St George’s Hill to draw up restoration masterplan

St George’s Hill Golf Club in Surrey is drawing up plans to carry out a major restoration of its 27-hole course some 110 years after the club first opened.

A team from Renaissance Golf Design, headed by Brian Schneider, has been contracted to produce a new masterplan for all 27 holes of the Harry Colt masterpiece.

Although the course, which is divided into the Blue, Red and Green nines – has undergone a few minor tweaks over the years, most notably the first hole by Fred Hawtree and JH Taylor in the 1930s, after Colt’s original green, which located on top of a hill, was judged to be too difficult by the members.

Colt himself altered several greens shortly after the course opened, after their slopes were considered to be too steep, and the strategy of the 16th hole has been changed by tree planting designed to force play away from the boundary fence. Otherwise, the course is not dramatically different from that created by its original architect. The most obvious change, though, is at the eighth: Colt’s huge scar bunkers in the face of the green are now mostly grassed down.

“We completed a strategic review in summer/autumn 2021 and derived six pillars,” said the club’s general manager Philip Worthington. “We set ourselves several goals in relation to Colt – and five points we wanted to consider. Fundamentally, though, the central question was Colt’s own test of a golf course: will it live?”

He added: “We are not looking for a new course architect. We have one – his name is Harry Colt,” says Worthington. “We are looking for a team of architects to maintain and improve them. It is a natural evolution, and we are hoping to have options and considerations to take to members later this year.

“We want a 27-hole masterplan, looking at the entire estate as one big picture, including practice grounds and greenkeeping facilities. We want to preserve Colt’s design principles, as we are all custodians of a landmark golf course. Neither the Course Design Group, the board, or the committee are here to decree that changes are required: we are very well aware that, if we were a building, we would be grade-one listed.”

Schneider, who has worked on the design and restoration of many of the world’s top courses, including Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, and Pasatiempo in California, said: “St George’s Hill is a marvellous place, perhaps best known for its stunning par-three eighth hole. However, this is just one of 18 extraordinary holes found on the Old course (the Red and Blue nines). It is also evident that Harry Colt’s second eighteen, the New, was the match of any course in terms of interest, memorability and fun.”

In a statement, the club’s Course Design Group said: “We are blessed as members of this wonderful club to be the custodians of what can only be described as a timeless work of art. The journey we will now embark on, in partnership with Renaissance Golf Design, is one of excitement and adventure. To create a plan that will protect, enhance and restore Colt’s masterpiece is not only a privilege, but a necessity.”

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