Sunningdale GC - 10th fairway as seen from the green

Sunningdale Golf Club is a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

club in

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a large village with a retail area and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England. It has a railway station on the (London) Waterloo to Reading ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, located approximately west-southwest of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 and has two eighteen hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s: the Old Course, designed by

Willie Park Jr. William Park Jr. (4 February 1864 – 22 May 1925) was a Scottish professional golfer. He won The Open Championship twice. Park was also a successful golf equipment maker and golf writer. In his later years, Park built a significant career as o ...

, and the New Course, designed by

Harry Colt Henry Shapland "Harry" Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect born in Highgate, England. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison L ...

, which opened in 1923. Sunningdale has hosted many prestigious events in golf, including the

British Masters The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently therea ...

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

, and

The Senior Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

. From 2004 to 2013, Europe's International Final Qualifying tournament for

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

was held over both the Old and New courses at Sunningdale. It hosted the Seniors Amateur Championship in 2017.

History

Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 on Chobham Common, on land owned by

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. Its first Secretary was Harry Colt, who went on to design golf courses of international renown, such as the New Course at Sunningdale, Ealing, and Swinley Forest. Colt was highly influential in the creation of the

Pine Valley Golf Club Pine Valley Golf Club is a golf course in Pine Valley, Camden County, in southern New Jersey. It was ranked the number one course in ''Golf Magazines 100 Top Courses in the U.S. and the World in 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2020. It is a private cl ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, widely acknowledged as one of the best golf courses in the world. The original 18-hole course, set in a

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

area, with sandy subsoil amid mixed treed foliage, was designed by

, and was ready for play in 1901. It was also among the first successful courses located away from the seaside, as many people had thought at the time that turf would not grow well in such regions. From the start, Sunningdale was well regarded and has hosted many important events. Examples include

News of the World Match Play The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the ''News of the World'', and was commonly known b ...

in 1903, 1907, 1912, and 1922; several stagings of the

in the 1940s and 1950s; the 1974–79

Colgate European Open The Colgate European Open was a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1974 to 1979.Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

; the 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1992 European Open and the 1997, 2001, 2004, and 2008

. The Open Championship, International Final Qualifying has been held annually over the Old and New Courses since 2004. It was also the venue of the 2009

Senior British Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

, which was won by

Loren Roberts Loren Lloyd Roberts (born June 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Early life Roberts was born in San Luis Obispo, California. He competed for San Luis Obispo Senior High Scho ...

. It hosted the Senior Open Championship again in July 2015, the winner being

Marco Dawson Marco Dawson (born November 17, 1963) is an American professional golfer who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions, having previously played on the PGA Tour. He won the 2015 Senior Open Championship. Dawson was born on a United States military ba ...

. Bobby Jones had great fondness for Sunningdale. He scored 66-68 over it during qualifying for the 1926

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, with the 66 consisting of 33 full strokes and 33 putts, with every hole played in either 3 or 4; this has sometimes been described as the perfect round of golf. Jones said afterwards: "I wish I could take this course home with me." The original course is now called the Old Course, with the club having opened the New Course in 1923; it is also excellent and was designed by

. Colt was also the first secretary of Sunningdale, and recollections of his days at the club are described in ''Sheridan of Sunningdale'', a unique history of the early years of Sunningdale, which was written in 1967 by Jimmy Sheridan, caddie master at Sunningdale for 56 years from 1910. The book is available on Kindle. The club's first professional was

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, winner of the 1904 Open Championship, played at Royal St. George's. The course record on the Old Course is 62, jointly held by

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

at the 1986 European Open and

Shane Lowry Shane Lowry (born 2 April 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, and the 2015 WGC-Bridg ...

in the first round of Open Championship qualifying in 2010.

Graeme Storm Graeme Raymond Storm (born 13 March 1978) is an English professional golfer. Career Storm was born in Hartlepool. He learnt his trade at Hartlepool Golf Club, where he still holds the course record of 62. He won The Amateur Championship in 19 ...

holds the course record on the New Course, a 62 recorded during the Open Championship, International Final Qualifying, Europe, 2009. In the final round of the

2004 Women's British Open The 2004 Women's British Open was held 29 July to 1 August at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England. It was the 28th edition of the Women's British Open, and the fourth as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. TNT Sports, ABC Sports and ...

at Sunningdale (Old), eventual winner, English professional

Karen Stupples Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

began her round with an eagle followed by an

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

on the two opening par-5 holes. This score of five under par after only two holes is believed to be a world record at any level of competition. Like many golf courses in Britain, Sunningdale is

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

-friendly; canines are very welcome to accompany their owners on the course, provided they can conduct themselves reasonably. Halfway on the course is a refreshment hut known for its sausages and other victuals.

Tournaments

Senior Open Championship

Women's British Open

British Masters

:''Bolded years signify major championship''

In popular culture

* The course is the site of the murder in "The Sunningdale Mystery", one of the short stories in ''Partners in Crime'', a collection by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

. *

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

and Bill Tanner play a round of golf on the New Course in the opening chapter of the 1968 James Bond

continuation novel A continuation novel is a canonical sequel novel with continuity in the style of an established series, produced by a new author after the original author's death. Continuation novels may be official, produced with the permission of the late au ...

, ''

Colonel Sun ''Colonel Sun'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis published by Jonathan Cape on 28 March 1968 under the pseudonym "Robert Markham". ''Colonel Sun'' is the first James Bond continuation novel published after Ian Fleming's 1964 death. Before writing th ...

'', written by

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

under the pseudonym, " Robert Markham".Stone, Aug.
''The Curious Case Of Colonel Sun: Kingsley Amis's Missing Bond Novel''
4 November 2012. ''The Quietus''.

References

External links

*
ESPN video
- Dogs welcome at Sunningdale {{Authority control Golf clubs and courses in Berkshire Sports venues completed in 1900 Walker Cup venues 1900 establishments in England