The Club
Robert Rock — BMW PGA Champion.
A Whittington Heath member since his junior years, twice a winner on the European Tour, and the source of one of the most-praised swings in modern golf.
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Robert Rock learned his game at Whittington Heath. He came through the junior section, turned professional in 1999, and built a steady tour career through the 2000s on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour.
The Italian Open, 2011
Rock’s first European Tour win came at the Italian Open at Royal Park I Roveri in 2011. A two-shot win, a career-changing payday, and a confirmation of what Whittington Heath members had quietly known for years.
The BMW PGA, 2012
The bigger headline came twelve months later. The 2012 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth — the European Tour’s flagship event — played in his second-to-last group with Tiger Woods. Rock shot 67 in the final round to win by a stroke. The win lifted him to a career-high world ranking of 39.
The swing
What separates Rock from other Tour pros is the swing. Golf Monthly has called it “one of the most aesthetically pleasing swings in the modern game.” The tempo is unhurried, the plane is one-piece through impact, and the finish is balanced and unforced. It is, in the words of analysts who have studied it frame-by-frame, a textbook for the modern Tour swing.
The Whittington Heath connection
Rock returns to Whittington Heath between Tour commitments. He coaches when invited. The club’s junior section — the same junior section Rock came through — remains the engine room of the membership. See the Junior Section page for details.