Trentham Golf Club

No official documentation exists to prove the exact date of Trentham Golf Club’s formation but it’s known that a local ladies’ club existed in 1891, followed by a men’s club three years later. For certain, a 9-hole course was in use on the Duke of Sutherland’s estate at Trentham in 1894 over which both ladies and men played.

The course was extended to an 18-hole layout in 1904, with James Braid and Sandy Herd playing an exhibition match to mark the event. Plans to modify the course were drawn up by Herbert Fowler in 1913 but these proposals, along with intended clubhouse changes, were never implemented at the time due to cost considerations.

A decade later, the design company of Colt and Alison was called in to recommend improvements and their “number 2 scheme” was adopted but was not fully enacted until 1931, by which time the course had been extended by almost 500 yards and holes laid out in two returning loops, one inside the other.

James Braid returned in 1936 to advise on further course modifications but it’s not known exactly what his suggestions were and to what extent they were acted upon. Frank Pennink also consulted at the club in the early 1960s and his endorsement of a tree planting program has certainly enhanced the parkland aesthetics of the course in the modern era.

Feature holes on the layout include right doglegged, short par fours at the 3rd and 11th, both of which play to heavily sand-protected greens. The 6th is a terrific long par five, with threatening cross bunkers running diagonally across its fairway, whilst the 14th is another fabulous par five on the back nine, bending left and down to an inviting green.

Trentham extends to 6,641 yards from the medal markers, playing to a par of 72. It’s been used in recent times for Open Regional Qualifying and it hosted the 33rd edition of the English Women’s Open Amateur Match Play competition in 2015, won by Sophie Keech. The English Boys’ Under 14 Open Amateur Stroke Play championship will also be held here in 2019.