Fairway Files: Wentworth West – Colt’s Surrey Symphony

Words by Jack Tranter

Imagine a world of polished perfection, Wentworth’s West Course is a composition of exactly that. Set amid Surrey’s rolling heather and tree-lined fairways, it’s a place where beauty meets strategy. Every hole feels deliberate, cut through pines, birch, and rhododendrons, weaving through a landscape that’s both refined and deeply natural in feel.  

Since its inception in 1927, Harry Colt’s layout has been the stage for Ryder Cups, World Match Play Championships, and the signature BMW PGA Championship that remains the DP World Tour’s flagship event annually earning its place as one of England’s most storied and esteemed courses. 

A Legacy Reborn

Over its near-century of prestige, the West Course has evolved with care. Ernie Els oversaw major renovations in 2009/10 such as the famous brook that now collars the 18th green. Then again in 2016, rebuilding all 18 greens to USGA standard, reshaping bunkers to reintroduce challenge and reducing bunker count to restore Colt’s strategic intent.

When Golf Feels Grand
Stepping on the first tee feels like stepping inside your television, with the iconic castle-like clubhouse behind you. The West’s iconic layout feels almost surreal, as if you’ve stepped into a painting or onto the television stage you’ve watched so many times before. For the pros the 1st is a daunting par 4, for members it plays as a par 5 and feels a touch more forgiving. Either way, it’s an opening that reminds you this is no ordinary round.

The 2nd is a wonderful par 3, with the carry up into a slender green that feels tighter the longer you look at it. Then the 3rd, a brute of a par 4, climbing towards one of the finest green complexes on the property that is bold, demanding, and utterly compelling. The front nine builds steadily, but the stretch from 7 to 9 is where the magic begins. The 7th plays downhill over heather, its semi-blind tee shot sliding into a dogleg right, before the fairway runs out at a brook, leaving an uphill approach to a tilted green.

The back nine continues the examination. The par 3s are standout tests in their own right. Uphill, long, and narrow, with nowhere to hide. At no point in the round do you find an “easy” hole. Instead, the course asks you to use your imagination from the tee and commit fully to every shot. The 11th is a visual feast from the tee, a dogleg left dropping down before climbing up to a green that slopes mischievously from right to left. Colt’s routing here is nothing short of genius.

The closing stretch can define a round, and more than a few scorecards have been left in tatters between 13 and 15. But the West doesn’t just punish, it offers redemption too. The back to back par 5s at 17 and 18 bring risk and reward in equal measure. Play them cautiously and you might escape with pars; play them boldly and you could just write a grandstand finish.

And then there’s that walk up 18. The fairway rises towards the stately clubhouse, galleries towering around the green framing the amphitheatre. The now famous brook guarding green has only heightened the drama, forcing you to weigh up glory against disaster. It’s impossible not to imagine the weight of pressure those facing that decision must feel when the BMW PGA reaches its crescendo and the world’s best fight for glory on this very stage. 

Championship Golf and Legacy

Wentworth West isn’t just a course, it’s an arena with the game’s history etched into the Surrey countryside. Every hole feels like a chapter, every shot like a moment under the spotlight amongst the manicured fairways, deliberate bunkering and the tree-lined corridors. It doesn’t let you coast, that’s the beauty of it. It demands your best, and rewards you with memories that never fade - with Colt’s Surrey symphony still echoing long after you’ve left the grounds.