True golf fans have heard of the Wentworth Club in leafy Surrey, as it’s the host venue each year for the DP World Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship.
Wentworth is located also just a short drive from London’s Heathrow Airport however if you wanted to travel to Wentworth’s namesake and that’s the Wentworth Club to the north of Tampa, then you’re looking at a trans Atlantic flight of over a 10-hours.
The Florida-located Wentworth Club at Tarpon Springs is just a 10-minute drive to the Innisbrook Resort and the venue each year for the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship.
Welcome to the Wentworth Club, Florida. Image -GolfByTourMiss
The English Manor-looking Wentworth GC clubhouse – Image GolfByTourMiss
And yes, it was while visiting a Valspar Championship that GolfByTourMiss paid a visit to the Wentworth Club.
There’s a good reason why the course in named after its English namesake and that was evident immediately turning off the appropriately named Wentworth Way into the clubhouse car park – the clubhouse just looked English grandeur and the club referring to it on its website as their ‘English Manor’.
And there’s a real Irish theme closeby with Mulligan’s Irish Pub.
The Wentworth Club course, playing to a par-71 and 6,250 yards off the members’ tee, was designed by Steven Smyers in 1990.
Smyers grew up in Houston, Texas and he says on his website that he was introduced to golf at the age of 3 by his father and scratch golfer, Carroll Smyers. It wasn’t until the age of 16, when Steve was caddying in the 1969 U.S. Open and listening to the professional golfers discuss the design of Champions Golf Club, that Steve’s passion for golf course architecture commenced in 1970.
Smyers said in getting into golf course design he was inspired by legendary architects including H.S. Colt, A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, and long-time friend and mentor, Pete Dye.
His work at the Wentworth Club includes five tees and a standard configuration of two par-5s and the same number of par-3 on each nine holes.
Wentworth’s front nine does have an English feel with the holes meandering through stately cypress pines and old oak trees while the inward nine, and as suggested on the club’s website, presents a Scottish links-style layout to test your shot making ability.
Of course, you don’t need a links-style course to test your shot making ability and while the waters of the Gulf of Mexico is just over eight miles in a direct line to the west and thus ruling out being a true links- Links golf being defined as that ‘link’ between the ocean/sea and the arable land – the inward half at The Wentworth is still a damn good and enjoyable test.
Wentworth’s No. 1 index hole is the par-4 second hole, playing a testing 417-yards off the members tee while the club’s No. 18 index challenge is the 148-yard, par-3 12th hole.
The club’s longest hole is the 525-yard par-5 10th hole, and the only hole off the members tee is over 500-yards while the shortest hole on the course is also the 12th.
The Wentworth GC scorecard
Wentworth Golf Club – Image GolfByTourMiss
Looking down the opening hole at Wentworth GC – Image GolfByTourMiss
The 4th hole at Wentworth GC – Image Wentworth GC
The Wentworth GC – Image Wentworth GC
The 15th hole green at Wentworth GC – Image Wentworth GC
The 16th hole green – Image Wentworth GC
The 17th green at the Wentworth GC – Image Wentworth GC
Looking back down the fairway at the final hole – Image GolfByTourMiss
Now a time to visit Mulligans Irish Pub – Image GolfByTourMiss
Cheers to everyone and thank you for your continued support.
