Members of Belmont Golf Club have come up with a plan to buy the course to keep it in local hands.

The Royal Gazette has learned the members are to take a swing at forming a $10,000-a-head trust fund aimed at taking over the course, to be run alongside the group that redevelops the now-closed Belmont Hotel.

But the members face a major handicap -- raising cash for a price tag that could be as high as $4 million.

Belmont Golf Club spokesman Nick Quinn, however, was yesterday confident over attracting support.

He said: "The club has been around for more than 40 years and if the hotel is sold, we'll basically have no rights.'' Mr. Quinn said if club members and others put up the cash, the club could then negotiate a deal where it ran the course and the eventual developer of the hotel site could stick to the tourist side.

He added: "We felt maybe we could do it ourselves and go in with a partner who may want to run a tourism development, but may not want to run a golf course.

"That means we could keep the course in Bermudian hands and ensure continuity.'' Mr. Quinn was upbeat about the course being a profitable exercise in the hands of its members.

He said: "We've done our homework in terms of the revenue potential. There are an estimated 90,000 golf rounds unplayed a year because people can't get tee times. And the cost per round at a Government course is between $70 and $90, that's a lot of potential income out there.'' Mr. Quinn added that the club's recent AGM saw "100 percent'' support for the buyout plan from among the 240 members of the club.

He added: "The plan is not closed to Belmont members, but they were the ones who said `let's do this'.

"We would tie our purchase in some way into the tourism property -- that would help us both. They would pay us to use the course and they would get a golf course for their guests.'' But he said the buyout bid was "as much an attempt to control our own destiny as make money''.

Mr. Quinn added: "A lot of us are working class guys who can't afford the Mid-Ocean Club fees or Riddell's Bay fees and the waiting lists are extremely long, anyway.'' And he pointed out that the club had a thriving youth programme, with around 400 youngsters involved which has been a club tradition.

Mr. Quinn said: "We would keep it in Bermuda hands. It would be an ongoing facility, not just for us to play, but for our children to play.'' Club membership has dropped during the last two years amid uncertainty over the future of the hotel, currently up for sale by current owners Forte.

But Mr. Quinn said that even if enough cash was not raised to buy the course outright, in the event that sufficient money was available, then a lease or partnership deal could be offered.

Elbow Beach owners Rafael were originally lined up to redevelop the Warwick resort but pulled out.

Now a Canadian consortium is in negotiations with Forte to revamp the hotel creating up to 60 villas, at $1 million each, as well as a new hotel and redesigning the golf course.

Mr. Quinn said Belmont members would not make a formal approach to any potential developers until they could put cash on the table -- although Forte is aware of the plan.

Belmont general manager Gordon Slatford confirmed that he was aware of the Belmont club's interest in taking over the fairways.

Mr. Slatford said: "I've been in discussion with them -- but the whole position on selling something is you're going to talk to people who have the wherewithal to make the purchase.

"They have taken the first step in getting people to put money into that trust fund. We have had no hard and fast discussions, but I will provide them with whatever information they need to get this thing going.''