words by James Burn

While The Players happens this week over in Ponte Vedra Beach, another tournament will be taking place in the leafy suburbs of London, long regarded as the curtain raiser for the season. For those wishing to keep an eye on results and the draw, please hit the link here. 

Friend of Jar – James Burn – took to his macbook to write a few words about the history of the event and what makes it so unique.

A Unique Contest Ahead of Its Time

March 25th, 1934: Horton Smith won the inaugural Augusta National Invitational with a score of 4 under par, earning him $1,500. Financier Clifford Roberts finally convinced his fellow Augusta National co-founder, Bobby Jones, to rename the competition The Masters in 1939. It has since grown to become the most-watched golf event on television each year.

Yet, another golfing contest, created just a few days apart from The Masters, was truly ahead of its time: ‘The Sunningdale Foursomes’.

It’s a crisp morning as the sun slowly emerges above the pines, casting light across undulating green fairways lined with thick brown heather, occasionally interspersed with a flicker of yellow. Gorse bushes indicating that spring and the golf season is nearly upon us. This could be the scene at any number of heathland courses across the country, but it is an Edwardian clubhouse looming over an unmistakable oak tree, signalling it is time for what has been seen as the curtain raiser for the European golf season since 1934.

By the 1930s, Sunningdale had already established itself as a premier golfing destination. In 1930, it hosted an informal match between Britain and the United States, a precursor to the first Curtis Cup, played at Wentworth in 1932. The strength of the ladies’ game at Sunningdale led to the club including women in a unique match play event, competing alongside men in a format that continues to this day. A carefully structured handicap system allows professionals and amateurs, men and women alike, to compete on an even playing field.

A glance at the honours board in the Critchley Room (named after member and British Ladies Amateur champion Diana Critchley) reveals the depth of talent that has graced this competition. It features legendary amateurs such as Joyce Wethered (four-time British Ladies Amateur winner) and Sir Michael Bonallack (five-time British Amateur champion), as well as well-known professionals from the 1980s and 1990s, including Sam Torrance, Ronan Rafferty, and Luke Donald. More recently, Solheim Cup stars Linn Grant and Maja Stark, along with world amateur number one Lottie Woad, have added their names to this prestigious list.

The roll of honour in The Crtichley Room at Sunningdale.

Despite these illustrious names, the tournament has remained accessible to keen amateur players, who have occasionally emerged victorious. Two-time Curtis Cup player and Sunningdale honorary member Carole Caldwell won alongside her son (an amateur and upcoming captain of the club) Richard in 2000—the only family pair to claim the title. More recently, Sunningdale members reached the final in 2020 and 2024, playing alongside professional partners. As recently as 2009, a pair of members lifted the trophy.

The competition is played across both the Old (1901) and New (1923) courses, accommodating a field of 64 pairs. All players, regardless of gender or amateur status, compete from the same tees. To balance this, the handicap system places male professionals at +1, male amateurs at scratch, female professionals at 2, and female amateurs at 3. This means, at the time of writing, that a pair of male amateurs could find themselves giving Charley Hull and Georgia Hall a four-shot advantage—an eye-opening prospect! Yet, despite some surprising shot allocations, the system produces entertaining, competitive golf, played across two strategic layouts ideally suited to match play.

The start of one of the best stretches of matchplay golf in existence. Sunningdale Old 7th thru 12, where any match is won or lost.

Distance is not the defining challenge of either course, particularly the Old. The New demands precision from tee to green, with punishing heather and elevated greens ready to penalise any errant shot. The Old, though more forgiving off the tee due to broken heather, features greens so subtle they can confound even the most experienced of members.

This year’s field contains some stellar names, with Charley Hull and Georgia Hall leading the way, alongside Robert Rock, Catriona Matthew, Laurie Canter, Callum Shinkwin, and Annabel Dimmock. The tournament format begins with a practice day on Monday 10th March, followed by the knockout competition from Tuesday to Friday, requiring seven rounds to claim victory. The first round is split across both courses, with those progressing playing their second round on the opposite course. From the third round onwards, all matches take place on the Old Course, with the final concluding on Friday after another gruelling day of 36 holes.

One half of the 2022 Champion Pairing – Lottie Woad – tees off in the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale last year.

With the rise of the professional game and increased television coverage leading to ever-larger prize funds, the Sunningdale Foursomes is no longer seen as the event that marks the beginning of the golfing year. Yet, as the 91st edition approaches in 2025, the competition has never felt more relevant. At a time when golf is searching for ways to engage audiences and reinvigorate match play, this historic event remains a perfect showcase of the game’s most exciting format—embracing professionals and amateurs, men and women alike.

1934 certainly blessed us with two very different but two historic golfing contests.

”I have not played golf with anyone, man or woman, amateur or professional, who made me feel so utterly outclassed” Bobby Jones on Joyce Wethered

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