Pre Buda Golf Help!

[Michael Whitaker]

Stan Dodd is coming down from the north of Scotland to attend this year's Buda Cup. I'm trying to help him line up some pre-Buda games.

Stan will be arriving in London very very early on the morning of Friday, Sept 23. He is visiting Deal with me on the Saturday (36) and Sunday (18). Let me know if you would like to join us.

We need to help Stan with the following:

 - He needs a game on Friday 23 Sept somewhere near London. Stan will be taking the afternoon train to Deal on Friday, so the game will have to be early enough for him to arrive at London Bridge station by 3 or 4pm.

 - He needs a game on Monday 26 Sept

 - He needs a game on Tuesday 27 Sept

If any of you can help fill out Stan's dance card it would be greatly appreciated!

[Bill_McBride]

Tuesday, four of us (McBride, Buehler, Mayring and Shackleford) are having lunch at noon and golf at 1:30 at Walton Heath.  If we had another we would have two three-balls, or could play three and two if just Stan joins us.

[Michael Whitaker]

Bill - This is just for Stan. I'm not playing on Monday or Tuesday.

Can Stan join your group on Tuesday? We will need to figure out a way to get him down to WH. Will you guys have an auto? If so, could you pick him up at a train station nearby? I'm not sure where Stan wil be on Tuesday morning, but if he is in London he can take the train from Victoria to Tadworth which is very near WH.

[Bill_McBride]

Bill - This is just for Stan. I'm not playing on Monday or Tuesday.

Can Stan join your group on Tuesday? We will need to figure out a way to get him down to WH. Will you guys have an auto? If so, could you pick him up at a train station nearby? I'm not sure where Stan wil be on Tuesday morning, but if he is in London he can take the train from Victoria to Tadworth which is very near WH.

I knew it was just Stan.   He is most welcome to join us - assuming Lynn Shackleford can add another tee time - but transport is going to be a problem.  Lynn doesn't have a car either, and Ulrich has a Smart Car!  We were already chatting about how to get Lynn's gear (and Lynn) from Walton Heath to the Devil's Punchbowl.

Maybe someone else will pop up with a car to be our sixth!

Hopefully

[Michael Whitaker]

Maybe someone else will pop up with a car to be our sixth!

I hope so, too! Walton Heath is a good draw... surely someone will put their hand up. I'm going to go forward with the assumption that Stan will be joining you at WH. Let us know if there are any issues with the second tee time.

Thanks!!!

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Just saw this post.  On Tuesday, only foursomes are allowed on the Old course, which we have booked.  The New is playing 3 or 4 ball that day.
I don't know how to solve this one.  The transportation situation is also shaky.

[Michael Whitaker]

Just saw this post.  On Tuesday, only foursomes are allowed on the Old course, which we have booked.  The New is playing 3 or 4 ball that day.
I don't know how to solve this one.  The transportation situation is also shaky.

Lynn - Do you have to play foursomes or can you also play a two ball? If two balls are allowed you could accommodate six golfers with one foresome and one two ball.

[Scott Warren]

Walton Heath operates one course as a twoball course at all times.

So if it's twoballs on the Old, it's fourballs on the New and vice versa.

Of course four or six players works fine if it's twoball (provided they have availability to give you three tee times), but if you end up with an odd number you come up against a problem as one of you would have to go out as a single.

[Mark Pearce]

Mike,

Conrad, Giles and I will almost certainly be playing somewhere in the area on the Tuesday (we're nowhere near organised enough to know where yet but it should be a decent venue).  If Stan hasn't got something organised by the time we get our collective fingers out of our collective backsides, he'd be more than welcome to join us.

[Robin_Hiseman]

I'm giving serious thought to taking the whole week off work before BUDA, so would be available to join you at Walton Heath, pick Stan up and give Lynn a ride to Hindhead. Pencil me in if you like, but i'll step aside if one of the American party steps up to join you.  WH is an hour from my home, so I can get there anytime.

Robin

[Michael Whitaker]

This is all very good! Thank you Mark and Robin... it seems Tuesday will come together one way or another.

Now, we need to find Stan a game on Friday the 23rd and Monday the 26th.

[Bill_McBride]

Lynn, Drinkin' Joe, Ulrich and I currently have lunch and a foursomes game (two ball afternoon) booked for 1:30 on Walton Heath Old.

If Robin, Conrad and Mark can join Stan, there would be two groups.  If just Robin joins Stan, there could be a singles match and a foursomes match.  And another car for transport to the bar at Hindhead!

[Michael Whitaker]

Lynn, Drinkin' Joe, Ulrich and I currently have lunch and a foursomes game (two ball afternoon) booked for 1:30 on Walton Heath Old.

If Robin, Conrad and Mark can join Stan, there would be two groups.  If just Robin joins Stan, there could be a singles match and a foursomes match.  And another car for transport to the bar at Hindhead!

Bill - Mark already has three in his group:  Giles, Conrad and himself. So, Stan would be the 4th in their group if that is the way things work out.

[Mark Pearce]

I suspect that we'll form the view that Walton Heath is rather too hard on the pocket, too........

[Bill_McBride]

Lynn, Drinkin' Joe, Ulrich and I currently have lunch and a foursomes game (two ball afternoon) booked for 1:30 on Walton Heath Old.

If Robin, Conrad and Mark can join Stan, there would be two groups.  If just Robin joins Stan, there could be a singles match and a foursomes match.  And another car for transport to the bar at Hindhead!

Bill - Mark already has three in his group:  Giles, Conrad and himself. So, Stan would be the 4th in their group if that is the way things work out.

Got it. All very complicated. Check your email please.

[Bill_McBride]

I'm giving serious thought to taking the whole week off work before BUDA, so would be available to join you at Walton Heath, pick Stan up and give Lynn a ride to Hindhead. Pencil me in if you like, but i'll step aside if one of the American party steps up to join you.  WH is an hour from my home, so I can get there anytime.

Robin

Robin, that would work out very well.  We'd have a four and a two, it's a two ball day, so we could sort it out on site.  We do need to commit before long to confirm a second tee time.  At this point it's lunch followed by the Old at 1:30.  Please let me know.  Of course we also need Stan's commitment!

[Tony_Muldoon]

Guys if Walton Heath New is allowing ou to play your own ball I would seriously consider it.   (Check because some old clubs charge each player for a round of golf, even if you’re only playing foursomes). 

I actually slightly prefer the new but it’s a very close call.  It’s actually much purer Fowler, as (from unreliable memory)  on the Old holes  1, 6( and one or two others in that stretch)  and 9 & 10 (remodelled for M25 ) have all been given drastic makeovers or started again.   Try the new its a very good golf course and remarkably similar in style to its older brother.

[Brent Hutto]

I actually slightly prefer the new but it’s a very close call.  It’s actually much purer Fowler, as (from unreliable memory)  on the Old holes  1, 6( and one or two others in that stretch)  and 9 & 10 (remodelled for M25 ) have all been given drastic makeovers or started again.   Try the new its a very good golf course and remarkably similar in style to its older brother.

I had forgotten that you shared my slight preference for the New. In my case it was not consciously due to which course was closer to Fowler's version but rather I just thought start to finsh, hole for hole it seemed slightly more enjoyable. After one play of each anyway. Neither course is worth missing if one has a chance, that's for sure.

[Ulrich Mayring]

We'll play foursomes galore at BUDA, so if I spring the money for Walton Heath, I'd prefer to play my own ball. If that means playing the New Course, then I'd prefer that over foursomes on the Old. Bill, Lynn, what say you?

Ulrich

[Bill_McBride]

I know Lynn is really committed to playing the Old.  I need a Fowler fix!

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Never has so much time been spent, so much thinking, so many changes over one round of golf.  I suspect when the dust settles and we know truly how many can and want to play at Walton Heath on Tuesday, it can all be worked out.  Despite comments above, I still want to see and play the Old.  I know we shouldn't go by rankings and tradition, but both are better at the Old.  Can someone whose opinion I know and trust weigh in on this?  Bobby Jones can you help?  Do I have to contact Crenshaw on this?  Paul Turner where are you?
Confidential Guide gives the Old an 8 and the New a 6.

[Ben Stephens]

I would also be interested in playing WH prior to BUDA

Here is an image of the composite course being used for this year's Senior British Open



Cheers
Ben

[Bill_McBride]

We'll play foursomes galore at BUDA, so if I spring the money for Walton Heath, I'd prefer to play my own ball. If that means playing the New Course, then I'd prefer that over foursomes on the Old. Bill, Lynn, what say you?

Ulrich

I've already agreed to play the Old with Lynn and Joe Buehler.  I'm happy to play foursomes.  We need a fourth. Who's in?

Luckily there are three months to work this out!

[Mark Chaplin]

Both are very fine courses with highs and lows. Old 2-5 and 15-17 are lovely stretches as are New 3-5 and 11-14. The only thing I dislike on the New is the final par 3 is the 10th making a long slog home.

If I lived 15 miles closer I'd be a member!