The Clubhouse

Jones instinctively knew on seeing Fruitlands, a 365-acre nursery where the progeny of a number of trees and plants imported from all over the world had been nurtured, that the plunging terrain provided the ideal location for his golf course. "It seemed that the land had been lying there for years just waiting for someone to lay a golf course on it," Jones said.

What Alliss and Thomas said to each other as they cast their eyes on 15 potato fields at Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, is most probably unprintable. Yet it was there that they, having by then jettisoned their bag and clubs for pencil and drawing board, created at The Belfry, The Brabazon course on which for the fourth time the Ryder Cup will be played on September 27-29, 2002.

Initially, it would be criticised and maligned, causing some professionals to be so outspoken that they were fined. Now it sits proudly by the Lichfield Road as one of the most famous courses in Europe and part of a magnificent complex where the Professional Golfers' Association also has its home.

The birth of The Belfry can be traced to 1970 when Alan Hunter, the estates director of the Greenall Whitley company, asked Thomas to look at the site (a modest 49 acres that then went with the hotel) and the adjoining land in other ownerships. Hunter said: "We asked them to tell us the preferred areas required to form an 18 hole championship course plus an 18 hole supporting course. Following this I acquired the necessary land options to purchase and following town-planning approval acquired the land on behalf of The Belfry Company."

In fact it was in 1959 that Jimmy Burns, an entrepreneur, had purchased Moxhull Park, a private house at the time, for £18,500 and turned it into The Belfry. His expansion programme increased the number of bedrooms to 59 and made The Belfry a well known centre for wedding receptions and a place where in the 1960s such groups as Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, Slade and Status Quo performed live. In 1969 Burns sold The Belfry to a group called Allied Vintners Investments which in turn was bought by Greenall Whitley. At this time the PGA had their headquarters at the Kennington Oval and it was there, over a pie and a pint, that Colin Snape, then the new Executive Director of the PGA, lunched with Alliss. Snape felt that is was an imposition to be continually apologising for the surroundings as he ushered guests into the confined offices at the rear main stand of the cricket ground.

His dream of the PGA was a new headquarters which were geographically acceptable with two golf courses and modern offices. He had looked at both Royal Birkdale in Lancashire and Foxhills in Surrey, but the then 28-strong PGA Committee felt that his plan was no more than a pipe-dream since at that time in February, 1973, the PGA's assets were a paltry £40,000.

Alliss came to the rescue over lunch. He told Snape of an old hotel on the outskirts of Birmingham known as The Belfry which was being renovated and converted to a sports complex. Thomas and Alliss had originally been asked to design and build a pitch and putt course there.

	Aerial Shot

Snape convinced the committee that expansion was a necessity and he must truly have felt he had the Midas touch. Ellerman Lines, the shipping company, was keen to diversify into leisure whereas Greenall Whitley, owners of The Belfry, lacked funds at that time as they were investing in a new brewery.

Thus Ellerman Lines formed a company called The Belfry (Sutton Coldfield) Ltd, taking 86.7 per cent of the equity with Greenall Whitley retaining 13.3 per cent for providing the hotel and land, and purchased a further 265.5 acres. In 1975 work began on two courses - The Brabazon and the Derby - by Thomas and Alliss. Brian Cash, a jocular but hard-nosed businessman, was brought in to oversee the operation, which included the refurbishment of the hotel. Cash, too, visualised the enormous potential of this triangular area of land near where the Tamworth and Lichfield roads merge at Wishaw. The access was splendid with close proximity to the M1, M5 and M6.

The PGA lacked the funds to become involved but The Belfry Company built the new PGA offices, funding the cost of approximately £100,000 as part of the overall deal with the PGA for two Ryder Cups. Meanwhile Accles and Pollock, the sports equipment company, funded the furnishings of the PGA's Headquarters at The Belfry in addition to investing a significant sum over ten years in the PGA's training school.

In 1977 the PGA waved farewell to The Oval to begin a new innings at The Belfry with a peppercorn rent for a 99-year lease. That year, with the existing hotel completely rebuilt, The Brabazon course was officially opened with a challenge match, Severiano Ballesteros and Johnny Miller against Tony Jacklin and Brian Barnes.

The first official tournament to be held on the Brabazon course was the Hennessy Cup, a match between Great Britain and the Continent of Europe. This was played in September, 1978, and if any one player put the course on the map then it was Severiano Ballesteros who performed a feat that the designers had deemed impossible.

The Spaniard watched as Nick Faldo, his opponent, hit an iron into the perfect position at the tenth from which to pitch over the water onto the green. Ballesteros reached for his driver and launched the ball into orbit. It was an imperious blow, for the ball soared then carried the trees strategically placed to stop such a shot before finishing eight feet from the hole.

The hole then measured 310 yards, and a plaque marks Ballesteros's achievement and remains as evidence of the moment when The Belfry was truly born.

Nevertheless, The Belfry, or more precisely The Brabazon course, had its critics as well as its supporters. The problem was the money supply. It had taken £2.3 million to refurbish the hotel and to build the two courses. Cash said: "We could not fool ourselves. We were aware that we did not have the perfect piece of land and that it would take time to get the course absolutely right."

Thomas quite rightly received praise for his fashioning of The Brabazon course, which was American in style, but there was little he could do now that it was in the hands of owners with, so it seemed, no funds to rectify matters.

In October 1981 Greenall Whitley purchased all Ellerman Lines shares in The Belfry Company, and immediately launched the resurrection of The Brabazon course. This was important because part of the agreement the PGA had with The Belfry Company was for the Ryder Cup to be played on the course twice in eight years and, following criticism during the English Classic in 1979, the match was switched to Walton Heath in 1981.

The course required the kiss of life and it started with the soil of the fairways being broken to a depth of nine inches so the stones which were causing so many complaints could be removed. Then the fairways were top-dressed with a mixture of fern peat and topsoil. In addition, 100 mature, 20-foot trees, costing £500 each, were planted to increase definition while at the same time strengthening the overall layout. It was coupled with an extensive drainage programme. Much of the work was carried out by floodlight so as not to disturb play during the day.

Off the fairways, Greenall Whitley spent a further £1.3 million on a new accommodation block - Jacklin House - of 48 bedrooms, a covered driving range and also opened a leisure centre. The chalet pub next to the famous tenth green became the Bel Air nightclub.

By now The Belfry had become part of The De Vere Group of hotels. With a further 56-bedroom extension - Trevino House - it was ready to stage the Ryder Cup which would be the ultimate test for The Brabazon course - and it unquestionably passed the examination. There were no complaints in 1985, when for the first time since 1957, the United States were beaten. The match drew unprecedented crowds of more than 90,000 in comparison to 16,000 at Walton Heath in 1981. That the course itself was presented in superb condition was naturally important, especially as by now investment stood at £8.1 million.

10th Green

The persuasive tongue of the enterprising Cash led to The De Vere board investing a further £8 million for the 1989 match which ended in a tie with Europe retaining the Cup following their historic 15-13 win at Muirfield Village in 1987 - the first time that the Americans had been beaten on home soil.

For 1989 two new lakes were constructed to control water flow and improve the aesthetics. An electrical irrigation system was installed. More importantly, as far as the spectators were concerned, special mounds were created to improve viewing and accessibility.

By now the management was convinced that from those small potato fields had grown a golf course of which everyone could be proud. Indeed the Ryder Cup returned to The De Vere Belfry in 1993, when the United States retained Samuel Ryder's elegant golden chalice following their win at Kiawah Island in South Carolina in 1991.

For 1993, when The De Vere Belfry made history by hosting the Ryder Cup for a third time, the De Vere Group spent a further £2.5 million remodelling The Brabazon course to enhance spectator viewing and to provide an even tougher test and improving the hotel facilities. No fewer than ten of the holes underwent improvement changes. Thomas said: "It was exciting to go back and do some of the things you would have liked to have done originally."

Stuart Reed, then the Chairman and Chief Executive of De Vere Hotels, pointed out that the "huge success and popularity of The Belfry, De Vere Hotel's flagship golf resort, has played a vital part in shaping the development of the group. The leisure and business guest who wants to play golf is becoming more and more discerning and quite rightly - more demanding. The programme of work at The De Vere Belfry focused on creating the best venue for the Ryder Cup because we wanted to make sure players from both teams, officials and sponsors were as comfortable as possible. But the benefit of that investment will be seen in the coming years by all those who visit The De Vere Belfry, and play the course and enjoy the facilities."

Now, following another eight years of continued refurbishment and building of the hotel and in particular in the remodelling of The Brabazon course, The De Vere Belfry is ready to host the Ryder Cup for a fourth time. There have been many changes since 1993 with an overall investment in excess of £40 million on the complex including 120 significant changes and £3.5 million spent on alterations and improvements to The Brabazon course.

Mike Maloney, the Executive Director of The De Vere Belfry, has seen the complex grow since he first arrived at the hotel in May 1991, but the tremendous progress made in the last eight years have provided him and all his staff with a challenge that they have brought to fruition with enormous skill and diligence.

Even so Maloney acknowledged: "Our selection for this prestigious event could not have been achieved without the tremendous help received from the local community. I would particularly like to thank all the people at The De Vere Belfry together with North Warwickshire Borough Council, the Birmingham Marketing Partnership, the NEC Group and Birmingham City Council. We have enjoyed working with them all in the build up to what will be a magnificent week for golf."

The De Vere Belfry, part of the De Vere chain of hotels owned by The De Vere Group plc, also played host to the Benson and Hedges International Open in 2000 and this famous tournament returns to the venue in 2001. De Vere Group Chief Executive Paul Dermody, said: "The Ryder Cup Committee's choice of The De Vere Belfry is a tribute to the management and staff who have done such an excellent job over the previous three Ryder Cup matches. I am absolutely confident that the hotel, the staff and the course will live up to the high expectation entrusted in us by the Committee.

"We have been totally committed to the standards of excellence worthy of this great event and Dave Thomas has spent five years enhancing The Brabazon course in a way that it has never been seen before."

Thomas also designed the PGA National Championship course, which opened in 1997. This further enhances the golf facilities at The De Vere Belfry and provides golfers with three demanding championship courses.

Sandy Jones, Chief Executive of the Professional Golfers' Association said: "No one can deny that The De Vere Belfry has already staged three very successful Ryder Cup Matches. Taking this into consideration together with the superb development and refurbishment of The Brabazon course, and coupled with the fact that in 2001 The PGA, the oldest PGA in the world, celebrated its centenary, makes us believe that The De Vere Belfry is the ideal venue for the staging of the 34th Ryder Cup Matches. De Vere, owners of The De Vere Belfry, are loyal and long-standing supporters of the Association and of golf in general."

	Sunset at 10

There can be no doubt, too, that there will be much to celebrate in September, 2002, when the eyes of the sporting world will focus on The De Vere Belfry and once again will come ample evidence that from those small potato fields has grown a course of which all can be proud."