Sunningdale Golf Club

Heather, pine and a train from Waterloo.

Sunningdale is the best known of the heathland clubs on the sandy belt south-west of London, and it has two courses of near-equal standing. Visitors play from May to October, Monday to Thursday, and the club runs its tee sheet a season at a time, so a little planning goes a long way. The golf is all heather, pine and silver birch on sandy ground that drains fast and plays firm. It is also one of the few great English clubs you can reach by train, with the station a short walk from the gate.

Sunningdale Golf Club green fees and tee times.

Visitors are welcome Monday to Thursday from May to October, never on Fridays, weekends or bank holidays. Bookings go through the reservations office by email to info@sunningdale.com or by phone on +44 (0)1344 621681, weekdays from 9am to 5pm. The 2026 season is fully booked, and the 2027 diary opens in November 2026. Bookings must be paid in full within 30 days of invoice, and there is no refund inside three months of play, though you can usually move the date within 12 months. Every player needs a current handicap index of 18.4 or lower for men or 24.4 for women, and you must show a certificate when you sign in at the professional’s shop.

The courses at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Old Course

Park’s course, refined by Colt, is the more celebrated of the two. It plays across rolling heath with long views from the elevated tees, and the club’s oak tree stands behind the 18th green. The halfway hut beside the 10th green is part of the ritual. Visitors play it at 6,088 yards, par 70; women play from the reds at 5,847 yards, par 74.

New Course

Colt’s 1923 layout is more open and more exposed than the Old, with heather crowding the carries and fewer trees to frame the shots. At 6,080 yards and par 70 from the yellows it matches the Old for length. Booking both on the same day is the classic Sunningdale visit.

The round, in perspective.

The club was founded in 1900 on the edge of Chobham Common. Willie Park Jr laid out the Old Course, which opened in 1901, and Harry Colt, the club’s first secretary, reworked it before designing the New Course, which opened in 1923. In 1926 Bobby Jones qualified for the Open here with a 66 that contained 33 putts and 33 other shots, every hole a three or a four. The club has since hosted the 1987 Walker Cup, four Women’s British Opens and the Senior Open, most recently in 2025. From the yellow tees visitors use, both courses are par 70 and a little under 6,100 yards, so the test is precision rather than length.

Make the trip work.

Contact the club as soon as the 2027 diary opens if you want a specific week. The 2027 visitor season runs from 4 May to 29 July and from 31 August to 21 October; the course is closed to visitors in between. Sunningdale is not a buggy course: one is only allowed with medical evidence, at £170 a round including a caddie to drive it. Push trolleys are free, but electric trolleys are not available. Mobile phones are restricted to the car park, the clubhouse is card-only, and men need a jacket in the dining room.

Heathrow is about 20 minutes by car. South Western Railway runs from London Waterloo to Sunningdale station in around 50 minutes, and the club is a few minutes’ walk from the platform along Ridgemount Road. Gatwick is roughly 45 minutes away on the M25.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. St George’s Hill Golf Club (13 km) · 2. Walton Heath Golf Club (29 km) · 3. Hindhead Golf Club (30 km) · 4. The Grove (35 km) · 5. The Addington Golf Club (41 km) · Compare all London & Surrey Heathland tee times

Somewhere to settle in.

The area around Ascot, Bagshot and Egham has several country-house hotels. Coworth Park, part of the Dorchester Collection, is just outside Ascot, about five minutes away. Pennyhill Park in Bagshot and Great Fosters in Egham are each around 15 minutes by car. For a lower budget, stay in Windsor, about 20 minutes away, where there are plenty of guesthouses and the town has pubs and restaurants for the evenings.

Make a trip of it.

The heathland belt is full of strong golf. The Berkshire, with its Red and Blue courses through pine forest, is ten minutes away and takes weekday visitors. Walton Heath, West Hill and Worplesdon are within half an hour, and Swinley Forest is closer still, though it is mainly played as a member’s guest. Off the course, Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park are close by, and Ascot Racecourse holds Royal Ascot every June.

Find your season.

Visitor golf runs from early May to late October, with a closure of about a month from late July to the end of August. Sandy subsoil means the courses drain quickly after rain and run firm in dry spells. Heather on both courses flowers purple in August and September.