It was on the fairway on the 17th hole at the iconic Stoke Park Golf and Country Club where one of the most iconic movie scenes in cinema history was shot.

Stood to the left of the fairway in the second cut, James Bond caught his nemesis Auric Goldfinger and his henchman-turned-caddie, Oddjob, cheating.

The Suave MI6 agent watched as Goldfinger sneakily dropped a new ball after being unable to find his tee shot. But Bond, played by the irreverent Sean Connery, saw the incident unfold. In his cool and casual style, he'd later upstage the villain on the 18th hole, winning the match despite missing his putt to halve the game.

It was also on this exact spot approximately 60 years later, where I sprayed my eight iron into the water at the back of the green on the 17th with a ghastly awful hook. Unlike Goldfinger, I begrudgingly took my penalty and soldiered on to the 18th.

Strict rules of golf, I suppose.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the iconic British film and in celebration of its release, Golf Pride, in partnership with EON Productions, have released a stunning 13-piece set of limited-edition golf grips to commemorate the occasion.

'Goldfinger was the film where Sean Connery learned to play golf,' Meg Simmonds, archive director for EON Productions, tells me. 'He didn't play before that. And he became an absolute golf fanatic.'

Reflecting on the production of the film, Simmonds recited an interview from actress Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore, where she revealed the extent of Connery's love for the sport.

'The great joke about Sean Connery was his absolute obsession with golf,' Blackman said. 'He was mad about it, a real addict. The rest of us had to steer him away from the subject or he would go on for hours and hours.'

Goldfinger is and will remain one of the most loved films of the Bond franchise. It marked its place in British film history through its original storytelling, with one scene standing out in the minds of many golfers.

So it was perhaps fitting that we took a trip to the iconic Stoke Park to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the film alongside Golf Pride. 

The man with the golden grip

In a nod to the 1964 instalment to the epic spy franchise, Golf Pride have released a set of grips that feature a unique and refined tuxedo design.

The lapels of the dinner jacket are modelled on the tuxedo Bond is regularly seen wearing throughout the franchise and are complimented by a diamond-quilted white shirt and cross-grain bowtie design.

But it is the subtle detailing that Golf Pride have incorporated that takes this product to another level.

The grips have been embossed with the 007 logo all around their handles and one design feature I particularly liked was the gun barrel swirl that has been emblazoned on the hilt of the grips, paying homage to the opening credits seen in every Bond film.

Renowned for their experience in the grip industry, Golf Pride have produced a stunning product that captures the essence of James Bond.

The grips come in two sizes, standard and midsize but it must be noted that they are non-conforming to competition play.

Having had a swing with the grips, I enjoyed the level of connectivity and traction the grips provided - something we have come to expect when using Golf Pride grips.

'While we’re a performance equipment brand at heart, and this grip certainly carries the innovative and high-quality hallmarks of Golf Pride, we really wanted to have fun with this one,' said James Ledford, President of Golf Pride.

Having gotten to grips with this beautifully crafted accessory, I must say if you're a Bond fan, this is something worth getting your hands on.

Innovation all around

Golf Pride's work kitting out tour pros including the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy showcases the outstanding innovation and work the brand does to help players improve their game.

Based in the US, Golf Pride work with approximately 80 per cent of the world's highest-performing players, and speaking to Mr Ledford at Stoke Park, they're showing no signs of slowing down in their quest to set the standard in relation to performance and design.

Rather fittingly, during the anniversary celebrations, Oscar-winning Sound Engineer, Norman Wanstall revealed to me how he too had to think outside the box when creating the sound effects for Goldfinger.

Without the same level of technology modern producers might have at their fingertips, Wanstall, who created the sound for Dr No's silencer, spoke of how he used objects including children's toys to create the sound effects for Oddjob's hat and Goldfinger's laser beams.

'The challenge of the Bond films was that they were moving into a futuristic-type theme, with all the gadgets that no one had ever heard of,' Wanstall said while showcasing his Oscar for Goldfinger.

'A good example was Oddjobs hat. Where would you have found a sound for that? No one knows what it would sound like?'

Wanstall stated he compiled different ingredients to come up with the sound before setting on the whooshing noise that was finally used in the film when the henchman decapitates a statute at Stoke Park.

'I said to my assistant: "Can you go around all the toy shops." There were a few toys we had as kids that you probably won't have now. To my amazement, he came back with them.

'One of them was a disk. Just a disk, cardboard and metal, and came with a string,' Wanstall added.

'When you pulled it back it spun like mad, we used to love it. I thought that would be a really good "shooow" noise.

'We went straight into the theatre and recorded it.'

'Mr Bond... I own the club'

Stoke Park also holds a special place in cinema history with several other iconic films including Layer Cake, Bridget Jones' Diary and RocknRolla being shot on the grounds of the sprawling British country club.

The golf course, which was designed by legendary architect Harry Colt, has been closed over the past three years but it has now reopened and is welcoming players back to its historic grounds.

The country club was bought by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani back in 2021, who has since invested heavily in the estate. The effects of that investment are plain to see out on the course, with grounds staff having completed a major overhaul of this par 71 track. And they have done a magnificent job of updating and improving this course.

The club is not planning to offer memberships in the future but is re-opening to allow players to book rounds on a play-and-pay basis for around £125 per person. To ensure the course can be maintained, Stoke Park will only open from Wednesday to Sunday allowing a limited number of between 30-40 golfers to play each day.

I found Stoke Park to be a real test of a player's course management skills. A mix of long par fours and some exquisitely crafted par threes keep you locked into your round.

The longer holes provide plenty of variety. Trees, waterbodies and some tricky bunkers all put your accuracy to the test, while raised greens and ravines challenge your club selection.

The 460-yard par four, which boasts a slight dogleg right, is easily up there as one of the most challenging par fours I've played in a long time. I also loved the par three 11th, which requires players to strike the ball through a woodland area to reach a sunken green that is surrounded by trees.

The highlight of this course is the par three seventh. It is infact the inspiration for one of the most iconic holes in golf - the 12th at Augusta National.

Colt's assistant course architect, Allister MacKenzie, who is renowned for designing and building Augusta, would take inspiration from Stoke Park's seventh hole to build the 12th at Amen Corner.

It is a picturesque and masterfully crafted par three that requires precision to find the heart of the green which is isolated by a small stream that splits through the fairway.

The greens are another highlight at Stoke Park. It is clear that grounds staff have been working hard to bring them up to tour standard. They are fast, undulating and perhaps some of the most deceptive and difficult I've played on in a long time. Approach shots coming in too hot are punished and so too are misjudged putts.

But it is the visuals around this course that really set it apart from many in the UK. While out on the course, you are greeted by views over the parkland towards some beautiful lakes, woodland areas and of course, the iconic Stoke Park manor house.

It is a masterfully crafted track that just oozes class. There is no wonder why James Bond chose to play at Stoke Park.