

The cutting down of some fir trees from in front of the clubhouse allows an improved view of the course from the main lounge which has been furnished with Chesterfields.

In the past, under Carter, the club was very much a one-man band.

Now the club have appointed a general manager, Paul Fox from the Studley Wood club, while Payne's wife, Maggie, helps with the secretarial work.

There's no change in the professional's shop, where former tournament player Jack Wilkshire and teaching assistant Jonathan Major continue to play their trade.

Why the change of name?

"Coming from Henley, I'd not heard of Chesterton, but I knew where Bicester was," explained Payne. "And there's a lot going on around Bicester.

"I also wanted to indicate the club was going to be a different place from now on."

He explained why he took on the project.

"I was looking for a new challenge, and I could see the potential of this place. And it's a challenge I'm relishing."

The current full subscription is £690 per year, but there are special deals for returning Chesterton members.

By mid-summer, when much of the work will have been completed, former members might struggle to recognise the place!