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There are certainly few more glorious natural settings for golf than this stretch of heathland surrounded by woodland of pine, oak and birch, with the vibrant rhododendrons adding a seasonal splash of colour. The heavily wooded landscape has aesthetic and strategic benefits in the sense that it is both easy on the eye and ideal for creating a well-defined layout. The great architect Harry Colt took full advantage of these many attributes when he created the West Course almost 100 years ago. Fairways turn both ways and there is a wonderful flow and variety to the course, with pleasing elevation changes and demanding test for all golfers across the varied par-3s, par-4s and par-5s. It is a design that had for decades proudly stood the test of time. However, with recent advances in golf ball and equipment technology it became necessary to carry out a programme of restoration and modernisation in order to restore Colt’s original shot values. There was no better man to head-up that sensitive task than long-time Wentworth resident and respected golf course architect Ernie Els, also a seven-time winner on the West Course. This project involved the construction of 18 new greens including a spectacular new finishing hole, all to USGA specification to ensure the surfaces perform to the absolute highest standards. All green side and fairway bunkers were reviewed, remodelled and where necessary repositioned more in keeping with today’s shot patterns. Colt’s masterpiece is now every bit the modern classic, a challenge that can be enjoyed by club golfers and legends alike. Indeed, few courses in the world can boast a tournament history on a par with Wentworth’s West Course. It hosted the 1953 Ryder Cup and then in 1956 the Canada Cup, the forerunner to today’s World Cup of Golf. And through its distinction of hosting two of golf’s most prestigious championships – the World Matchplay between 1964 and 2007, and the PGA Championship since 1984 – both televised to a wide audience, the West Course has a place in the hearts and minds of golfers all over the world.
When Harry Colt was engaged in the early part of the 20th century to create the East Course, the first of Wentworth’s triumvirate, his portfolio was already bursting with sublime golf course designs such as Royal Portrush, Rye, Sunningdale Old, Swinley Forest and St George’s Hill, to name just a few. All are classic Colt, as much a pleasure to play today as the day they opened. The East Course sits comfortably in that impressive list and had quite a start in life. It was the setting for the inaugural Curtis Cup in 1932 and also hosted a friendly match in 1926 between two teams from the US and Great Britain & Ireland, the inspiration for the contest we now know as the Ryder Cup. One might say it has since been overshadowed by the global renown of the West, but the East is a golf course that holds its own. It is a much-admired gem! Colt’s overall design philosophy was that a golf course should give a player a variety of options in terms of shot selection; a characteristic that makes his golf courses challenging for the game’s best players, but at the same time enjoyable for the mortals of this world. Position, not power, was part of the Colt ethos. These qualities are perfectly embodied in this intimate layout, with its undulating and springy fairways that zigzag in amongst the woodland setting and call for accurate driving and exact shot making into well-bunkered greens, another Colt signature touch. One of the course’s other great strengths is the quality of its five par-3s. They range in length from the inviting 159-yard 12th to the challenging 226-yard 7th, a serious attention grabber The East may be considered a gentler test by comparison to the West, mainly by virtue of it being some 1,000 yards shorter in length, but a low score is not easily teased from the East. Make no mistake this course has teeth. Once bitten you are sure to be smitten. “When Harry Colt was invited to lay out the East, he was given 200 acres of some of the best Surrey heathland from which to work. His creation is in my opinion architecturally and aesthetically superior to the West Course in many ways.” – Bernard Gallacher
The idea for a third golf course at Wentworth was conceived in the late 1970s, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the Edinburgh Course opened for play. It was designed by coach and former Ryder Cup player and captain John Jacobs in consultation with nine-time major champion Gary Player and the Club’s then professional Bernard Gallacher. Together they paid homage to one of Harry Colt’s enduring design philosophies, specifically that a course should test the best, but at the same be playable and enjoyed by club golfers. The Edinburgh has proved to be true to those original design principles. A wide selection of teeing areas ensures that golfers can play the course at a length that suits them, while generous landing areas offer the freedom to hit the driver, one of golf’s elemental pleasures. Strategically located pines and doglegs require the longer hitter to pay heed to the correct club selection and shape of shot. Driving on the Edinburgh is a physical and mental test. In terms of approach play, the large putting surfaces offer the opportunity of straightforward pin locations, although the clever hazard placement makes it equally possible to ‘tuck’ pins into tougher, more closely-guarded areas to make the accomplished player work hard to earn their birdie chances. Jacobs was intent on creating a course that was sympathetic to its surroundings – in modern parlance, one that would leave a ‘soft’ footprint on its environment – and this has in time become one of the Edinburgh’s great strengths. It is a haven for wildlife, a sanctuary for the area’s flora and fauna.
7 Sunningdale Golf Club
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