Golf course historian Simon Haines and course architect Joe McDonnell (McDonnell & Cooper Design) take us back to 1913, a decade before Tom Simpson was commissioned to build an 18-hole course at Blackwell. At this point in the club’s early history, Harry Colt had been tasked with transforming a rudimentary 9-hole layout, played since 1893, into something more fitting for the needs of its members.

This is a lost chapter in the story of Blackwell. Over time, the details of Colt’s original work have faded, but Simon and Joe have worked tirelessly to reconstruct what Colt designed when he only had 50 acres to work with – long before the club owned the land south of the ditch that runs across 8, 3, 15 and 14, or the farmhouse and fields that now form holes 10 and 11.

It’s a fascinating insight into the early evolution of golf course architecture, Colt’s influence in the region, and the developing identity of his profession — from his formative days at Sunningdale to his later work around the world, including his contributions at Pine Valley.

If you love golf history, architecture, and the stories behind the courses we play today, this is a film for you.