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Wentworth Club

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 Club
Club information
LocationVirginia Water, Surrey, England
Established1922
TypePrivate
Owned byReignwood Group[1]
Total holes63
Events hostedBMW PGA Championship
Websitewww.wentworthclub.com
West Course
Designed byHarry Colt
Ernie Els (2005–2017)
Par72
Length7,284
Course record62 Robert Karlsson (2010)
62 Thomas Bjørn (2014)
62 Alex Norén (2017)
East Course
Designed byHarry Colt
Par68
Length6,201
Course record62 Doug Sewell
Edinburgh Course
Designed byJohn Jacobs
Par72
Length7,004
Course record67 Gary Orr
Executive Course (9 Holes)
Par27
Length1,902

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

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The clubhouse at Wentworth

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, Ramón 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 (née 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 m2) 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

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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, crèche facilities, changing rooms, and a café. The extensive facility was completed in 1999 for £9 million by architects Broadway Malyan.[10]

Golf courses

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West Course

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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 12 486 531 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
 
View of the course and clubhouse

East Course

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  • 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

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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)

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

References

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  1. ^ "Wentworth Club, Surrey, England". Reignwood Group. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ Archives Network Wales – The de Morella Collection
  3. ^ Books, Research and Information – Arts & Crafts Home
  4. ^ a b "Chelsfield PLC History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. ^ Bevan, Judi (1 March 1992). "UK: Profile - Elliott Bernerd - Property Dealer and Head of Chelsfield". Management Today. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  6. ^ Tomkinson, Martin (22 October 2011). "Profile: Just par for his course: For Elliott Bernerd, acquiring the Wentworth golf club marked another great round in a career of spectacular deals". The Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b Subramanian, Samanth (2 March 2021). "The rich vs the very, very rich: the Wentworth golf club rebellion". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ^ "HSBC World Matchplay". Wentworth Club. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Golfing gossip". BBC News. 22 February 2006.
  10. ^ "Troup Bywaters + Anders". Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  11. ^ "Wentworth – West Course". Ernie Els.
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