feb29 kingswood

The 80-year-old championship golf course at Surrey’s Kingswood Golf and Country Club is currently undergoing a whole-scale redevelopment that, when finished, will bring it firmly up to date as a superb all-round test for the modern golfer.

As part of a major programme of investment by the club’s owners, the original James Braid course is being renovated under the direction of highly-respected English architect Howard Swan, who is a great fan of James Braid and has been widely praised for his renovation of the Braid course at Goodwood

Braid designed the original course at Kingswood back in the 1920s, and while it remains a classic Surrey parkland course, the simple passing of time have meant that the course was not placing the same exacting demands on players as it did when Braid first completed it.

Although the 6,900-yard layout has never been short, modern driver and golf ball technology has made some of the hazards, especially the fairway bunkering, somewhat redundant.

Swan’s Essex-based company, Swan Golf Designs, carried out a comprehensive analysis in 2008 and made recommendations for its renovation to make it a better test for today’s golfers.

Following an extensive appraisal of the entire course, Swan and his team saw that the bunkering presented the most significant opportunity to add an all-important element of ‘risk and reward’ to the course.

The new bunker strategy will make it not only a more searching test, but one that requires a great deal more thought in order to score well.

As well as moving bunkers further up the fairway and removing others that have become redundant, Swan has used the very latest in technology to reshape existing bunkers into what he describes as ‘curvelinear’ shapes, making them more visually appealing and improving sightlines into greens. 

Following the first set of changes, the 494-yard, par five fifth is now arguably the course’s signature hole, with five new bunkers, including a trio of diagonal cross bunkers dotting the fairway where many players would traditionally land their approach shots.

Up at the green, the two bunkers guarding the front have been skillfully reshaped to make them more of a feature, as well as trap those who under-club their approach.

New tees are also being created as part of the project, increasing the length of the course from the championship tees to 6,960 yards.

Kingwood’s owner, Tom Hilliard, who also owns and operates Silvermere Golf and Leisure in nearby Cobham, is excited at the improvements, and is eager to progress to the next stage in the programme of upgrades.

He said: “The original course was designed by James Braid in the 1920s, so that layout now needs to evolve to meet the standards of the modern golfer. Changes need to be sensitively and professionally managed, with results that are natural but at the same time distinctive and challenging. We want, however, to retain and enhance that James Braid legacy. “

The club is keen for golfers who haven’t played Kingswood for a while, or before, to try the new playing experience for themselves and has decided to put a freeze on raising the reduced winter green fee until May 2009, so visitors can enjoy the new-look course at 2008 rates for a limited time only. Those wishing to book a round should call the professional’s shop on 01737 832 334.

For those looking to join a forward-thinking, progressive club, Kingswood runs various levels of membership, including an innovative ‘pay-as-you-go’ Full 7-day membership, which provides full membership rights to golfers.

*For more details visit www.kingswood-golf.co.uk or call 01737 832 188.