HARTFORD Golf Club is now bang up to date and even ahead of its time.

It is four years since brothers and business partners Tim and Richard Barnes started to create the course at Burrows Hill.

It is 16 years since they started the operation as a golf driving range and about eight months since they opened their clubhouse.

Now the Barnes brothers have applied the finishing touches, adding a patio to the clubhouse and a tarmacadamed car park.

'We might get time for a day off now,' said Tim.

To celebrate the completion of the project, which also happened to be a family dream, the Barnes duo staged a charity golf day on Saturday, with a tournament for members and a dinner hosted by Winsford comedian and keen golfer Don Reid.

If Hartford is now bang up to date its driving range is setting the pace. The North West's first automatic tees have been installed.

'You get a bucket of balls. After you hit one the next rises from the ground for you. No more bending over,' said Tim.