Luton Hoo

Luton Hoo is one of English golf's most significant development projects — a £170 million transformation of a Grade I-listed Capability Brown estate on the Hertfordshire–Bedfordshire border, targeting a formal bid to host the 2035 Ryder Cup.

The hotel, spa, and golf course closed in October 2025 for a two-and-a-half-year refurbishment programme led by the Arora Group, in partnership with Accor and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

Why Play Luton Hoo?

Luton Hoo is currently closed for construction, but the forthcoming course — designed by European Golf Design with input from Justin Rose and Gary Player — is being built to the specification required for the sport's highest-level events. The estate's position, approximately 48 kilometres (30 miles) north of London and its 1,000-acre Capability Brown parkland make it one of the most compelling new championship venues in development anywhere in Europe.

History of Luton Hoo

Golf has been part of the Luton Hoo estate since the Victorian era, when a 9-hole layout was established within the grounds. The present 18-hole course was designed in the early 2000s by Mike Smith of Mass Designs, and opened formally in 2007, when Elite Hotels completed a £60 million conversion of the mansion into a hotel. Planning restrictions imposed by the Grade I listed status of the Capability Brown landscape prohibited bunker construction, making water features and the natural contours of Brown's parkland the primary architectural defence.

The underlying estate dates to 1767, when the 3rd Earl of Bute commissioned Robert Adam to design the mansion and engaged Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to remodel the surrounding parkland, damming the River Lea to form two lakes. In 1903, diamond magnate Sir Julius Wernher purchased the estate and commissioned Charles Mewès and Arthur Davis — architects of the London Ritz — to redesign the Edwardian interior. The Arora Group acquired the hotel from Elite Hotels in December 2021.

Original plans for a full course remodel were approved by Central Bedfordshire Council in June 2023. Amended plans — adding three extra holes and a new cart path to address spectator sightline issues at the 14th and 15th — were subsequently submitted and unanimously approved by councillors, subject to referral to the Secretary of State. Groundworks began in late September 2025, with the hotel and course closing in October 2025.

Course Redesign & Development

European Golf Design (EGD) — the design company part-owned by the European Tour Group and responsible for course modifications at Celtic Manor (2010), Le Golf National (2018) and Marco Simone (2023) — is leading the layout. Seven-time European Ryder Cup player Justin Rose and Gary Player are serving as design collaborators. Atlantic Golf Construction, the firm that built Adare Manor (host of the 2027 Ryder Cup), is undertaking earthworks and shaping, with agronomic support from Turfgrass.

The revised routing will incorporate a choice of route for golfers — a deliberate design decision arising from the amended planning application. This solution allows adequate spectator movement without requiring golfers or crowds to cross the estate's northern lake. The Arora Group has committed to desilting the northern lake and delivering ecological landscape improvements as part of the wider scheme.

Arora Group chairman Surinder Arora has described his ambition as creating "the Augusta of Europe." EGD's Gary Johnston has described the estate as "a truly special landscape" where the team will work with existing features from Brown's original design.

The 2035 Ryder Cup Bid

Luton Hoo is one of four English venues bidding for the 2035 Ryder Cup — alongside The Belfry, London Golf Club in Kent, and a proposed new venue at Hulton Park in Bolton. The Ryder Cup has not been held in England since Europe's victory at The Belfry in 2002. The final venue decision rests with the PGA and European Tour Group, with government approval also required.

Verdict

Luton Hoo represents a rare convergence of historic landscape, serious architectural ambition, and Ryder Cup-level infrastructure in a single English estate.

With European Golf Design, Justin Rose, Gary Player, and Atlantic Golf Construction all engaged, the project carries genuine credentials.