Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa is bidding to end the almost 30-year absence of the Ryder Cup from England after launching a bid to host the biennial matches in 2031 or 2035.
Located just a short direct train ride from central London and a few minutes’ drive from the M1 and Luton Airport, the luxury estate is set in over 1,000 acres of parkland, woods and lakes in Bedfordshire.
The estate is currently home to an 18-hole championship course and in line with the Arora Group’s ambition to create something special on the estate, it plans to design and build a completely new championship course worthy of hosting the Ryder Cup.
Surinder Arora, founder and chairman of the Arora Group, which owns the venue, commented: “Our acquisition of Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa was always with the intention to curate a luxury leisure and hospitality experience on the existing estate. We want to continue building on the already rich history of Luton Hoo and to ensure that any future investment into the estate will bring economic benefit to Bedfordshire and surrounding areas.
“Hosting the Ryder Cup, potentially in either 2031 or 2035, would raise the profile of the area to a global audience and the opportunity to bid to host a Ryder Cup at Luton Hoo is a very real and realistic ambition.”
Cllr Richard Wenham, leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “The Ryder Cup is an iconic sporting event celebrated and enjoyed across the globe. Arora’s aspirational plans to take the superb Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa complex set in its beautiful surroundings to the next level, have the scope to put Central Bedfordshire on the world stage. Securing the Ryder Cup would be an enormous boost to our thriving economy, bringing many new tourists and supporting more new jobs.”
The Arora Group, the UK’s largest private hotel owner-operator, purchased Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa from Elite Hotels in December 2021. Its championship course previously hosted the Bridgestone Challenge 2017 and 2018, and the EuroPro Tour in 2017.
Originally known as a specialist airport hotel owner operator, the Arora Group bought The Buckinghamshire Golf Club in 2018.
Luton Hoo’s Ryder Cup bid is likely to come up against a rival English bid from Hulton Park in Bolton, which has announced plans to build a brand new course to accommodate the matches.