Hidden Gem

Worplesdon Golf Club

Woking, Surrey · Designed by J.F. Abercromby (1908) · Est. 1908

Worplesdon completes the "Three W's," and is the work of John Abercromby, the enigmatic architect whose small body of courses is treasured by connoisseurs. Opened in 1908 on heather-and-pine country north of Woking, it is a course of great charm and subtlety, with a beautiful sequence of holes around a lake and a run of superb par-3s that show Abercromby's gift for the short hole.

At around 6,440 yards, par 71, it plays firm and strategic over springy heathland turf, the heather and silver birch demanding accuracy off the tee. It is best known beyond its membership for the Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes, one of the most famous and long-running amateur events in the game, played here every autumn since 1921 and won over the decades by many of Britain's finest amateurs.

Visitors are welcome on weekdays. Combined with Woking and West Hill nearby, Worplesdon offers a day of understated, historic heathland golf that many rank among the most enjoyable in the country.

Holes worth knowing

1The par-3s — Abercromby had a rare gift for the short hole, and Worplesdon's one-shotters are the heart of its charm.
2The lakeside stretch — a beautiful sequence of holes around the water gives Worplesdon a variety its heather-and-pine neighbours lack.

Highlights

One of the "Three W's" of Surrey heathland
J.F. Abercromby design (1908)
Home of the Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes since 1921
A lovely sequence of par-3s and lakeside holes

Good to know

→The Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes, played here every autumn since 1921, is one of the great fixtures of British amateur golf — a real piece of the game's history.
→J.F. Abercromby is a cult figure among architecture buffs; his handful of courses (Worplesdon, Addington) are prized for subtlety — savour the par-3s.
→Visitors play weekdays; book through the office, and enjoy the change of pace the lakeside holes bring after the heather.
→It is the northernmost of the "Three W's" — do all three (Woking, West Hill, Worplesdon) in a day or two for the classic Surrey-heathland experience.
→The heaths around Woking are well served by rail from London Waterloo, making a car-light heathland trip genuinely practical.