Awesome challenge ahead at new-look West Course
02 Sep 2009
It is one of the abiding images of any BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. The packed stands behind the 18th green on the West Course, flanked by the vast Hospitality Units on one side and state-of-the-art big screen TV on the other.
As a gladiatorial amphitheatre, that compact bowl sitting beneath the famous clubhouse generates an unbeatable electric atmosphere as the latest BMW PGA Champion is crowned on a Sunday evening in May.
However, a stroll down that familiar dog-leg par five closing hole at the moment will paint a completely different picture. The 18th green and approaches have disappeared under a mountain of earth as construction work continues apace to restore and modernise the West Course.
By the time Paul Casey defends his BMW PGA title next May, Wentworth will be proud owners of a fabulous facility designed for the 21st century, including a new-look 18th which promises to heighten the tension and drama like never before.
A water hazard will run parallel to the right-hand edge of the 18th fairway from 90 yards out then across the front portion and down the left side of the green. The green itself has been moved to the right and re-shaped to provide a potentially treacherous closing hole, adding to the excitement of the spectators and the nerves of the players.
It has been an enormous project undertaken by the Ernie Els Design Team in the immediate aftermath of the 2009 BMW PGA Championship, at the behest of Wentworth Club’s ambitious owner, Richard Caring, who took the bold decision to close the West Course for ten months and dig up all 18 greens and replace the poa grass with colonial bent to USGA specifications.
As Els says: “Through detailed discussions with Richard Caring, it became clear that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to leave a lasting legacy - a final, dramatic brush stroke if you like -on the one remaining area of the West Course which required attention.
“I firmly believe that if Harry Colt was alive today he would approve of what we are doing to refine and modernise his classic design. Harry was a man of remarkable vision and style in the early part of the 20th century and I am of the opinion that Wentworth’s role is to be equally visionary and progressive in this first decade of the 21st century. It is Wentworth’s way to pay close attention to detail and take pride in the quality of finish. This is what we are doing with the West.”
Apart from hole 18, which promises to be the jewel in the crown when the course re-opens for play in March 2010, there will be several other changes to whet the appetite of the golfing connoisseur. Specifically, the ninth green has been raised by a metre and the 12th - which will become a challenging 485 yard par four rather than a straightforward par five - by nearly two metres; the 17th has new humps and swales which will sweep away any misdirected shots; the eighth green is smaller and the water hazard has been extended so that it is now in close proximity to the putting surface.
Additionally, a full review of the bunkering has also been undertaken with some new ones constructed, some removed altogether and others remodelled.
Around 20,000 square metres of turf was grown in Lincolnshire and transported in sections as required to Surrey to be laid with the skill and efficiency of a carpet-fitter within 24 hours of delivery. As with every other part of the project, nothing is ever left to chance.
Currently, eight greens have been completed, with a view for the remainder of the basic reconstruction work to be completed by the end of September 2009.
Els has taken an almost paternal view of the project and, like any expectant father, he cannot wait for the 2010 BMW PGA Championship, when his peers on The European Tour can ‘test drive’ the new layout for the first time in competition.
He concluded: “When Colt designed the course there were no sprinkler systems, so the greens needed to be able to hold water in the winter to provide moisture for the summer. To do this they put a layer of clay underneath the top soil.
“But now with today’s sprinkler systems and the rain we get early in the year, the water has nowhere to go so it just collects on the surface of the greens. That creates sponginess and an inconsistent roll. That’s why we had to rebuild the greens. It was the only way forward.”
Nothing gets in the way of progress and certainly the West Course greens present an aesthetically pleasing – as well as challenging – appearance with the new colonial bent grass creating a colour contrast with the darker rye grass around the fringes.
There is already a tangible sense of excitement around Wentworth these days and it is not hard to see why. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to witness the work in progress will want to dust down the clubs and play. It promises to be an awesome and formidable experience.