The Club
Founded 1886, redesigned by Harry Colt in 1927.
Almost one hundred and forty years of golf on the same Staffordshire heath.
Aerial · Townhouse Communications
Whittington Heath has been one of the better-kept secrets in English heathland golf since 1886. The course has been shaped by three architects across that span: the original layout, Harry Colt’s 1927 redesign, and Jonathan Gaunt’s 2020 remodel.
1886 — the original
Originally founded as the Lichfield Golf Club. Nine-hole layout on common land. The eighteen-hole expansion came later in the nineteenth century.
1927 — Harry Colt
Harry Colt, the architect of Sunningdale, Wentworth, Royal Portrush and Muirfield Village, redesigned Whittington Heath in 1927. Colt was at the peak of his powers at the time. The Whittington Heath layout follows his classic strategic heathland principles: risk-reward angles, well-placed bunkering, heather and gorse as the real defenders.
2020 — the HS2 remodel
The arrival of the HS2 high-speed rail corridor required land at the western end of the property. Jonathan Gaunt, working closely with the club, oversaw a substantial remodel that absorbed the lost land while keeping the heart of the Colt layout intact. The new holes are sympathetic to the original; the strategic interest is preserved.
The Robert Rock chapter
The defining modern chapter of the club’s story belongs to Robert Rock — member since his junior years, professional since 1999, twice a European Tour winner (Italian Open 2011, BMW PGA 2012), and the source of the swing analysis on the home page. See the Robert Rock page for the full story.