XXXVI: Sunningdale (Old)
As golfers cast their mind over the golfing world, there are countries with a course to which their minds instantly leap– Scotland and The Old Course, Australia and Royal Melbourne, New Zealand and Tara Iti, Japan and Hirono- the aura of both club and course so iconically synonymous with the game’s landscape. As thoughts migrate to England, wavelengths become a little more scrambled – muddled by the diversity, volume and sheer quality of courses which straddle the coastline and cut through the heath. In a land graced with some of the world’s finest expressions of the game, Sunningdale, for its grandeur, endlessly stirring brand of golf and majestic sense of occasion, makes a compelling case for lying at the top of England’s heap.
One of golf's iconic scenes: Clubhouse, patio & the famous Oak
Amongst the world of golf there is an unequivocal, unanimous love and respect for Sunningdale – in a game which loves a debate, there may be no clearer stamp of approval – an indication that Sunningdale is just plain special. The adoration begins within the walls of its iconic stately clubhouse, clad with history to no end which makes any tour far too short. Admiration bleeds further onto one of golf’s great patios; the 18th green of the Old Course with Sunningdale’s famous Oak at its rear and miles of heather, pines, fairways and greens layering a view which yields golf in its finest and most alluring form.
The depth and allure of its off-course trimmings go a long way towards Sunningdale being one of the world’s finest clubs, however it’s the first tee of the Old Course, a mere flick of a wedge from the patio, which is the gateway to Sunningdale’s most compelling case of all.
Sunningdale Old beautifully matches scale and intimacy
The venerable Old Course is the rare breed of inland layout where the golf is born from the land, never going against its grain or fighting its features. Laid seamlessly across a canvas of epic scale which rivals Royal Melbourne’s West course, its landforms are grand and features bold, fostering an eclectic mix of drama and subtlety throughout its routing. Sunningdale’s rumples, curves and springy turf boast a handful of the most important characteristics of the great coastal links, however it was only due to Willie Park Jr.’s willingness to embrace the spirit of the seaside game that Sunningdale found itself at the forefront of conversations surrounding the UK’s finest inland course.
Central hazards and rolling terrain make for stunning predicaments
Complex puzzles with non-linear solutions are central to the endearment and thrills of links golf and through elements of blindness, daring central hazards, bold greens and elevation changes, Willie Park Jr. transplanted seaside predicaments and coastal appeal 50 miles inland to the South of London where Sunningdale presents a level of inspiring golf rarely touched. Today, Sunningdale Old lies as the jewel in heathland golf’s crown.
Contrary to the majority of the UK’s finest courses, the Old’s most compelling land bleeds out from the first tee, shaping an opening ten holes which could go toe to toe with any across the globe.
Heathland golf doesn't get much prettier
Holes 1-3
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Half-par is the theme for the opening trio, presenting a handshake par five straight out of the gates with three heath-laden mounds the crux of its defence. Almost matching the length of the three-shot opener, the sweeping dogleg left second is smothered by heather on its inside from the tee and with a clever putting surface which traces the tilt of the land towards its back edge, an approach that tumbles to the flag is the best accepted currency.
Amongst its immense scale, much of the Old Course’s appeal lies in its ability to retain an intimate feel, feeding into its remarkable sense of place and the wooded third perfectly encapsulates this. Drivable in theory, the left to right tilt of the green and a pair of bunkers up the right dominate the strategy of the hole, where any bail out left from the tee leaves a near impossible task of stopping the ball on the green, whilst anything which covers the central hazards gains the ideal angle – classic strategy.
The gorgeously simple third
Holes 4-6
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The fourth and fifth famously uses both sides of a sandhill to excellent effect. Uphill one-shotters may be the most underutilised design feature and the fourth is a stirring rendition at 150 yards to a perched green loaded with contour and guarded by two bunkers carved into the hillside. The fifth tee yields one of the game’s most famous vistas which brings the grandeur of Sunningdale’s scale to life, diving from a hilltop to a fairway busied up by a pair of bunkers, a pond and a lone mound just shy of the green which obscures approaches from the left side. With the best line of approach coming from the right side which brings bunkers and pond into play, the fifth is as thought provoking as it is thrilling which stands to reason it as one of the world’s most endearing two-shot holes.
With heather attractively slicing through its heart and carving out an island fairway, the par four sixth and its pair of forced carries stands out as particularly stout at Sunningdale, where its playable for all ethos is briefly bypassed in favour of a firm hand.
The fifth tee in all its glory
Holes 7 & 10
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Park Jr’s willingness to direct tee shots over the top of ridges and introduce elements of blindness makes Sunningdale all the more enthralling- the seventh its greatest benefactor. Teeing blindly into the abyss, the view which greets golfers cresting the hill is one of sheer magic as the fairway tumbles, winds and turns to a green site benched beautifully into the base of a hill – amidst a flood of magical two-shotters, this may well be the headliner.
The magical reveal of the approach into seven
​The view from the 10th tee is one of majesty, perfectly illustrating Sunningdale’s matching of scale and intimacy. Plunging from a hilltop tee to a fairway littered with bunkers and framed elegantly by pines, the 10th is one of few which follow a downhill tee shot with an uphill approach.
The grandeur of the 10th tee
As the rollicking land subsides, the Old course marches on with relentless quality, each hole an intricate puzzle. The 11th and 12th make a rousing pair, matching up blindness and a sharp elbowing dogleg and the necklace of bunkers which hang through the heart of the 16th fairway make a unique hazard. It is however the closing duo of 17 and 18 which linger longest in the memory, not least for the growing presence of the clubhouse as golfers head for home – a grandiose finish which could never grow old.​
The 17th green with the 18th and clubhouse looming
A walk that never tires and golf which never stalls, Sunningdale is a place which just has that special something. The world’s most beautiful inland course is one which screams golf at every corner as golfers are inundated with the open-ended predicaments and stimulating puzzles typically reserved for the seaside. There’s nothing quite like Sunningdale Old, it’s quite simply magnificent.