In the past, there used to be one crucial question when it came to planning a luxury golfing vacation, and that centered on the choice between the links or the accommodation. Which one will it be? A great golf course or the best hotel? In an ideal world we wouldn’t even need to ask that question (of course the best hotel would have an unbeatable golf course, but perhaps that’s another one for the category of “definitions thatshould be included in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary“), but for many seasoned golfers and eager novices it’s been a compromise that has been made all too often when choosing from hotels in San Francisco, San Diego, or Las Vegas.

But if you’re looking for the pick of the bunch when it comes to resort golf course in North America, you shouldn’t go past the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, or the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in British Columbia. For traditional links, Scotland’s Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews is simply divine, although you can’t scoff at a new experience like playing accompanied by a Himalayan panorama, an opportunity offered at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa in Kathmandu, Nepal. The top choice in Continental Europe is undoubtedly the Hotel Guadalmina Spa & Golf Resort, in Marbella, Spain. These are among the best hotels in the world that provide exceptional golfing facilities with fantastic accommodation for singles, couples, or families.

ShareThis

England is the most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom with some 50 million equating to 85% of the total UK population. According to English Golf Union statistics at least 740,000 play golf , and rightly so because England is home to some of the most beautiful and challenging courses in the golf universe. Take for instance the Stoke Park Club in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. Designed by H.S.Colt and opened in 1908, the parkland style Stoke Park Club is as challenging as it is picturesque. The club is a staggering 27-hole championship course made up of 3 nine hole courses that would test every skill you have as a golfer. The course known better as Stoke Poges must be included in a golf package for its exceptionally fearsome no. 7 dubbed ˜Amen Corner and at £125 it is quite a steal.

If you want to spend your English golf vacation sweating it out on championship courses another one to give a shot is the Belfry Golf Club in Warwickshire. As Europes most celebrated and prominent Ryder Cup venue the Belfry Golf Club is home to the famed Brabazon course and one for the passionate golfer. Belfry hosts several championships like the PGA Seniors and offers three courses The Brabazon (£70 to £165), PGA National (£37.50 to £90) and The Derby (£15 to £50).

The list of courses in England a golf holiday maker absolutely must play to avoid committing a sin is endless. However, some redemption is possible if one makes sure to include the Royal Birkdale in ones golf package. The reason: it boasts of hosting 2 Ryder Cups, The Walker and Curtis Cups, Womens British Open and British Open championships. Located in Southport, Birkdale offers 18-holes to test your perseverance and concentration, beautiful sea-view on most holes and history to boot¦all for £120 per round.

If you can take yourself away from these superb links on the Lancashire coast, try the south-east coast for the Royal St. George a British Open location for great views and great golf. Also tick off on your golf tour itinerary the Willie Park Jr. designed Sunningdale Golf Club in Ascot a heathland course, host to the European Cup. Finally, no English golf vacation can be complete without a visit to the Reading Golf Club in Berkshire for some tough ones through the wooded, undulating terrain of the Chiltern hills.

ShareThis

Selsdon Park Hotel and Golf Club

Location - Addington Road, Sanderstead, London

Details - The Selsdon Park Hotel is set in an historic former manor house in the heart of the Surrey countryside……

More Details

Old Golf House Corus Hotel Location - New Hey Road, Manchester Details -Elegantly designed in Angless Yorkshire Stone & boasting 52 recently refurbished bedrooms this hotel combines modern amenities with traditional hospitality……. More Details

Woodbury Park Golf Hotel & Country Club Location - Woodbury Castle, Exeter Details -Woodbury Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club is set in 500 acres of rolling countryside, five miles from the coastal resort of Exmouth……. More Details

Wensum Valley Hotel Golf and Country Club Location - Beech Avenue, Taverham Details -The Wensum Valley Hotel Golf and Country Club, is located near the village of Taverham, Norfolk, England, seven miles from Norwich city centre and railway station, and five miles from Norwich Airport…… More Details

England’s Best Golf Hotels Details -Search 100’s of Hotels in England….. More Details

Hoteliers & Golf Resorts Post your golf travel specials here for FREE. READ MORE

ShareThis

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 count Ramon Cabrera, who after his death his wife bought up the surrounding lands to make the full Wentworth Estate.

In 1912, builder W.G. Tarrant had started developing St George’s Hill, Weybridge - a development of houses based on minimum one acre plots based around a golf course. In 1922 Tarrant acquired the development rights for the Wentworth Estate, getting H.S. 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 H.S. Colt-designed West Course from 1926, the earlier yet lesser played East Course which was also designed by H.S. 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 2006 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 and HSBC World Match Play Championship. It was the venue of the 1953 Ryder Cup.

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 and adding 30 bunkers.[3]

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[4].

In 2004 the club was purchased by fashion industry entrepreneur Richard Caring for £130 million.

Golf Courses

West Course
Opened: 1926
Architect: H.S. Colt (modernised/refined in 2005 & 2007 by Ernie Els)
Par: 72
Length: 7,308 yards
Course Record: 63, Wayne Riley
Key tournaments: HSBC World Match Play Championship, 1964 – present: BMW PGA Championship, 1984 – present: Ryder Cup, 1953: World Cup 1956
West Course Scorecard

East Course
Opened: 1924
Architect: H.S. Colt
Par: 68
Length: 6,201 yards
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

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

Executive Course (9 Holes)
Par: 27
Length: 1,902 yards

ShareThis

Rose burst to prominence at The Open Championship in 1998. As a seventeen year old amateur he holed a dramatic shot from the fairway for birdie on the 18th to finish tied for fourth. He turned professional the following week, but initially struggled badly, missing 21 cuts in a row.

Rose’s career soon began to take off, however, and he became established on the European Tour. He won his first professional event, the Dunhill Championship in South Africa, in 2002, and followed this up with three further victories in that year. In 2003, he reached number 33 in the Official World Golf Rankings. In 2004, he played mainly in America on the PGA Tour, while also maintaining his membership of the European Tour. He did not have a good year, and slipped out of the top 50 in the world rankings.

His ranking continued to fall in early 2005, and in March he announced that he was quitting the European Tour and concentrating on playing in the U.S. This had no apparent effect on his poor form, and by the middle of the year he had fallen out of the World Top 100. In August of that year he made an about face by announcing his intention to return to the European Tour. Ironically later the same week he had his best result of the year, leading the Buick Championship after three rounds before slipping to a third place finish. One or two further good results followed late in the 2005 season, and he stayed on the PGA Tour after all.

In September 2006 at the Canadian Open, Rose led a PGA Tour tournament going into the final round for the first time. But slipped up with a final round 74 which moved him down the field. He went on to finish 2nd at the Disney Resort tournament and finished 47th on the money list with US$1.629 million in prize money. In November 2006 he won the Australian Masters, to claim his first title for four years. His renewed consistency, including a top 5 finish at the 2007 Masters has seen him surpass his previous best world ranking, by reaching number 26 on 8 April 2007.

He lost in a playoff at the 2007 BMW PGA Championship, but moved into the top twenty of the World Rankings for the first time, and by October had reached a new career high of 12 and became the top ranked British golfer. Rose won the European Tour Order of Merit title for 2007 in a thrilling climax to the season at the Volvo Masters, which he won in a playoff on 4 November. His new world ranking of number 7 made him the top-ranked European golfer for the first time, and he has since moved up to sixth in the rankings.

Rose married long-time girlfriend Kate Phillips, a British former international gymnast, in December 2006. They have a house in Lake Nona, Florida, and a riverside flat in the London suburb of Putney.

Amateur wins
1995 English Boys Stroke Play Championship, McGregor Trophy
1997 St Andrews Links Trophy
1998 Peter McEvoy Trophy

Professional wins (7)
European Tour (4)

2002 Dunhill Championship, Victor Chandler British Masters
2007 Australian Masters (co-sanctioned with PGA Tour of Australasia; 2006 calendar year, 2007 European Tour season), Volvo Masters
Sunshine Tour (1)

2002 Nashua Masters
Japan Golf Tour (1)

2002 The Crowns
Other (1)

2004 Bilt Skins (unofficial money event in India)

Team appearances
Amateur
Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1997
Jacques Leglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1997

Professional
World Cup (representing England): 2002, 2003, 2007
Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2003 (winners), 2007 (winners)

ShareThis

The course has hosted The Amateur Championship on three occasions, in 1912, 1925, and 1931.

ShareThis

Notable competitions
Since 1967, Hillside has hosted several prestigious championships. In the late 1970’s, the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship and The Amateur Championship were held; in the 1980’s the Sun Alliance PGA Championship and The Amateur Championship; in the 1990’s the English Open Amateur and the International European Amateur. The course is a highly regarded Qualifying venue for The Open, in fact some would say it is one of the best links courses never to have hosted The Open!

Reputation
Hillside is not short of accolades from the stars. Roger Pampling felt it was the hardest course he had ever played in the Qualifying for the 1998 Open, and Mark Calcavecchia thought the greens the best he had seen all year. The first nine holes on the 6,800 yard course were once described by Peter Alliss as ‘frightening, particularly when the wind blows from right to left’. There are plenty of testing holes to come though, set amongst the dunes and pine trees. Some are sheltered, set in natural amphitheatres, while the elevated tees produce that great golfing combination of a battle against the elements with spectacular scenery. Two holes that deserve a special mention are the eleventh and seventeenth. Both par 5s, they lead the golfer through a wonderful dune-lined valley, and are possibly the best holes of the entire round. The back nine holes were redesigned in the 1960’s and are outstanding, making the homeward journey a challenging one for golfers of all standards. It is no wonder that Hillside treasures a letter from Greg Norman, twice a winner of The Open, which describes the back nine holes as the best in Britain.

ShareThis

The club hosted The Amateur Championship in 1957, 1967, and 1984, and is scheduled to host again in 2009. The Curtis Cup was played there in 2004.

ShareThis

The club hosted The Open Championship in 1909 and 1920. The next two Opens scheduled to be held there, which were in 1938 and 1948 both had to be relocated when abnormally high tides inundated the course, and consequently the club was removed from the Open Championship rota. It has continued to host various other tournaments including The Amateur Championship and since 1925, it has hosted the Public Schools Championship every year.

Karen Stupples, winner of the 2004 Weetabix Women’s British Open, is a member of Royal Cinque Ports.

ShareThis

The 2006 Open was held at Royal Liverpool from the 20th to the 23rd of July. The course has had its layout changed slightly, so that the old 16th hole (a huge par 5) is now the 18th thus making the old 17 and 18 the first and second holes.

Important tournaments staged at Hoylake include:

The Open Championship: 1897, 1902, 1907, 1913, 1924, 1930, 1936, 1947, 1956, 1967, 2006
Walker Cup: 1983
Curtis Cup: 1992
The Amateur Championship: 1885 (the inaugural event), 1887, 1890, 1894, 1898, 1902, 1906, 1910, 1921, 1927, 1933, 1939, 1953, 1962, 1969, 1975, 1995, 2000
Ladies’ British Amateur Championship: 1896, 1989, 1996
The course has also hosted a number of professional tournaments, both on the European Tour and before the foundation of that Tour in 1972; many tournaments for ladies, seniors and boys; and various regional and representative events. It hosted The Open Championship for the first time in thirty nine years in 2006.

Winners of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club :

2006 Tiger Woods - United States
1967 Roberto DeVicenzo - Argentina
1956 Peter Thomson - Australia
1947 Fred Daly - Northern Ireland
1936 Alf Padgham - England
1930 Bobby Jones (amateur) - United States
1924 Walter Hagen - United States
1913 John Henry Taylor - England
1907 Arnaud Massy - France
1902 Sandy Herd - Scotland
1897 Harold Hilton - England

ShareThis