Mannings Heath Golf Club
 Mannings Heath Clubhouse | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°03′08″N 0°16′24″W / 51.052179°N 0.273444°WCoordinates: 51°03′08″N 0°16′24″W / 51.052179°N 0.273444°W |
| Location | Hammerpond Road, Mannings Heath, Horsham, West Sussex, England, RH13 6PG |
| Established | 1914 |
| Owned by | Benguela Collection Penny Streeter |
| Total holes | 27 |
| Tournaments hosted | PGA EuroPro Tour |
| Website | www.manningsheath.com |
| Waterfall Course - 18 Hole | |
| Designed by | Harry Colt |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,683 yards |
| Kingfisher Course - 9 Hole | |
| Designed by | Harry Colt |
| Par | 36 |
| Length | 3,314 yards |
Mannings Heath is a golf course and wine estate in Mannings Heath, Horsham in the south of England. The 500 acre parkland site features two golf courses and a vineyard.
The 100 year-old clubhouse at Mannings Heath Golf Club and Wine Estate includes the Benguela Brasserie and Spike wine tasting bar, hosting wine-themed events including food pairings with chocolate and cheese, open to the public all year round.
The estate was acquired by Penny Streeter OBE in 2016 to develop the UK’s first golf and wine estate. It is a division of The Benguela Collection, a wine producer and hospitality group in the UK and South Africa.
Two Golf Courses
The 18 hole, 6683 yard Waterfall course is a par 72 when played from the white tees.
The 9-hole, 3314 yard Kingfisher course is a par 36 when played from the white tees.
Mannings Heath hosts PGA EuroPro tours.[1]
Vineyard
The estate is scheduled to complete the planting of 54,000 vines by 2018 within the 500 acre parkland site, overseen by viticulturist Duncan McNeill. The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes will be ready to make sparkling wine in 2020, with the first bottles available in 2023. The total planned production is 150 tonnes in 2020.[2]
Johann Fourie was appointed in 2016 as Cellar Master for Benguela Cove wines in South Africa and at Mannings Heath, to manage the selection of vineyard sites, grow the grapes, plan the wineries and oversee winemaking.
History
The land the course sits on was used in the 18th century as a meeting point for smugglers. In the late 1740s, its Hawkin's Pond was the scene of one of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang's most brutal murders.[3]
Mannings Heath was opened as a golf course in 1914, after having been designed by the world-famous English architect Harry Colt. Almost immediately after the course was laid, the land was seized for agricultural purposes to aid the war effort during World War I. The effects of war were felt again during World War II, when a Handley Page Halifax Bomber crashed on the golf course on 17 February 1945. The site has an official plaque memorial to commemorate the loss of life.[4]
It is also a noteworthy early example of a golf course employing formal trade exchange pricing via its 'Town's Section' subscription, where craftsmen worked on the course instead of paying subscriptions.
2016 Acquisition – Penny Streeter
Zimbabwe-born owner Penny Streeter bought the Mannings Heath site in 2016 to develop the UK’s first golf and wine estate.
Mannings Heath Golf Club and Wine Estate is a division of The Benguela Collection, a wine producer and hospitality group that Penny Streeter started with the acquisition in 2013 of the Benguela Cove vineyard, at the edge of South Africa’s southern coast.
One of the club’s two 18-hole courses was converted to 9 holes, to make space available to cultivate the new vineyard.
Other changes included redesigning several holes and an upgrade of the practice facilities, including a short game area.
Players on the 18-hole championship Waterfall course and the Kingfisher benefit from additional on and off-course facilities. There are also two putting greens, a practice range, indoor teaching facilities and a pro shop. The spike bar was upgraded and reopened as a wine tasting and spike bar facility.
References
- ↑ "PGA EuroPro Tour schedule announced for 2017". nationalclubgolfer.com. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ↑ "County’s newest vineyard ‘launched’ at Mannings Heath". West Sussex County Times. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ↑ Chatterton, E. Keble (2008). King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 (Chapter V). Leonaur Ltd. ISBN 978-1846774072.
- ↑ Meeting Minutes from the Meeting of Nuthurst Parish Council, 6 April 2005, retrieved 18 May 2017