Wentworth Club - West Course

About the club

Wentworth's two courses, though both the work of Harry S. Colt, are as different from each other as the two at Berkshire. Where the West is the attention-grabber, host to numerous tournaments over the past five decades, the East is less lengthy but more clever and captivating, not to mention less demanding in terms of physical effort and number of golf balls lost. The caddies used to call Wentworth's West Course the Burma Road on account of its arduous climbs and extraordinary length. Harry S. Colt had designed the course with tournament play in mind, and it was for some time the longest English course not on the coast. And since its length does not match its width, every tee shot was made with a driver. After the turmoil of World War II, the West hosted the 1953 Ryder Cup, where Peter Allis and Bernard hunt fell just short of leading Ireland and Great Britain to an upset victory, and Sam Snead and Ben Hogan came for the Canada Cup three years later. In the Sixties the course hosted the first of the thirty-plus World Matches and witnessed Nicklaus, Palmer and Player at the top of their games. With some refurbishing by Ernie Els, the West has recently been restored to top condition.