If you like quirky courses step this way - Windermere pics

[Ed Tilley]

Winderemere is in the Lake District of NW England, approx an hour and a half up the motorway from Manchester. It is a beautiful part of the world, probably the most scenic in England. The course is very short, and very hilly but certainly packs plenty of fun, variety, and challenge.

1st hole - did I mention it was quirky? 314 yards, par 4



2nd hole - OOB over the wall left. 231 yards, par 3



3rd hole - my least favourite hole, practice ground on left with internal OOB. Par 4 253 yards



4th hole - 384 yards, steeply uphill drive



leaving a blind approach



5th hole, 307 yards par 4 - driveable par 4 (one of many), but plenty of trouble for wayward shots



6th - 351 yards, pond left of the fairway



7th - 368 yards tight uphill drive swinging right



to a green protected by stone bunkers!



8th - 137 yards. Lovely hole over a valley with Langdale pikes in the background (partially obscured by cloud when I played)



View left from 8th tee



9th - 272 yards par 4


10th - 206 yards par 3 - some very difficult one shotters



11th - 266 yards par 4! Trouble everywhere



12th - best hole on the course, 360 yards. Drive steeply downhill



Green tucked round the trees on the left with a pond left of the green



13th - 316 yards bending left to a green in a dell.



14th - 147 yards



15th - 190 yards



16th - 484 yards par 5. Very tight drive



16th green over the ridge



17th 352 yards. Very tight drive. The trees on the left hide a 30 ft near verticle drop.



18th - 204 yards par 3 - very tough closing hole



Not a bunker on the course and at 5132 yards from the back tees it looks very easy on the card. It is very tight however and there is plenty of challenge. An excellent stop off point on the way from Liverpool to Glasgow.

[Doug Ralston]

Wow!

I am a very short player [yes, both ways], and this one is right in my 'wheelhouse'. Wish i could try it.

I noticed the 'no bunker' aspect right away. Still a tough little nut, though .......... like it!

Doug

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Ed, Windermere looks very lovely, but for God's sakes man, learn how to direct a camera!

Joking aside, with all of that quirk going on, it's as almost if its a guess where to point it!

[Eric Franzen]

The man promised quirk and delivered.

Good stuff, Ed.

How did you play the first hole (club selection etc.)?

[Ed Tilley]

The man promised quirk and delivered.

Good stuff, Ed.

How did you play the first hole (club selection etc.)?

'If in doubt, take the driver out'

That will be on my tombstone.

I hit my best drive of the day right over the marker and finished beside the green. All downhill from there!

[James Bennett]

That 9th hole reminded me of 'India', well an upside down version of India anyway!

James B

[cary lichtenstein]

Thanks for sharing

[TEPaul]

Ed:

Very cool looking ground and ground features all around that course. You should write the club a letter and tell them that and ask them if they'd consider doing away with that ridiculous fairway and approach "cut stripping" that completely detracts from the wonderful look of the topography they have.

[Matt_Cohn]

A lot of pictures from England and Scotland make me feel like I'm playing a very easy or simple version of golf. Yard for yard those courses just look like a much better examination. Maybe that's why American courses need to be so long - to make up for a lot of other things they lack.

[Sean_A]

Ed

I don't know how I missed these pix the first time around - thanks for posting Ed.  Windie certainly looks to be a must see course!

Ciao

[Adrian_Stiff]

Nice pics. Looks fun to play.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Boy does that look like fun.  I suspct, however, that most US players would hate it.  Too bad.

[henrye]

Looks beautiful.  How tough is the walk?

[Melvyn Morrow]

The last time I played Windermere was in 1979, my partner and I turned up on one of their competition days. Unbeknown to me at the time, my friend and partner mentioned my connection with Old Tom and that we were on our way to St Andrews via Crieff the next day and so we were allowed to play. I was given the honour on the first Tee and was quite surprised to see numbers starting to swell around the side and back of the Tee including a party of Old Age Pensioners.

Believing that the competition was well supported I proceed to take my shot, when my friend mentioned that he had told the Pro about Old Tom and these people wanted to see me Tee off (we normally have a side bet before the game, looser pays for all the drinks at the 19th, so he decided a little bit of gamesmanship might help his cause). Caught totally off guard and realising that all eyes were looking in my direction I walked on to the Tee and within 10 seconds had hit the ball with my wood. That was my first mistake - no sorry first was playing with my friend, second not taken my normal care and third trying to hard and wanting distance. Apparently it happened so quickly, but not for me, I had positioned myself to the side of the Tee. Then made beautiful contact with the ball, but it did not clear the end of the Tee before catching the edge of a boulder located just off the corner of the Tees. My ball did the only thing it could - it came back towards us, not on to the Tee but along the path with the group of Old Age Pensioners. The ones closer to he boulder saw the ball coming and moved out of the way, but the centre group of 4 did not realise the problem, then suddenly husbands pushing wives out the way, some rolling down the embankment and finished many yards away and a couple of guys around my feet. I looked around to see my now ex-friend in tears with a bunch of others not affected by the trajectory of my ball - laughing themselves into the same state as my friend. I apologised to all, in particular to my Old Age Pensioners who were not amused. I do not expect I would be either, if my wife and her friend had rolled down the hill and looked a little bit the worse for their encounter with me. Somewhat embarrassed, I collected another ball and hit a good low shot straight and true, waited for my friend to take his. Then disappeared as quickly as we could.

Do they still have the bell you have to ring when you clear one of the holes?

As for my game it went from bad to good. My friend later on when he won a hole had the honour on the next hole. But alas, for some unknown reason he decided his Tee shot should be hit over a bench to the side of the Tee and across a fairway. Thus allowing me to enjoy his embarrassment when he realised his mad mistake and to add insult to injury decided to retrieve his ball, further annoying the guys playing on the fairway.
The 18th, which was fun, steep return to the Clubhouse, but it was an enjoyable walk.

Windermere G C, in the end I had a good day. Looking at the 2006 photos - see some very minor changes but more or less as the 1970/80’s. Can’t believe its 29 years ago.   

[Thomas MacWood]

That is some beautiful country, and one rugged course. The original nine was laid out by George Lowe; the second nine was done by a local greenkeeper James Fairbairn.

[James Boon]

Ed,

Thanks for the pictures. I think its about time for a holiday in the Lakes!

Cheers

James

[Kevin Pallier]

Ed

Windermere was the first course I ever played in GB&I and I still remember it being a load of fun. Cheers for the stroll down memory lane.

KP

[TEPaul]

Ed:

I absolutely love what I see there----absolutely love it! I'm sure it's not for everyone but I love courses like that. Like with Mallow GC in Ireland I would love to go out on Windemere every morning at 6am alone for at least a week.

[cary lichtenstein]

Ed:

I absolutely love what I see there----absolutely love it! I'm sure it's not for everyone but I love courses like that. Like with Mallow GC in Ireland I would love to go out on Windemere every morning at 6am alone for at least a week.

I totally agree, I love what I see. Where by the way is it located?

[Melvyn Morrow]

Windermere is in the Lake District on the West Coast of North England and South of Carlisle but north of Blackpool – more or less due West of Newcastle-Upon –Tyne. 

 Still Lost??   

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Bump for pre-BUDA X

[James Boon]

Donal,

Excellent timing as I was just about to look for this one myself!

Looking forward to this one!

Cheers,

James

[David Davis]

Ed, thanks for the pics! Love it, looks like a lot of fun for sure!

[John Mayhugh]

Excellent timing as I was just about to look for this one myself!

Looking forward to this one!

Me too.  I'm glad Pearce suggested it. 

I have a feeling that it will be even wilder than the photos show.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hmmmmm, is it just me or does this look to be a slightly tough walk fresh off a red-eye transatlantic flight.  Do you suppose our UK hosts are trying to soften us up?