London Golf Club

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]

The London Golf Club
Club information
LocationAsh, Kent, England
Established1993[1]
TypeSemi-Private Members Club
Owned byBendinat Group[2][3]
Total holes36
Tournaments hostedEuropean Open,
Volvo World Match Play Championship,
PGA Seniors Championship
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)

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 3984121943845414541875634483581 42620853133844354846522544336277208
White 72 / 113 3823871703615164221595364213354 40817550231142452344021042434176771
Yellow 70 / 113 3603641493384914021415034013149 38015746828040849640619139831846333
Par 44345435436 4354454343672
Ladies' 74 / 113 3283231272994773571324703592872 33213845424935847237715235528875759
Par Ladies' 44345435436 4354454343672

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 12th 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 5683734491974065923672014633616 37355219053219836840522954233897005
White 71 / 113 5473494301973785553451864403427 35752717750117334037620750931676594
Yellow 69 / 113 5243263991773465183251734093197 33349516147515530935018448229446141
Par 54434543436 4535344353672
Ladies' 73 / 113 4532833591483204922921593672873 29744613642313227332715942826215494
Par Ladies' 54434543436 4535344353672

Tournaments

European Open

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

YearWinnerCountryScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-up
2009Christian Cévaër France281−71 stroke Gary Orr
Álvaro Quirós
Steve Webster
2008Ross Fisher England268−207 strokes 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
2014Mikko Ilonen Finland3 & 1 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]

YearWinnerCountryScoreMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-up
2019Phillip Price Wales271 (−17)2 strokes Michael Campbell
James Kingston
Peter Lonard
2018Philip Golding England270 (−18)2 strokes Magnus Persson Atlevi

London Seniors Masters

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

YearWinnerCountryScoreMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-up
2007Sam Torrance (2) Scotland206(-10)1 stroke José Rivero
2006Giuseppe Calì Italy210(−6)Playoff Delroy Cambridge
2005Sam Torrance Scotland201(-15)3 strokes David J Russell
1995John Bland England210(-6)4 strokes Tony Grubb
Hugh Inggs
John Morgan
Bobby Verwey
gollark: It's hypercryobeeoidal ultraparsing.
gollark: Testbot, take Gaussian integer rakes.
gollark: Testbot, take complex rakes.
gollark: Testbot, take fake rakes.
gollark: Testbot, take -0.9 magenta.

References
  1. "London Golf Club - Kent Golf - The History". www.londongolf.co.uk.
  2. "Bendinat buys London". GolfBusinessNews.com.
  3. "London Golf Club - Bendinat". www.londongolf.co.uk.
  4. "Play Golf". www.golfinkent.co.uk.
  5. "Golf: Golden Bear finds new cave in Garden of England: Jack Nicklaus". The Independent. May 15, 1993.
  6. Reece, Damian (February 2, 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. "London Golf Club (International) - Kent - Best In County Golf Course". www.top100golfcourses.com.
  10. "London Golf Club - Tournaments". www.londongolf.co.uk.

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