Nick Heidfelds 1999 (41.6s) hillclimb record was beaten after Max Chilton in his McMurtry Spéirling fan car tore it to shreds at 39.08s in 2022!
Legend of Goodwood's golden racing era and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori once famously said "give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest".
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
The first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
...plan strategy in an ancient woodland, enjoy award-winning dining then drive around a racetrack?
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
According to Head Butler at Goodwood House David Edney "Class, sophistication and discretion".
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
Just beyond Goodwood House along the Hillclimb, the 2nd Dukes banqueting house was also known as "one of the finest rooms in England" (George Vertue 1747).
Revel in the history of our hounds with their family trees dating back to some of our earliest documents at Goodwood.
Easy boy! The charismatic Farnham Flyer loved to celebrate every win with a pint of beer. His Boxer dog, Grogger, did too and had a tendancy to steal sips straight from the glass.
The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
Spectate from the chicane at the Revival to see plenty of classic cars going sideways as they exit this infamous point of our Motor Circuit.
Inspired by the legendary racer, Masten Gregory, who famously leapt from the cockpit of his car before impact when approaching Woodcote Corner in 1959.
Legend of Goodwood's golden racing era and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori once famously said "give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest".
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
One Summer, King Edward VII turned his back on the traditional morning suit, and donned a linen suit and Panama hat. Thus the Glorious Goodwood trend was born.
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
Nick Heidfelds 1999 (41.6s) hillclimb record was beaten after Max Chilton in his McMurtry Spéirling fan car tore it to shreds at 39.08s in 2022!
The famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
Ray Hanna famously flew straight down Goodwood’s pit straight below the height of the grandstands at the first Revival in 1998
...plan strategy in an ancient woodland, enjoy award-winning dining then drive around a racetrack?
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
...plan strategy in an ancient woodland, enjoy award-winning dining then drive around a racetrack?
...plan strategy in an ancient woodland, enjoy award-winning dining then drive around a racetrack?
...plan strategy in an ancient woodland, enjoy award-winning dining then drive around a racetrack?
Estate milk was once transformed into ice-creams, bombes, and syllabubs, and the Georgian ice house still stands in the grounds in front of Goodwood House.
As the private clubhouse for all of the Estate’s sporting and social members, it offers personal service and a relaxed atmosphere
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
One Summer, King Edward VII turned his back on the traditional morning suit, and donned a linen suit and Panama hat. Thus the Glorious Goodwood trend was born.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
We have been host to many incredible film crews using Goodwood as a backdrop for shows like Downton Abbey, Hollywood Blockbusters like Venom: let there be Carnage and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
The oldest existing rules for the game were drawn up for a match between the 2nd Duke and a neighbour
From the start of the year, we have only used the watering system once until the middle of May. This is extremely rare and not something I thought I’d write in a blog, as we normally start watering in the first week of March. This will explain why the course is so green at present.
We continued our scheduled work on the greens to prepare for the season. This included regular sand dustings and brushing of the putting green surfaces. We also looked at tournament preparation for The Brabazon Trophy, however, this did not change a lot from our regular routine. Green speeds for the tournament day were at 9.7 on the stimp. To put that in perspective, during the summer for the Club Championships they normally stimp at 10.4. The reason they were slower was down to the moisture holding in the greens, which was averaging at 38% on the valley holes and 30% on the top Downland holes. This was again due to the amount of rain we had in the previous weeks. However the greens were 100% true from our KPI (Key Performance Indicators) readings, which was extremely pleasing to see.
Within the last month, Tees have been granular fertilised to aid recovery, then applied with a growth regulator to control the growth, as this was extremely high in the beginning of May. We also sprayed the apron complexes and fairways with a liquid foliar feed, with a growth regulator mixed in.
The bunkers which were low on sand were topped up to the desirable level this month, with the faces and edges also being trimmed too. This will now be part of our summer routine. We have also destoned a few of the worse bunkers and will continue to do this throughout the year.
The long natural rough has started to increase in length, and more importantly, the wild flowers have now started to flower, which will increase insect and bird activity in these areas. We also saw the first butterflies appear this month. The bio-diversity in these areas are extremely beneficial and important to the site, so please do not take any buggies or trollies into these areas when looking for balls.
In the upcoming months we will look to keep the presentation up on the course, and micro manage some of the problem areas we have, the 2nd and 3rd fairway for example, which will involve extra feeds and wetting agent to increase sward density. Hand watering will be essential this year to keeping playing surfaces consistent, so please be patient if we are hand watering in the mornings and afternoons.
On Sunday 25 June, you can join me on a Nature Walk to see the Goodwood Bees on The Downs course. This is a Kennels event so if you would like to come along or interested in finding out more, please click here. I hope to see you there!
Look forward to seeing you on the course!
Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course
The course is presenting well and greens are recovering from the hollow core maintenance. We have sprayed our soil and foliar feeds throughout the month which resulted in the greens having a more uniform growth and consistent conditions. Foliar feeds are absorbed rapidly by the plant so the turf gets the nutrients it needs quickly and efficiently. We also applied a light sand top dressing of eight tonnes which was brushed into the sward. Benefits of this include the sand diluting the thatch layer which helps aid trueness and speeds. We will continue to sand dress every two weeks with the aim to have applied a minimum of 150 tonnes throughout the year. The mowing heights on the greens will be reduced to 3.5mm and with regular brushing and rolling, we are confident the speeds will stay consistent.
The fairways, tees and aprons have both received a fertiliser to help encourage a more consistent growth, thick coverage and improved colour.
In recent weeks it has been noticeable that unrepaired pitch marks have got a lot worse. When your ball kicks off line or jumps in the air it’s not always the greenkeeper’s fault so please repair your pitch marks.
The 6-hole par 3 course and short game area at The Academy is really gathering pace now. Seed has started to germinate and with around the clock watering, we have what is starting to look like greens. We have already been rolling with a hand mower and the first cut took place on the 18 May. We will continue with cutting and rolling the greens by hand and reduce the heights gradually. If you’re going to The Academy, please can we ask that you use the pathway and keep off newly seeded areas.
Another string to The Park teams bow is the ability to help out other departments and put our skills to good use. Scott has used his expertise to help with Goodwoof and you can see some of his great work below!
Look forward to seeing you on the course!
Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course