Bring your sand wedge! I played London's new golf course – and the fairways are solid

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London, prepare to be inspired.

The Inspiration Club, billed by its developers as a 'modern link in the city', is the capital's newest destination – and it's now open for business.

The 18-hole Championship course was designed by renowned links designers, Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert, and features rolling-style fairways, large undulating greens and 68 deep bunkers similar to traditional Scottish bunkers.

Indeed, the bunkers are the course's secret weapon – owner and designer Tony Menai-Davis spent over £700,000 on those alone with bunker specialist EcoBunker.

Located in the West London area of ​​the A40, and 10 miles from London's West End, the Inspiration Club is ideally placed for golfers looking for a round before or after work in the City. But it's not just for Londoners, the course is just five miles from Junction 16 of the M25 and seven miles from Heathrow Airport.

“We decided on a links-inspired course because of the terrain, and the proximity to RAF Northolt,” added Menai-Davis, whose Bridgedown Group also owns Shire London – designed by Seve Ballesteros – and Nine-hole West. London Golf Centre.

In fact, Seve had agreed to take over the design of The Inspiration Club before his untimely death in 2011. Menai-Davis then took on the project, preparing the land and laying out the course, before bringing in links specialist Mackenzie, whose firm is responsible for Turnberry's recent redesign.

“This area was flat farmland and because of the airstrip, we were limited in the number of trees we could plant,” explained Menai-Davis. “The answer we came up with was to shape the terrain and protect the course with clever run-offs and tricky bunkering, in the style of the best links courses.”

I had the privilege of playing at the official press launch recently, and right away, we were treated to typical links-style weather – wind and rain.

And boy, you need to bring your bunker A game. They are the main defenses of the course and after sampling two such traps on the third hole, I decided to be clear for the rest of the round.

These deep bunkers will be one of the most memorable features of the course and help give it a true links-inspired feel.

The 6,610-yard golf course also features stunningly shaped USGA-spec greens, measuring 550 square meters and seeded with fairway fairways – expect year-round ball cleanliness and plenty of pin areas.

Indeed, to experience the conditions of these green plants and run-offs here you usually have to travel to the coast to find out.

The course has four long par-fives – bookending the front and back nine – as well as par-threes and 10 par-fours, many with attractive and rewarding doglegs.

The 17th, a long par-four, takes the longest green in London at 100 yards while the par-three 13th is almost an island with a sloping green.

To ensure that the course is accessible to as many people as possible, the Inspiration Club has positions based on strengths. The Black (6,610 yards), Orange (6,100 yards) and Purple (5,440 yards) will offer golfers of all abilities the opportunity to enjoy playing this amazing course.

In short, the Inspiration Club combines British seaside links, American parkland and Sandbelt golf to create a brand new golf course. And of course, don't forget your sand wedge!

Membership is already sold out but visitors are welcome seven days a week and green fees range from £70 to £90. For full details visit www.theinspirationclub.co.uk

Written by Patrick Mooney