Wentworth Club

History

A 19th-century house named the "Wentworths" (now the clubhouse for Wentworth Club) was the residence of the brother-in-law of the 1st Duke of Wellington. It was purchased in 1850 by an exiled Spanish Carlist military commander, Ramón Cabrera, 1st Count of Morella (Carlist title) and 1st Marquis of Ter (Bourbon title), and his heiress wife.

After the death of Cabrera in 1877, his widow (née Catherine Anne Vaughn-Richards) bought up the surrounding lands under The Cabrera Trust to safeguard the meadows, brooks and trees (planted from her travels on the continent with her gentrified husband) to form what has become the heart of the Wentworth Estate.

In 1912, builder W. G. Tarrant had started developing St George's Hill in Weybridge – a development of houses based on minimum 1 acre plots around a golf course. In 1922, Tarrant acquired the development rights for the Wentworth Estate, getting Harry Colt to design a golf course around the "Wentworths" house. Tarrant erected large residences on the estate using a similar Surrey formula to that used at St George's Hill. However, the development of the Wentworth Estate ground to a halt due to the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s. In 1931, when the banks asked for repayment of a large debenture, Tarrant was forced to declare bankruptcy. Ownership of the land passed to Wentworth Estates Ltd, which came under the control of Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company.

In 1988, Elliott Bernerd's property investment company Chelsfield bought Wentworth Golf Club for £17.7 million (also reported as £20 million). Bernerd sold 40% of the club to Japanese investors, raising £32 million, in 1989. In 2004, Chelsfield sold the remaining 60% share, as fashion industry entrepreneur Richard Caring bought the club for £130 million. In 2014 Caring sold the club for £135m to Beijing-based Reignwood Investments (a holding company associated with billionaire Yan Bin), which has made the club more exclusive by cutting the number of members and raising the fees. Current debentures cost £175,000 and the annual fees is £16,000.

Today

Wentworth Club is best known for its associations with professional golf. It has three eighteen-hole courses: the famous Harry Colt-designed West Course from 1926, the earlier yet lesser-played East Course, which was also designed by Colt in 1924, the recent Edinburgh Course designed by John Jacobs, and a nine-hole par-3 executive course.

The headquarters of the PGA European Tour is located at the club, and each year it hosts the Tour's PGA Championship. It was the venue of the 1953 Ryder Cup and of the World Match Play Championship from 1964 until 2007.

The club is surrounded by and entwined with the Wentworth Estate, one of the most expensive private estates in the London suburbs, which was built simultaneously, where many top golfers and other celebrities have homes. One of them is Ernie Els, who became the club's "world-wide touring professional" in 2005. Over the winter of 2005-06 Els, who was developing a golf course design practice, made alterations to the West Course, lengthening it by 310 yd and adding 30 bunkers.

Wentworth also has a tennis and health club. The Wentworth Tennis and Health Club comprises a gymnasium, dance studio, health spa, ozone swimming pool and Jacuzzi, crèche facilities, changing rooms, and a café. The extensive facility was completed in 1999 for £9 million by architects Broadway Malyan.

Golf courses

West Course

• Opened: 1926
• Architect: Harry Colt (redesigned from 2005 to 2017 by Ernie Els)
• Par: 72
• Length: 7284 yd
• Course Record: 62, Robert Karlsson, Thomas Bjørn, Alex Norén
• Key tournaments: HSBC World Match Play Championship, 1964 – 2007: BMW PGA Championship, 1984 – present: Ryder Cup, 1953: World Cup 1956

West Course Scorecard

East Course

• Opened: 1924
• Architect: Harry Colt
• Par: 68
• Length: 6201 yd
• Course Record: 62, Doug N Sewell
• Key tournaments: inaugural Curtis Cup, 1932; friendly match between US and GB&I (forerunner to Ryder Cup) 1926. East Course Scorecard

Edinburgh Course

• Opened: 1990
• Architect: John Jacobs (with Gary Player and Bernard Gallacher)
• Par: 72
• Length: 7004 yd
• Course Record: 67, Gary Orr
• Tournaments held: Wentworth Senior Masters Edinburgh Course Scorecard

Executive Course (9 Holes)

• Par: 27
• Length: 1902 yd

References

References

1. "Wentworth Club, Surrey, England". Reignwood Group.
2. [http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=38&coll_id=3174&expand= Archives Network Wales – The de Morella Collection]
3. [http://www.achome.co.uk/biographies/wgtarrant.htm Books, Research and Information – Arts & Crafts Home]
4. "Chelsfield PLC History".
5. (1 March 1992). "UK: Profile - Elliott Bernerd - Property Dealer and Head of Chelsfield". Management Today.
6. Tomkinson, Martin. (2011-10-22). "Profile: Just par for his course: For Elliott Bernerd, acquiring the Wentworth golf club marked another great round in a career of spectacular deals".
7. (2 March 2021). "The rich vs the very, very rich: the Wentworth golf club rebellion". The Guardian.
8. "HSBC World Matchplay". Wentworth Club.
9. (22 February 2006). "Golfing gossip". BBC News.
10. "Troup Bywaters + Anders".
11. "Wentworth – West Course".