Tandridge
Overview
Tandridge, a beautiful sandy course just south of London, might well be one of the most exuberant golf designs Harry Colt ever made. With more than 250 bunkers postioned around the golf course, often huge in scale, this was bunkering on a scale that Colt had not yet tried anywhere else, and would never replicate again. The course has two very distinct nines, with the front nine on relatively flat terrain, whereas the back nine traverses through some very undulating terrain.
When we started the restoration work most of the original bunkering had been lost, both in numbers, scale and shapes. Also in a number of cases the fairways had become a lot narrower than they used to be, often through tree planting that had happened in the 1960-70's. Finally a lot of the tees had become large runways, instead of the smaller individual tees Colt & Co used to build. Our approach focussed on tackling all of these issues, with an emphasis on restoring the bunkers back to their former glory.
The work was divided over 4 years, in which first the holes of the front nine and later the holes of the back ninen were tackled. This allowed us to keep the course open for play during most of this period, and minimize the impact the works had on the club.
The last work was done in the summer of 2013, when we restored the final 4 holes. The reactions on the results have been very positive, both within the club and in the press. Adam Lawrence, the editor of Golf Course Architecture Magazine specifically wrote: "Perhaps the most dramatic restoration of a Golden Age golf course yet attempted in the UK is currently underway at Tandridge GC in Surrey.... Huge in scale, the restored bunkers at the fourth hole in particular show how radical the transformation will be if the programme is followed through across the entire course"
The restoration work has already helped Tandridge make a strong comeback in the rankings, re-entering the English Top 100.
Tandridge masterplan
Tandridge holes
