I was lucky enough to play at Swinley today and more new changes have appeared over the winter. I couldn’t see another post with pictures of these in, so apologies if I’ve missed them and I’m real eating them.
The focus of the changes this time have been the 7th and 12th greens. The changes I noticed were:
- Removal of rhododendrons to the right of the 7th green and behind the 12th green.
- Removal of the Bunkers to the right of the 7th green and the creation of a run-off area down the bank
- Creation of mounds to the left of the 7th green
- New back tee on 8th
- The bunker to the right of the 12th green has been brought closer to the front of the green and a run-off created behind it.
The result is spectacular in terms of creating views. From the 8th green you can now see down the 12th and even see most of the 9th through the trees. This is a panorama shot showing the new view.
The mounds to the left of the 7th green appear to be designed, at least in part, to provide some protection for golfers on the 8th tee. This hasn’t worked as a friend of mine was hit there today! However, the mounds and lack of rhododendrons do encourage the golfer to push their approach shot further right than it used to, but they do so at their peril; that run-off provides for a very tricky recovery.
These photos are of the 7th green, taken from front-left and front-right.
The changes at the 12th are more aesthetic and the backdrop certainly looks strange - but no less good - with heather instead of rhododendrons. I personally don’t think this adds or takes away from the hole significantly but by facilitating the new views from the 8th the change is positive.
Here is photo with the new backdrop on 12:
EDITED to include photos instead of links (I hope!)