The Old Thorns estate (which later become a hotel, golf and leisure resort) was previously the property of Ken Wood, inventor of the Kenwood food mixer, in the late 1950s.
[1] Commander John Harris was commissioned to build the golf course in the 1970s but his death meant that the task was passed to Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas.
The new design team had just completed the Lansdowne and Brabazon courses at the Belfry so were regarded as rising stars in this field.
Once completed, a course launch was arranged involving Bill Rogers, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Isao Aoke.
In 2013, UCF Chinese investment group purchased the 400-hectare estate from the Shaw family.