Sonning Golf Club

F.G. Hawtree and J.H. Taylor originally designed the easy walking course at Sonning Golf Club and it opened its tees for play in 1914. Harry Colt is credited with later design input when he reworked the bunkers. In the new millennium, Martin Hawtree remodelled the par five 18th so that the home green now sits in front of the clubhouse.

Originally set out on heathland but now playing more as a parkland course, the 18-hole layout at Sonning extends to 6,329 yards from the back markers (rated as a par 70 with a standard scratch score rating of 71) but it normally plays longer than its overall yardage due to the lush playing conditions and several elevated greens.

More than half the par four holes on the scorecard measure in excess of four hundred yards so don’t expect an easy stroll in the park when teeing it up here. That said, the two short par four holes on the front nine, at the 273-yard 4th and 267-yard 7th, offer a more than reasonable chance of bagging a birdie.

We asked club professional Jonathan Dunn to highlight a couple of holes for us and this was his reply:

“Our par four 13th is the most difficult hole on the course and this is because if you do not hit a good long, straight tee shot you are unable to carry the cross bunker with your second shot. However, even if you hit a good tee shot you are still faced with a second shot of more than 200 yards into a tiny green which is protected by two bunkers and a ditch.

Hole 17 is our signature hole – described by Peter Alliss as 'one of the best short holes in the south of England' – and it’s a par three with an island green which is guarded by three deep bunkers. Club selection is also difficult as the first two thirds of the hole is lined with trees, making it almost impossible on the tee to feel where the wind is coming from."

Many leading figures in golf have been associated with Sonning, starting with the club’s first golf professional Abe Mitchell, who became Samuel Ryder’s personal golf instructor. The 1951 Open Champion Max Faulkner was an assistant professional at the club early in his career and Harold Hilton, two-time winner of the Open in 1892 and 1897, was the club’s first secretary.