St George's Hill Golf Club *****

Golf Club Road, St George's Hill, Weybridge, KT13 0NL

Nearest main town: Weybridge

 

Shots rang out through the trees on St George's Hill long before any golfers were set loose on the land. The sounds emanated from the pond that is now Hanked by the 9th fairway. Dead man's pond to be exact, for it was here that the last duel to be fought on British soil is believed to have taken place.

Today the only shots to be heard echoing through the trees are those from golfers as they plot their way round one of the most scenically beautiful courses that the heathlands of Surrey have to offer. St George's Hill, near Weybridge, has long been regarded in high esteem and is, frankly, a gem.

The estate of St George's Hill exudes exclusivity. The fairways roll past properties that sit amid meticulously mown lawns, but that was the way it was always meant to be when a local builder, a Mr Tarrant, acquired the land in the 1900s. He engaged Harry Colt to design the course, but due to a shortage of funds he sold the site to concentrate on another course sited at Virginia Water, which came to be known as Wentworth.

While many of Surrey's heath and heather courses appear to be clones of each other, St George's Hill stands apart. There is the profu­sion of heather and gorse that you would expect from a course in this part of the country, but, unlike its neighbors, St George's Hill is played over very undulating, spectacular terrain, making for exhilarating golf with deep drops and blind drives. There are no weak holes here. From the 1st, where you drive over a valley, it's one classic after another.

The beauty of St George's Hill goes unchallenged. As Bernard Darwin once wrote: The prettiest courses are also the best and certainly one of the best is St George's Hill.

 

Secretary: Mr J. Robinson

Tel: 01932 847758 Fax: 01932 821564

Professional: Mr A. Rattue

Tel: 01932 843523 Fax: 01932 843523

Playing: Midweek: round £80.00 (Visitors only accepted Wed, Thurs, Fri); day £105.00 (Visitors only accepted Wed, Thurs, Fri). Weekend: round n/a; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Lunch from 11 am-3pm. Bar snacks. Dinner by arrangement.

Comments: Wonderful tall pines...Tee shots very intimidating...A match for any course in the country... Better than Wentworth and without the attitude. . .Grandeur nestled in beauty. . .Very old, very traditional, but welcoming. . .Wooded course with spilling heather.

 

Sunningdale Golf Club (Old) *****

Ridgemount Road, Sunningdale, SL5 9RR

Nearest main town: Sunningdale

 

Seve Ballesteros knew what he was doing when he helped put Sunningdale back on the professional golf map by taking the Seve Trophy, a team event between Great Britain and Ireland and the rest of Europe, there in the spring of 2000.

Sunningdale's Old course is steeped in history, whether it's the famous 66 of Bobby Jones, 33 out and 33 back, or the European Open tournaments that used to be held there in the early 1990s. It is only recently that the club has slipped off the regular fixture list of the European Tour, which is partly due to the fact that the course may now be considered a little short by today's long-hitting standards.

The fact that the Seve Trophy was such a success, however, tends to prove that Sunningdale can still have a part to play and there is no doubt that if you were to poll the professional Tour players of today many of them would welcome a return there.

There are, of course, two layouts at Sunningdale and it is a perpet­ual argument as to which is the best. The Old, designed by Willie Park in 1901, gets all the acclaim and can boast the best holes on the estate, particularly the stretches from the 5th to the 7th and those holes just after the turn. But it has a couple of slightly weaker holes, something that the New, designed by Harry Colt in 1922, does not. The New course is tougher and maintains a high standard from start to finish without producing a hole that is 'stand alone' stunning.

At the end of the day, the advice is to try both; that way you are guaranteed just about the best that heath land golf has to offer.

 

Secretary: Mr S. Zuill

Tel: 01344 621681 Fax: 01344 624154

Professional: Mr K. Maxwell

Tel: 01344 620128 Fax: 01344 874903

Playing: Midweek: round £135.00; day n/a. Weekend: round n/a; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-8pm. Food: lunch and dinner from 10am-6pm.

Comments: Magical heathland course... What golf is all about. . .Requires real thought...Wonderful course and club...lovely course, requiring straight-hitting...Expensive but just has to be played...As good as you can get - at a price...Traditional course - always enjoyable but too expensive...My choice for the final round of my life. . .The blueprint for all courses. . .Not bad, but overpriced and surely an easy course...No better place to play an inland course than at Sunningdale ... Stand on the 10th tee and just take a deep breath - magic.