Golf club in Surrey, England
Wentworth Club
is a privately owned
golf club
and
country club
in
Virginia Water
,
Surrey
, on the south western fringes of
London
, not far from
Windsor Castle
. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based
Reignwood Group
bought the club in September 2014 and implemented a new
debenture
membership structure, starting at £100,000. The debenture is now estimated at £200,000.
Wentworth is home to the headquarters of the
PGA European Tour
, the professional golf tour. Each year, it hosts the Tour's
PGA Championship
, which is played on the club's West Course. Wentworth was the venue of the 1953
Ryder Cup
and of the
World Match Play Championship
from 1964 until 2007.
History
[
edit
]
A 19th-century house named the
"Wentworths"
(now the
clubhouse
for the Wentworth Club) was the residence of the brother-in-law of the
1st Duke of Wellington
. It was purchased in 1850 by an exiled Spanish Carlist military commander,
Ramon Cabrera
, 1st Count of Morella (Carlist title) and 1st Marquis of Ter (Bourbon title), and his heiress wife.
After the death of Cabrera in 1877, his widow (nee Catherine Anne Vaughn-Richards) bought up the surrounding lands under The Cabrera Trust to safeguard the meadows, brooks and trees (planted from her travels on the continent with her gentrified husband) to form what has become the heart of the
Wentworth Estate
.
[2]
In 1912, builder
W. G. Tarrant
had started developing
St George's Hill
in
Weybridge
? a development of houses based on minimum 1-acre (4,000 m
2
) plots around a golf course. In 1922, Tarrant acquired the development rights for the Wentworth Estate, getting
Harry Colt
to design a golf course around the
"Wentworths"
house. Tarrant erected large residences on the estate using a similar Surrey formula to that used at St George's Hill. However, the development of the Wentworth Estate ground to a halt due to the
Great Depression
at the end of the 1920s. In 1931, when the banks asked for repayment of a large debenture, Tarrant was forced to declare
bankruptcy
. Ownership of the land passed to Wentworth Estates Ltd, which came under the control of
Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company
.
[3]
In 1988,
Elliott Bernerd
's property investment company Chelsfield bought Wentworth Golf Club for £17.7 million
[4]
(also reported as £20 million).
[5]
[6]
Bernerd sold 40% of the club to Japanese investors, raising £32 million, in 1989.
[4]
In 2004, Chelsfield sold the remaining 60% share, as fashion industry entrepreneur
Richard Caring
bought the club for £130 million.
[7]
In 2014 Caring sold the club for £135m to Beijing-based Reignwood Investments (a holding company associated with billionaire
Yan Bin
), which has made the club more exclusive by cutting the number of members and raising the fees.
[7]
Current debentures cost £175,000 and the annual fees is £16,000.
Today
[
edit
]
Wentworth Club is best known for its associations with professional golf. It has three eighteen-hole courses: the famous
Harry Colt
-designed West Course from 1926, the earlier yet lesser-played East Course, which was also designed by Colt in 1924, the recent Edinburgh Course designed by
John Jacobs
, and a nine-hole par-3 executive course.
The headquarters of the
PGA European Tour
is located at the club, and each year it hosts the Tour's
PGA Championship
. It was the venue of the 1953
Ryder Cup
and of the
World Match Play Championship
from 1964 until 2007.
[8]
The club is surrounded by and entwined with the
Wentworth Estate
, one of the most expensive private estates in the London suburbs, which was built simultaneously, where many top golfers and other celebrities have homes. One of them is
Ernie Els
, who became the club's "world-wide touring professional" in 2005. Over the winter of 2005-06 Els, who was developing a
golf course design
practice, made alterations to the West Course, lengthening it by 310 yards (280 m) and adding 30 bunkers.
[9]
Wentworth also has a tennis and health club. The Wentworth Tennis and Health Club comprises a gymnasium, dance studio, health spa, ozone swimming pool and Jacuzzi,
creche facilities
, changing rooms, and a cafe. The extensive facility was completed in 1999 for £9 million by architects
Broadway Malyan
.
[10]
Golf courses
[
edit
]
West Course
[
edit
]
West Course Scorecard
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
1
|
432
|
473
|
4
|
10
|
168
|
184
|
3
|
2
|
141
|
154
|
3
|
11
|
380
|
416
|
4
|
3
|
425
|
465
|
4
|
12
|
486
|
531
|
5
|
4
|
505
|
552
|
5
|
13
|
430
|
470
|
4
|
5
|
194
|
203
|
3
|
14
|
164
|
179
|
3
|
6
|
382
|
418
|
4
|
15
|
436
|
489
|
4
|
7
|
362
|
396
|
4
|
16
|
350
|
383
|
4
|
8
|
367
|
391
|
4
|
17
|
558
|
610
|
5
|
9
|
410
|
449
|
4
|
18
|
492
|
521
|
5
|
Front 9
|
3218
|
3501
|
35
|
Back 9
|
3464
|
3783
|
37
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
6682
|
7284
|
72
|
East Course
[
edit
]
- Opened
: 1924
- Architect
:
Harry Colt
- Par
: 68
- Length
: 6,201 yards (5,670 m)
- Course Record
: 62,
Doug N Sewell
- Key tournaments
: inaugural
Curtis Cup
, 1932; friendly match between US and GB&I (forerunner to
Ryder Cup
) 1926.
East Course Scorecard
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
1
|
351
|
384
|
4
|
10
|
175
|
191
|
3
|
2
|
385
|
421
|
4
|
11
|
422
|
462
|
4
|
3
|
304
|
332
|
4
|
12
|
145
|
159
|
3
|
4
|
178
|
195
|
3
|
13
|
369
|
403
|
4
|
5
|
299
|
327
|
4
|
14
|
295
|
323
|
4
|
6
|
324
|
354
|
4
|
15
|
303
|
331
|
4
|
7
|
207
|
226
|
3
|
16
|
420
|
459
|
4
|
8
|
417
|
456
|
4
|
17
|
197
|
215
|
3
|
9
|
481
|
526
|
5
|
18
|
400
|
437
|
4
|
Front 9
|
2945
|
3221
|
35
|
Back 9
|
2725
|
2980
|
33
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
5670
|
6201
|
68
|
Edinburgh Course
[
edit
]
Edinburgh Course Scorecard
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
Hole No.
|
Metres
|
Yards
|
Par
|
1
|
420
|
459
|
4
|
10
|
467
|
511
|
5
|
2
|
132
|
144
|
3
|
11
|
401
|
439
|
4
|
3
|
458
|
501
|
5
|
12
|
155
|
169
|
3
|
4
|
367
|
401
|
4
|
13
|
387
|
423
|
4
|
5
|
157
|
172
|
3
|
14
|
364
|
398
|
4
|
6
|
422
|
461
|
4
|
15
|
360
|
394
|
4
|
7
|
555
|
607
|
5
|
16
|
481
|
526
|
5
|
8
|
416
|
455
|
4
|
17
|
148
|
162
|
3
|
9
|
334
|
365
|
4
|
18
|
432
|
472
|
4
|
Front 9
|
3260
|
3565
|
36
|
Back 9
|
3195
|
3494
|
36
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
6455
|
7059
|
72
|
Executive Course (9 Holes)
[
edit
]
- Par
: 27
- Length
: 1,902 yards (1,739 m)
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Towns,
villages and
neighbourhoods
| Addlestone
| |
---|
Chertsey
| |
---|
Egham
| |
---|
Virginia Water
| |
---|
| |
---|
Notable parks
| |
---|
Churches
| |
---|
Education
| |
---|
Transport
| |
---|
Buildings
and structures
| Public use
| |
---|
Notable private
| |
---|
Bridges
| |
---|
|
---|
Sports
| Football
| |
---|
Cricket
| |
---|
Tennis
| 16 nationally registered venues
|
---|
Golf (main)
| |
---|
Watersports
| |
---|
|
---|
Other leisure
| |
---|
|
Ryder Cup venues
|
---|
- Worcester Country Club
,
Worcester, Massachusetts
(1927)
- Moortown Golf Club
,
Leeds
(1929)
- Scioto Country Club
,
Upper Arlington, Ohio
(1931)
- Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
,
Southport
(1933, 1937)
- Ridgewood Country Club
,
Paramus, New Jersey
(1935)
- Portland Golf Club
,
Raleigh Hills, Oregon
(1947)
- Ganton Golf Club
,
Ganton
,
East Riding of Yorkshire
(1949)
- Pinehurst Resort
,
Pinehurst, North Carolina
(1951)
- Wentworth Club
,
Virginia Water
,
Surrey
(1953)
- Thunderbird Country Club
,
Rancho Mirage, California
(1955)
- Lindrick Golf Club
, near
Sheffield
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
(1957)
- Eldorado Country Club,
Indian Wells, California
(1959)
- Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
,
Lytham St Annes
,
Lancashire
(1961, 1977)
- East Lake Golf Club
,
Atlanta
,
Georgia
(1963)
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club
,
Southport
,
Merseyside
(1965, 1969)
- Champions Golf Club
,
Houston, Texas
(1967)
- Old Warson Country Club
,
St. Louis
,
Missouri
(1971)
- Muirfield
,
Gullane
,
East Lothian
(1973)
- Laurel Valley Golf Club
,
Ligonier, Pennsylvania
(1975)
- The Greenbrier
,
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
(1979)
- Walton Heath Golf Club
,
Walton-on-the-Hill
,
Surrey
(1981)
- PGA National Golf Club
,
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
(1983)
- The Belfry
,
Wishaw, Warwickshire
(1985, 1989, 1993, 2002)
- Muirfield Village
,
Dublin, Ohio
(1987)
- Kiawah Island Golf Resort
,
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
(1991)
- Oak Hill Country Club
,
Pittsford, New York
(1995)
- Real Club Valderrama
,
Sotogrande
,
Andalusia
(1997)
- The Country Club
,
Brookline, Massachusetts
(1999)
- Oakland Hills Country Club
,
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
(2004)
- K Club
,
Straffan
,
County Kildare
(2006)
- Valhalla Golf Club
,
Louisville, Kentucky
(2008)
- Celtic Manor Resort
,
Newport, Wales
(2010)
- Medinah Country Club
,
Medinah, Illinois
(2012)
- Gleneagles
,
Auchterarder
,
Perth and Kinross
(2014)
- Hazeltine National Golf Club
,
Chaska, Minnesota
(2016, 2029)
- Le Golf National
,
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
,
Ile-de-France
(2018)
- Whistling Straits
,
Haven, Wisconsin
(2021)
- Marco Simone Golf and Country Club
,
Guidonia
,
Rome
(2023)
- Bethpage Black Course
,
Farmingdale, New York
(2025)
- Adare Manor
,
Adare
,
County Limerick
(2027)
- Olympic Club
,
San Francisco
,
California
(2033)
- Congressional Country Club
,
Bethesda, Maryland
(2037)
| versus
|
51°23′48″N
0°35′45″W
/
51.39667°N 0.59583°W
/
51.39667; -0.59583