Under Construction: Close House (Colt), nr Newcastle upon Tyne

[James Boon]

Back in mid September I had the opportunity to take a sneak preview of the new course at the Close House estate, just outside Newcastle in the north east of England, and not far from Hadrian’s Wall. The course has been designed by Turner Macpherson Golf Design and is due to open in the spring of 2011.

Close House is a boutique hotel within an old country house which already has a 5,900 yard course set in the grounds. This new course is on hillier terrain but still within the grounds of the country house, and it is styled on Harry Colt’s courses on many other such country estates. The Colt connection also seems appropriate as Colt designed several courses in this part of the country: Tyneside across the valley from Close House, and Northumberland and Brancepeth Castle also a short drive away.

The new course, probably one of the only ones currently under construction in England, will be named the Colt, not only in reference to the inspiration of Harry Colt’s work on the design, but also as the estate has strong equine connections, with the original course also being called Filly.

The course is a parkland course featuring some great views across the Tyne valley, with almost 90m (300ft) of elevation change from the 1st tee, up to the 11th fairway and back down to the 18th green. The course will play to 7,000 yards off the back tees and a par of 71.

Expanding further I’ll quote Scott from another thread some time ago:

“The course features about 50 bunkers and bent/fescue greens. Average greens size = about 615m2. The course has extravagant and delightful width in some places and demands precise shots in others. There are lots of old features on the site include 2000 year old archeology, ice-lakes, ridge & furrow forms, stone ha-ha walls and ancient forests. Strategically, the course features a degree of mystery- which will favour the golfer who visits several times, but won't overly distress the first-time player. We have also deliberately made the course look more difficult than it plays - especially from the back tees.”

This was my first real opportunity to visit a course under construction, with most of what we saw being in the growing in phase, so the shape of the course and a feel of how it will play was there. We only had time to walk the back nine but this featured some very interesting looking golf! Here is a low resolution version of the course masterplan:


Hole 10
Par 5
The 10th tee is set near to the driving range and academy, which does somewhat dominate the setting, or at least it will until some of the new planting matures. This is the view of the uphill tee shot on this hole.


This is the deep fairway bunker at the top of the hill for the layup shot. You can see the Harry Colt style “torn” edges to the bunker as was discussed on a thread some months ago.

That’s fellow GCAer Ben Stephens in the bunker by the way.

After the fairway bunker the ground levels off up to the green. There is a large swale left and it appears that the green can be approached from both sides of the bunker seen here.


Hole 11
Par 4
I really liked the setting of this hole, but it’s a shame about the electricity pylons.


The landing area is the highest part of the course and anything right off the tee will be blocked out by the rocks and trees


The green sits behind a large swale short right.


Hole 12   
Par 3
On the approach to the previous green, you suddenly become aware of the view down the Tyne valley, seen here behind the bank off tees on the par 3


And a view across to the green


Hole 13         
Par 4
The tricky thing here is to ignore the view and try to decide  how you will play the hole? A very wide fairway, with several central bunkers. I’m sure the hole position will help dictate your choice of play here. That’s the driving range and practice area off to the right.


The green seen from just by one of the central bunkers


The front right of the green looks to be a thin area of green, hidden behind a bunker, but when you get to the green, you will find there is actually plenty of room, so a good optical illusion.


Hole 14 and 15
The 14th is a par 3 set within the trees, across a ravine while the 15th is a par 4 played from down in a hollow, across a pond, with a blind drive up the hill. When you get to the top of the rise you will find the line is actually a lot tighter to the trees on the left that you will probably have dared to play, leaving an approach to a green back near to the academy and 10th tee.


Hole 16 
Par 4
This hole plays through a tight fairway with trees on each side, then out into the open and downhill to a green cut into the side of the hill. The bunker seen here is actually some way short of the green


Hole 17   
Par 5
This looks like it will be a great penultimate hole. From the tee you can take on the left fairway bunker at it will leave the option to go left of the trees to try and get on the green in 2.

The safer play up the right will make the hole a true par 5 played to the right of the copse of mature trees. Here is the approach from that side


Hole 18P
ar 4
A longish par 4 to finish and one which will require all your skill and nerve. The right edge of the fairway is flanked by a drop off over an old ha ha running through the property.


Now for the approach! This is over a stone wall to a green with water all round the right. A shorter hitter can choose to lay up short of the wall, but this will still leave a tricky chip to the green.


Over the wall, and you find a small deep bunker on the right with a steep drop off to the water, suggesting a back right hole location as a real tricky one! The pond on the 18th is believed to have provided ice to the old mansion house in the 1800's. The new clubhouse being built can be seen in the background.


And looking back up the last hole, you can see the pond around the green, the wall and the ha ha and mature trees up the fairway.


I imagine two things which will probably jump out to people are the hilly nature of the course and also the stone walls (I believe more are in play on the front nine). However, I grew up playing my golf in Derbyshire where plenty of the courses have a mountain goat feel about them and stone walls running across them, so neither bothered me particularily, and though we didn’t have clubs on our back, I think the course might be a reasonable walk.

It was interesting to see a course at this point in its construction and it certainly had me interested enough to want to go back with my clubs when it eventually opens next year.

For more information, here are a couple of links:
http://www.tmgolfdesign.com/newcastle.html
http://www.closehouse.co.uk/golf/the-olt

Cheers,

James

[Tom_Doak]

The course looks really interesting, as have earlier pictures of it here.

However, I am now concerned that Old Macdonald may have started a very bad trend, if we are now going to see a bunch of new courses named after old dead guy designers.  At least in Bandon the name is entirely used in tribute, and no one would make the mistake of thinking there was an ACTUAL Macdonald design there.  I hope that will be the case for Scott and Greg's course, but when I saw the title of this thread, I did not think of them.

[Adam Russell]

What was the thought process on making the holes split? By my count there's five holes on the routing where either a tree, forced wetland, or design splits the hole. Was it a forced hand or something ya'll tried for?

[Gary Slatter]

James, thanks for the report !  Parts of the course look like they have been there for years.  I prefer the bunkers when they age and are less "sharp", more forgiving.

Congratulations Scott ! 

[Scott Macpherson]

 I am now concerned that Old Macdonald may have started a very bad trend, if we are now going to see a bunch of new courses named after old dead guy designers.  At least in Bandon the name is entirely used in tribute, and no one would make the mistake of thinking there was an ACTUAL Macdonald design there. 

Tom- I suggested to the owner that he call it 'The Doak', but he said no because you aren't dead  . Just kidding, The other course they have is called 'The Filly'. The name has more to do with horses, than architects, but it did give us a nice theme. (PS- Not sure you 'started' anything anyway. There are other courses that are called after architects and pre-date Old Mac, e.g J.H Taylor course at Royal Mid-Surrey (originally it was the 'Inner course'). I do hope you can play the course next time you are back in the UK- I'll drive you down after you have finished at the Ren Club.


Adam – only 3 holes with split fairways; 7,8,and 13. 7 has cross bunkers, 8 and 13 are big downhill holes. The spilt FW's were designed to work with the greens and provide interest and benefits to the available playing widths. A lack of fairway irrigation gave us some unique freedoms. I hope that golfers find enough reasons to use different corridors when the hole is cut in different areas of the green.

Gary; These bunker edges were only just cut when these photos were taken. They have since been lined (with upside down turf) and the Bunker sand going in now. (It's not in these photos). The bunker edges will soften over the winter, and with the spring grasses and wispy growth, hopefully take on an older look.

The course is due to open in May/June 2011.

Thanks James for wanting to visit and then the wonderful photos.


scott

[Gary Slatter]

Scott, I knew the bunker had recently been "cut".    I love the variety from the pictures.   

Not to distract from this course, but the Devlin (now Kittocks) has many superb greensites.  Neil told me they were your work.  I think the original 16th is one of the best on that coast-line!

[Eric Smith]

Thanks for the tour Boony and congratulations Scott on what looks to be a job well done! I really like the looks of this golf course. The crossing wall is very cool looking. Some great looking movement in the land as well. Turf looks great! This is up in Mark Pearce's neck of the woods, right?

[Mike_Clayton]

James,

I walked -and hit some shots  - the course with Greg and Scott in June and I think they would agree that this was a really difficult site.
There are some serious hills they had to go up and down - 2,5,8,10,15 (which is a terrific hole) and 16.
There is a course up the road we played on the Senoir Tour that is on a decent but of land and this one makes it look very ordinary and that is important in a part of England that doesn't seem to have much good golf.
I am really looking forward to playing it next year.

[Jim Eder]

Thanks for the pictures and the insight.  The bunkers look like they will be wonderful, the use of the land looks lovely and the views look terrific. It looks like a course that will be enjoyable to play and learn about. Looks like a lot of options and some tempting plays. Terrific, thanks for sharing!!

[Marty Bonnar]

Nice work, Scott and thanks for the pics, James.

I sense an opportunity for an officially-sanctioned GCA(Northeast UK Chapter) outing in the near future. Maybe once we've gotten round the Sun a bit further!?!

cheers,
FBD.

[Brian_Ewen]

Cant help thinking if this was a "Fazio", then we would be discussing pylons ?

[Mark Pearce]

Eric,

That's right, about twenty minutes from my front door.  My home club is one of the "real" Colts in the area.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Close House, though I saw some of it, from a distance, when playing Tyneside earlier this year.  It must be fairly hilly!

[Scott Macpherson]

HI,

This is a very unique site, full of features (e.g. Ha-ha's, Ice lakes, old trees, ancient ruins), that we have pulled into the design. It is not quite accurate to call it a hilly site – more like it is a site on the side of a hill (which is south facing fortunately). Over the 90m elevation change, there are 3 plateaus on the site, and these are used for the holes to change directions, and for golfers to get some rest-bite from the walks. But this is very much designed as a walking course with short walks form green to tees.

It has not been measured yet, but it will be about 7000y, Par 71. The average green size is quite large at about 605m2.

The design has a 'soft-hand' approach with minimal earthworks (about 140,000m3). The aim being to incorporate the visual features of the site, and not reshape the world. There were some challenges, such as buried services, pylons, protected trees, archeological preservation areas, steep slopes, etc, but nothing that could not be overcome with time and a willingness to adapt to the character of the landscape.

The Ha-Ha's and stone walls will be an obvious feature to all who visit the site, but none are artificially created. Indeed, even the Ha-ha that crosses in front of the 18th green was already there. And as james said, the lake to the right of the green was and old Ice Lake for the Mansion House. (There is an 'Ice-House' still hiding in Trees)

I very much want to thank Mike Clayton for his visits during construction. He gave some good insights, and proved again that sometimes some fresh eyes see things those on-site can't always.

Marty, I am sure the Owner would consider opening the course to some GCA'ers. I know Mark has shown some interest too.

Brian; The pylons are on the neighboring land. I keep trying to find there attractiveness, but consistently fail. The good news is that you only see them on one hole (the 11th).

Harry Colt is an architect I tremendously respect, and because of the old English character of this property (it dates back to the 1770's), it was felt that his style say, would suit the site more than any other. This is not a Colt course however, or a copy of his holes. Simply, I liked the way he used the land, used features, orientated hazards, set up his greens and provided golfers with lots of interesting adventures etc. But, as I mentioned earlier, as much as anything, the name of the course reflects the Owners passion for horses.

I hope this course lifts the profile of golf in the North-East of England, but more importantly, is fun for those who visit her – especially a second or third time. It will be primarily a members course, and as such, is designed with some mystery to reward the regular player.

Thanks for everyones interest. Now, perhaps more than at any other time, golf needs cheerleaders.

scott

[Mark Pearce]

Mike,

The North East of England is not rich in good golf but nor is it as poor as the Confidential Guide and the monstrosities at Slaley Hall would suggest.  Northumberland and Brancepeth Castle deserve a little better than the 3s Tom gave them in the CG. Brancepeth has some very good holes indeed (particularly where the ravines come into play), Northumberland is a good solid example of what Colt could do with a less than brilliant site.  It looks and plays a lot like so many of the Colt courses Sean Arble profiles, but is perhaps a stern Aunt in that family (as an aside, I should point out that I am a member but I genuinely believe I have a member anti-bias, both toward Northumberland and Balcomie).  Tyneside also has some very good holes but, like Brancepeth, is a little let down by its lesser holes.  The jewels in the North Eastern crown are Seaton Carew and Goswick, both courses I'm sure you would enjoy.  Then there is Bamburgh Castle, no great golf course but stand on the 15th tee on a fine day andyou'll know why Tom D made it a Dumb Blonde!

All that said, the standard of modern courses in the North East is woeful and there's no denying the shortage of good golf and the absence of anywhere great.  Close House will be a welcome addition.

As to a North East swing, I've suggested it before andwill try to make something happen next year.  Close House and a couple of "real" Colts, anyone?

[Kris Shreiner]

James,
Thanks for the visual window to the "Colt." 

Scott,

Congrats. Appears like a fine job was done there! Some cool features and playing options from the look of it.. Are there any plans for international memberships? Do they plan on having caddies, as the walking friendly nature of the routing has been mentioned?

[Mark Pearce]

Kris,

If they have caddies they'll be the only club in the North East of England to have them.  Ditto International Memberships......

[Scott Macpherson]

Kris-

I think they might like the idea of International Memberships? I will put it too them. How much would you think such a Membership would be worth, and what should you get for your money?

I wonder too if living in Scotland would count for International Membership?



Scott

[Kris Shreiner]

Mark,

A warm hello. I've often enjoyed your thoughtful posts. One doesn't need to fear being the only, or first, at something well done. While I don't have all the demographics and data/model information for what this facility intends to be, quality golf has been touted as lacking in the area. Caddie programs aren't possible everywhere, but if you're trying to position yourself as something special and of a private nature, not having one puts you a tier below those top courses that do.

Great golf ground and solid caddies go hand in hand from my view, so long as it is financially viable. There are many models of what type of caddie program could be realized. Many management/ownership folks lack a true understanding of all the benefits AND cost savings a properly developed caddie program can deliver for a facility. Everything from: pedigree perception, marketing, course conditioning, apparel sales, to memorable player experiences can be touched in significant, postive ways by quality caddies.

It takes knowledge, astute leadership and "investment" in developing a quality program...but the results are profound...ask Bandon's owner Mr. Keiser...who caddied himself as a youth and did what everyone laughed at initially. Waliking only, with caddies STRONGLY encouraged. They're not laughing any more; his golf facility(non-real estate sales) is the most financially successful of ANYTHING, opened anywhere in the world, built in the last 20 years.

Scott,

As to your question of what an international membership would be worth? That would depend on: the logistics, structure of the club membership and amemities, expected season, guest policy, etc. In short, there are a few variables to consider. You generally want to value it so regular members feel their fee contributions are respected, while encouraging vitality and use by ardent golfers who wish to belong to a quality away or overseas club. If the golf experience is of strong quality and the accomodations/atmosphere are warm and congenial, I believe there will be some interested parties.

If you wish to IM me some contact details, I be happy to have a chat.

Cheers,
Kris

[Mike Nuzzo]

The course looked really nice as a routing plan back when
it looks really nice in the ground
so simple
congratulations

what was the reason for the fancy bunkers?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Are you putting buggy paths in? With 300 foot of elevation change thats a tough walk.

[James Boon]

Thanks everyone for your interest. I've left and will leave it to Scott to answer all the questions. But I will say that this is an incredible site for a golf course, and from what I saw of it, it seems to have blended pretty well into the landscape already and will provide a fine addition to an area lacking in decent modern courses.  Just to show the setting a little more, here is a panoramic I took from the 11th green. From left to right, it shows the 12 tee, with the Tyne valley and on the far side Tyneside GC, panning right is the 13th, then the academny with the 15th behind it and on the far right is the 12 green and 13 tees.


Cheers,

James

[James Boon]

Here are a few more pictures:

From just short left of the 12 green, and then a little further on, showing the false front to the green and then the banking and rocks on the right



The green of the par 3 14th


The view from the 16th tee and then looking back from the green. From the green, the fairway comes out of the trees and turns around the tree that can be seen to have been "trimmed" a little bit



And lastly, the bunker short left of the 17th which will have to be carried if going for the green in 2 shots. Here seen after seeding but before the outline is marked out or cut

As to a North East swing, I've suggested it before andwill try to make something happen next year.  Close House and a couple of "real" Colts, anyone?

Mark,

I'd certainly be interested in a north east swing! Having played Brancepeth Castle while we were in the area, it would be good to see some of the others in the area, be it Goswick, Northumberland or even Seaton Carew?

Cheers,

James

[Scott Macpherson]

HI,

Mike; thanks for the nice words. People have shown a lot of interest in how this course looks, but you know the real litmus test is in how it will plays – so I am looking forward to the course opening. As regards the bunkers, the aim was to produced a 'torn' appearance – like the landscape was a paper canvas and we just tore holes in it. What we were trying hard to avoid was the push-up, cookie-cutter style. There is much work to be done yet to settle them into the ground, but I am happy with the forms, and now the attention is being given to the edges and the surrounding wispy grasses. We have an old property, and we are trying to 'age' the course so it fits softly in. Holes like the 14th have been quicker to settle than others.

Adrian; Cart Paths have been a consideration – as much for the maintenance staff as the golfers. We settled on about 3000m. This means that there are paths from most greens to tees, and on some of the steeper sections, but that golfers who takes buggies will be free to drive the fairways (when conditions allow). I don't think that the course will ever have a full cart path, but some extra sections may be added if there is considerable wear in specific places.

I have been asked many times if I can compare the course to any other, and it's not easy too, but I would like to think that the course might be compared to Pasatiempo. They have very similar elevation change (300 feet) and the 'Colt' has been designed with that 1920's style in mind. Of course, we all know that H.S Colt and Dr MacKenzie were once business partners too. So that comparison seems appropriate.

This has been a very collaborative project. The clients have especially been involved, and it has been a pleasure to have that rigourous relationship. The result of it is that they have heavily invested personally in the design, understand and agree with the decisions made and are fully committed to maintaining the golf course in the way it was designed – e.g. lots of short grass around the greens, wide fairways, no rough in front of bunkers, square (hand mown) tees. There is no doubt that this course is different from any others in the area, and that maybe its greatest strength.

regards,

Scott

[Adam Lawrence]

I visited Close House the week before last, and really enjoyed it. There's no doubt it's a fairly tough piece of property, not just because of the elevation change, but also the size and shape, and the restrictions on where holes can go. Scott, sensibly I think, puts most of the uphill bits at the start of the round - the journey back up the hill at ten and eleven is probably the biggest challenge, but it was essential if the routing was to make any sense. I am not wild about the tee shot on eleven as it stands because the gap in the ridge is so narrow and the angle is not ideal from where the tee currently sits (the trees are protected and can't be cleared any further, I believe) - but the owners have acquired a little more land further up the hill, and a new tee is under consideration that will dramatically improve the hole. I love the par threes as a set, very appropriate for a course named after Colt.

I've written in more detail on our website, and there'll be more in the next issue of the mag, so I should probably shut up so as not to scoop myself!

[Mark Pearce]

James,

I'll look into the North East "Swing" and consider dates (the weekend of the US Open, perhaps?) and feasibility (I need to liaise with Scott to see if and when Close House might have us, I suspect the other local clubs shouldn't be a problem, depending on their competition diaries) and venues.  I like th idea of the Colt theme, so I'd be tempted to choose two from three of Brancepeth, Northumberland and Tyneside for the other two venues (assuming we did three courses).  In my book the order I listed them is the order of architectural interest, though Tyneside might be interesting as, being on the opposite bank of the Tyne it is on similarly extreme land (actually, not nearly as extreme but more extreme than Northumberland (fairly flat but not as totally flat as TD seemed to think!) or Brancepeth (fairly flat but crossed by ravines).

Kris,

Thanks.  I'm not pre-judging the possibility of a caddie program at Close House but if there were to be one (a succesful one) then it would represent a significant change of culture for the region.  That would, IMO, only work if CH were able to attract significant overseas play (I really don't think there are many examples of succesful caddy programs in the UK based on domestic play, Brits, even wealthy Brits, don't tend to take caddies).  That's a big ask, when there are no other courses locally attracting overseas (for which read US) visitors (or members!) and you are only a couple of hours from Muirfield/Renaissance/North Berwick.  However, the owner of CH is an ambitious man and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.  I suspect his vision for the Colt course is already a step change from anything the region has seen before.