Silloth-On-Solway - Underrated, but one of the greats?

[Mark_F]

I do have a few photos of this course, but, since I shot on Fujichrome Velvia, It will have to be developed and scanned, before I can post another 'How do you post photos?' query and get them up, and hope the leaden grey skies don't fully hide the course.

This is one of the loveliest links courses imaginable, somewhat a surprise given the rather, ahem, shabby, shall we see, journey one takes to the club.  The course guide quotes Bernard Darwin as saying 'he had never fallen more violently in love with a course at first sight.'

In some ways, I thought it was a little similiar to Royal Aberdeen - the front nine you generally play through shallow dune valleys, whilst much of the back nine you wander along, more or less, the top of the links, but there are so many first class holes, I'd be skipping Birkdale anytime to play here.
And at 32 quid a round, you'd probably get four for the price of one, anyway...

It's quite a tough-looking course at first appearance - quite a lot of gorse and heather lining the fairways, although they are a little wider than they first appear.  

There are a number of blind tee shots to tumbling fairways, and several ledge-type greens with severe fall offs on one side - noticeably the 3rd, 4th and famous 13th.

They also have their own postage stamp, the 140-odd yard 10th, played down toward the sea and a tiny pocket green.

The greens, aside from one or two, aren't particularly contoured, but they're plenty quick, and mischevious.  

It's reasonably long, at 6700 yards odd from the back tees, which, given the tightness of the fairways, the rough and the odd stances, makes scoring a tough affair.

Is this a course many others have played?

And why the hell not?

[Marc Haring]

Mark.

I played Siloth on Solway in July. I had my camara but like the mug that I am I forgot to take it out on the course. I played with a friend of mine who was about to try and pre qualify for the Open and we took a detour on the way up. It is very out of the way and frankly in a somewhat depressed area. We joined up with an Australian couple who must have been pushing 80 but were touring some of the best links courses including Silloth and we joined them for their second round of the day!!! They had Macrahanish, Cruden Bay, Brora and a couple of others to come.

Loved the course, especially those early holes. If I was to criticise it would be the middle section that tended to get a little cramped in places but over all there were very few weaknesses. There’s a lot of gorse about so it is a penal course but there are opportunities on some of the shorter par fours. I particularly liked its unpretentiousness. It was delightfully friendly, good value and without any of the stuffiness that can go with the more famous venues.

Here’s the link to their website.

http://www.sillothgolfclub.co.uk/

[TEPaul]

I don't know the course at all---wish I did, but in my opinion it's certainly one of the greatest names for a course there is!  

If Pat and I ever get together and build a golf course in North Jersey I'd like to call it Pucci on Paramus but I realize that will never be a 10 on the Doak Scale of golf course names like Silloth on Solway!

[GeoffreyC]

Mark

I played two rounds at Siloth in 1998 and I've posted my thoughts here in the past along with a couple of photos. Siloth is a hidden gem that is a joy to play. It has several outstanding holes and sone quirky ones that can put a smile on the players face. I think Siloth is a cut above Seascale and Seaton Carew, two other "out of the way" links that have been mentioned here.

Cumbria is a lovely location in the northwest of England.  If someone were planning a trip to the west of Scotland, I would suggest starting in England with clubs like Ganton, Woodhall Spa, Alwoodley and Moortown and then driving up to Siloth on the way to Scotland. The drive is quite nice and the golf is better.

[Dan Kelly]

I don't know the course at all---wish I did, but in my opinion it's certainly one of the greatest names for a course there is!  

The holes have fine names, too:

Horse Shoe
The Close
Criffel
The Mill
Solway
Natterjack
Battery
Valley
The Manx (Silloth's "postage stamp")
Blooming Heather
Spire
Heather Bank
Hogs Back (apostrophe, please!)
Milecastle
Heather Lonning
The Mount
Duffers
The Whitelaw ("Named after the late Viscount Whitelaw, who enjoyed many years, [sic] golf at Silloth, this good-length par 4 requires a straight drive to avoid fairway bunkers to the right, and a sharp drop towards heather and gorse to the left. The long narrow green is guarded by bunkers on either side, and is overlooked by a critical audience safely ensconced in the Nineteenth Hole.")

Say, boy, how'd ye fare at Natterjack today?

[TEPaul]

Dan:

If Pat and I ever build Pucci on Paramus in North Jersey, I'd like to name the holes too, like Silloth-on-Solway.

I have the first hole already picked out and I'm naming it after Pat. It'll be called "Motor-Mouth" and everyone will know the etymology of it as long as Pat's around. The hole will be a driveable par 4 with a green of not greater than 759 sf with no less than ten separate sections all creating "greens within a green".

The second hole I'm going to name "Hooker or Hookee?" after redanman. I don't have the concept on this one yet other than finding access to the 2nd tee from the 1st green will be extremely difficult!

The third hole I'm calling "Purist" after Tom MacWood. So far on that hole the only thing that's set is a number of relatively round and generic sunken pits reminiscient of Oakley in 1909 with partial dirt floors with a few piles of sand representing hard clay-like mounds within that look like they should be spread but of course never will be or perhaps even could be!

The fourth hole will be named after me and will be called "Longwinder". It will be no less than 981 yards long, mostly uphill, predominantly into the prevailing wind and of indeterminant par and no clear strategy whatsoever. Everyone will simply have to find their own individual best way somehow and their own meaning in it.

I'm working on naming a hole after Max Behr but even when I do come up with the concept, theme or philosophy of the hole it might be almost impossible to ever describe anyway!

[ForkaB]

The Whitelaw ("Named after the late Viscount Whitelaw, who enjoyed many years, [sic] golf at Silloth

I've never played S-O-S, but I was paired a couple of weeks ago in Dornoch with a retired policeman, one of whose jobs was the protection of VIPs.  Once Willie found out that Dennis was a fine golfer (UK Police champion, County player, etc.) he had him assigned to guard himself, and the two used to bunk off to S-O-S regularly when WW was up visiting his consituency in Cumbria.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I've played Silloth quiet a few times, though not recently.  I agree with the assessments above, and that it does slightly tail off in mid-round, but I rate 350 of Silloth yards (dunes, gorse bushes and sometimes wicked rough) usually far more interesting than 450 of some of the blander links courses.  It is a better course than Seaton Carew and Seascale, though Seascale's individuality and character are incomparable.

There are one or two other good courses in the Lake District - Penrith has been worthy of Women's championships at national level and Windermere is something akin to Painswick in scale and guile.  There's a very little-known links, Furness, at Barrow, which is on my 'must visit' list.  Carlisle is a very pleasant parkland course and Brampton, nearby, is a remarkable James Braid moorland course with any number of fascinating holes, fabulous views, one or two very energetic hill-climbs, and a lot of fun - Painswick again comes to mind.

[JohnV]

Hogs Back (apostrophe, please!)

Looks like someone else who has read "Eats Shoots and Leaves"  Perhaps it was named in honor of the Prodigal Pig in which case the apostrophe would not be required.

[Andy Levett]

Here's some pics I took this 'summer'. Course is much better than the flat light makes it appear.

Second to first is blind. This is what you see from the top of the hill.


2-5 is a superb run of holes, equal to 3-6 at machrihanish IMHO. Pitch or bump and run to the second:


Tee-shot to third is blind. View from platform to check landing area is clear.


Another blind drive on four leaves this approach to a green that appears to be built up out of a deep gully. Tough recovery if you miss either side.


Par 5 fifth has a small green if you're tempted to have a go. View from the left.

Blind approach to eighth:

...and looking back down the green


Silloth's Postage Stamp:


Drive at Hogs Back (no apostrophe on the card either):


17th, named Duffers for the pit in the foreground:

[Dan Kelly]

Hogs Back (apostrophe, please!)

Looks like someone else who has read "Eats Shoots and Leaves"  Perhaps it was named in honor of the Prodigal Pig in which case the apostrophe would not be required.

Actually, no, I haven't read it -- and don't intend to!

I was YEARS ahead of that book in my obsession with punctuation -- notably the apostrophe. For more than a decade now, "my" newspaper column (I'm the first-person-plural "Bulletin Board") has had a department called "Oopp's!" that is devoted to reports of missing and/or surplus apostrophes. It was spawned by a reader called Ace of Wyoming (Minn.), who -- under my heading "Sign's of the time's" -- inspired this exchange, on 4/9/1993:

"Ace of Wyoming: 'I believe I'll start the Apostrophe Redistribution Center. All of those businesses with an apostrophe in their signs or their ads where it doesn't belong? We will collect them and give them to all of those businesses with signs and ads where they do belong. Our commission will be small -- like a comma, or maybe even just a period. This could be extremely lucrative.''

"BULLETIN BOARD NOTES: Yes, indeed. Misapostrophecation is so common (and not just among businesses; how many times have you seen a handmade sign in front of a residence saying 'The Smith's'?) that we, who once upon a time cringed at the sight, now scarcely notice -- unless the offending party is a giant corporation that must have a giant advertising agency, with layers and layers of 'creative'' personnel who must all have seen the mistake and failed to notice it."

Oh, and by the way, John V: The apostrophe WOULD be required for the Prodigal Pig (Hog is Back) -- but not, arguably, for the Prodigal Pigs, plural. Smiley.

[Mark_F]

Andy:

Nice photos!  Hope mine come out as good.

Marc:

We breed them tough back home.  They'll still be there when they're ninety.

Geoffrey:

Silloth is a cut above Seascale, but they're different types of courses, I think.  Silloth may be in a fairly scuzzy area, yet I had the feeling it was a reasonably prosperous club, it just has that look about it.  Seascale is a bit more down home.

Is Seaton Carew worth checking out?

[Jonathan Davison]

Mark
Seaton has an unusual 22holes and variety of layouts,in my opinion I would prefer to see 18 good holes instead of 22. It has some memorable holes within an industrial setting, other gems worth seeing would be Dunstanburgh Castle or Goswick.
Recently played Seaton with two members who sent me some wonderful copies of Mackenzies letters regarding the design of Seaton.
I agree with Mark regarding Brampton & the other Cumbrian courses real fun.
Jonny

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Dan,

Do read the book - it's very funny.  Or should that have been: Do read the book; it's very funny.  Now where do I put the question mark?

Johnny,

I know what you mean about 18 good holes rather than 22, but I suspect it's rather fun as members to be able to play several combinations.  There's a rough-and-ready but good links on the other side of the estuary at Redcar (Cleveland - Yorkshire's oldest club and only true links).  I also like the two or three very good holes at Hartlepool and of the inland courses in the area Brancepeth Castle is a corker and there's fun to be had at Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle.  Word has it that South Moor is looking up.  I remember South Shields with some affection, and I had a wonderful day out at Whitley Bay some years ago with its very tough finish.  Hexham is a charmer, too.

I've been lucky enough to work in the north-east many times with spare, captive time, so I've been able to explore a few of these courses.  On balance I should say that they are well worth playing if you are in the area for some other reason but probably not worth the detour if you are heading from England to the great links of Scotland.  Silloth is just that little bit nearer the M6.