The county of Herefordshire situated in the West Midlands of England is famous for its hilly landscape, scenic views and picturesque market towns. Bordering Wales it has a heritage filled with Cider production and cattle rearing that is renowned throughout the world. It is less known for its wonderful golf courses yet these are something that should be enjoyed by everyone. There is a common theme in the golf courses throughout Herefordshire; they are all jam-packed with striking views of the countryside, while providing enjoyable golfing tests for every level of player. (more…)

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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. (more…)

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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……

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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. (more…)

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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. (more…)

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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