Moseley GC-Colt Sleeper

[Paul_Turner]

Another sleeper from the Birmingham area.  Moseley has one of the hardest opening sequence of 7 holes that I have come across in England.  Particularly for a shortish old style course (6300 yds).  The best holes are the ones with most undulation, but Colt made the flatter holes interesting with liberal bunkering.  The course has 4! starting points around the clubhouse.

Course looks well preserved.  The bunkers are no doubt cleaner (as usual) but it all looks right to my eye, apart from the 4th which needs to have several bunkers rebuilt. (Colt redesigned this course twice)

It was late in the evening so I couldn't get as many pics as I wanted.


10th in foreground with 11th and 1st in the background.


1st-wicked green here.


Very tough par 4.  Bight off as much as you can over the trees.  The fairway hooks left with a sharp camber.  The  green is in line with the tallest tree.  Small green.


Par 3 6th.  (Tee further left)




Flatter part of the course-7th.  Proper "fairway" bunkers keep things interesting.


11th


closer


Short 4 12th.  Have to place tee shot carefully to open up the green.


17th


Fine finisher.  Skirt the diagonal bunkers.  Green slope left to right.

And that's your lot!  I have no more pics of "unknown" English courses...until the next trip.

[RJ_Daley]

Paul, quite an enjoyable look at English courses, as usual.  You really have given us the flavor of the lesser known, but most likely backbone of the English golf scene with your series of pictures.  Thanks.

PS:  the superintendent of Moseley must be the most tidy of the lot with all his wickets of traffic directional restricted areas.  I imagine it is due to excessive rains...

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I'm glad you've provided us with a glimpse of some of the good golf to be found in Birmingham.  Although, as a teenager, we lived 15 miles away in Wolverhampton, I was not really aware of any courses within the city itself.  We knew of, and occasionally played Little Aston and Sutton Coldfield but they were pretty much on the edge of the conurbation.  Whiitington Heath and Beau Desert were well outside it.  I have it in my mind that most of these midland courses were on heavy soil (though none could have been heavier or worse drained than Lilleshall Hall where we played regularly) and temporary greens and matting tees were the norm from November to March.  What is your experinece of them?  

[Paul_Turner]

Mark

I now reckon Brum is the 3rd best city in England for golf after London and Liverpool.  No world class courses but plenty of very good and good courses.  More depth than Leeds and Nottingham, although my experience is relatively minor in those cities.   My Brum area faves so far, in rough order of preference:

Whittington Heath
Beau Desert
Harborne
Little Aston (need a refresher)
Sandwell Park
Edgbaston
Moseley

Harborne would be my fave if the club returned it to how it looked in old pics.  It's not far off, but would need the right person to return it.

From pics, Copt Heath (Colt/Braid) looks very interesting: tons of bunkers.  Also, as you know, I want to check one of your boyhood courses, Oxley Park (Colt).  Olton (Colt) is supposed to be good and I've seen some super old pics of it; the new ones however look only OK-the bunkering has lost its artistry and the club has gone beserk with trees.  Mackenzie's Sutton Coldfield?  A minimalist common land course up near Wolverhampton called Penn is supposed to be tough and plays ultra fast in the summer...have you played it?  Ladbrook Park (Colt?) has some cool holes (17th!) but a few dull ones too.  Blackwell (Simpson) I'm sure is very appealing.

Old pics of Castle Bromwich (Colt) looked very nice.  But it was sacrificed after the War.  A pity.

In general, I didn't think the soil for any of these courses was  heavy:  more moderate in consistency, I didn't see any puddles and it was very wet when I was back.

[ed_getka]

Paul,
  When I look at the pix you posted, they are very dark (as are most that others post). What do you do to look at the pix? I presume there is something you computer literate types know how to do that I am unaware of.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Paul,  

You make an interesting and challenging point.  I reckon that Leeds is still superior to Birmingham (Alwoodley, Moortown[much altered], Sand Moor, Headingley, Leeds GC being somewhere approaching the top 100, if only Alwoodley ever quite gets there, as opposed to Birmingham which only has Little Aston which makes it).  As for the infrastructure, if you include Beau Desert and Whittington then I can also include Ilkley. Pannal, Harrogate within the same sort of radius of Leeds.  

No matter!  We're not here to argue, but to celebrate the glories of our golfing heritage.  Let me know when you are likely to visit Oxley and I'd be delighted to join you, if I'm free.  Penn (which I have not seen since the late 1960s) was wonderfully open - a common-land course with vicious rough and far too punishing for my wild hooks and slices - but it was not in wonderful condition in the those days, so I am glad to hear that its greens are highly reputed these days.  

With your interest in Colt you should certainly visit Copt Heath - it's one of the most tightly bunkered courses I know (from experience of years ago), but how much of that is Colt's work I cannot say.  

Let us offer you a bed when you want to explore Prestbury and Manchester - up there with the best Colt has to offer.

Mark.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I should have mentioned Bloxwich, too, which had quite a reputation as one of those courses on which visitors rarely played to their handicaps.  I played it only once (ca 1963) so I don't remember a lot!  I'm ashamed to say I know lottle of Walsall. a Mackenzie course only a few miles from where I lived.  How I wish I'd known such potential gems were on my doorstep and, in those days, affordable.  

Mark.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I'm not sure what a 'lottle' is but there's probably an expert on this site who will tell me its provenance.

[Neil Regan]

Lottle is information from someone who doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Lottle rhymes with bottle and is what happens to little when one's thoughts turn from golf to the demon drink.  

[Neil Regan]

Have a little bottle, then have a little more.
Soon, you've had a lottle.