BRING YOUR SAND WEDGE! I PLAYED LONDON’S NEWEST GOLF COURSE – AND THE BUNKERS ARE INTENSE
London, prepare to be inspired. The Inspiration Club, dubbed by its developers as a 'modern links in the city', is the capital's newest course - and now open for business. The 18-hole Championship course has been designed by renowned links architects, Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert, and features rolling links-style fairways, large undulating greens and 68 deep bunkers that resemble the traditional Scottish revetted bunkers. Indeed, the bunkers are the course's secret weapon - owner and co-designer Tony Menai-Davis spent over £700,000 on those alone with bunkering experts EcoBunker. Situated in the West London area on the A40, and just 10 miles from London's West End, The Inspiration Club is perfectly positioned for golfers wanting a round before or after work in the City. But it's not just handy for Londoners, the course is only five miles from Junction 16 on the M25 and seven miles away from Heathrow Airport. “We decided on a links-inspired course because of the nature of the land, and the proximity of RAF Northolt,” added Menai-Davis, whose Bridgedown Group also owns The Shire London - designed by Seve Ballesteros - and the nine-hole West London Golf Centre. In fact, Seve had agreed to take on the design of The Inspiration Club before his untimely death in 2011. Menai-Davis then took over the project, shaping the land and laying out the course, before bringing in links specialist Mackenzie, whose company was responsible for the recent redesign of Turnberry. “The site was flat farmland and because of the airfield, we were restricted on the number of trees we could plant,” explained Menai-Davis. "The answer we came up with was to shape the terrain and defend the course with clever run-offs and tricky bunkering, in the style of the best links courses.” I had the privilege of playing in the official media opening recently, and right on cue, we were treated to typical links-style weather - wind and rain. And boy, do you need to bring your bunker A game. They are the course's main defence and after sampling two such traps on the third hole, I decided to steer well clear for the rest of the round. These deep revetting bunkers will become one of the most memorable features of the course and help to give it a real links-inspired feel. The 6,610-yard golf course also boasts dramatically shaped USGA-spec greens, averaging 550 square meters and seeded with Pure Distinction bent-grass - expect a pureness of ball roll throughout the year as well as a wide range of pin positions. Indeed, to experience the shapes of these greens and run-offs here you would normally have to travel to the coast to find. The course has four long par-fives - they bookend the front and back nine - along with four par-threes and 10 par-fours, many with tempting risk-and-reward dog-legs. The 17th, a long par-four, boasts one of the longest greens in London at 100 yards while the short par-three 13th is almost an island with a fiendishly sloping green. To ensure that the course is accessible to as many people as possible, The Inspiration Club has tee positions based on ability. The Black (6,610 yards), Orange (6,100 yards) and Purple (5,440 yards) will offer golfers of all abilities the chance to enjoy playing this remarkable course. In short, The Inspiration Club blends seaside British links, American parkland and Sandbelt golf to create a brand new golf experience. And of course, don't forget your sand wedge! Membership has already sold out but visitors are welcome seven days a week and green fees range from £70 to £90. For full details visit www.theinspirationclub.co.uk By Patrick Mooney