Faldo swings into Chart Hills to oversee latest improvements

Sir Nick Faldo returned to the site of one of his oldest and most significant course design projects when he dropped into Chart Hills Golf Club In Kent last month to review the on-going upgrades to the course that he first designed back in 1993.

Sir Nick took his first look at his newly designed practice putting green, reviewed ongoing projects and hosted a short game clinic for members during his time at the club.

The putting green takes inspiration from Faldo’s favourite greens from his major wins Augusta, Muirfield and St Andrews – including its very own Valley of Sin, the undulating patch of fairway that fronts the 18th green of the iconic Old Course.

In recent years, Chart Hills has undergone some extensive renovation work that has transformed the course into one of England’s finest. The club undertook a major fairway project in 2021, which saw every fairway sand-capped, creating a winterproof course, with excellent playability year-round. Following on from this, in August this year, the club announced the second phase of the renovation project, which includes the refurbishment of all the tee boxes and the completion of the new Sir Nick Faldodesigned par-3 course.

Inspired by some of the short holes that Sir Nick has experienced during his career on tour, the par-3 course will have holes ranging from 50 to 100 yards, with specific design features dawning from iconic holes at St Andrews, Augusta National and the main course at Chart Hills.

JCB Golf & Country Club is owned by British billionaire Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB, a manufacturer of equipment in construction and agriculture. The club’s ultra-exclusive course only opened four years ago but has already hosted a Legends Tour event for the past two years, but will most likely have to end that partnership given the current impasse that exists between the DP World Tour and LIV Golf.

Centurion is to continue to host the UK leg of the Aramco Team Series, a Ladies European Tour competition which has been staged in the immediate week following the club’s hosting of the LIV Golf London event over the past two years.

LIV Golf’s schedule will include a number of new stops in 2024, including Mayakoba in Mexico, Las Vegas in Nevada and South Korea. Valderrama in Spain will stay in the schedule for 2024, hosting a tournament from July 12-14, while new venues in Nashville and Houston will be among the six events due to take place in the US, with Doral in Miami, being one of the venues to give way.