Royal Worlington & Newmarket
Suffolk, England

“The best nine-hole course in the world.” That description of Royal Worlington & Newmarket, while accurate, is as misleading as calling Saville Row “a good place for English tailored clothing” For Royal Worlington stands on its own among the world’s finest, needing no qualifiers.

If it weren’t for its small property allowing for only nine holes, Royal Worlington would be better known as the possessor of the finest green complexes in England. In addition to the first-rate firm and fast conditioning, the greens feature bold contouing, the likes of which are not seen south of Hadrian’s Wall. They are well varied – from the rolls of the first to the crowned second and sixth to the wild fifth to the side-sloping ninth. One could place a top amateur on a closely-mown area five yards off each green in regulation and he would be quite content to save par five out of nine times. This course does not rely on bunkers or rough for its defenses – the cunning use of the land and its contours does that.

The third plays across the second green.

Most of all, Royal Worlington gets the most that it can out of the property it occupies – the surest compliment to any architect. Holes 1-3 and 7-9 are set, basically, in a field while holes 4-6 are stretched out on a wide but wooded avenue. The second hole perhaps best illustrates how easy it can in fact be to create a fine hole. In addition to its 223 yards, the green was simply pushed up, creating a most difficult but still interesting short hole. Patric Dickinson likened finding the green with the tee shot to “pitching on a policeman’s helmet.” Indeed, one can’t help but think how fun the hole would be at any length. A 270 yard version would be intriguing.

Perhaps the most enduring aspect of Royal Worlington & Newmarket that keeps encouraging the player to go round and round is that it keeps the player on edge. With just nine holes, Royal Worlington has the best collection of “half-par” holes with which the authors are familiar. The “par” on the card for holes 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 is 5, 3, 5, 4 and 4 respectively, yet a score of 4, 4, 4, 5 and 5 is just as likely.

Holes to Note:

The difficult approach from the left side of the fairway.

Third hole, 380 yards; Somewhat of a sleeper that seems to become more difficult with each attempt. The hog’s back fairway is the very devil to find from the tee, with the slightest pull or draw finding a nasty hook stance in the healthy rough. There is slightly more room to the right as there is a hint of a valley in that side of the fairway, but a long drive that just veers right will find a small bog. After a good drive, the approach should be simple enough, yet it rarely is. The green provides an ample target with subtle rolls, and the front left bunker is far enough away (although in a most frustrating spot to a player who finds the left rough off the tee). Perhaps the reason is that this is the one hole where the approach must carry onto the green, over a swale. There is no fairway to help a hot, running shot from the rough find the green.

This hole is the scene of a rare bit of controversy at Royal Worlington since the days of Darwin. At the bottom of the dip fronting the green used to be a stream (or, at least, some sort of water course). Somehow, it became abandoned and treated as just a moggy area through the green. Appreciating the strategic appeal of the water hazard, several members proposed that the area be returned to its former character. This work was carried out, and a cry went up from the membership, largely due to the aesthetics of the sleepers used. Instead of giving the construction a second chance, the majority of the membership insisted that the work be undone. Sadly, the area now looks most peculiar – the outline of the ditch with inordinately tall grass still looks as if it should have yellow stakes surrounding it.

The treacherous front to back sloping green at the fourth hole.

Forth hole, 490 yards; The player enters a broad expanse of fairway between the darkest of woods on the right and a thinner row of trees on the left that separates the 6th and 8th holes. The fairway should be an easy target to find from the fourth tee (holes 4 and 6 actually share a fairway, albeit often divided by a number of bunkers). The woods to the right is most intimidating and dense, encouraging the player (at least subconsciously) to steer away to the left, toward, of course, the bunkers.(Sound familiar? See St. Andrews (Old).) What really makes this hole, though, is the green complex, starting with the slight rise in front of the green that, along with the green, races away from the player. When the hole is located toward the front of the green, a player is tempted, from 50 yards out, to empty his ball in an effort to contrive the shot that will get him within 15 feet of the hole. It is this green that first confirms for the player that he is someplace special.

The terrifying slopes of fifth green.

Fifth hole, 160 yards; Perhaps the greatestone shot hole outside the United States. From the tee shot that charmingly plays across the 4th green to the final putt, this hole commands every ounce of the player’s attention. Otherwise, even the very best players can look foolish as they wreck their card during a medal round (of which there are mercifully few at Royal Worlington). A former captain of the club once found the green with his tee shot, only to hole out in 8. The green is long and narrow with essentially three levels. To the left is large hollow known as Mog’s Bog that used to be a water hazard but is today just the start of many fives. To the right of the green is another rather steep slope, leading down to a stream that occasionally catches a ball. Even the best players are happy to take two fours here in a medal round.

The long approach to the sixth green.

Sixth hole, 460 yards; This tee shot is a fooler. From the tee, looking across the 5th green, the trees to the right are not as fearful as those to the right of the 4th, and, after playing the 4th and perhaps becoming ensnared in one of them, the player is acutely aware of the bunkers on the left between the two fairways. He will then favor the right side of the fairway, only then to realize that the green is partially hidden from that side, just ever so slightly tucked around the corner of the tree line. The player might not be in a bunker, but he now has to fade a long-iron or wood around the trees, whose branches seem to extend across the fairway, to have a putt for a three. The bold tee shot that challenges the bunkers on the left leaves a straightforward, although long, second. The green is slightly raised, sloping off on all sides, ensuring that there are few fours earned with a chip and a putt.

The 9th works wonderfully, with a bit of a Cape drive across the corner of the boundary and the pitch to the green with the left-to-right-slope. At times the club has entertained the idea of building one or two bunkers left of the fairway, but fortunately this has not occurred. As it is, the players will naturally tend to miss the fairway to the left, away from the boundary on the right. This tendency is accentuated by the vacuum to the left. However, a player who does so will soon appreciate his error, as the rough there is significant and the green pitches sharply to the right, making his angle of approach the least desirable.

Another noteworthy feature of the 9th is its proximity to the 1st tee, a temptation that requires a strong (or foolish) player to pass up, whether he has just finished his 18th or 45th hole of the day.

The End