History
The Grove was designed by renowned international course architect, Kyle Philips, who used the natural contours of the land to great effect in an understated way. This championship course combines modern strategy with the best of traditional British golf.
In fact, the history of this area goes way back to 1294–5, when John de Brittewell and Sarah his wife conveyed land and a third part of a mill written as 'La Grava' to Albreda de Brittewell. She sold it in 1753 to the Honourable Thomas Villiers, a successful diplomat. From then on, The Grove was then used as a gardening school, a health centre, a riding school, and a girls' boarding school. With its truly top-class hospitality and facilities, The Grove has been the venue for many high-profile events of international importance. In April 2009 the G20 London summit was held here and the all-powerful but secretive Bilderberg Conference took place at the hotel in 2013. Of course, as one of the UK’s most prestigious golf courses, it has welcomed many golfing legends, having staged a World Golf Championship event, won by Tiger Woods. Most recently, it hosted the British Masters in 2006.
The Course
7,152 yards in length, The Grove is everything a British inland course should be: It’s always finely manicured and golfing tests include subtle bunkering, undulating greens, lakes, streams and mature woods. When you add all these elements into the mix, it makes for a cocktail of 18 holes that are highly individual yet fit together as an extremely cohesive and impressive whole.
The course is set among modern parkland where the strategic angling of the greens, with an assortment of surrounding slopes and run-off areas, certainly rewards accurate approach play. The short holes are all very appealing, especially the inviting 13th from its elevated tee. If you want to add an extra dimension to your round, The Grove offers its ‘Caddie Programme’. Designed to provide a traditional service for the multitude of visiting golfers, this service offers the chance to take advantage of expertly trained caddies with their abundance of valuable local knowledge. The Caddies even wear boiler suits, just like in the Masters, so that might give a little professional edge to your game! At the very least, you will learn a great deal about both The Grove and your own game as you chat with them during your round.
If you’re a fan of speedy, raised and undulating greens, you’ll relish The Grove. They are widely considered as among the best greens in the land and are always in immaculate condition. South African golfing champion Ernie Els had this to say after competing in the 2006 World Golf Championship; “Everything was perfect. The course is great, the tees, fairways and greens were incredibly manicured...This is the benchmark for how a tournament should be played. It’s that good.” Nevertheless, miss these fantastic greens at your peril because you’ll be faced with some tricky recover chip shots!
The whole course is open, so you can use a driver on most holes. It’s a very enjoyable course to play and the fairways are immaculately kept. With the pace of greens and testing approach shots you need to play very well to play to handicap, although The Grove’s Par 3s are not too testing, as 3 of them are less than 150 yards.
Highlight
The par 4 third hole is a particular highlight. Your tee-shot needs to find the haven down the right side to be sweetly placed for your approach shot over ‘Hell’s Lake’’ (whose name tells you all you need to know!) This is a real challenge early on in your round and you’ll need skill and a light touch. All in all, a tough but memorable hole.
Golf Breaks at The Grove
The Grove truly is a five-star experience. It boasts the award-winning Sequoia spa, 227 guest rooms and luxurious suites and three top-notch restaurants which combine high-class decor with traditional country-style cuisine with a twist. The Grove won the AA Hotel of the Year award in 2005 and in 2008, it was voted the UK’s Favourite Leisure Hotel by Condé Nast Traveller readers. Facilities are top class and include the Spa and three restaurants. The location couldn’t be more convenient, situated as it is near the main orbital motorway round London and only 30 minutes from Heathrow.
The following sums it up; "The Grove is, without doubt, one of the finest facilities I have ever seen anywhere in the world." The words of none other than golfing royalty, Gary Player.
Click here for more details about the golfing breaks we offer at The Grove.