Kingswood – Braid’s Beautiful Best

Designed in the 1920s by the five times open champion and located close to his professional home at Walton Heath, the renovation of the course has been extensive in raising the bar of all the eighteen holes as part of the Club’s rebranding and relaunch.

Under Swan Golf Designs’ architecture and professional management, a total audit and appraisal of its design has implemented the blueprint for the future in:

• lengthening the course slightly
• rebunkering it totally
• adding feature to some of its greens
• executing significant woodland management
• and undertaking substantial planting.

All this has created what owner Tom Hilliard describes as “a great step forward to making this Braid’s best parkland course. The impact of the new bunkering is immense and is going to excite and challenge all who play here.”

Members have remarked that the new Kingswood course is now one of the “must play courses in the London area”, with one recently returning to the Club after 18 months away adding “I was very impressed to see design upgrades and significant investment made to the course. The strategic bunkers on the 5th and the collar on the front of the 16th green demonstrate thoughtful and clever design changes.”

Howard Swan, one of Swan Golf Design’s architects, says: “It has been a great challenge to take one of Braid’s most excellent inland courses and, following his design principles and philosophies set out over 100 years ago, apply them to Kingswood’s fine layout. We have tried to rekindle his spirit whilst bringing the course up to modern day and future expectations, just as we did at Goodwood.”

Kingswood has been selected to host one of next year’s qualifiers for the Senior Open Championship.

Kingswood Golf and Country Club www.kingswood-golf.co.uk

Swan Golf Designs www.swangolfdesigns.com