|
 |
 |
Queenwood, England |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Queenwood Golf Club
Stonehill Rd
Ottershaw
Surrey
KT16 0AQ
England |  | David McLay Kidd |  | Mark Roberts |
|
 | +44 (0) 1932 454500 |  | 1 mile N of Ottershaw |
 |
Golf Club Website
|
 | Members and their guests only |  | Gerry Ivers |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
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. Queenwood is the only top ranked course in Britain & Ireland that has not yet been played by a member of the Top 100 editorial team. 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?
|
 12th May 2006 - Our thanks go to Mel Chapman who sent in this picture and a couple of other shots of Queenwood.
Mel writes: "I was lucky enough to win a competition to join Darren Clarke at Queenwood on the Friday after he'd just been part of the successful Ryder Cup team in 2004. That man is a real gent and treated us like kings, as did all the staff. And some course it is, Darren reckoned the greens are the best in the country and I'd have to agree, never putted on anything like them. We had the course virtually to ourselves. It was another world! Definitely the best course I have ever played although Carne is not far behind. I'm still waiting for Darren to invite me back!" | | |
|
| |
If the above course review article is not accurate, let us know by clicking here |
|
|
|
|
|
 |  | | Average Reviewers Score: |  | | | Played a 4 ball with Andrew Coltart, David Howell and Clive Tucker. I have been involved in golf at the highest end for some 20 years, managing Brocket Hall for some 4 years. The standards upheld both on the course and in the clubhouse are by far the best in the UK, I have played and visited most of the top 100 golf courses over the years, and can only say that the time, money and development of this club is second to none. |
|
|
| 24 July 2011
|
Reply
|
| Response: | | | Sleats | 25 July 2011 | | This is not a course review!! This is self indulgent promotion! | | | alan | 26 July 2011 | | Here here. lets have golf course reviews please. |
| | | As a beginner golfer I was extremely nervous when last summer (2010) an old friend invited me there to play with her and her husband who's a 10 or so. Even the parking lot is intimidating with some of the priciest cars in the world lined up. But once I got in and was fitted with loaner clubs and taken to the practice range, I was in heaven. The caddie was delightful, the course is indescribably beautiful, and with a lot of help I didn't utterly disgrace myself. I may never play another course that is quite so perfectly fitted out for golf in every way. It may be the most exclusive and expensive course in the UK, but it certainly gives value for money and then some. Unforgettable! |
|
|
| 01 February 2011
|
Reply
|
| I had the absolute pleasure of playing Queenwood on March 10th after winning a competition to play 18 holes with the legendary Darren Clarke!  Queenwood is quite unlike anything I have ever experienced, it is arguably the most exclusive club in Europe and from the moment you drive through the large black gates you realise you are in golfing heaven. Upon arrival we were greeted by the ever helpful staff who removed my clubs and shoes from the car and to park my car for me. We had breakfast in the locker room lounge area waiting for Darren, after an initial chat with Mr Clarke we headed out to the range where we were greeted by our caddies for the day (thanks Mat, you were great!).
The range is superb, the turf you’re hitting on is better than any fairways I have played on and there were buckets full of brand new ProV1’s. The putting green gave us a taste of what to expect, they are lightning quick with some unbelievable undulations and Darren said they were relatively slow compared to how they usually are, he said they’re as quick as Augusta at their peak, I can well believe him!
Off to the first tee, and despite my hands shaking and knees knocking I managed to get my first drive off, the course is typical of the quality of courses you get in Surrey. The turf is springy and very easy to get spin from, most of the holes have some form of heather or gorse you need to avoid although they look amazing visually. My scores on the front 9 weren’t great but for me it was the experience of playing somewhere that most people will never get the opportunity to play, some of the holes are simply amazing, it is still a blur at this stage but I loved all the par 3’s and the par 4 10th and 16th were my favourite holes and I managed 4over on the back 9 so I came away very happy indeed and Darren and I won our match against his colleagues from TaylorMade.
The greens really are something else, you will not putt on better greens anywhere in this country, and they’re relaying them next year so can’t imagine how good they’ll be then. This whole place oozes class and exclusivity, the pro shop is small but perfectly formed with some nice looking clothes all bearing the Queenwood logo. The clubhouse is big and looks like it’s been around for years but the club has only existed for 10 years which beggars belief really as it has the feel of somewhere that’s been around for a long time. I didn’t want the day to end and it dawned on me that I’ll probably never get to come here again in my lifetime which is a strange feeling really, but Darren was absolutely brilliant, a top guy who is totally grounded and very honest about his objectives this year and about some of his playing colleagues! Just before we left I bumped into Jaime Redknapp who is a top bloke and chatted to us for a few minutes, that left a final indelible mark on us and topped off an amazing day and one that probably won’t be repeated. |
|
|
| 11 March 2010
|
Reply
|
| | I had the pleasure of being invited to Queenwood last August. For me the privacy and sheer elegance of the place did it for me.From the moment your car stops at the valet park sign you know you are somewhere special.You walk into the locker room where the attendant takes your golf shoes and cleans them to perfection,he then hands them back and tells you you can now walk anywhere in the clubhouse in them. Straight into the bar for some breakfast and to be met by my host. Service 5 star. Looking out of the window my clubs were on the range awaiting my arrival. The range is full of baskets of Pro V 1's just hit as many as you want. Darren Clarke had arrived with his coach,nobody bothered him he was just another person. Your caddy then arrives in a white boiler suit and watches you hit shots,to get a feel for your game. A quick walk to the putting green then off to the first tee. The course is as hard as you want to make it by which tee you go off. Everything is just perfection about the course,teeing grounds cut really short and firm,fairways just beautiful,not a weed in sight. The bunkering is all covered by beautiful heather and is just a delight to see. The greens are quick and lovely. My whole day from start to finish was just a memorable occasion,and lucky for me my host has invited me back this year. "CAN'T WAIT" |
|
|
| 02 March 2010
|
Reply
|
| Response: | | | Simon | 02 March 2010 | | Thanks for your recent review, I am playing there next week with Mr. Clarke (won a comp) so your review has only heightened my sense of excitement! Cheers |
| | | I hate to deflate anyone, but whilst this place has a lot going for it (the condition is amazing, the greens are always like tour greens, the service is even better than Loch Lomond), the course is just not that good. It needs at least 5-10more years to mature and its neither as interesting or as attractive as many of the courses in the area. If you go, you will love the experience and if you've never played very fast greens that are also soft enough to spin the ball a lot, it is pretty exciting. (Hitting balls on the range with Adam Scott or Ernie or Darren Clark is also kinda fun) BUT, the underlying course is only 3/4 star. The UK ranking here is too high. Btw, played it maybe 10 times over the years since it opened. |
|
|
| 29 August 2009
|
Reply
|
| Response: | | | Jon bishop | 29 May 2010 | | I must comment on this 3/4 star rating!!! This guy must of woken up on the wrong side of the bed, i have played Queenwood many times and to only give it a 3/4 star rating you must be mad!! Bearing in mind this course is still very young how can you compaire to other course in the area, when most of them are over 80 years old if not more! Queenwood can only get better and that is an amazing thought. Fast true green tight beautiful fairways and not one hole mistaken for another, what more would you want. The green staff need an award for producing a amazing test of golf all year round. | | | xxx | 07 July 2011 | | Jon, one day it may be a great course, and the greens are already, but right now it cannot compete with its local rivals. Don't get me wrong, I love the place, the greens, the caddies, the staff, the condition. But the course is not yet there! |
| | | I have been lucky enough to play this course virtually since it opened its doors in late 01. It was not a course that blew me away back then but it has quickly (just over 5 years) matured into a great course. The tee areas are in perfect condition, as are most of the fairways (the 2nd suffers in wet weather) and then it depends on what they do with the rough as to how hard it plays. And that's before you get on the greens, which are immaculate. They used to be the course's best defence until the rough began to mature and all the heather around the bunkers came in to play. A friend recently played there, who is a member at Sunningdale, and he was bowled over. Says everything really. And that's before the off-course service, which is second to none. |
|
|
| 30 May 2007
|
Reply
|
| | On friday, we were invited by Gary Lineker to play this exclusive golf course. From the moment you enter the gate until you leave, you are made to feel very welcome. You pull up outside the front door, your clubs and shoes are taken from you, your car is parked and cleaned for you and then returned to you on leaving. After enjoying the comforts of the inside of the fabulous club house, you then go to the practice area where you meet your caddy for the day!! My caddy played off 3 (Tony) and helped me float round the course. Then on to the grease lightening putting green, and then off we went. The course. A real pleasure to play. Fantastic greens, very well placed water and bunkers. To walk these fairways, if you are a golfer, is like dream, it is the nearest i will get to that Masters feeling. If you ever get invited, drop everything. You will be treated like a lord and you will love the course. I played a skins game and WON, so maybe I am a bit biased.... 10 out of 10. |
|
|
| 02 May 2006
|
Reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
