THE prestigious Stoke Park Country Club in Buckinghamshire has landed an astonishing hat-trick of highly regarded golf accolades.

In the space of little more than a week, Stoke Park was revealed as the top English golf resort in the inaugural Golf World ‘Top 100 Resorts in the UK and Ireland’ ranking.

It was also named ‘UK Golf Resort of the Year’ in Square Mile, the leading luxury lifestyle publication for the City of London, and, at the World Golf Awards in Spain, was hailed a having the best clubhouse.

In the new Golf World list, Stoke Park was kept off top spot for the UK and Ireland only by two Scottish and two Irish venues - Gleneagles, Trump Turnberry, The K Club and Trump Doonbeg.

Praising the historic venue, the Golf World editorial described the course as being “of considerable pedigree and being astutely updated.”

It added: “The Harry Colt course is very good and getting better, while the rooms - both in the historic mansion and swish modern ones in the spa building - are majestic.

“Dining in Humphrey’s will be at least the match of anything in this list.”

In acclaiming Stoke Park as ‘UK Golf Resort of the Year’, Square Mile explained: “As Stoke Park moves into its 110th year of operation, the Buckinghamshire resort shows no sign of falling behind the times.

“Holes one to 18 of the Harry Colt-designed layout are now open for play, with the refurbishment creating a more defined course with better framed hole designs.

“It’s an exciting, albeit necessary improvement worthy of such a historic golfing destination.”

The title of ‘worlds best clubhouse’ sits neatly alongside last year’s accolade afforded it by leading US publication Golf Magazine, which hailed the Georgian mansion as the ‘fifth most iconic clubhouse in world golf’.

The instantly recognisable clubhouse - which dates from the late 18th century and was designed by architect to the Crown, James Wyatt - became synonymous with golf when it featured prominently in the clash between James Bond and Auric Goldfinger in the classic 1964 film Goldfinger.

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