Walton Heath Golf Club

Club information
Coordinates51°16′41″N 0°14′38″W / 51.278°N 0.244°W / 51.278; -0.244
LocationSurrey, England
Established1903; 122 years ago (1903)
TypePrivate
Total holes36
Events hostedU.S. Open Qualifying,
Ryder Cup (1981),
European Open (1978–91),
Senior Open Championship (2011) ,
AIG Women's Open (2023)
Websitewww.waltonheath.com
Old Course
Designed byHerbert Fowler
Par72
Length7,406 yd (6,772 m)
New Course
Designed byHerbert Fowler
Par72
Length7,199 yd (6,583 m)

Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas of rough.[1]

The Old Course opened in 1904, and (as of 2009) has a championship length of 7,406 yards (6,772 m). The New Course opened as a 9-hole course in 1907 and was extended to 18 holes in 1913; its championship length in 2009 was 7,199 yards (6,583 m). Both were designed by Herbert Fowler, who later designed numerous courses in the United Kingdom and United States.

Walton Heath has had a long association with royalty and politics, with Edward, Prince of Wales having been the club's first captain in 1935, and former United Kingdom Prime Ministers David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Bonar Law and Arthur Balfour all having been members. The club has also only ever had four club professionals, including five time British Open champion James Braid who held the post from 1904 until 1950.[1]

Both courses at Walton Heath have been consistently rated in the UK's top 100 courses, with the Old Course also being rated as one of the top 100 in the world.[2]

Tournaments

Walton Heath has been the venue of a number of national amateur tournaments and championships. It has also hosted several high profile professional events including the 1981 Ryder Cup, when it stepped in as a replacement venue after construction at The Belfry had not been completed in time.[3] The club also hosted five editions of the European Open, a European Tour event, between 1978 and 1991.[4]

Since 2005, Walton Heath has been the venue for the U.S. Open European qualifying tournament.[5] In the first year, New Zealander Michael Campbell qualified at Walton Heath, and went on to win the Open at Pinehurst.[6]

Walton Heath hosted The Senior Open Championship, one of the five majors recognised by the Champions Tour, the world's dominant tour for golfers 50 and older, from 21–24 July 2011.[7] The event was eventually won by Russ Cochran. Walton Heath hosted the British Masters on the European Tour in October 2018, won by Eddie Pepperell and the Women's British Open in 2023, won by Lilia Vu.

Scorecard

  • Old Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Purple M:75.7 / 135 235 461 289 519 485 440 190 588 400 3,607 442 222 396 529 564 426 535 206 479 3,799 7,406
White M:72.7 / 131 235 451 289 441 391 427 174 494 400 3,302 399 189 371 512 510 408 510 181 404 3,484 6,786
Green M:70.6 / 126 195 438 279 430 381 390 158 476 367 3,114 386 168 343 497 485 371 448 155 397 3,250 6,364
Red M:68.8 / 119
W:74.4 / 135 		217 425 274 425 333 390 141 418 355 2,978 327 132 291 457 469 331 433 141 378 2,959 5,937
Blue M:67.5 / 112
W:72.8 / 129 		193 420 220 425 329 329 139 414 344 2,813 325 128 289 455 414 328 428 113 324 2,804 5,617
Par 3 4/5 4 4/5 4 4 3 5 4 35/37 4 3 4 5 5 4 5 3 4 37 72/74

The 2nd & 4th hole are par 5 for ladies.

  • New Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Purple M:74.8 / 131 286 147 425 343 468 183 389 510 484 3,235 202 440 490 570 412 413 607 396 434 3,964 7,199
White M:72.3 / 125 286 138 419 288 461 171 389 493 455 3,100 189 394 421 497 412 403 511 353 368 3,548 6,648
Green M:70.4 / 119 280 120 410 250 422 163 374 483 441 2,943 150 374 411 469 400 375 491 310 355 3,335 6,278
Red M:68.6 / 117
W:74.2 / 132 		277 107 393 223 459 133 309 458 423 2,782 138 337 389 443 366 335 477 290 350 3,125 5,907
Par 4 3 4 4 4/5 3 4 5 4/5 35 3 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 37 72/74
Blue M:66.2 / 106
W:71.2 / 120 		253 108 376 176 408 126 302 444 385 2,578 133 328 347 402 359 322 478 247 286 2,902 5,480
Par Blue Tee's  Par 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 34 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 36 70

The 5th & 9th hole are par 5 for ladies (except for Blue tee) .

References

  1. ^ a b Farrell, Andy (17 December 2003). "Walton Heath's history reveals treasure trove of characters". The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Europeans fight for US Open spots". BBC Sport. 5 June 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  3. ^ "Ryder Cup history: 1981". BBC Sport. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  4. ^ "European Open – Past Winners". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  5. ^ "England to hold US Open qualifier". BBC Sport. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  6. ^ "Hard graft pays off for Campbell". BBC Sport. 20 June 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  7. ^ On this championship , 16 holes of the Old Course (except for 1st & 3rd hole) ; as the 1st - 11th , 14th - 18th , and 2 holes of the New Course (12th & 13th hole) were used. The 3 Par-5 holes (13th (the New Course's 13th hole) , 14th , and 16th hole) were changed to long Par 4 hole.