Sunningdale Heath Golf Club in Ascot, England, has appointed design firm Clayton, DeVries & Pont (CDP) to advise on renovation work and to author a long-term course plan.
The club was founded in 1902 as Sunningdale Ladies Golf Club and originally had an eight-hole course. Harry Colt later designed an 18-hole layout for the club, on land adjacent to the front nine of the Old course at Sunningdale Golf Club. Except for a couple of small adjustments made by Molly Gourlay, the course remains as Colt designed it and plays as a par 58 of 3,700 yards.
Tom Reid and Kristian Baker, both directors and teaching professionals at Sunningdale Heath, said: “Since acquiring the club in 2019, it has been our intention to work with a leading course design company that specialises and truly appreciates the genius of Harry Colt. We intend, in a very sympathetic way, to renovate the course to allow us to achieve our ambition of creating one of the world’s finest short courses whilst staying true to Harry Colt’s design charter. At the same time, working with CDP, we will create a unique and captivating academy to help grow our already thriving coaching business.”
Mike Clayton and Bill Longmuir will be leading the project for CDP. Longmuir, a former European Tour professional, recently joined CDP’s London team to assist with client liaison and project management in the UK. He also currently holds a consultancy position at Les Bordes in France.
“Allied with Frank Pont’s immense knowledge of Colt’s courses and methodologies, the whole team will be involved in helping to improve the course over the coming years,” said Edward Cartwright, head of UK & Ireland operations at CDP.
“Although short in length, Harry Colt designed a course which is immensely fun to play and no pushover,” said Clayton. “The heathland upon which it sits is perfect for good golf.
“The club’s owners have exciting plans to improve both the course and the teaching facilities. I am very confident that we will be able to help bring the course into the twenty-first century whilst ensuring that it remains faithful to Colt’s design principles.”