Walton Heath - massive tree removal (photo tour)

[Sean_A]

Bob Jenkins and I are currently booked to play The Addington on the Friday of Buda week. 

One of the other locations we considered was Walton Heath, and this photo tour is certainly appealling.  I was interested in The Addington because it seems to have a very unique collection of holes and Abercromby's work is pretty rare.

For those that have played both, which would you recommend? Why?

JOhn

Just to throw a spanner in the works...and remember, I am probably this sites biggest fan of Fowler.  I prefer Addington because it has holes which WH can't dream of and that is mainly down to far more interesting land.  In other words, is bolder course than either of the WHs and from this perspective very unusual for the time it was built.  However, if you are looking to play 36, WH may be the way to go.  Though, I think the two really blend as one and playing them on the same day may not be the best way to see them if you are looking to retain a strong impression of both courses - that is if they are good enough in your opinion to leave a strong impression.  WH also has that hard to define cache of history and ambience which Addy lacks though there is a bit of charm to Addy's house which appeals to me.  In the end, you can't really go wrong and whether or not 36 is on the cards is an important consideration.  I have never understood the mentality of leaving the parking lot of a great course to find another course so WH is very tempting in this regard.   

Ciao

[Brent Hutto]

I agree with Sean about the character of the two courses seeming more like a single course in my mind (at this 3-year remove, anyway). I'm not saying the Walton Heath experience is superior to other 36-hole days but I sort of like the fact that it all blurs together in my memory.

There's a certain charm to playing the same course twice, before and after a decent lunch. And there's a different charm to playing two very different courses in the same day (it tends to create a "rush" of novelty overload). Playing the two courses at Walton Heath is more like the former than the latter, except with greater variety than literally playing the same 18 twice. But you lose the advantage of knowing where the putts break in the afternoon round...

[Niall C]

The clearance is still in progress his year the left of the 6th Old has been dramatically cleared and the chute to the back back tee on 8th is no longer. The big difference is across the holes which is less clear in photographs that tend to look down the holes. One thing that impresses me with the club is the serious manner in which the treat their stewardship of the heath, the club spend a lot of money they do not have to spend to keep the heath in balance.

I know the club again decided not to apply for Royal status in their centenary year but WH is far more Royal than a good many Royal clubs!

Mark

I visited WH in 2000 and they were embarking on a major tree clearance then. They were also trying to rejuvenate the heather which isn't easy but from the looks of the photos they seem to have been successful.

Niall