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Royal St George's
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Sunningdale
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Swinley Forest
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Berkshire
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Walton Heath
Royal St George's Golf Course has some unique features, thatched roof shelters, the bunker on the 4th hole cut into a huge dune, and the Uk's tallest and deepest bunker. The Club occupies a unique place in the history of golf, for it was here in 1894, that the Open Championship was first played outside Scotland.
Sunningdale’s Old Course was designed by twice the winner of The Open Championship, Diagonal, and visual hazards were favored by Park Jnr and examples of these can be seen across the course, with cross bunkers, ditches, and heather banks framing many holes.
The Swinley Forest golf course designed by Harry Colt, its layout carves its way through spectacular heathland vistas framed by heather, pine woods, azaleas, and rhododendrons. With its combination of 2 par 5s, 11 par 4s, and 5 par 3s, Swinley plays deceptively long, and its undulating greens deliver an extra test of skill to all comers. Off the back tees, Swinley measures 6431 yards with a par of 69.
The Blue Course in Berkshire, unusually, starts with a par 3 (pictured), but it is a magnificent start and one which instantly confronts the golfer with the skill of Fowler’s design. The green sits on a mound, more than 200 yards away across a sea of heather. There is trouble short and right of the green, to catch a weakly hit slice and back left of the green to punish the hooked shot which is likely to go too long.
Walton Heath’s Old Course has featured in the World’s Top 100 rankings every year since its inception in 1938. This is a par 72 championship course that stretches to 7406 yards, though a more accommodating 6786 yards off the daily tees. Most of the yardage will seem to happen in the first six holes, which is as tough a start as you will find.
