60 Routed by one architect, earthmoving largely overseen by the client, and greens and bunkers designed by another architect. The recipe for The Inspiration Club’s new layout in west London, little more than five miles from Heathrow Airport, is not, in truth, all that inspiring. Building a golf course unarguably takes a village, but general wisdom holds that, of that village, one vision must drive the project forward. Given that, to find that the Inspiration is really rather good is a very pleasant surprise. The course has been developed by the Bridgedown Group, headed by former fashion industry entrepreneur Tony Menai-Davis. He also built The Shire in north London, which opened in 2007, and is also currently working on The Legacy Club, formerly known as the Dye London before the deaths of father and son Pete and Perry Dye. The group also owns the West London Golf Centre, a driving range, nine-hole course and adventure golf complex, across the Ruislip Road from the Inspiration. Menai-Davis, a cheerful, charming and pleasant man, is far from the stereotypical image of a British ‘golf guy’, and the success of his various ventures – The Shire has been profitable throughout its life – suggests that this is probably a good thing. The single most remarkable thing about the Inspiration is its site. Located just to the south of the A40 Western Avenue, opposite RAF Northolt and the memorial to the Polish airmen who died in the Second World War, it is no more than 12 miles from Charing Cross, classically viewed as the centre of London. Yet it is really rather peaceful. There is inevitably some road noise, though a lot less than one might imagine, and when a plane takes off from Northolt it is in clear view from just about the whole course, but overall the Inspiration will be a relaxing place to play golf. It doesn’t feel suburban; especially at the far end of the course, the feeling is genuinely one of being out in nature. It is quite remarkable that a property like this has survived undeveloped – it used to be farmland – for all this time. The Menai-Davis family has been working on the project for a long time. The golf course was routed in 2005 by Trajectory, the design firm owned and headed by Seve Ballesteros, which also designed The Shire, and the planning consent dates back more than a decade. Trajectory ceased to exist after Seve’s death in 2011, so Menai-Davis had to find a new design solution for the property. Initially, he found it close to home. Very close to home, in fact. On assessing the site and its challenges, Menai-Davis concluded that a linkslike theme for the golf course was “ Inspiration will be a relaxing place to play golf. It doesn’t feel suburban; especially at the far end of the course, the feeling is genuinely one of being out in nature” INSPIRATION CLUB
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