I GREATLY enjoyed Rye last year with Golf Course Architect Martin Ebert, and Editor of Golf Architecture Magazine, Adam Lawrence.
I think that 2 questions posed in this thread are entirely linked- being "Why is the course so revered by so many respected writers (particularly historically), but receives little official recognition today?"
and "just what are those submerged boards that fringe some of the greens, eg 2nd and 7th?"
To my eye, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that the predominantly buried timber boards are actually rail road ties of old bunker faces. I believe that there are several other great links courses where bunkers have been filled in over the years, but in some instances the tops of the boards continue to show through.
I challenged Martin on this prior to the round, and i'm not sure he was convinced, but as i played the course and imagined these funny litte timber brows, as the faces of steep, deep, claustrophic pot bunkers, i could see just what an intimidating challenge Rye once would have been. To my eye, almost all of them fringed little depressions, and even followed the contours of the old bunker shapes.
Regardless of long lost hazards, I still greatly enjoyed the course for what it is now, but wish someone would have a serious look at reinstating some of those bunkers.
Martin, Adam and I had a wonderfully tranquil dusk to see both the original, and Martin's very good works on their second course. After an eye opening morning round at the unheralded Royal Cinque Ports (where i nearly fell over in the carpark when i was introduced as 'Tasmanian' and the Member advised he had greatly enjoyed his round at Barnbougle Dunes!), i couldn't have asked for a better day on England's South East links.
Greg Ramsay
www.rathogolf.com