In 2024, we officially celebrated the 30-year anniversary of London Golf Club’s opening – a historic milestone for a golf venue which has, in a relatively short space of time, made an indelible mark on the English, British and European golf landscape.
The Nicklaus-designed duo of world-class parkland courses – the Heritage and the International – have played host to some of golf’s most famous superstars with the DP World Tour choosing the venue as a tournament host on multiple occasions. In 2014, the Volvo World Match Play took place over the International course where Mikko Ilonen added his name to a prestigious list of winners, including Seve Ballesteros, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Sir Nick Faldo, by beating Henrik Stenson in the final.
The historic European Open also visited us, this time over the Heritage course, with Ross Fisher and Christian Cévaer claiming the famous title in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Legends Tour events have also been hosted at our club, while the inaugural London Golf Club G4D Shield in August was such a success that the event will be returning in 2025.
After making a mark across Europe, it is now time London Golf Club put its stamp on world golf.
We have tried and tested it with DP World Tour events, but there are global events – Ryder Cups, Solheim Cups – that we should be looking at and aspiring to host.
We are currently in the bidding process for the 2031 and 2035 Ryder Cup. It has so far been a fascinating exercise because the numbers they’re talking about – 70,000 people a day – is a different dynamic. But The London Project (a major expansion that will include a new hotel and spa) will stand us in good stead to become a venue to attract these global events.
We would like to see our facility become renowned alongside some of the other venues that have hosted Ryder Cups and Solheim Cups. That’s where London Golf Club should be, we should be among those names.
Mr Nagahara (the club’s first owner) wanted to create a venue to stage global tournaments. The current ownership shares those ambitions. The team is here, the facility is here, the product is here, and we believe we could put on a great show. We think that’s the right aspiration for the club to have.
With the landscape of golf forever changing, we want to be ready for whatever that format takes in the future. London Golf Club is a turnkey solution for this.