a golf course on Kish Island for the Shah. With the revolution in 1978 and the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini, Bob fled Iran, leaving behind a fortune; his dreams shattered. Tony Duke recalls: “Bob escaped in the bottom of an Arab fishing boat with nothing but two gold presentation medals from the Shah – which he proudly showed to me.” Following his arrival back in the UK from Iran, Bob continued designing and building golf courses. Examples of his notable projects were The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club in Wales, built on the Rolls (of Rolls Royce fame) estate, and The Grove in Hertfordshire (where he was club president). In total, Bob designed more than 170 golf courses around the world. On a point of interest, Bob designed both Badgemore Park and (in collaboration with Sir Henry Cotton) what is now the sister course at The Drift. Bob Sandow designed 13 preliminary layouts for Badgemore before arriving at the final design. ”We walked and stepped out the last one in pouring rain, just to be sure” says Tony. The clever design of a beautiful 18 holes within a tight boundary was done with great thought. Bob Sandow described the design of the golf course as basically of North American origin in its variation and designed essentially for total grooming by efficient and “newly conceived” mechanical means to reduce manpower. The tees are, in the main, kept fairly low to the surrounding area. Few fairway traps are used, instead by careful layout of the ‘rough’ and by the use of trees and vegetation or hazards and narrow curved fairways (there are four proper doglegs), a high skill will be demanded of the golfer. The putting surfaces are not large and are surrounded by large bunkers in the true sense of the word, not merely sand splashes. They are subtly and strategically placed. In view of the ideal subsoil very little land drainage has been necessary and the course will probably be fully
playable while other courses are waterlogged. The course is designed to become progressively more difficult. It has been laid out to ensure a quick get-away from the first tee to minimise any delay. But, Bob reckoned that the last four holes would have people “talking to themselves” and no doubt it would be a topic for conversation at the 19th. Badgemore was designed to be a modern test of golf, to up-to-date standards, and would compete with the very best. The project was completed and Badgemore Park Golf Club established in the estate in 1971 and 1972, which was a remarkable achievement. FROM THE ORIGINAL MEMBERSHIP PROSPECTUS: ‘The consortium having decided that the estate could provide a delightful parkland 18-hole golf course, for which there is great demand in the area, has formed a company to promote the design and construction of a suitable course. There has been made available to that company, Badgemore Park Golf Club Limited, some 100 acres of land, the indoor riding school, the large garage and stable block, the pony stud buildings and the walled garden together with access drives and parking areas etc., essential to the proper layout of the course and the running of the club. In this layout, use has been made of the many existing natural contours and features and it is intended to carry out a considerable amount of re-afforestation especially in the far western area.’ Richard McDougall comments: “Whilst the course was being built, I was able to start giving lessons and also, in a small way, was able to help with the construction and even seeded the ninth green.” The golf course has clearly continued to evolve and has matured so well and looks magnificent.
FROM TONY DUKE: “When the course was first started it was very open at the far end and used to grow oats. It was also full of stones on the top surface, so we used the local Cubs to pick them up with myself as the ice cream and soft drinks man (one of those hot summers!). I think we gave them two large tents as a thank you.”
ABOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TONY DUKE, MARK HOWELL, TERRY WALLBANKS, JOHN MOORE
14 / THE LONG HAUL
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