Mannings Heath Golf Club has won widespread acclaim and been earmarked as a future venue to host national tournaments after successfully staging the 2013 English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
The event was the first time that the Horsham club has held one of the top championships on the England Golf amateur calendar in its 108-year history, and players and officials were quick to give it their seal of approval.
A composite course was specially created by England Golf for the championship - which was played from August 6-8 - with a combination of gold, white, yellow and red tees being used on Mannings Heath’s renowned Waterfall Course. The event produced one of the most exciting finishes for years, with 2012 Curtis Cup star Amy Boulden beating Charlotte Thomas in a sudden death play-off to lift the trophy.
Pam Benka, president of England Golf, said: “We are absolutely delighted with how everything went and the event produced a wonderful feast of golf.
“The course was in fantastic condition and produced an excellent test - as seen by the result - and we received some great feedback from the players. Mannings Heath hasn’t held a big tournament before but it has everything that’s needed to stage an event of this size. It has lovely facilities off the course and the club really joined in to the whole feel of the event.
“Lots of volunteers were on hand which made for a very happy tournament, and we’d love to come back at some point in the future.”
The championship has been won by a host of top players over the years including European Solheim Cup star Trish Johnson and 17-year-old teen sensation Charley Hull, the new rising star of the Ladies European Tour, and Boulden looks destined to follow in their footsteps.
The Welsh ace was locked in a thrilling head-to-head battle with Singapore-based Thomas for the final 36 holes of the 72-hole event, with the pair only separated when Boulden birdied the first hole of sudden death, after her opponent had earlier failed to clinch victory when she bogeyed the final hole.
Boulden, who had played in the Ricoh Women’s British Open the week before and won the Welsh stroke play title earlier this summer, said: “I knew it would take a birdie to win. I have been playing well for the last few weeks and I knew I was capable of winning. But Charlotte played great golf all day and she deserved to win as much as I did.
“The course was in fantastic condition and the greens are probably the best that I have played on all year. It’s definitely a thinking golfer’s course and a lot of the time you’re better off hitting a rescue club instead of your driver off the tee.
“I didn’t know anything about Mannings Heath before this week but I really enjoyed playing here and I would definitely love to come back.”
Steve Slinger, general manager at Mannings Heath Golf Club, added: “It was a great honour for the club to host such a prestigious event. The course played tremendously well and to receive so many positive comments is very encouraging and reward for all the hard work that the team has put in here.
“We are very grateful to England Golf for providing the opportunity for the club to show what we can do. Everyone at Mannings Heath really embraced the championship and we’re looking forward to hopefully hosting similar high-profile events in the future.”
Mannings Heath Golf Club, which is owned by the Exclusive Golf group alongside The Manor House Golf Club in Castle Combe, near Bath, boasts two 18-hole layouts - the Waterfall Course and Kingfisher Course.
The former is a members-only course while the latter flows gracefully through the Sussex countryside, testing the skills and nerve of the most seasoned player and was rated by the ‘Top 100 Golf Courses in England’ as the best pay-and-play course in the county in 2011.
Exclusive Golf was formed in 2010 and is a part of Exclusive Hotels, a prestigious group of individual, stylish hotels in the south of England, located in stunning surroundings and presenting a luxurious tranquility in beautiful English locations.
