75 The Wisley might be considered a best-in-class example of that style and the club has retained a full membership and healthy waiting list in its near-35 years since opening. The membership’s commitment to continual improvement has ensured that funds have always been made available for a wide range of course projects, from small enhancements to major developments. In recent years, however, there has been a change in approach. Course updates had very much been memberled, with a small number of typically low-handicap golfers having a large say in how the layout should evolve. Such work was done under the watchful eye of Bruce Charlton from the Robert Trent Jones II firm, with a focus on fulfilling the client’s requirements. Now, the club has decided that the course design should be further entrusted to the experts, so this latest renovation is much more a reflection of Charlton’s own philosophies. A highly experienced team was assembled to lead the project: director of golf course maintenance John Lockyer, who has been at The Wisley for 11 years and was previously an STRI agronomist; construction firm MJ Abbott, which this year celebrated 60 years in business; shaper Bob Harrington, whose history with RTJ II stretches back to the 1980s; and drainage consultant Jonathan Smith of Geo Turf Consulting. The club’s chief executive David Shepherd, previously at the helm of The Scandinavian, provides calm and pragmatic oversight, having picked up the reins from John Glendenning, who left the club in 2023 for a new role in Canada. Now complete, the Garden nine renovation demonstrates that less can be more for both visual appeal and course strategy. Notably, the number of hazards has been reduced; they are now more striking and space has been freed for more playing options. This is evident from the outset, with the bunker count on the par-five first reduced from nine to five. A single, large hazard provides a line from the tee and encourages a soft draw around the dogleg, while a cluster of three hazards tighten the landing area for those opting to lay-up their second. The green (reshaped during the renovation, as was the third) is now flanked by a single bunker, leaving space for an extended bailout area, over the stream that cuts across the fairway, but shortleft of the putting surface. Before, decision-making was black or white: either execute the necessary shot or fail. Now, there are shades of grey. On the second, a par-four of modest length, three hazards have been shifted from the side to the centre of the fairway, providing at least four ways to play the tee shot and demanding that the golfer maps out their strategy for the hole before selecting a club. As play continues with holes alongside the Wey – over which lies one of the UK’s five Royal Horticultural Society gardens, from which the nine took its THE WISLEY The par-three third is, along with the first, one of two holes on the Garden nine to have a reshaped green Photo: Kevin Murray
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