The Wisley

Wisley is a typical Robert Trent Jones design. Big bunkers, severely sloping greens and plenty of water. A typical example of the modern "championship" golf course. Great if that's your thing. Unfortunately it's not really mine!

Everything else is superb. The clubhouse, service, food and practice facilities are right up there. The golf course is perfectly nice - the greens are good and very fast. It just lacks the charm and character of many of it's older and more traditional neighbours.

I comfortably live in the epicentre of golf in England. I can reach the following stunners in less that 15 minutes: Sunningdale, Wentworth, St George’s Hill, New Zealand, Queenwood, Worplesdon, West Hill, Woking and The Wisley. I would like to thank Georgia for letting me move in!

The last spot on that list was always one that had an awe of mystery and perhaps seemed painfully unobtainable. Now I really don’t like to describe golf courses as some sort of collectable commodity, but in terms of best golf courses in my vicinity, The Wisley was the last hurrah. Back when I used to run of a morning (shoutout to the RACDG Running Club – and apologies for my lengthy absence) I used to use The Wisley as motivation as I was able to run/waddle through the site. During the lockdown-era, this is was especially refreshing as I sought out any golfing ‘fix’ possible.

What struck me during those active adventures was that this was the closest course to a PGA setup I had seen. It had it all – length, large undulating greens, run-offs, water and it was so green. Green everywhere. Verdant. The site is expertly manicured, and as we sit upon the eve of The Players, it definitely shone a light on stellar agronomy. The Wisley benefits from a fruitful relationship with the Royal Horticultural Society’s Headquarters at Wisley Gardens. The RHS provides guidance to the club on all its fascinating flora and, in turn the golf club advises on turf management. Symbiosis.

Instagram, and social media, in general gets a bad wrap. But what it does allow is like-minded individuals to bond and connect over hobbies, work or life. Luckily for me, golf is all of the above. As it is for our host, Zane Scotland. I won’t say much on Zane, other than to say a tremendous Thank You. There will be a few more games to come with Zane – one of the good guys.

It is up for debate as to what the ‘championship’ layout is. The pro-shop gave a very non-comital answer, as did our host. I think this is perhaps due to the overall quality of each of the 27 holes. Lucky members, eh! Regardless, and lucky for me, our 18 holes were across the Church & Mill routing – the routing chosen for the Golf World Top 100 English Golf Courses (2019) list. What impressed me most, was that despite the property’s overall scale, Robert Trent Jones Jr, successfully designed an appealing variety of strategic and gorgeous golf holes that feel secluded, but also part of the holistic course composition.

A blue sky day of late has been hard to come by, so we definitely have someone to thank for the weather. The contrast of blue and green is always a catalyst for happiness. The combination of lush fairways, speckled gorse and rippling creeks was a pleasant and welcome sight. February wasn’t particularly kind to us golfers and therefore a day such as this (albeit now the beginning of March) was just what the Doctor ordered.

The routing of the two nines, flowed well, with consistent themes throughout. Bunkering was exceptional, with the sand quality remarkable. Despite some obvious winter maintenance, completed days before, then greens were lightening fast. Our host let loose that speeds can reach above 12 on the stimpmeter mid-summer. It was a pleasure to play on such slick surfaces in, what still is, mid-Winter.

Our match was hotly contested throughout, and I am happy to say my game measured well against a former tour pro, well for the first 9 holes at least. My game often is the tale of two nines, and I guess a consistent flutter of birdies is what makes a successful player. Regardless, my playing partner, Stuart, holed a chest-beater on the last to take the biscuit.

Thanks again to Zane, Craig and Stuart for an awesome day of ‘winter’ golf and quality company. We go again ….

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Exceptional place.

Fortunately my friend is a member so I got on for £40. It was worth triple that, managed to play all 3 9’s each very different but equally as spectacular.

The place has everything, from a fantastic driving range to a warm and welcoming clubhouse where the food is excellent.

My favourite 9 was the Church as I felt it had a lot of character. Trent Jones once again has done a magnificent job with well placed bunkers and water hazards.

The Wisley is a very exclusive private member golf club located in Surrey and is played solely by the 700 shareholders (and their invited guests) who have purchased a stake in The Club which opened for play in the early 1990’s.

Situated close to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Gardens this Robert Trent Jones Jnr layout, his first in the UK, has a rich, kaleidoscopic floral feel to it. The 224 acres that the 27 holes are laid out over is predominantly flood-plain flat with most of the shaping having been formed by moving earth already on the property, most notably by the creation of many man-made lakes and ditches, now the habitat of swans, other wildlife and several of my golf balls.