Fraud probe leads to takeover as local golf club acquires nearby course

It’s not every day that a golf club’s future is shaped by an international banking scandal, a landmark legal case, and a multi‑million‑pound property deal — but that’s exactly the path that has brought Maidenhead Golf Club to its new home.

Maidenhead Golf Club has officially completed the purchase of Mill Ride Golf Club in Winkfield Row, Ascot — a course with both prestige and a headline‑grabbing backstory. 

The news was first confirmed earlier this week by Bracknell News. 

Designed by acclaimed golf architect Donald Steel and opened for play in 1990, Mill Ride GC spans 62.5 hectares of manicured fairways and sits among Berkshire’s most celebrated courses, alongside Royal Ascot, Swinley Forest and Sunningdale, the latter of which hosted last week's Senior Open won by Padraig Harrington. 

Its journey to new ownership began in the courts rather than the clubhouse though, as Mill Ride GC was one of the assets seized from Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of imprisoned Azerbaijani banker Jahangir Hajiyev. 

Mr Hajiyev is serving a 16‑year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, while his wife became the first person in the UK to face an unexplained wealth order — a legal demand to explain the source of her extravagant lifestyle. 

Her luxury portfolio included a £14.75m Knightsbridge mansion and the Ascot golf club, both of which were surrendered following a six‑year National Crime Agency investigation.

The course was placed on the market last autumn with a guide price of £4.25m, and that's when Maidenhead Golf Club, facing its own major transition, stepped in.

Forced to leave their Shoppenhangers Road site by the end of 2025 to make way for a CALA Homes development of up to 1,500 homes, the club had already received £15.95m from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to give up its lease. 

But cash alone couldn’t solve the problem of finding a suitable new home.

Over the past few years, they explored several possibilities — a relocation to Winter Hill Golf Club in Cookham that fell through, and a potential merger with Flackwell Heath Golf Club that was abandoned over concerns about the hilly course layout.

Mill Ride emerged as a genuine contender earlier this year, and by spring 2025, the club was “optimistic” about sealing the deal. 

That optimism has now become reality.

“We are delighted to confirm that Maidenhead Golf Club were recently successful in the acquisition of Mill Ride Golf Club,” a spokesperson announced. “Its name going forward has yet to be confirmed.”

For Maidenhead members, the move represents a fresh beginning on a course with a rich design pedigree, competitive challenge, and an enviable location in the heart of Berkshire. 

While for Mill Ride, it’s the start of a new chapter that ensures its place in the region’s golfing landscape.