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Hampshire Golf
Featuring Waterlooville Golf Club
Sir Henry Cotton: one of the finest golf architects the world has seen
Sir Thomas Henry Cotton, more-commonly known as Sir Henry Cotton was born in January 1907 in Cheshire. He died on 22nd December 1987 in London leaving a legacy of golf course design and architecture which is highly regarded in the United Kingdom along with the works of legendary golf course architects James Braid and Alistair Mackenzie. Cotton was encouraged by his father to play golf and was coached by John Henry Taylor. He became a professional golfer in 1926 and won his first British Open Championship in 1934; ending years of American dominance. He won the major tournament two more times in his career, once in 1937 and for a second time some years later in 1948.
Cotton also represented Great Britain in the Ryder Cup on four occasions. After his retirement from professional golf, Sir Henry Cotton taught and wrote several books including titles, Studying the Golf Game (1964), A History of Golf (1973) and Thanks for the Game (1980).
Cotton’s first designs included the Penina Golf and Resort and Pestana Alto Golf on the Algarve.
Following his retirement, Sir Henry Cotton also became known as a successful architect of golf courses with his shining examples of golf courses inspiring the game of golf and displaying his own passion for golf. Characteristics of Cotton-designed golf courses saw lush landscapes transformed with the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs. Cotton’s vision of year-round golf was achieved by using free-draining terrains with natural irrigation as a foundation for a magnificent grouping of golf holes which feature strategically-placed bunkers safeguarding the sloping putting surfaces accessed from contoured fairways. One of the finest example of a Sir Henry Cotton designed course can be found in Hampshire. Waterlooville Golf Club offers many of the classic signs of a Cotton course. With its parkland layout and treelined fairways.
Sir Henry redesigned the course in the 70’s and the Cotton features still remain to this very day For a full review of this gem please see overleaf.
Cotton after winning the Pilling Challenge Cup in 1923
Cotton after winning the Open in Carnoustie in 1937
Sir Henry Cotton received a knighthood in the New Year’s Day honours in 1988, named as a Knight Bachelor following his death a year earlier.
Waterlooville Golf Club
Also in the area is the declared area of outstanding natural beauty, Chichester Harbour and the 1,000 acre Staunton Country Park, perfect for exploring with the whole family. This area truly is a picture of what is quintessentially British, with stunning natural scenery and sleepy coastal towns. South Hampshire is also home to a number of high quality golf courses, of which Waterlooville Golf Club is hailed as one of the best. With plenty to see and do, its not surprising that avid golfers, with their families, and touring golfing societies are flocking to the area in droves to enjoy the beauty of the area.
Waterlooville is a small town in the South of Hampshire, only around 8 miles from Portsmouth. As the story goes, it gets its name from a pub “The Heroes of Waterloo�, that stood in its centre and welcomed home soldiers disembarking at Portsmouth and celebrating their legendary victory on the battlefield. Now over 200 years old, the town is famed for its wonderful sense of community and welcoming nature. This unconditional friendliness has spread to its golf club, Waterlooville Golf Club, just 15 minutes from the Southern Coast.
Waterlooville Golf Club was founded in 1907 by a group of gentlemen passionate about creating a highquality golf course for the community to enjoy. More than a century on, the course is continuing to improve with an astonishing quarter of a million pounds spent on the course over the first few years of the millennium. Their dedication to maintaining the course, regardless of weather conditions or season, is commendable, closing for only 3 days over the 2014/2015 winter period. The course now has excellent drainage which makes the course a pleasure to play all year round. The course now brags an impressive 6,550 yards, across 5 par fives, 8 par fours, and 5 par threes. The facilities at the club are phenomenal; this includes a fully stocked pro-shop that sells all the top brands in golf, a practice ground to warm up on and a warm and welcoming clubhouse. The main lounge at Waterlooville Golf Club is ideal for hosting a range of events of any size, with delicious food prepared fresh on site. The South of Hampshire really is incredibly beautiful, and a wonderful place to explore with plenty for the family to see and do, as well as high standard golf courses ideal for society tours. Waterlooville Golf Club has had such a high level of investment, which demonstrates their dedication to providing well maintained greens and tees all year round. If you’re looking for a course that is both challenging and enjoyable for golfers of all abilities, this Southern gem should be at the top of your list.
T: 02392263386
W: waterloovillegolfclub.com