Walton Heath Old (photo tour)

[Pete Lavallee]

Walton Heath was founded in 1904 and is considered one of the great achievements of Herbert Fowler. It is situated just 20 minutes from Gatwick Airport hard along the busy M25 Motorway. The Club was popular amongst Parliamentarians, with Winston Churchill and Lloyd George some of its’ most prominent members. An amazing fact is that in the Club’s 100 years it has had only 3 professionals. James Braid was in residence for over 45 years; his workshop has now been converted into a museum in his honor. He was followed for 27 years by Harry Bunson, whose handmade wooden clubs were played by such luminaries as Norman, Langer, Faldo and Ballesteros. He was followed in 1977 by Ken Macpherson; the Club could have no finer ambassador. On my one visit Ken went out of his way to chat with me and make me feel welcome; he was even privy to the fact that many of us had traveled from the US to play at Painswick with his good friend Tom Doak. The courses occupy true heath land, at 600 feet above sea level it is exposed to the ever present wind. The turf may be the firmest of all the inland courses and although the perimeter of the course is heavily wooded, the use of only a few specimen trees on the interior allows the heather, gorse and bracken to flourish. The course has been obviously lengthened from the original green tees at 6361 yards. Golfers wishing to test their games from the 7063 yard tips will find they have to walk backwards a time or two from the previous greensite.

Here’s a shot of the Clubhouse looking back from the putting green.


The putting green with its’ island of Rhododendrons. I can just imagine the joy of putting for a pint with Peter Alliss here.


The first hole is a par 3 of 235 yards; its’ green slopes away from the golfer, giving everyone a chance to run a ball on with a wood. Better players will need to flight their long iron perfectly to hold the green.


The golfer must now cross the road and the wonder of the open heath spreads before him. The second a 458 yard par 4 is a fabulous hole which requires a long second from a hanging downhill lie.


The 3rd is a tempting short par 4 at 289 yards, but trouble awaits any loose shots off the tee.


The 4th is a 441 yard par 4 generally played into the prevailing breeze.


The dogleg par 4 5th is a standout at 437 yards. The fairway drops of 140 yards from the green, which is boldly contoured; much more so than any other on the course


Here’s a shot that tries in vain to capture the wave like action of the green


Another stout par 4 going out is the 6th at 440 yards.


The 7th is a study in simplicity. At 183 yards a single bunker guards the right, where the prevailing wind is coming from. The golfer must fashion a great shot to hold the ball near any right hand pin.


The first of the par 5’s is the 8th at 494 yards. The green is cleverly contoured and the back right position is tough to get close to.


The par 4 9th at 400 yards turns back towards the Clubhouse and was modified by the construction of the M25. The trees guarding the corner of the dogleg are the only ones that are actually in play on the course.


The 10th measures 442 yards; don’t play to safely away from the perimeter on the left or you’ll end up in this heather filled rough.


The fine short 11th at 198 yards.


The 12th is a clever short par 4 whose dogleg must be cut if the player chooses driver off the tee on this 396 yarder.


Here’s what the golfer faces after a perfect tee shot


The par 5 13th calls for a 260 yard carry over the far bunker to open up the hole which measures 548 yards.


The ideal tee shot will leave you here, the danger now is not whether you’ll reach the green, but keeping your long second from bounding through to the back, as the terrain falls away from the golfer.


Back to back par 5’s; the 14th is a stunning hole at 569 yards, miss the heather and and flanking bunkers and the ball runs forever down this fairway with the breeze.


Here’s the second shot in, again keeping the ball from running through he green is paramount.


The par 4 15th measures 426 yards; note the cross bunker 30 yards from the front of the green.


The last of the par 5’s is a brilliant half par hole. At 510 yards the golfer must first thread his drive through a fairway which narrows at the 320 mark.


The daunting second must avoid the gapping bunker that eats into the right front of the green.


Here’s a bunker that surely Tommy would love!


The par 3 17th measures 193 yards. Notice how the specimen trees beautify the surroundings, without interfering with play.


The tee shot on the home hole measuring 404 yards.


The final shot of the day must clear the cross bunker 50 yards short of the green. The hedge shields the busy road just behind the green.


Next week we'll visit the New Course.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Yes, I do!  

Great! Another course I have to see in England! I think that makes about 240 of em'! (maybe a slight exageration, but it isn't far off)

[Sean_A]

Pete

These photos look very similar to the ones posted of Alwoodley a few weeks back!  Are the two courses quite similar?

Ciao

Sean

[T_MacWood]

Pete
Thanks for the pictures! Walton Heath-Old looks to be very well preserved.

[JDoyle]

Pete,

Awesome photo tour.  There seems to be countless charming British parkland courses that are unique and completely natural looking.  I wish there were more American courses that started with a par three and had a 289 yard par four.  It seems most of the modern courses are built around some widely accepted architectural principles.  The end result being conformity and boredom for the golfer.

I am looking forward to the next course.  Keep them coming.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Great job Pete,
It takes me back to earlier years when I used to wait for early May when the Golf Iluustrated Gold Vase was played at Walton Heath every year, it was always one of the years highlights..thanks for the wonderful course tuor.

[Craig Disher]

Pete,
Thanks for a great tour of a wonderful golf course; can't wait for your pictures of the New.

I last played WH two years ago when they were in the process of removing trees and clearing overgrown areas. I think the areas around the 13th and 14th were particularly targeted and as your pictures show, the program couldn't have been more successful.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Pete,  Thanks for sharing them with us.  I used to play it quite often but probably not since the late 80s.  It looks more manicured than it did then.  Not that it was untidy or badly looked after but that it looked a little wilder.  Anyone passing through south London who has time to walk the course, but not to play, can do so - it's all public land and you (and your dog) can walk freely wherever you like.

[ian]

Pete,

I played Walton Heath in 1989, and I really loved the course. The biggest suprise of your photos is how much the bunkers have changed. I will see if I can post some photos tonight for comparison. There were no revetted faced or soil edges and many were completely covered with heather and long grass. I find the charm of the bunkering is lost with the changes to the faces of the bunkers, many are too clean looking (almost like sod wall bunkers).

I would appreciate your comments on the bunkers in particular

[Pete Lavallee]

Ian,

Your quite right that all of the deep greenside bunkers have been revetted. Some of the shallower fairway bunkers still have the heather banks, not the place you want to be, trust me. What prompted them to undertake this, I just don't know? Perhaps they will gradually revert back to the scruffy natural look in time; is it possible for flora to take root on a nearly vertical bank of sod bricks?

[Andy Levett]

Perhaps they will gradually revert back to the scruffy natural look in time; is it possible for flora to take root on a nearly verticle bank of sod bricks?

Nice pics. Maybe this bunker is at an early stage of 'grow in':

[George Pazin]

Thanks, Pete - not only are the photos great, but your succinct captions really add to the photos.

[Marc Haring]

Terrific pictures Pete. It’s got me itching to play it this year especially as it looks like your day was near perfect and about May time I would guess.

Nice observations about the bunkers. There was a vogue of revetted or sod wall bunker renovation back in the late 80’s that a lot of the Surrey superintendents got into at the time. They actually used heather turf instead of grass, which was good in theory but never had the desired effect of creating heather faces. I played it a few times back in the days before this and remember a much rougher look. I also remember seeing the Ryder Cup of 81 and a couple of European Opens. Oh if only they would return to such venues….  

There is good news regarding the future of the courses in that Ian MacMillan has just taken over as the new Super, not that the previous one was bad, but Ian is a past master at maintaining the delicate balance of a heathland course. He was the long serving greenkeeper at Hankley Common and initiated their massive tree clearance operation before moving onto David Kidd’s Queenwood for a couple of years. He is only too aware that impoverished soils are the key. Add a bit of fertiliser and grass will swamp the heather in no time at all. One slight problem though, it was Ian who started all that heather turf revetment stuff back in the 80’s.