Windermere: Roller Coaster Golf

[Ed Tilley]

According to the club website, they had real problems with the greens sagging in the middle and becoming unplayable after prolonged rainfall - which has been known to happen in that part of the world. They completely rebuilt the greens with the work completed in Dec 2005. It doesn't mention a new green site for the 12th so I can't say if that green in 2004 was an old green site or a temporary due to the 12th green being rebuilt. Looking at the fairway extending from the green I'd imagine the latter.

[Clyde Johnson]

Ed,

That was the old green site (or very close to), being used as a temp - very drivable! The new green was benched into the hillside, with the artificial pond below/left. As I've mentioned on another thread, the 17th green was moved to it's current position (sometime before this early 2000's work), from a tiny semi-punchbowl located high-right (behind/right of the 18th tees) - this is still used as a temp in winter...brutal.

The old-push up greens were replaced with USGA greens  [], with the promise of year-round play - unsurprisingly these still stay very wet. I think they may have tried some remedial work in the years since then, but can't remember exactly.

For such a short, 'sport' course I always think Windermere places a significant premium on driving off the tee - there is danger (OOB, bracken/heather, trees, rugged lies) everywhere. Missing the small, canted greens on the wrong side, with that nasty semi-rough is a big no, no!

[Ed Tilley]

Thanks Clyde,

I had played Windermere before the changes but I was very young and couldn't really remember anything. While I think it's clearly a better hole, particularly given that there are already plenty of driveable par 4's, I'm not sure about the artificial pond myself. The length of the hole needs a significant hazard but it seems that the lay of the land would lend itself better to a big, deep bunker? No bunkers on the course though from memory.

Ed