Tuesday 8th June 2010
Wentworth Drive, Virginia Water, Surrey, GU25 4LS
18 holes
Very few courses 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. The West Course is about aspiration and inspiration. Golfers tread in the footsteps of the game’s great players from the last 80 years – legends such as Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods. That means something; you can’t help but feel it, every step of the way.
And there are surely few more glorious natural settings for golf than this stretch of heathland surrounded by woodland of pine, oak and birch; the vibrant rhododendrons adding a 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 well-defined hole routings.
Harry Colt classic
Architect Harry Colt took full advantage of both of these qualities and created an enduring classic. The challenge is a varied one; fairways turn both ways and there is a wonderful flow to the course, with pleasing elevation changes and a variety of different length par-3s, par-4s and par-5s. It is a design that had for decades proudly stood the test of time, but the march of modern equipment technology shows no mercy. In recent years it was felt that in certain key areas the West course no longer played quite as Colt had intended and so a process of modernisation and restoration was undertaken by long-time Wentworth resident and seven-time World Matchplay champion Ernie Els.
Els’ modern touch
This renovation project started in 2005 with extensive re-bunkering and lengthening of certain holes, where appropriate. These revisions retained the essential character of the golf course and successfully restored many of Colt’s original shot values, bringing a classic piece of work into the modern world. The final phase of renovation and modernisation, which concludes in the early part of 2010, has involved the construction of 18 new greens and greens' complexes to USGA specification to ensure they perform to the absolute highest standards. All greenside and fairway bunkers have also been reviewed, remodelled and where necessary removed with new bunkers positioned more 'in play'. The West Course is a challenge entirely in keeping with the demands of the 21st century game and, thanks to these renovations, is also 'future-proofed' for many years to come - a stern test, but above all a fair test. It examines every department of a golfer’s game and demands shots played with every club in the bag.
Ernie Els said, “I honestly think we’ve succeeded in making a great course even better. Hopefully, Harry Colt is up there somewhere and looking down on us with a nod of approval”.
Wentworth Costs:
Member - £280.00
Guest - £290.00