Colt's Finest Work
Many course architects and golf historians consider St George's Hill to be Harry Colt's finest creation – a bold claim given that his portfolio includes Sunningdale's New Course, Wentworth's West Course, and Swinley Forest. The course opened on 2 October 1913, laid out through the pine and rhododendron woodland of the St George's Hill private estate, which local builder W.G. Tarrant had acquired two years earlier.
The original 18 holes (now the Red and Blue nines) run through towering Scots pine on sandy subsoil, with elevation changes that give the course a character quite different from the flat heathland of Woking or Worplesdon. The turf is fast, the greens are subtle, and the routing makes full use of the natural contours. A third nine – the Green – was redesigned by Donald Steel in 1987 from a surviving portion of a second 18-hole course Colt designed in the 1920s. The back nine of that second course was lost to wartime requisition and never restored.
The Silver Trophy
St George's Hill is not a tournament venue in the professional sense, but its annual Silver Trophy – a 36-hole amateur scratch medal held each July since 1919 – is one of the most respected amateur competitions in the south of England. Past competitors include Tommy Armour and Bob Charles. Gary Wolstenholme, arguably the finest British amateur of his generation, won it in 2001.
The Estate
The club sits within the St George's Hill private estate, one of the most expensive residential areas in England. Roads are gated, security is present, and the sense of seclusion is complete. This is a club where members value privacy above all else. Visitors are welcome by arrangement, but the estate's character means it feels less accessible than other Surrey courses of similar quality.
What makes St George's Hill special is its architecture. Colt's Red and Blue nines are among the best 18 holes in southern England, with green complexes that reward precision and punish complacency. The setting – ancient pines filtering sunlight onto immaculate fairways – is hard to beat anywhere in the heathland belt.
