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Tony_Muldoon

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A parkland Colt.
« on: February 03, 2007, 05:01:29 AM »



Recently Mark Rowlinson asked, “Where are the great UK parkland courses?  Well this is the best I know of.  Set in an ancient dear park with majestic Oaks upto 700 years old, it features holes in splendid isolation with a feeling unlike any other course I’ve played.  The ground is silty and drains well but the ball doesn’t run like it would on sandy heath so the course plays all of its 6490 yards.

There a really good club history that details the changes to the course. Originally Colt with Alison it opened in 1921.  Braid redid some bunkering in the 20’s and the layout today was finalised by Alison in 1938.

Thorndon Park would be much better known if it was on the other side of London.  It offers a real contrast to Heathland golf and has a great routing, and a really strong set of Par 4’s.  Interestingly for a Colt the par 3’s, whilst all interesting, fail to set the pulse racing like his work at say Sunningdale.  However its location must explain why it didn’t even get a look in for modern guides by Doak or Finegan.

In June 1967 the PGA Close Championship was held here.  Pat Ward-Thomas wrote. “The appeal of the course was immediate. It lies on the folding, wooded farmland between Brentwood and the Thames Estuary. The views are spacious across the gentle hills o Kent, and nowhere are the trees too confining.  .. All round there is pace, light and beauty, and the course in its fashion, is a gem.

It is far from long by modern standards and, as it was playing yesterday, is a perfect instance of the fact that length is not the only defence against low scoring.”

The low attendance meant the event was not repeated.  Ward Thomas also made comment of the true and swift greens and in recent years they have had some problems with these, but hey still play very true. As a set they are on the generous side and with some undulation.

Thorndon Park deserves to be better known.

First green, downhill opener. I believe that Colt didn’t put his most testing holes first and this is a solid hole.



2nd par 3, with bunkers al around but there is space behind them. The prevailing wind is from the right and at some time a pot bunker has been added at the right front edge – it’s incongruous with the rest.   A good hole.


3rd is the most famous hole on the course. You hit diagonally across the lake, those who can hit long and close to the lake land on a downhill ski pad. Those who play safe will have over 200 yards to the green with their next shot.






4 Lovely strategic hole, landing area is severely downhill to a stream and those bunkers are positioned in a way that confuses you in their relation to the green.




5 par 3


6b  plays up a hill to reveal the green.  Nice Mid length hole superb bunkering.



7 a lovely roller coaster ride with a stream jus short of the green.


8  challenging, gently  uphill all the way longest 420 yarder I know.



9 a glorious sweeping hole over lovely terrain the feel here is completely different to Heathland.


10 Need to be on the left hand side of the fairway here, and then make sure you don’t push your approach right.



11 lovely sweep, fairway moves left and then right. A good tee shot needed


12 uphill par 3


13 –my favourite, plays downhill dogleg left with a row of bunkers to tempt you to play near.




14


15



16



17 another good drive sets up an approach to this elevated green.


18 –that’s the new clubhouse on the right!   Good finish.




Over many years the upkeep of the Old building became too much for the club to manage and it reluctantly sold off the clubhouse in the depressed 1970’s and build the new one.  It must still pain some of the older members to look up on the 18th.

Members over time included Sir Michael Bonallack and to day Beverly Lewis seen below practicing hard on the Sunday evening before the last round of the US Open.

« Last Edit: February 03, 2007, 05:07:57 AM by Tony Muldoon »
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James Edwards

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Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2007, 05:49:20 AM »
Tony,

I work for a golf course architectural company based near to Thorndon of which my boss and his son have always been associated in some way...  its indeed a fine course and one that goes under the radar (long may that continue)

Great pictures! thanks for posting - youve captured the course well!
« Last Edit: February 03, 2007, 06:21:49 AM by James Edwards »
@EDI__ADI

Mark_Rowlinson

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Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2007, 06:04:19 AM »
Tony,  Thanks for posting these - more movement in the ground than you expect in Essex.  

TEPaul

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2007, 09:02:42 AM »
Thanks for the hole by hole photos. Looks like a pretty place and there seems to be some fairly interesting bunker placements but to be honest the overall architecture looks pretty tame or bland or whatever, particularly for Colt/Alison.

wsmorrison

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2007, 09:26:56 AM »
I don't know, Tom.  I find the holes very interesting, especially the bunker placements.  Some of the land may be bland but there' are some excellent holes evidenced in the photos.

What's with some bunkers revetted and others flashed with sand?  Does it work well in the course of play?

While this particular course may not be a good example, I'm starting to think Colt may just be the greatest architect of all.  I don't have Wardian experience with either architect, but in my limited experience, Colt appeals to me much more than MacKenzie.  I happen to see a bit of Colt in Flynn, so that might be a bias coming through.

With MacKenzie, it is like what Salieri said about Mozart in the movie Amadeus.  "Too many notes."  MacKenzie has too many bunkers above and behind greens.  Am I making a stupid statement with this?  Maybe so.  It has been known to happen before   ;)

TEPaul

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2007, 09:38:36 AM »
"While this particular course may not be a good example, I'm starting to think Colt may just be the greatest architect of all."

Me too Wayne. But to me it's not just what he did but also when he did some of it---so early. From some of the stuff I've seen from Alison he wasn't far behind him. As good as both of them may've been I think it's pretty hard to catch Mackenzie.

But the important thing for me now is they all came out of the English Heathlands. I think that place and that time (around the turn of the century) just may be the key to really understanding the evolution of golf course architecture---of the man-made variety and inland.

Paul_Turner

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2007, 11:45:02 AM »
Tony

Nice to see the complete set of your photos.  I've added my few below.

I reckon Thorndon Park ranks somewhere in the middle of Colt's courses.  An interesting routing over good terrain, it's reasonably rolling and mostly routed with the inward nine enclosing the outward.  The holes have good variety with some neat greens a few that were definitely designed for the run up approach with a bunker placed just where you want to land the ball short.

Overall, it's a very good course, built for members (not too difficult) with a few excellent holes but not flashy.  Similar in quality to:  Moor Park, Beaconsfield, Eindhoven, Ashridge, Canterbury

Thorndon was what I would call a classic British parkland course.  The manor estate was an old deer park with large expanses of grass, dotted here and there with gnarly old oaks.  But today it has lost that landscape to a large degree, the trees form corridors and enclose the holes and it feels more like an American "parkland" course- although it's never close to being claustrophobic.

You can still see the old oaks (pollarded?)...see the last pic.  I think they were orignally used to shape the holes.

Like most of Colt/Alison courses most of the bunkers have become blobby basic shapes over the years of tidy modern maintenance.  The revetting is new.   I have only see a few, poor quality, old pics...more rugged than now.

I can understand why Tom Doak and Jim Finegan never visited, that part of Britain isn't teeming with great golf.










An original oak there.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2007, 12:23:27 PM by Paul_Turner »
can't get to heaven with a three chord song

TEPaul

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2007, 12:00:50 PM »
Paul:

The "lighting" in your photos shows that course a lot better, particularly the bunkering.

Paul_Turner

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2007, 01:24:11 PM »
Thanks Tom.

These old pics, from the 1950s, below are so grainy they almost aren't worth posting (squint!). But I have done because you can just make out the single, ancient, oaks, the more open aspect and a more natural maintance of the bunkers (less of a hard edge).

Why would you want to block a grand vista of that old mansion?  Compare the first two.



Then


Now


10th then


Now
can't get to heaven with a three chord song

David_Tepper

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Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2007, 02:45:28 PM »
Tony & Paul -

Thanks for the pics and the info. This is certainly a course worth knowing about.

DT

Paul_Turner

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Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2007, 10:00:44 PM »
Just a quick note re: Mackenzie.  He should definitely be included with the other pioneering heathland architects.  

Alwoodley was early, started around 1905 and opened in 1907.  Moortown was pretty early too...finished in 1910.  Both are heath/moor.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2007, 10:02:13 PM by Paul_Turner »
can't get to heaven with a three chord song

TEPaul

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2007, 06:30:53 AM »
Paul:

Interesting comparison of bunkers. As it's a half century later now they look remarkably similar. As for the clean edge today that may not even be a conscious decision on their part. It could be just a function of the modern weedeater or string trimmer. They obviously didn't have things like that in the 1950s. Essentially the same thing happened to Merion's old bunkers even though their top edges weren't that severe.

Maybe you should send those comparative photos to the club. Who knows, they make not have realized it and they may like that rougher top edge and go back to it.

Mark Chaplin

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Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2007, 12:59:36 PM »
Tony,

Some excellent pictures of TP, you are quite right if it was 40 miles west the course would be very well known. However I'm sure the members are very happy with the low profile

I played a match against the club about 10 years ago which was interesting/amusing for 2 reasons. One of our opponents was the newest member of the club and had racked up 2 years of membership. At the time only around 150 of the members actually played golf!

We had a lady in our team which caused all sorts of problems. After finishing our round we settled on the fine patio overlooking the 18th green to "cheer in" the following matches. When our dear lady - who was easy to the eye - finished she joined us on the said patio. The Captain informed us the patio was men only and our girl would have to use the ladies patio overlooking the car park. He looked rather suprised when our entire team adjourned to the rear patio in support!
Cave Nil Vino

TEPaul

Re:A parkland Colt.
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2007, 04:26:08 PM »
Good for you MarkR! One needs to gore those male chauvinist pigs anywhere they hear their oinks.

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