London Golf Club

The London Golf Club
Club information
LocationAsh, Kent, England
Established1993[1]
TypeSemi-Private Members Club
Owned byBendinat Group[2][3]
Total holes36
Events hostedEuropean Open
Volvo World Match Play Championship
PGA Seniors Championship
Cazoo Classic
Websitewww.londongolf.co.uk
The Heritage Course
Designed byJack Nicklaus
Par72
Length7,208
Course record63 Ross Fisher (2008)
The International Course
Designed byRon Kirby
Par72
Length7,005
Course record63 Colin Montgomerie (2018)
63 Philip Golding (2018)
63 Peter Scott (2018)

The London Golf Club is a privately owned[2] golf course located in the village of Ash, Kent, approximately 20 miles southeast of London.[4]

History

The golf club was originally developed by the Japanese businessman Masao Nagahara,[5] in response to a perceived need for a world class golf course in the vicinity of London[1] and purportedly at the behest of Margaret Thatcher.[5] Although the club was originally opened in September 1993 by Sir Denis Thatcher,[1] the official course opening was in July 1994 and was accompanied by a charity skins match between Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tony Jacklin.[1] After the original owners experienced financial difficulties,[6] the course was purchased in 2003 by the Bendinat group (who also own the Royal Bendinat Golf Club in Mallorca[2]) for an undisclosed sum.[2][3] Since the purchase, the club has hosted numerous tournaments on both the European Senior Tour and the European Tour, including the 2014 Volvo World Match Play Championship and the 2018 and 2019 PGA Seniors Championship.

Courses

The Heritage Course

The Heritage Course was designed by Jack Nicklaus[7] one of only three courses in England under his name.[8]

The Heritage 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
Blue 74 / 113 398 412 194 384 541 454 187 563 448 3581 426 208 531 338 443 548 465 225 443 3627 7208
White 72 / 113 382 387 170 361 516 422 159 536 421 3354 408 175 502 311 424 523 440 210 424 3417 6771
Yellow 70 / 113 360 364 149 338 491 402 141 503 401 3149 380 157 468 280 408 496 406 191 398 3184 6333
Par 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 5 4 36 4 3 5 4 4 5 4 3 4 36 72
Ladies' 74 / 113 328 323 127 299 477 357 132 470 359 2872 332 138 454 249 358 472 377 152 355 2887 5759
Par Ladies' 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 5 4 36 4 3 5 4 4 5 4 3 4 36 72

The International Course

The International Course was designed by Ron Kirby under the banner of Nicklaus Design.[9] He has been quoted as describing the 13th hole as "the best par 5 hole I have ever created".[9]

The International 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
Blue 74 / 113 568 373 449 197 406 592 367 201 463 3616 373 552 190 532 198 368 405 229 542 3389 7005
White 71 / 113 547 349 430 197 378 555 345 186 440 3427 357 527 177 501 173 340 376 207 509 3167 6594
Yellow 69 / 113 524 326 399 177 346 518 325 173 409 3197 333 495 161 475 155 309 350 184 482 2944 6141
Par 5 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 36 4 5 3 5 3 4 4 3 5 36 72
Ladies' 73 / 113 453 283 359 148 320 492 292 159 367 2873 297 446 136 423 132 273 327 159 428 2621 5494
Par Ladies' 5 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 36 4 5 3 5 3 4 4 3 5 36 72

Tournaments

European Open

The European Open was held over the Heritage course in 2008 and 2009.[10]

Year Winner Country Score To par Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
2009 Christian Cévaër  France 281 −7 1 stroke Scotland Gary Orr
Spain Álvaro Quirós
England Steve Webster
2008 Ross Fisher  England 268 −20 7 strokes Spain Sergio García

Volvo World Matchplay Championship

The Volvo World Match Play Championship was held on the International course in 2014.[10]

Year Winner Country Score Runner-up
2014 Mikko Ilonen  Finland 3 & 1 Sweden Henrik Stenson

PGA Seniors Championship

The PGA Seniors Championship, now under the name of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship was held over the International Course in both 2018 and 2019.[10]

Year Winner Country Score Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
2019 Phillip Price  Wales 271 (−17) 2 strokes New Zealand Michael Campbell
South Africa James Kingston
Australia Peter Lonard
2018 Philip Golding  England 270 (−18) 2 strokes Sweden Magnus Persson Atlevi

London Seniors Masters

The London Seniors Masters was held over the Heritage Course in 1995 and 2005–2007[10]

Year Winner Country Score Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
2007 Sam Torrance (2)  Scotland 206(-10) 1 stroke Spain José Rivero
2006 Giuseppe Calì  Italy 210(−6) Playoff Jamaica Delroy Cambridge
2005 Sam Torrance  Scotland 201(-15) 3 strokes England David J. Russell
1995 John Bland  England 210(-6) 4 strokes England Tony Grubb
South Africa Hugh Inggs
England John Morgan
South Africa Bobby Verwey

References

  1. ^ a b c d "London Golf Club - Kent Golf - The History". www.londongolf.co.uk.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bendinat buys London". GolfBusinessNews.com.
  3. ^ a b "London Golf Club - Bendinat". www.londongolf.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Play Golf". www.golfinkent.co.uk.
  5. ^ a b "Golf: Golden Bear finds new cave in Garden of England: Jack Nicklaus". The Independent. 15 May 1993.
  6. ^ Reece, Damian (2 February 2003). "Japanese seeking buyer for the London Golf Club" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  7. ^ "The London Golf Club - The Heritage". Nicklaus Design.
  8. ^ "Courses". Nicklaus Design.
  9. ^ a b "London Golf Club (International) - Kent - Best In County Golf Course". www.top100golfcourses.com.
  10. ^ a b c d "London Golf Club - Tournaments". www.londongolf.co.uk.

51°20′46″N 0°17′19″E / 51.3460°N 0.2886°E / 51.3460; 0.2886