Stoneham: This rare Willie Park heathland is a real treat
Why we would rather be playing this stunning Hampshire layout
Designed by Willie Park Jr in 1908, Stoneham Golf Club is a distinctive parkland-cross-heathland laid out on either side of a large valley, formerly the old deer park.
Typically associated with Sunningdale Old and Huntercombe, Stoneham was one of Park Jr’s under-the-radar designs, of which he has made fine work.
With an exceptional standard of low handicappers, the club is home to the Stoneham Academy, where £1.2 million has been spent on developing a Trackman-enabled driving range, and a state of the art short game area considered one of the best in the country.
History
Stoneham Golf Club has a fairly prestigious history certainly in terms of events.
In April 1946, the first Dunlop Masters Golf Tournament – now known as the British Masters – was held here. The result was a shared trophy between Bobby Locke and Dai Rees.
Rees opened Stoneham’s new clubhouse in April 1959, and captained the Ryder Cup team later that year. The team sailed out of nearby Southampton for the match at Indiana Country Club, California.
What makes Stoneham Golf Club special?
What is particularly exciting about Stoneham is the fact it has five par-5s, five par-3s and eight par 4s, which makes for a tremendous layout.
The club, where LIV Golf star Richard Bland calls home, has also played host to several England Golf events throughout its history.
Where does it rank?
145th in GB&I, 64th in England, 3rd in Hampshire
Where is it?
Stoneham Golf Club is located near the crossing of the M3 and the M27, just a few miles north of Southampton on the south coast of England.
Get in touch with Stoneham Golf Club
For more information about the club and course, visit its website or call them on 02380 769272.
You can play Stoneham Golf Club on the NCG Top 100s Tour this year!
- Register now to play in our 2024 Stoneham event on June 6th here.
Now have your say
Have you ever had the pleasure of playing at Stoneham Golf Club? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
