Origins
Woking Golf Club was founded in 1893 and is the oldest of the Surrey heathland courses. Established by a group of London barristers, who were members of the Inner and Middle Temple, the course was built on heathland leased from the Necropolis Company and was initially designed by Tom Dunn. Alterations to the course took place in the first two decades of the 20th century, mostly under the guidance of two prominent members John Low and Stuart Paton.
In 1972 the freehold of the Club was acquired by the Members. For many years the membership of the Club retained a legal flavour, however in more recent years many of the newer members have a city background.
Famous golfers who have been associated with the club and played much of their golf at Woking include Bernard Darwin, Gerald Micklem, Doug Sewell and Roger Wethered.
The Club hosts a number of well supported tournaments, such as the Bernard Darwin Trophy and Gerald Micklem Trophy, both public schools team events.
Every June the Club hosts the Alba Trophy, a scratch foursomes competition competed for by a number of leading Golf Clubs and Societies from the South of England, although the original format was a scratch amateur singles event, featuring some very distinguished figures from the world of amateur golf.
The Club is the home of the Senior Golfers' Society of Great Britain: https://www.seniorgolferssociety.com/
Woking is a very much in the tradition of English golf clubs and retains its old character. The course has been lengthened in recent years and is now in excess of 6,500 yards from the back tees, however the real challenge of the course is the complexity of its undulating greens. In recent years, a significant investment programme has been undertaken including a reservoir, fairway watering system and greens drainage programme. In addition the club has undertaken an extensive woodland management programme to help the heather re-establish, which has resulted in many of the original stunning views across the course being reinstated.
Woking is currently ranked 17th in the list of the top 100 courses in England as set out in the March 2019 issue of Golf World.
An excellent description of the course is available on the golf architecture based website Golf Club Atlas: http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/england/woking1/
