Wentworth Club

Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and health resort in Virginia Water, Surrey on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1926. The 2017 fee for new club joiners is £125,000. The club was bought by Beijing-based Reignwood Group in September 2014 and told existing members to stump up almost £100,000 this will be in the form of a Debenture. This can be sold back to the club. Annual fees on top of that are to rise from £8,000 to £16,000 for family membership.

History

The 19th century house the "Wentworths" (now the club house for the club) was the home for the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. It was purchased in 1850 by exiled Spanish marquis and count Ramon Cabrera and his heiress wife. After his death, his wife, née Catherine Anne Vaughn-Richards, bought up the surrounding lands under The Cabrera Trust to safeguard the meadows, brooks and the trees planted from her travels on the continent with her gentrified husband to form what has become the heart of the Wentworth Estate.

In 1912, builder W.G. Tarrant had started developing St George's Hill, Weybridge - a development of houses based on minimum 1-acre (4,000 m²) plots based around a golf course. In 1922 Tarrant acquired the development rights for the Wentworth Estate, getting Harry Colt to develop a golf course around "Wentworth" house. Tarrant developed the large houses on the estate to a similar Surrey formula used at St George's Hill. Development of Wentworth Estate ground to a halt due to the Great Depression in the late 1920s. In 1931 when the banks asked for repayment of a large debenture, Tarrant was forced to declare bankruptcy. The ownership of the land passed to Wentworth Estates Ltd, which came under the control of Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co Ltd.

Today

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 visitor's green fee for the West Course for Summer 2008 is £285. A few years earlier, when it was £210, it was the highest in Europe according to the British Golf Industry Association.

The headquarters of the PGA European Tour are located at the club, and each year it hosts the Tour's BMW PGA Championship. It was the venue of the 1953 Ryder Cup and of the HSBC World Match Play Championship from 1964 until 2007.

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 at the same time, 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 is developing a golf course design practice, made alterations to the West Course, lengthening it by 310 yards (280 m) and adding 30 bunkers.

Wentworth also boasts a Tennis & Health Club. The Wentworth Tennis and Health Club consists of a gymnasium, dance studio, health spa, ozone swimming pool and jacuzzi, crèche facilities, changing rooms, and a café. The extensive facility was completed in 1997 for £9 million by Architects Broadway Malyan.

In 2004 the club was purchased by fashion industry entrepreneur Richard Caring for £130 million and in 2014, the club was sold to Beijing-based Reignwood Investments for £135m.

Golf courses

West Course

• Opened: 1926
• Architect: Harry Colt (modernised/refined in 2005 & 2007 by Ernie Els)
• Par: 72
• Length: 7,308 yards (6,682 m)
• Course Record: 62, Robert Karlsson, Thomas Bjørn
• Key tournaments: HSBC World Match Play Championship, 1964 – 2007: BMW PGA Championship, 1984 – present: Ryder Cup, 1953: World Cup 1956

File:Portnall Park. The seat of Colonel Bisse Challoner (1828) by George Frederick Prosser.jpg

View of Portnall Park, from the south-east, published in 1828. Once the heart of Colonel Bisse-Challoner's c. 400-acre (+200 rented) estate, it is now known as the Dormy House. The sheep mark the position of the present fairway

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	521	5
4	505	552	5	13	430	470	4
5	194	212	3	14	164	179	3
6	382	418	4	15	436	477	4
7	362	396	4	16	350	383	4
8	367	401	4	17	558	610	5
9	410	449	4	18	492	538	5
Front 9	3218	3520	35	Back 9	3464	3788	37
				Total	6682	7308	72

East Course

• 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

• Opened: 1990
• Architect: John Jacobs (with Gary Player and Bernard Gallacher)
• Par: 72
• Length: 7,004 yards (6,404 m)
• Course Record: 67, Gary Orr
• Tournaments held: Wentworth Senior Masters

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)

• Par: 27
• Length: 1,902 yards (1,739 m)

External links

• Official site