Hastings GC is up for auction at Brighton's Grand Hotel on April 7.

The starting price is £1.5m for a course that nobody seems to want following its sale by the local council three years ago.

Richard Haygarth, owner of Chichester who also has the management contract at Hill Barn, gave Hastings the once-over recently and was unimpressed at the run down state of the course.

The greens are in a sorry condition and a new owner will have to dig very deep to get the course back in top shape.

For a potential buyer there could be a snag because Roman remains by the 12th hole mean there are certain rights preventing alterations, while flooding on other holes has been a bugbear.

Yet Beauport Park, to use its former name, is a beautiful area and in 1968 the council seized the opportunity of leasing 120 acres of the estate for the construction of a course and called in Frank Pennink, the famous architect, to submit a design.

Shortly after the opening in the early 1970s, difficulties over drainage were encountered and a new system had to be laid.

In recent years it has been a heavy burden on council resources and they decided to get shot of it but since then private ownership had come unstuck and the course went into liquidation in October, 2002.

But Hastings is lucky in at least one respect. Charlie Giddins, the self-employed professional and chairman of the Sussex PGU, is one of the best teachers in the south, especially at bringing on juniors.

Hastings has remained his base throughout the long periods of economic uncertainty and is very much open for business.

It was cut-and-thrust stuff at Seaford in the Sussex PGU Stableford sponsored by Nigel Strong and Tim May.

A single point covered the first three teams with the Piltdown trio of pro Jason Partridge and amateurs John Marsh and Bob Gardiner just getting home on 77 points.

Steve Fenn, Tony Plant and Peter Baker, of East Brighton, made the runners-up spot with 76 but only after a countback that saw Giles Velvick, Rachel Sellance and Barry Gittoes (Horam Park) breathing down their necks.

SPGU Mastercolour League top 10: Steve Fenn (East Brighton) 30 points; 2 Tony Hilton (Mid Sussex), Jason Partridge (Piltdown) 25; 4 Sean Trussell (Tilgate Forest) 20; 5 Gordon Murray (Holtye), Giles Velvick (Horam Park) 15; 7 Lea Cooper (Tilgate Forest) 10; 8 Dan Lucking (Tilgate Forest), Paul Lyons (Sweetwoods Park) 6; 10 Mark Stuart-William (East Brighton), David Mills (Seaford) 5.

SPGU Hilary Crowe Pairs Matchplay championship first round draw: Jeff Sim & Shaun Creasey v Dennis Newnham & Kevin Hinton; Chris Fogden & Adrian Wratting v Nick Fleet & Graeme Crompton; Calum Callan & Giles Velvick v Simon Buckley & Matt Cole; Tony Hilton & Neil Plimmer v Steve Bassill & Steve Hall; Richard Hollands & Mark Saunders v Mark Stuart-William & Mike Ovett.