Hayling Island

[NAF]

Has anyone played this course on the south coast of England?  I believe Tom Simpson was quite fond of it and is responsible.  The clubhouse looks awfully like Birkdale is some respects to me and the aerial (go to the introduction page via the link below) looks pretty good.. Like Lytham it starts with a par 3 as well.  I'm thinking of adding it to an itinerary next time I get to this area of the country..

http://www.haylinggolf.co.uk/info/home.htm

[Tom]

Its a cracker.  Course is situated about a 1.5 hour drive from London on Hayling Island itself which is a small bit of land near Portsmouth that is cut off during high tide.  The opening par 3 is OK but not that inspiring but then the course gets going with an excellent dogleg par 5 second and a series of testing long par 4s.  The other outstanding holes are the short par 3 5th called the Narrows because of the shape of the green, the 11th a sort of clifftop par 3 green, the 12th with the famous widow bunker (I didn't think it was that intimidating) and the 13th a lovely par 5 around the edge of the marshes.  I remember the greens being very fast in particular.

Donald Steel put it in his book about the great Links courses of GB and Ireland which is worth reading for other hidden gems such as Seascale and Silloth etal.

Hope this helps - it is well worth playing !!

[Scott Warren]

I'm thinking of a winter excursion to see Hayling. Co-pilots most welcome!

Has anyone played it since this thread began who can share their thoughts?

[Sean_A]

I'm thinking of a winter excursion to see Hayling. Co-pilots most welcome!

Has anyone played it since this thread began who can share their thoughts?

Scott

Hayling is one of those hit and miss courses.  Its quite good, but has its shortfalls.  The course was improving its conditions for a while, but I think things have leveled off these past several years.  There are some fine holes round the turn.  I think (and I could be wrong) that this place has actually lowered its green fee or maybe its stayed the same for many years as I always thought the course was over-priced.  I would say its probably just below Littlestone in quality.  If you do head that way make sure to play Stoneham.  It is one of the few courses I have seen which I can't quite get a handle on.  I know its good, but I can't tell how good it is.  I need to see it a few more times.

http://www.stonehamgolfclub.org.uk/.  

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,30823.msg597466/#msg597466

Ciao

[Scott Warren]

Very curious, Sean. I have definitely looked at Stoneham's website before, but I'll be blown if I know when or why. I could never forget those hole descriptions: perhaps the most well-presented of any golf course website I have ever looked at.

[Jon Wiggett]

I haven't played Hayling since 1997 so my memory is a little hazy. I remember it as been a solid and enjoyable links course. Would recommend it but don't expect to be blown away (unless it is windy )

[David_Tepper]

www.haylinggolf.co.uk

[Bill_McBride]

I was talked out of playing here 20 years ago by my London host who gave the impression that Hayling Island is a bit "down market."  From the look of the website, I missed a good one.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I suspect it made Donald's book because it is one of the very few links courses on the south coast. It's nowhere near as full of character as the few standout holes suggest it might be. It is quite dull in parts. I endorse the suggestion of also visiting Stoneham which is very high on character. You're not very far from West Sussex, either.....