Worplesdon Golf Club: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

Impressive renovation work at this classic heathland course has elevated the offering. The club has a great history and heritage.

Worplesdon Golf Club
Worplesdon Golf Club 12th hole
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Top 100 Courses UK & Ireland 2023/24

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Worplesdon Golf Club Key Information

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Row 0 - Cell 0 Row 0 - Cell 1
AddressHeath House Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 0RA
Phone Number01483 472277
Websitehttps://www.worplesdongc.co.uk
Emailoffice@worplesdongc.co.uk
Green Fees£175 - £225
Visitor TimesVisitors are welcomed on weekdays
Par71
Slope Rating129 (White), 124 (Yellow), 116 (Red), 104 (Blue), 130 (Women's Red) 112 (Women's Blue)
Opened1908
Designed byJF Abercromby, Willie Park Jr
Golf Monthly Verdict

Worplesdon Golf Club 10th hole

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Worplesdon is an ambitious club with a great history plus a high-quality heathland course.

Worplesdon is a great club to visit and a pleasure to play. It feels like a proper golf club with great history and character. The welcome is always and the course is always maintained in excellent condition. 

With the recent bunker renovation now bedding in, Worplesdon is moving in the right direction.

REASONS TO PLAY WORPLESDON GOLF CLUB

– Classic heathland layout

– A club with a great heritage

– Significant improvements to the layout, including full renovation of all 80 bunkers

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 60

JF Abercromby was responsible for the original layout at Worplesdon back in 1908, but it was Sunningdale Old Course architect, Willie Park Jnr who oversaw construction of the greens and bunkering.

It’s a fantastically pretty layout, particularly when the heather is in bloom. Recently the club has worked hard on the course with a view to emphasising the natural heathland elements. It's one of the very best golf courses in Surrey.

The design uses the natural contours well with only small changes in elevation, but several holes are dog-legged over heather to make straight hitting necessary. You do not feel crowded on the course as holes flow well throughout.

This is a club with a great heritage. Former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was first captain, HRH The Prince of Wales held the position in 1933.

Worplesdon has hosted many notable competitions, but the most famous and historic is the annual Mixed Foursomes tournament.

In his book “Golf Between Two Wars” Bernard Darwin wrote chapters on: The Open, Ryder Cup and Amateur Championship. He also wrote a chapter on the Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes – it says a great deal about the prestige of this event. Indeed, in the early years, the Mixed Foursomes attracted the cream of Britain’s golfing talent.

Back in 1921, England international Miss Eleanor Helme and Walker Cup player T.A. Torrance won the first final. They defeated the famous brother and sister pairing of Joyce Wethered and Roger Wethered.

From then, the honours board reads like a who’s who of British golf. Cecil Leitch, Leonard Crawley, Bruce Critchley, Angela and Michael Bonallack and Jessie Valentine were all victors.

On course, the first four holes loop round and back to the clubhouse, and heather and pine are an almost constant companion.

The ‘signature’ hole is the delightful 10th played over a pond although strangely enough the hole is more Augusta than Surrey and the water is not really representative of the challenges waiting elsewhere.

Back-to-back par 5s immediately follow across the road in a particularly strong sequence of four holes that are completed by a well-bunkered par 3 and then the toughest two-shotter on the course, the 14th.

The closing four are all very pretty, and no matter how you play, it would be a cheerless person not to enjoy the fine golf on offer at Worplesdon.

With large heather areas restored and all 80 bunkers having been renovated, Worplesdon has been working hard to elevate their offering.

Worplesdon Golf Club Course Review

What The Top 100 Panel Said

John Winter UK&I Top 100 panel
John Winter

It felt like a real privilege to play this well-designed course full of character, with fantastic bunkers and challenging greens all maintained to a very high level. With a new short game area and a clubhouse extension it will only get even better in the future. A very strong strategic test with great balance. Some very good holes.

Sheila Diamond UK&I Top 100 panel
Sheila Diamond

With five long par 3’s and many par 4’s not reachable in 2 for mid-handicap women, the course presents a formidable challenge, but nevertheless, there was always an opportunity to chip and putt. The beautiful signature 10th hole, over the water has a green well-guarded by bunkers and with difficult slopes so a shot onto the green does not by any means guarantee a par.

A cracking Surrey course that I think will be more and more enjoyable each time you play it.

Worplesdon Golf Club Location

Worplesdon Golf Club Green Fees

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Summer 2023 Round£175
Summer 2023 Day£225

Worplesdon Golf Club scorecard

Worplesdon Golf Club scorecard

Worplesdon Golf Club scorecard

(Image credit: Worplesdon Golf Club)

Best Courses Near to Worplesdon Golf Club

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<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/west-hill-golf-club-course-review-60789" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">WEST HILL

West Hill is home to tip-top heathland golf. Dating back to 1907, it is largely unchanged in terms of design though greatly and consistently improved in presentation and conditioning. There are five short holes and just two par 5s, and despite the Hill in its name, the walking is easy. A brilliant journey through the pines in Surrey’s prime heathland territory

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<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/woking-golf-club-course-review-60819" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">WOKING

Woking has long been regarded as architecturally significant. The short par-4 start is followed by a superb par 3 recently enhanced by the removal of a large oak and bunker improvements. There’s no let-up in quality throughout, with the vista from the elevated 6th tee perhaps the best on the course. A case study in strategic course design as well as a beautiful place to play.

For more great courses around Worplesdon Golf Club, check out our guide to the best golf courses in Surrey.

Best Places to Stay Near Worplesdon Golf Club

Premier Inn Woking West - Book now direct
A leafy canal-side location in the village of Horsell, the Premier Inn always delivers an excellent bed and a comfy room. There's ample parking and a good Beefeater restaurant - excellent breakfasts and just a short drive to Worplesdon Golf Club.

Harbour Hotel Guildford - Book now at Booking.com
Set in a contemporary glass-fronted building, this 4-star hotel is a one minute walk from the cobbled High Street of Guildford. Guests can enjoy the hotel's spa facilities, which features a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, stone oven sauna, aromatic crystal steam room and relaxation room. Good restaurant.

Worplesdon Golf Club Course Gallery

Worplesdon Golf Club Historical Top 100 Ranking UK&I

  • 2023/24 - 60
  • 2021/22 - 63
  • 2019/20 - 64
  • 2017/18 - 63
  • 2015/16 - 68
  • 2013/14 - 72
  • 2011/12 - 76
  • 2009/10 - 79

Worplesdon Golf Club

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a handicap to play at Worplesdon?

Visitors are welcomed weekdays and should have official Handicaps (Men & Juniors 20 or below and Ladies 30 or below)

Is there a dress code at Worplesdon?

Information on the Worplesdon club website is as follows:

It is the responsibility of all Members, their guests and visitors to ensure that they are dressed appropriately for Worplesdon Golf Club, both on and off the course. Common sense should be used, please.

As a guideline, some examples of what is unacceptable are as follows -

  • Torn or ripped clothing, Baggy shirts not tucked in
  • Tee shirts, and clothes carrying large or offensive slogans
  • Tracksuits, Non-tailored shorts
  • Baseball caps worn backwards
  • Open-toed sandals/flip-flops (men)

The dining room is smart casual. Jacket & tie may be required, at the discretion of the event organiser. Golf shoes are not allowed.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?