Double renovation at Sundridge Park

1 July 2009

This photomontage of the West course's sixth shows how the new bunkering might look

UK club Sundridge Park will begin a phased renovation of its two 18-hole courses this autumn, under the auspices of Swan Golf Designs.

The practice has recently completed blueprints for the management of the landscape and bunker strategy on both Sundridge’s East and West courses, following a detailed appraisal of both layouts, and is being retained by the club throughout the implementation of the improvements.

Bob Walden, Sundridge Park’s general manager, said: “We wanted to look to the future and make sure we were keeping pace with the modern game and its equipment. Also, like most clubs, we have criticism of bunkers from our members and we wanted to address those from a completely independent point of view.”

Sundridge has a unique setting: the venue proudly claims to be the nearest 36-hole golf club to a major metropolitan city, just seven miles from the centre of London, and is set in the grounds of the Sundridge Park Estate, designed by Humphry Repton, considered by many to be the last great English landscape designer of the 18th century.

The courses also boast an impressive design pedigree: the West Course was laid out by Willie Park under the supervision of James Braid while Sir Guy Campbell and Major CK Hutchinson – whose work as a team has been regularly recognised, including courses ranked in the UK’s top 100 – created the East Course.

Swan architect Nigel Henbury said: “This is a genuine classic that makes good use of the excellent topography of the site and the River Quaggy’s natural features, giving elements which will continue to stand the test of time. The Repton elements are indistinguishable but the aura just survives and the project has definitely been an enjoyable challenge to work on.”