Sean,
Thanks for organising the trip to Woking last week. I took a bunch of photos but as you’ve done a pretty good tour already, I’ll just add a few here:
The view from the entrance road is across the small lake which forms a hazard to the right of the final green.
I actually quite liked the first hole, short enough to have a go at the green if you think you are up to it with your first shot of the day, but you must take on a couple of bunkers just off the direct line to the green. We had quite a wind the day we played
but I imagine a 4 or 5 iron off the tee usually would do the trick, and its certainly a big enough target.
But then the short pitch is to a small green that all slopes away and with a big drop off behind, certainly isn’t easy. Seen here from the right hand side.
The 4th through to the 7th or 8th sits in a pretty flat area, bounded in on one side by the tall railway embankment and the ridge that runs from the 2nd hole round to the 9th on the other side. This whole area, though containing some very good golf, did feel a bit dull to me, with the setting feeling more parkland than heathland for some reason. However, to get around this dull nature there is certainly some interesting architectural features and it starts with the 4th hole that Sean describes so well in the opening post.
Here is the drive, with the option of going right or left of the central fairway bunkers. From the forward tees used in winter, flying those central bunkers is also an option and the right hand route doesn’t look as narrow from here
If you have a go at carrying the central bunker you will find its actually a bit of a Principals Nose, with another hidden behind
If you’ve gone on the safer left line, this is your view. The bunker is really in play and everything slopes away from you
Or from the braver right hand line, a simple pitch to the green
And finally a view from behind. What you cant see from these photos are a couple of sneaky bunkers right of the green between the green and OOB fence.
Here is the drive on the ninth. From this forward tee, you cant hit a long straight drive, and will either need to hit a big draw, or fly the pine trees to the left. You can just see the fairway climbing steeply to the left through the trees.
The view from behind the green shows how uphill the shot is and also the extent of the dogleg
Many of the greens, have some really cool internal contours. 12 and 13 are two of the better examples. Here is the 12th from just past those cross bunkers
Here is the 13th from behind (not sure if it shows the valley through the green as good as Ran’s old photo?) You can see the mound that’s short left of the approach quite obviously here.
I didn’t mind the back to back par 5s. The 15th has a large area of heather mounds to be avoided on the left of your layup
16th is a picturesque par 3 but the area around the green really doesn’t feel heathland like under foot and the soft rather than springy nature of the turf probably explains why it was a temporary green the day we played?
18 is a great short par 4 to finish. Its not clear on the tee how much the lake can come into play if you are just a little too long and right, but the right hand side probably gives an easier pitch to another excellently sloped green
Thanks again Sean! I’ve managed in the past few years to get to see quite a few of the London heathland courses, though I’d still really like to get to St Georges Hill and the two Sunningdale courses. Maybe this year at some point?
Cheers,
James