There is an interesting juxtaposition

in this month’s Greenkeeping International magazine whose editorial suggests that perhaps classic golf courses of historical interest should be considered like a listed building, but also containing an article on the new Wentworth that maintains a scrupulously neutral position.

The editor, Scott MacCallum of the in-house magazine of BIGGA, the greenkeepers’ association, was taken around this Harry Colt designed course to see the latest changes Ernie Els is making.

The 100% poa annua (meadowgrass) greens were considered not good enough in May by some professionals playing in the PGA Championship and Wentworth’s millionaire owner, Richard Caring (a two-handicapper), who also owns among other businesses The Ivy and Soho House in London, decided to dig them all up and create a true ‘target’ style of course.

Wentworth's new 1st green

Chris Kennedy, Wentworth’s course manager, is quoted as saying: “Modern equipment, the ball and clubs are designed for a through-the-air game and the new course takes account of this but that means that the opportunity to run the ball in, rather than fly it in, has been removed.”

Many of the greens have been raised, not like at Royal Dornoch but with extra bunkering at the front. The 18th has been made into a television spectacular with a new ‘creek’ running across in front of the green to create “Belfry-like” penal drama. Colt’s routing is the only element of his design that has been preserved.

GI’s article is headed: “Same name, different course”

(When I last played the West course at Wentworth quite a few years ago, it’s nick-name was “The Burma Road” to describe its toughness. A name that I am told was frowned on when Japanese money acquired the estate before Richard Caring.

Pugh and Lord’s well researched book Creating Classics published in 2008 that brilliantly describes Colt’s design heritage, (though they don’t seem to recognise the importance of agronomy to design) heads their Wentworth chapter “Let this be their Burma Road” and comments that Els’ re-bunkering and lengthening up to 2007 “remained true to Colt’s original shot values without loss of character”. It would be surprising if they are still of this view today.)

Wentworth's new 12th green

It sounds to me as though this iconic Harry Colt heathland course, with its wonderful natural strategic design using the movement in the ground, is being replaced by a television driven,  artificial, bulldozer created, ‘International’, modern penal, design based on power, the mechanical precision of stopping the ball dead on the correct yardage button and fast putting.

Let’s hope Richard Caring has deep enough pockets to support the high cost maintenance and then Sky viewers can watch our own Augusta ‘target’ spectacular  with the television coverage, boringly most likely focused on the tees and the greens, with each commentator vieing for the superlatives to describe how brilliant the players have been in flying the ball  to stop on a button next to the flag!

The Dunhill joined The Open being played on ‘fine’ courses but most of the television money over the last twenty-five years has chased ‘target’ courses (that have quite often gone bankrupt a number of times).

To be honest this redesign seems inevitable if this course, that has had ‘target’ poa annua greens for some years, was going to test the Professional’s ‘target’ game and continue to attract PGA tournaments. It lost the World Matchplay, that was started here in the 1960s, (with all those Piccadilly tubed miroirs!) in 2007 and there has been speculation that BMW were considering suggesting a move of the PGA Championship.

But…

Did anybody even consider the option of laying new fescue greens?

This would have allowed some updating to the course without wholesale revision. It would also have been cheaper, with less future maintenance cost and less use of chemicals and water.

Importantly, the professionals’ imaginations and creativity, in having to play the low running fine game, would have been tested and it would have continued the

trend of new money seeking the holy grail of ‘fine golf’,

as seen at Castle Stuart, The Renaissance, Spey Valley and Dundonald Links, all championship courses developed in the last ten years with fine grasses. The new Wentworth is bucking this trend.

It seems that I shall, with much regret, have to consider removing it from the list of 200 ‘fine’ courses in the British Isles and Ireland. What do you think?  Do make a comment below.