Sunny Old & New: Is There Much Between Them?

[Sean_A]

Looking at Ian's very fine NON-GCA.com ranking of courses I was struck by Sunningdale.  The perceived difference between the two intrigued me.  The numbers:

Old: 8.32; SD .91; 7-10 range
New: 7.52; SD 1.25; 4-9 range

The difference in these numbers is incredible to me.  Who would have thought Sunny New would be a polarizing course?  What is it about the course which elicits such drastic variations of ratings - especially when compared to the Old?  This one has me stumped.

Ciao

[Mark Chaplin]

Despite a weak 1st and 18th IMO the New is a better all round course than the Old. I suppose history and exposure ensures the Old usually comes in better on the rankings.

[Ally Mcintosh]

The club seem to be more willing to experiment with the New as well... See the clearance / restoration of the heathlands around the 6th hole...

[BCrosby]

I don't understand the discrepancy either. Both are wonderful courses. Given 10 rounds, I would probably divide them equally.

Bob 

[Mark Chaplin]

Bob,

I agree Sunningdale is one of the very few genuine two course clubs where the course you play matters little. In the same area I'd go 6-4 Old at Walton Heath but 8-2 For Berkshire Red. Wentworth poses a question! Sunningdale New has a few very fine holes espcially around the turn.

I trust you are both well, will we be seeing you on these shores before too long??

Mark

[Kevin Pallier]

Sean

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the "New" for the first time. I hadn't read or heard too much "press" about it but came away very impressed.

The stretch from 4-6 on the New may even be the best on the property but I still favour the overall layout on the Old over it. Either way they form a great 36 hole combination and I rate them closer obviously than what some others do.

[Sean_A]

I reckon this sort of thing is one of the big problems with lists.  They often seem ok on the surface, but once one digs a bit, there is nobody to ask questions of.  It would be interesting if in doing lists the editors offered some sort of explanation for the obvious oddities they believe readers will flag. 

Ciao

[Andrew Summerell]

I agree with Mark. The New is a better all round course.

When I have played there I have generally played both courses (mostly in the one day). Do many people go there & only play the Old?

[Mark_F]

Do many people go there & only play the Old?

Andrew,

On my one and only visit to Sunngingdale, on a trip arranged by a golf travel agent, there was no mention of the New course at all.  So I only played the Old, along with two others who didn't know the New existed either.

Obviously a mistake. 

[Andrew Summerell]

Do many people go there & only play the Old?

Andrew,

On my one and only visit to Sunngingdale, on a trip arranged by a golf travel agent, there was no mention of the New course at all.  So I only played the Old, along with two others who didn't know the New existed either.

Obviously a mistake. 

That's probably not uncommon, Mark. I'm sure it is the same with a lot of clubs that have multiple courses, but one historically famous course that everyone wants to play.

[Tom Birkert]

Many people do come and play both courses (especially in the summer) and are often very surprised by the New.

However, due to the rankings, most people want to play the Old if they can only play one and so it tends to get more play.

The New is much more a driving course. If you're not hitting it well off the tee then you'll struggle. It's also a harder course. but better players tend to score better on the New for some reason.

I think The New definitely gets overlooked by some of the magazines in terms of rankings. Wentworth West was up to recently included in the World Top 100 and I'll argue long and hard that Sunningdale New is a better course.

[Philip Gawith]

I recently played the New Course for the first time in a few years and was very pleasantly surprised. I agree with Kevin that the stretch of 4-6 is just a fantastic sequence of holes, most likely the best on the site (though 10,11,12 on the Old is also pretty good) I am a huge fan of the Old but i must say my recent visit caused me to revise opinions of the New. Maybe like Bob/Mark and others i would just split the two now. I agree with Mark that 1 and 18 are not too great but there is a lot to enthuse about in between!