Blackwell Grange Golf Club was a private members golf club when, in 2013 Darlington Council, the local authority, requested that they make a planning application for a housing development on the land they owned, which part of the golf course was built on. In return for using golf course land for a housing development, Darlington…
In 2013 I was approached by Cornerstone Golf Consultants to discuss the feasibility of building a flood storage embankment on the golf course at Handsworth Golf Club. The Environment Agency was planning the construction of a flood storage reservoir within the flood plain of the River Tame as it flows to the north of the…
The design of this expansive golf course features three main characteristics: woodland, wetland and grassland (including some “desert-like” features). The result is a varied and memorable course for golfers of varying abilities, all within view from the golf villas, apartments and 5 hotels. In order to keep the golf course in play throughout the year…
Set in a secluded corner of Buckinghamshire, on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this short but demanding 18-hole course was designed and built by Jonathan Gaunt in 1993/4 on land which had previously been farmed as cattle pasture and orchards. The course, which opened for play in 1996, has well-protected, undulating…
The second course at La Zagaleta, is a 6,000-metre length 18-hole private members course, called Los Barrancos, loosely translated as ‘a rugged, mountainous landscape’. When first presented with this site in 2003 it was certainly one of the most challenging golf course sites in Europe we’d worked on, with a difference in elevation of almost…
The owners of Linden Hall Hotel provided Jonathan with the opportunity to create something really unique. Set in historic parkland surrounding the 18th century mansion house, now a 50-bed hotel and spa owned and operated by Macdonald Hotels Group. The golf course plays through a dramatic undulating landscape, home to a wealth of wildlife including…
The 18-hole course was designed in the early 1990’s by golf pro’ Patrick Tallack and is set within the magnificent grounds of the 320 acre Kenwick Park Estate, near Louth in the Lincolnshire Wolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Best Western Kenwick Park Hotel is located adjacent to the course and offers accommodation…
This Jonathan Gaunt designed resort golf course in Brno, Moravia, is a first for the region. Challenging in its nature, the course features gently undulating greens, multiple teeing positions, numerous lakes and strategically placed bunkers – all surrounded by mature oak forest. The golf resort was built to provide sports and leisure facilities of the…
Gaunt Golf Design were appointed to redesign the greens on holes #1, #2, #3, #4, #15 and #16, all of which had experienced long term maintenance and drainage problems. Following an in-depth site visit, we advised the club that a 3D topographical survey should be undertaken (to our brief), enabling the design work and measurements…
Five years of careful planning and hard work resulted in the completion of an 18-hole high quality “pay-and-play” golf course project at Burstwick Country Golf in 2007. The first nine holes opened for play in 2004, followed by the second nine three years later. There are some really challenging holes, where water comes into play…
The new 9-hole Eagle course opened for play in May 2001. The course was extended from 18 to 27-holes, to create an 18-hole layout of over 6600 yards, plus a new 9-hole, par-30, academy course which offers challenges to every level of golfer. The project was extremely difficult to get planning consent for due to…
The Wildernesse Club embarked on an bunker remodelling programme in 2013 to rebuild and remodel all course bunkers in a modern “parkland” style that will provide consistency in terms of aesthetics, strategy, maintenance and playing quality. The course was originally laid out in 1890 by an unknown professional golfer, but was later modified by James…
GGD completed a total bunker renovation at Howley Hall GC, south of Leeds in 2016. Howley Hall was founded in 1900, and Dr Alister MacKenzie advised on upgrades to the club’s course in 1913. Jonathan Gaunt says: “The property is attractive – quite moorland-like in many ways, with a fair bit of heather and wispy…
This golf course has been created on a stunning parkland site surrounding the Wokefield Park 18th Century mansion house. The golf course, designed by Jonathan Gaunt in 1996, formed part of a £7 million redevelopment of an already successful 200-bed conference facility where DeVere Venues now has its headquarters. The site is undulating with many…
Jonathan Gaunt’s first golf course, designed in 1989 when he was 25 years old, is operated by Crown Golf – Europe’s largest golf operator. The course was built by Golf Landscapes Limited and Jonathan was not only the architect but also site construction manager. There are 18 holes on the main course (6646 yards, par…
This 18-hole golf course is atmospherically set in Kent, “The Garden of England”, on undulating chalk downland and within mature oak woodland in view of Canary Wharf and the Queen Elizabeth Bridge crossing the River Thames. It is a private member’s course, designed by Jonathan Gaunt in 1994, set in over 150 acres of parkland…
Castleknock was built between April and September 2004 and opened for play in July 2005. The championship standard 18-hole golf course and practice facilities were built for Monarch Properties Ltd and Tower Hotel Group on land that was previously part of the Somerton House demesne, overlooking wooded backdrop of the River Liffey valley – now…
Ramside Hall was the largest golf development in the North-East of England when it opened in April 1995. The Prince Bishops’ course is named after the warrior clergymen who ruled over the lawless North from Durham Castle after the Norman Conquest in the 11th Century. The Prince Bishop’s course was one of Jonathan’s first major…
The reconstruction of the Carlson Farm Course was a Donald Steel and Gaunt Golf Design collaboration. Donald was appointed in 2008 to prepare a complete renovation proposal for the Ellis Maples course, originally designed back in the early 1960’s. Greensboro Country Club celebrated it’s centenary in 2009 – having built it’s first course (The Irving…
The original 9-hole golf course at Hennerton was built in 1992 but due to intense demand, the owner decided to extend the course to 18-holes in 2003. Securing approval for the planning application was the first of many difficult challenges, as the site is within The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in beautiful chalk…
GGD has been advising Harrogate GC on all aspects of course improvements since the mid-1990’s – the work started with a full audit of the Sandy Herd/Harry Colt/Alister MacKenzie designed course. The course is located to the north-east of Harrogate, on an undulating site, which was once open moorland, overlooking the attractive North Yorkshire town…
Twin Chapels Golf Resort Praha, is in the northeast suburbs of Prague (Vinor), capital of Czechia. It is the closest large-scale golf resort to the city centre and is being developed by Golf Vinor, a.s., a private company based in central Prague and the 27-holes course has been designed by Gaunt Golf Design. The site…
In January 2009, Gaunt Golf Design undertook a complete audit of the existing 18-hole course at Dyrham Park G&CC, which was originally designed by C.K. (Ken) Cotton and opened for play in 1963. A detailed hole-by-hole report was prepared, together with an illustrated masterplan, commenting on all aspects of the course and recommending significant improvements…
There is nowhere else like Knole Park – a beautiful parkland setting, home to hundreds of native deer, in the pleasure grounds of the impressive Knole Park House, home to the Sackville Family. In fact, on the 1st November 1924, Lord Sackville of Knole Park drove from the first tee of the newly completed John…
This is one of the more unusual projects to be involved in. The Stejarii Country Club was already established and was developed by Ion Tiriac, Romanian ex-professional tennis player/coach and property developer. The Country Club was designed to attract people interested in high quality tennis, fitness, wellness, spa and swimming facilities, including those who could…
This 6-hole academy course is unusual in that it is located at the DNRC – the national rehabilitation centre for wounded services personnel. Previously, they have been treated at Headley Court in Surrey, however, a decision was made to replace this facility to move to ma more central location. The project is being developed by…
The golf course at Moor Allerton GC is unique, in that it is the only course in the UK designed by Robert Trent Jones snr., one of the most influential American golf course architects of his era. The course was designed as 27 holes in three distinct loops of nine in 220 acres of undulating…
The Tytherington Club is one of 13 Country Clubs in the UK operated by the Club Company, combining a traditional golf environment with state-of-the-art health and fitness facilities for the whole family. The Tytherington Club offers a variety of facilities, including gym, group fitness studios, swimming pool, wet spa, crèche, health and beauty, tennis, championship…
The new 17th and 18th holes at Wetherby Golf Club have now opened for play, designed by Gaunt Golf Design and built by NLS Contracts Ltd. This has enabled the course to have a dramatic par-5 finishing hole in close proximity to the clubhouse, with a view from the terrace stretching from green to tee.…
Whitley Bay Golf Club, one of the oldest clubs in the north-east of England, has completed a major course upgrade programme with the assistance of golf architect Jonathan Gaunt. The club was founded in 1890 and moved to its present location, only half a mile from the North Sea, in 1906. The course, which measures…
GGD has been advising Hallowes GC, one of the oldest courses in Yorkshire on bunker remodelling and re-alignment since 2016. It is said to have been designed originally by George Duncan, a Scottish professional golfer, who was also a golf course designer. His much sought-after professional teaching and swing analysis skills lead to him being…
Although it may sound as though this was doing work for the family, it was just an amusing coincidence. The original course at John O Gaunt GC was designed by Fred Hawtree and has continued to be enjoyed by it’s members and visitors alike since it opened for play in the 1970’s. However, in recent…
This championship standard 18-hole private members course, set in over 200 acres of rolling Buckinghamshire countryside, was designed by Jonathan Gaunt and opened for play in September 1999. With thoughtful design of the golf course featuring and fairway shaping, together with an intensive drainage system the course is playable to a very high standard year-round.…