Whenever the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, comes around, attention inevitably turns to the famous West Course at Wentworth, where the action takes place each year.
However, while that is a beloved and world-class layout, there is much more to Wentworth than the famous course alone.
In fact, there are three world-class 18-hole courses and a par-3 at the exclusive Surrey, England venue. Here are the details.
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East Course
The East Course was the first at Wentworth to open
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Wentworth’s West Course may take center stage for the BMW PGA Championship, but it’s not the oldest course at Wentworth.
That honor belongs to the East Course, which opened in 1924, two years after the club was established.
Harry Colt designed the East Course, and in 1926, it hosted what became a piece of golf history.
Back then, an informal match between British and American pros was held on the East Course before that year’s Open.
One of those in attendance was businessman Samuel Ryder, and he proposed sponsoring a formal version of the match.
Two years later, the first edition of it was held in the US: the inaugural staging of the Ryder Cup.
There was another first for the East Course in 1932, when it was the venue for the inaugural Curtis Cup, while it has also been the venue for tournaments in the Rose Ladies Series.
The East course is set over 200 acres of heathland with undulating terrain and some beautiful and varied holes that require accuracy and creative shot-making.
West Course
The West Course hosts the BMW PGA Championship
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Two years after the East Course came another Colt-designed layout, the West Course, and through the years it became by far the most famous.
As well as being the permanent home of the BMW PGA Championship since 1984, it also hosted three editions of the tournament between 1972 and 1974.
While the East Course may have been where the Ryder Cup was inspired, the West Course hosted an edition, in 1953, where Team USA beat Team Great Britain by 6.5-5.5.
The West Course was also the permanent home of the HSBC World Match Play Championship between 1964 and 2007.
Another notable tournament it hosted was the Daks Tournament, which preceded the European Tour and was held at the West Course on 17 of its 22 editions. The 1952 tournament was the first televised golf event.
The West Course, which is also known as Burma Road, has changed significantly in recent years thanks to Ernie Els’s redesigns, first in 2010, when he lengthened it, recontoured putting surfaces and added bunkers while deepening others.
That renovation work was poorly received by some, but Els was again at the helm in 2016 for another extensive redesign, this time involving five of the greens, the removal of some bunkers and implementing a sub-air system – the first in England.
The West Course is known for its elevated greens and deep bunkers, while it features heather, a huge variety of trees and rhododendrons.
Edinburgh Course
The Edinburgh Course opened in 1990
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While the second of Wentworth’s three 18-hole layouts was ready by 1926, it was another 64 years until the third was opened for play. It’s safe to say the Edinburgh Course was worth the wait.
Designed by John Jacobs, Bernard Gallacher and Gary Player, it doesn’t appear remotely out of place despite being so much newer than the more established courses as it winds its way through the pine trees.
The Edinburgh Course (which was originally called the South Course and was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh), hosted the Wentworth Senior Masters between 1997 and 2007.
Finally, Wentworth is also the home of a short par-3, the Executive Course, measuring 1,902 yards.
