Old Thorns Hotel & Resort

The Old Thorns Estate was acquired by businessman Ken Wood in the late 1940s – a decade before he made his fortune with the development of the Kenwood food mixer – and it would take another 30 years to bring to reality his vision of a golf course within his 400-acre property.

Commander John Harris drew up plans for an 18-hole layout in the mid 1970s but sadly his death meant the commission was passed to Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas, a design team then riding the crest of a golfing wave, having recently created the Lansdowne course at Blairgowrie and the Brabazon course at The Belfry.

Such was the influence of Ken Wood in 1982, the year after Old Thorns was completed, he was able to assemble a four ball to mark the official opening of the course comprised of Bill Rogers (current Open champion), Seve Ballesteros (the Masters champion from two years before), Jack Nicklaus (US Open champion in 1980) and Isao Ioki (runner up to the Golden Bear in the US Open two years previously).

Fairways are routed over a heavily wooded, undulating landscape that’s part moorland and part parkland in nature with several natural springs and ponds involved along the way. The par five 6th is the longest hole on the scorecard and it features a large tree in the fairway where it dog legs right to the green. On the back nine, the 268-yard 15th is a delightful short par four that plays to a raised green that slopes markedly from back to front.