Sunningdale Golf Club

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Sunningdale Golf Club is an English golf club, located in Berkshire, just west of London.

[edit] History

Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 on Cobham Common, on land owned by St. John's College, Cambridge. The 18-hole course, set in a heathland area, with sandy subsoil amid mixed treed foliage, was designed by Willie Park, Jr., and was ready for play in 1901. It was perhaps the first instance of a golf course being combined with property development in England. 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.[1]

From the start, Sunningdale was well regarded, and has hosted many important events. Examples include several stagings of the British Masters in the 1940s and 1950s; the 1975 Colgate European Open (women's); the 1987 Walker Cup; and the 2004 Women's British Open. Bobby Jones had great fondness for Sunningdale. He scored 66-68 over it during qualifying for the 1926 British Open, 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 1922; it is also excellent and was designed by Harry Shapland Colt.[2]

One of the club's early professionals was Jack White, 1904 British Open champion. Nick Faldo has the course record on the Old course, with a round of 62.

A spectacular opening burst of scoring, with an eagle followed by an albatross on the two opening par-5 holes, was put together by English lady professional Karen Stupples, on her way to a final round of 64 and a win in the 2004 Women's British Open at Sunningdale (Old). This score of five under par after only two holes is believed to be a world record at any level of competition.[3]

Sunningdale's Old Course was ranked #12 among courses outside the United States by Golf Digest magazine in 2007.[4] Sunningdale Old was ranked #38 in the world by Golf Magazine in 2007.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The World Atlas of Golf, by Pat Ward-Thomas, Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, and Peter Thomson, London, Mitchell Beazley publishers, 1988 edition, ISBN 0855330880, p. 67.
  2. ^ The World Atlas of Golf, by Pat Ward-Thomas, Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, and Peter Thomson, London, Mitchell Beazley publishers, 1988 edition, ISBN 0855330880, pp. 67-69.
  3. ^ http://www.lpga.com, the Karen Stupples player profile.
  4. ^ 100 Best Courses Outside the U.S.: America's 100 Greatest: golfdigest.com
  5. ^ http://www.search.golf.com/top-courses-and-resorts/top-100-world-courses-2007.html