Queenwood Golf Club, in a similar mould to Loch Lomond and the Wisley, is reserved for its small but perfectly formed membership and their very lucky friends.
Queenwood Golf Club, in a similar mould to Loch Lomond and the Wisley, is reserved for its small but perfectly formed membership and their very lucky friends.
Queenwood Golf Club, in a similar mould to Loch Lomond and the Wisley, is reserved for its small but perfectly formed membership and their very lucky friends. This is the most secretive golf club in the UK, even a logon id and password is required to access the Queenwood Golf Club website. Secrecy is a great marketing ploy and with membership full and a reputed joining fee of £145,000 it’s little wonder that the club is packed full of golf’s high rollers.
David McLay Kidd, son of former greenkeeper Jimmy Kidd, designed Queenwood and the course quietly opened for play in 2001. Jimmy is now the chief agronomist within his son’s design business. According to DMK Design, “The site is tranquil parkland in west London, an area well known for its classic courses, including Sunningdale, Walton Heath, Woking, Swinley Forest, and more. The area had recently seen some expensive private club failures, in part, I believe, because the courses were too manicured and too predictable. My pitch to the developer, Fred Green, was that Queenwood had to be a departure from that modern style and a return to the heathland traditions of the courses noted above, all of which have stood the test of time”.
The Surrey/Berkshire sandbelt has seen precious little golf course development in the last 80 years and Queenwood harks back to the design principles of yesteryear. According to Fred Green, “DMK Golf Designs' modern interpretation of designs from the ‘Golden age of Golf Course Architecture’ in the 1920s has produced results that far exceeded our highest expectations”.
Golf World magazine commented on Queenwood, in their November 2002 edition: “Queenwood is an ambitious and exclusive club for its A-list of invited members, so a mediocre course was never a proposition. They chose a profile designer with fresh ideas on a classic bent, David McLay Kidd. He has done a masterly job considering this was his first course in the UK. It is a triumph of understatement at first glance despite Kidd’s bunkering which is intriguingly shaped and clad entirely in heather. It is not until you stretch your legs and stroll around that you are hit by the detailing, particularly the greens that roll and pitch like a sea swell. This is real class, from the Pro V1s on the practice ground to the chilled apples by the 10th tee.”
If you've managed to play Queenwood, either by sneaking on, or by buttering up Hugh Grant, Michael Douglas or another wealthy member, you’re one step ahead of most of us. We'd love to know what you think about the course. Why not write a review and let the world know how good Queenwood really is?
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
California, United States
New Jersey, United States
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
New York, United States
New York, United States
Review of the Month November 2019 – Queenwood When I was younger I used to drive past Queenwood a lot as it is right opposite Foxhills Golf Club, where I was a member for a few years. I always used to look out of the window and tell myself that one day I would be inside the metal gates, and play the Augusta of England that is Queenwood Golf Club. On Monday my dream became a reality. Everything about the place oozes class and is quite truly sensational. I can’t stress to you enough how great the Queenwood experience is. They treat you like royalty, the range balls are free and all Titleist Pro V1s and the course is as pure as they come. The tee boxes are maintained to perfection, the greens are unreal with sub air systems, which very very few courses in England have. The bunkers are beautifully designed and the fairways are lined to perfection. The whole course is just immaculate. My favourite holes are the par five 1st, an average length hole which has a great looking approach shot into the green. The par four 5th is also a great risk and reward hole. A dogleg left with water on the right. The further left you take it the less you have in but then there's more tree and bush that you have to try and get over. The back nine has two of my favourite holes on the course. 10 and 16 are both great par fours for similar reasons. The 10th is a downhill drive with the great clubhouse in the background and a dogleg to the right. The second shot goes over water onto an undulating green. The 16th is a short par four with water just short of the green and one of the most ridiculous greens you’ll ever play. The 18th is also a great finishing hole, a par five and hitting towards the great clubhouse. Overall, I have to give Queenwood a 6-ball rating. The course is unbelievable and everything is amazingly kept. The whole place is magical and in the summer it is truly an unreal place. Was a treat to play and will definitely be playing it many more times! Freddie Review of the Month November 2019 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter, and sponsored by TaylorMade – click to read more about Queenwood.
Is England the premier golfing destination in Europe? With a dozen courses in the World Top 100 and more courses than any other country ranked in Britain & Ireland’s Top 100, England expects. 9th October 2011 Visit England, the national tourist board for England, is responsible for promoting the country to domestic and overseas markets and for improving England’s tourism product. Unlike their tourist board counterparts in Scotland and Ireland, Visit England does little to promote golf and we genuinely wonder why, especially given that English professional golfers are flying the St George’s Cross on the world stage. According to IAGTO, the International Association of Golfing Tour Operators, the global golf tourism market is estimated to be worth more than $17 billion annually. Thailand announced last month that the value of foreign golf tourism in 2012 might reach a cool $2 billion. It’s estimated that Scotland earns £200 million each year from golf tourism and even diminutive Northern Ireland collects around £12 million per annum. In a 2010 report, KPMG identified England at position 6 in a list of Hot Spots for golf tourism in the upcoming years. Heading the list was Spain, followed by Portugal, Scotland, Ireland and the USA. Position 6 seems rather high because most people take England, as a golf destination, for granted. Overseas golfers place English courses on their possible rather than probable play lists. If there’s time after visiting Scotland and Ireland, tourists might try and get to Southport to play Royal Birkdale, or perhaps aim to visit Sandwich to tick off Royal St George’s. Naturally, they’d only head to the links after seeing the Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace, doing a spot of shopping at Harrods and searching for the ghost of Shakespeare at Stratford upon Avon. Many English golfers have a take it or leave it approach to English golf courses too. They expect courses to be presented in excellent condition all year round and moan if they are not. Many complain that English green fees are too expensive and then grumble that that they can’t get a game at Queenwood at any price. But most English golfers choose to visit other countries for their annual golf trip. They even choose to visit Ireland, Scotland and Wales rather than planning a trip closer to home. We thought it high time to bang England’s drum, so we decided to take a long hard look at the golf courses under the jurisdiction of the English Golf Union. In February 2011, we started a project to identify the best golf courses in every English county. We’ve now completed the Best In County project having looked at more than 1,000 English courses, polled hundreds of people and listened intently to what local county golfers had to say about their home courses. The result we think is fascinating. Never before has any publication, either in print or online, produced a full series of the best golf courses on a county-by-county basis and we now know why it’s never been done before. The reason is simple. It’s an extremely difficult and contentious process that is fraught with a multitude of issues. Nevertheless, we’ve done it and we’re pleased to have completed the process. However, this is just the beginning, as the county rankings will change alongside the country rankings, continent rankings and the World Top 100 rankings. Please take a look at our dedicated county pages and let us know what you think. We’ll be grateful if you do not assume that the course you know and love is better than the one you’ve not played. We’ve made that mistake time and time again and have found that our preconceptions are simply wrong. Our plan is to change the county rankings on a frequent basis in order to reflect the changing situation as we learn more about the greatest courses in each county. Here’s the list of every English county and the corresponding, current No.1 course. Many No.1 courses are household names, but we bet there are a few you’ve never heard of, let alone played. This link below will take you to the England page on the Top 100 website, where you can select and review the current rankings for each separate county: /golf-courses/britain-ireland/england The Top 100 Team If you play or have played county level golf or are simply passionate about your home county’s golf courses and would like to help us further develop this exciting and first-of-its-kind initiative, then please send an email to info@top100golfcourses.com. We’d love to hear from you.
England is home to some of the best golf courses in the world, and its five highest-ranked layouts can be played without being a member. From a 15-time Open venue on the Kent coast to some of the finest heathland golf in Surrey and Berkshire, plus a spectacular links course in Cornwall, these are the five highest-ranked courses in England that welcome visiting golfers. Royal St. George’s Golf Club (Kent) World Ranking: 19th | England ranking: 1st | Green fee: £430 Royal St George’s offers the chance to play one of England’s most historic and challenging links courses. Founded in 1887, it was the first English course to host the Open and has staged the championship 15 times, including the most recent edition in 2021. Routed through towering dunes in a loose figure of eight, Royal St George’s has undulating fairways, uneven lies and plenty of elevation changes that can make even seemingly straightforward shots difficult. The fourth hole is particularly memorable, with a huge bunker carved into a towering dune guarding the fairway. Despite its reputation as a demanding championship test, the course is as enjoyable to explore as it is difficult to score on. Wildflowers and dune grasses line the fairways, while views stretch across Pegwell Bay towards the white cliffs beyond. Add in distinctive features such as the thatched shelters and St George’s flags, and there is plenty to keep you entertained between the inevitable moments of frustration. Sunningdale Golf Club - Old Course (Surrey) World Ranking: 22nd | England ranking: 2nd | Green fee: £485 The Old course at Sunningdale is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful inland courses in the British Isles. Opened in 1901 by Willie Park Jr, it was one of the first great courses to emerge from the Surrey and Berkshire sand-belt, with Harry Colt later reshaping the layout and giving it the intimate, tree-lined character it has today. Pine, birch, oak and heather frame the fairways, while the firm heathland turf makes Sunningdale a joy to walk and play. The course has hosted plenty of memorable golf, too, including Bobby Jones’ remarkable 66 in Open qualifying in 1926 and Nick Faldo’s 62 at the 1986 European Open. The 10th is a particular highlight, with its elevated tee offering a spectacular view before the halfway hut provides one of golf’s more welcome rewards. The 15th, a 226-yard par three, is another standout. For golfers visiting England, Sunningdale Old offers a classic heathland experience in one of the country's finest golfing regions. Sunningdale Golf Club - New Course (Surrey) World Ranking: 41st | England ranking: 3rd | Green fee: £485 The New course at Sunningdale provides a rather different experience to its famous older sibling. Opened in 1923 and designed by Harry Colt, it is more open and rugged than the Old, with elevated tees, heathery terrain and long carries placing a greater emphasis on driving. At 6,700 yards and par 70, the New is no pushover, with narrow fairways and plenty of undulation making it a particularly demanding test from the back tees. Even the professionals have struggled to make it look easy: Jack Nicklaus once held the course record with a 67 before Graeme Storm carded a remarkable 62 during Open qualifying in 2009. The course has also benefited from an ongoing tree-management programme, allowing more heather to return and restoring views across Chobham Common. The fifth, a picturesque par three played across the heath, is one of the highlights. The result is a course that rewards good driving without becoming a purely distance-based test, with the heathland setting providing plenty of visual interest along the way. St Enodoc Golf Club - Church Course (Cornwall) World Ranking: 49th | England ranking: 4th | Green fee: £190 St Enodoc is unlike almost any other links course in England. Overlooking the Camel Estuary in Rock, with views across to Padstow, the Church Course takes its name from the 13th-century church that sits beside the 10th green. Remarkably, the building was completely buried by sand in the 19th century before being excavated in 1863. Founded in 1891 and redesigned by James Braid in 1907, St Enodoc is defined by its towering dunes and constantly changing terrain, where no two holes feel quite the same. The sixth is the course's signature hole, demanding two blind shots over the towering 'Himalayas' dune to reach the hidden green. The 10th, played across a natural valley to a narrow fairway below, is another memorable challenge. If your ball strays towards the churchyard, you'll also find the grave of Poet Laureate John Betjeman, whose poem Seaside Golf was inspired by the course. The combination of huge dunes, unusual holes and views across the Camel Estuary makes St Enodoc a particularly distinctive addition to any English golf trip. Swinley Forest Golf Club (Berkshire) World Ranking: 52nd | England ranking: 5th Swinley Forest offers a quieter, more understated version of heathland golf on the Surrey and Berkshire sand-belt. Set among mature pines and heather, it has a wonderfully quiet atmosphere and an old-fashioned character that is increasingly difficult to find. The firm, fast-running fairways and purple heather in summer give it all the hallmarks of classic heathland golf. Designed by Harry Colt and opened in 1909, Swinley measures around 6,400 yards and plays to a par of 69. The short holes are particularly strong, with a varied collection of one-shotters that require careful club selection. Around the greens, false fronts, run-offs and subtle slopes provide plenty of opportunities for a good round to unravel. For much of its history, Swinley was an intensely private club where visitors were few and far between. It now welcomes green-fee golfers, although the club retains much of its distinctive character. The result is a course that feels removed from the modern world, with little of the glamour associated with some of its better-known neighbours. For golfers who enjoy traditional heathland golf, that simplicity is a large part of Swinley's appeal. Green fees quoted are summer 2027 rates where available.
